jaybarkerfan's pwe bombs reach the midwest

10 pwe bombs greeted me in my mailbox on friday.

all chock full of dodger goodness.

here are the contents of the first five that i opened.

pwe #1:

1981 fleer dusty baker

2008 ud documentary matt kemp
1982 topps ron cey (in action)
2007 topps greg maddux (gold glove)
2009 ud icons clayton kershaw
1987 topps fernando valenzuela glossy all-star

pwe #2:

2010 upper deck andre ethier (biography)
2009 topps update & highlights orlando hudson (all-star)

2009 topps update & highlights jonathan broxton (all-star)
2012 topps chad billingsley
2009 topps update & highlights george sherrill

pwe #3:

1981 topps traded ken landreaux

1992 topps chris gwynn
2006 topps update & highlights derek lowe (league leader)

i wonder how topps determined who would get to be on the front of the card?  it's cool that lowe got the top spot, but it could have been one of six guys.  there could have been another dodger, too, as brad penny also had 16 wins.

1984 topps greg brock
2006 topps update & highlights jd drew (classic duos)

2009 topps randy wolf
2012 topps hiroki kuroda

pwe #4:

2010 upper deck clayton kershaw

2010 upper deck jeff weaver
2010 upper deck hiroki kuroda
2010 upper deck james loney
2010 upper deck dodger stadium

pwe #5:

2009 topps update & highlights chad billingsley (all-star)

2002 upper deck vintage kevin brown
2003 topps paul loduca
2010 upper deck randy wolf

good stuff!

jerry grote, master lurker and dodger double dipper

[this is the forty-third installment in the double dippers posts.  here are the previous posts - brett butler, omar daal, eric young, nick willhite, chris gwynn, mickey hatcher, dave anderson, don zimmer, rafael landestoy, dave hansen, jose vizcaino, hideo nomo, greg maddux, mike maddux, jon garland, chan ho park, vicente romo, gene mauch, denny lewallyn, von joshua, joe moeller, dioner navarro, rudy seanez, bart shirley, randy wolf, ismael valdes, bobby castillo, mike devereaux, pete richert, jay johnstone, jesse orosco, lee lacy, giovanni carrara, jeff weaver, ted sizemore,  orel hershiser, tom goodwin, joe ferguson, eddie murray, matt luke, ken mcmullen, and tim wallach.]

before jerry grote first put on a dodger uniform in 1977, he had established quite a career for himself.  he had a world series championship in 1969 and a reputation as one of the game's best defensive catchers. he was also a master of appearing on other players' baseball cards.  like joe morgan's 1971 topps card.

now morgan himself was found lurking on tommie agee's 1971 topps card

but grote's presence as a lurker on morgan's card was so epic, topps actually used that same photo for grote's own 1971 baseball's greatest moment card (which i do not own, unfortunately)

that is some serious lurker cred.  grote appeared on another 1971 topps card, that of norm miller

but he unfortunately lost an opportunity for yet another appearance in the set via ray sadecki's card

because gil hodges gave duffy dyer got some playing time.  no matter, grote was back again in 1973, appearing on one of the greatest baseball cards of all time, the 1973 topps roberto clemente card

it was duffy dyer, however, who was behind the plate when clemente stroked his 3000th career hit off of jon matlack.  

here's grote again, i believe, on bob didier's 1973 topps card

or at least, his shinguards.  

grote was once again an on deck lurker in 1974, thanks to this world series card.

grote was on deck in the second inning when john milner drove cleon jones in with a single for the game's first run.  grote later scored the second run of the game after starting a two-out rally with a single in the 6th inning.

grote is back behind the plate where he belongs on this 1974 topps world series card

here, grote can only squat and watch as bert campaneris collects one of his three hits in the clincher.

grote wasn't always a lurker, though, as this 1978 sspc card attests.

grote came to the dodgers from new york in a trade late in the 1977 season.  he didn't play much, but he was soon up to his old tricks, getting some time on darrell evans' 1979 topps card

grote retired after the 1978 season, but was coaxed back to the big leagues by the royals prior to the 1981 season.  i made a 1981 topps traded card that should have been to commemorate the occasion.

he was released by the royals late in the season, but the dodgers re-signed him as they needed another backup catcher and no longer had joe ferguson on the roster.  grote only appeared in one game for the dodgers in 1981, but that was enough for him to qualify as a double dipper.  after the dodgers made the postseason, grote was released although i would imagine he has a ring from that world championship.  his playing career was over, so he wasn't included in any 1982 sets.  here's a 1982 topps card that should have been, paying final tribute to a fantastic career

here's the back with grote's career stats

and, lest we forget, here is yet another card showing off grote's lurking prowess - a 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams lou brock card

and yes, i will get back to that blog very very soon.

here's to you jerry grote!

is 'suttoning' the new 'tebowing'?

it took a while for don sutton to find his signature pose - he tried the 'arms over head' and the 'pitching motion follow through' - but he eventually got there.  i suspect this newly rediscovered pose will surpass planking, owling, and yes, even tebowing, in the coming weeks.  let's let the hall of fame pitcher show us how it's done.

1979 hostess

kneel on your left leg, and support your right arm on your right knee.  left arm goes across right arm, near the elbow.  baseball glove pointing down, look to the left of the camera.  got it.

1979 topps

or, you can look directly at the camera.  that works, too.

1981 fleer

without glove, looking to the right of the camera is also acceptable.

1981 fleer star stickers

squinting in the general direction of the camera is ok, too.

1981 topps

you can even go hatless, and hold a baseball in your right hand!

1981 topps league leaders

glove pointing up, is ok, but only if hatless?  i might need a ruling.

1981 topps traded

ah, a subtle 'open suttoning stance' is apparently appropriate when wearing rainbow jerseys.

1985 mother's a's

back to basics, with the ball.  around this time, sutton tried to teach the pose to phil niekro, who couldn't quite get the right leg up.  that is the most common mistake with people who attempt to 'sutton' - they kneel on the wrong knee.  it's simple, people!  left knee down, left arm on top.

1986 donruss

back to the original 1979 hostess pose

1986 fleer

this is the most basic form of suttoning, apparently

1986 fleer mini

glove up, with a hat!  ok, sutton knows what he's doing, so glove up or down in any 'suttoning' pose is ok.

1988 mother's dodgers

a final 'suttoning' at the sunset of a career.  i wonder how many stadiums don sutton 'suttoned' in?

but wait, his penchant for posing was so strong, that even recent issues have displayed the master's form.  like 2001 topps tribute

could this be the earliest known case of 'suttoning'?

2003 topps gallery

in which we pay homage to the 1979 event

but then there is 2003 topps all-time fan favorites

a vero beach 'suttoning' that predates that which is shown on the 2001 topps tribute card, complete with a blue glove.

anyone else seen another player 'sutton' on a card?  do you have the courage to 'sutton' somewhere unique?  will tim tebow score a touchdown for the jets, and 'sutton'?  we can only hope.

four more years of the topps dodger autograph project - 1980 through 1983

let's kick off the 80's entries in the topps dodger autograph project with jerry reuss.  why? because i said so.  as always, these cards were signed through the mail for free (unless otherwise noted). 

jerry reuss, 1980 topps

reuss is a good signer, and his website has a bunch of cool photos and info.  plus, he no-hit the giants.   i have a few other 1980 topps cards signed by dodgers, including traveling secretary billy delury, joe beckwith, joe ferguson, steve garvey, charlie hough, von joshua, lerrin lagrow, manny mota (i also purchased a signed record breaker somewhere along the way), doug rau, bill russell, derrel thomas, and gary thomasson.

doug rau, 1981 topps

dougie! another good ttm signer, and another lefty.  i think 1981 topps is probably the set i have the most dodger autographs from after 1978.  i've had ttm successes with dusty baker, joe beckwith, ron cey, jack perconte, fernando valenzuela, joe ferguson, steve garvey, dave goltz, burt hooton, rudy law, jerry reuss, bill russell, don stanhouse (with fee), derrel thomas, and gary thomasson.  i have also also purchased cards signed by pedro guerrero, davey lopes and bob welch.  that still leaves me 12 short of the entire team. not that i'm trying.

ken landreaux, 1981 topps traded

the traded sets are kind of a bonus to this project, but if i have 'em i'll show 'em.  landreaux signed a couple of cards for me which was nice, but for some reason fernando declined to sign his card from this set.  i think they are the only two dodgers in the set.  i do have a doug rau signed card, but he was an angel in the set

dave goltz, 1982 topps

goltz gets a lot of grief from dodger fans, but he's from minny so i am using him as the poster boy for the 1982 set.  i also have ttm autos from ron cey (i also have one of his 'in action' cards signed but not posted), steve garvey, steve sax. purchased terry forster, steve garvey, dave lopes, rick monday, jerry reuss, and a mike marshall/ron roenicke/steve sax trio signed rookie card.

jose morales, 1982 topps traded

jose is the only card from this set that i have signed.  he joined the dodgers in april of 1982 and hit .300 for them that year, exclusively as a pinch hitter.

ron roenicke, 1983 topps

strangely, i don't have very many 1983 topps cards signed.  in fact, the only ttm success i have aside from the brewers manager is jerry reuss.  that's probably because i don't have any doubles from this set lying around.  i do have a nice dave stewart signed card that i purchased a while back, though.

rafael landestoy, 1983 topps traded

landestoy likes the high heat!  he's a double dipper and part of the 1978 topps dodgers burger king/update set.  i also have signed cards from this set of jose morales (who was somewhat inexplicably included in the set), and pat zachry.

here's the list of each year's representative card (so far):

1951 topps - preacher roe (purchased)

1952 topps - rocky bridges

1953 topps - bobby morgan

1954 topps - billy herman (purchased)

1955 topps - don zimmer (purchased)

1956 topps - randy jackson

1957 topps - carl erskine

1958 topps - joe pignatano

1959 topps - fred kipp

1960 topps - chuck essegian

1961 topps - bob aspromonte

1962 topps - norm sherry

1963 topps - ed roebuck

1964 topps - ken mcmullen

1965 topps - dick tracewski

1966 topps - john kennedy

1967 topps - phil regan

1968 topps - jim campanis

1969 topps - jeff torborg

1970 topps - al mcbean

1971 topps - sandy vance

1972 topps - manny mota

1973 topps - wes parker

1974 topps - claude osteen

1974 topps traded - jim wynn

1975 topps - ron cey

1975 topps mini - joe ferguson

1976 topps - bill russell

1976 topps traded - dusty baker

1977 topps - steve garvey

1978 topps - dave lopes

1979 topps - charlie hough

1980 topps - jerry reuss

1981 topps - doug rau

1981 topps traded - ken landreaux

1982 topps - dave goltz

1982 topps traded - jose morales

1983 topps - ron roenicke

1983 topps traded - rafael landestoy

vic davalillo (among others) was missed in 1981 topps

he wasn't alone, either.  even though both davalillo and manny mota were active in 1980, mota was absent from a topps set for the first time since 1963.  that was also the first year davalillo was featured in a set, although he missed out from 1975 through 1977 while he was playing in mexico, and was last included in a topps set in 1979.  you saw (i hope) the 1980 card i created for davalillo to fill the void that year, and now i present the 1981 topps vic davalillo card that should have been.

the photo i used was taken from one of the dodgers' photo albums from the late 1970's.  here's the back, with his complete career stats - a true final tribute.

whoever set that type must have been drunk.

davalillo actually had a final tribute card in 1981, thanks to fleer which included cards for both davalillo (front)

(back)

and mota

in their 1981 set.  mota also got some love in the 1981 donruss issue.

but alas, there was not topps card for the (at that time) man with the most career pinch hits.  you'll note that donruss lists him as a coach, so i made two versions of the 1981 topps manny mota card that should have been - coach

and player

mota did nothing but pinch hit once he was reinstated late in the 1980 season.  he would retire again after the season, but, as the back of his 1981 donruss card predicted,

mota was called into duty by the dodgers once again, although it wouldn't be until 1982.

last but not least, jerry grote also came out of retirement to play in 1981, and should have been included in the 1981 topps traded set (in my opinion).  i mean, if doug rau gets a card despite not playing in a game after june of 1981, then grote deserved to be in there.  although not at the expense of the only doug rau as an angel card - that would not have been good.
here is the 1981 topps traded jerry grote card that should have been.

that's grote's image from his 1979 topps card.  i reversed it and added the 'kc' to his cap.  like mota, grote first entered the topps set in 1964. and, like davalillo, he was not part of the 1977 or 1980 sets thanks to a couple of bouts with retirement.  he missed the entire 1979 and 1980 seasons before agreeing to terms with the royals for the 1981 campaign.  they wound up releasing him in august, but he signed on with the dodgers (who had released joe ferguson earlier in the year) to help back up steve yeager and mike scioscia.  as a result, grote won his second world series ring as the dodgers beat the yankees in the fall classic, even though his second turn as a dodger amounted to just 2 at bats in 2 regular season games.

so, now we are caught up with how things were and how they should have been for the 1978 topps dodgers in 1981.  we'll move on to 1982 soon.