on the links with a dodger double dipper

[this is the forty-ninth 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, tim wallach, jerry grote, don sutton, ralph branca, todd hundley, elmer dessens, and guillermo mota.]

joe beckwith was drafted and signed by the dodgers in the 1977 june draft.  two years later, he made his big league debut in a game against the expos at dodger stadium.  beckwith wound up pitching in 17 games during the 1979 campaign, all in relief.  he finished the season with a 1-2 record, a couple of saves, and a 4.34 era. he was in the 1980 topps set

and back with the big club that same year, pitching in 55 games - again all in relief - and posting a 3-3 record with a 1.96 era.  things were looking good for beckwith heading into the 1981 season until an eye injury suffered in spring training caused him to experience double vision and miss the entire season.  he was able to return in 1982 after having eye surgery.

a footnote to history - the cubs and dodgers were in discussions about a trade that would have sent mickey hatcher (another double dipper) and beckwith to chicago for old friend bill buckner, but that fell through when beckwith's vision problems surfaced.  instead, the dodgers sent hatcher to minnesota for ken landreaux, and buckner did not join the pantheon of dodger double dippers.

anyway, beckwith returned to the majors in july of 1982, and stayed there with the dodgers through the 1983 season.  he was 5-5 with 2 saves over the course of those two seasons, and got his first taste of postseason action in the 1983 nlcs with 2.1 scoreless innings in 2 games against the phillies.  after the 1983 season, however, beckwith was traded to the royals for three minor leaguers.  here's his 1984 fleer update card

beckwith appeared in a career high 49 games in each of his seasons as a royal, going 8-4 with a 3.40 era in 1984, and 1-5 with a 4.07 era in 1985.  but, although 1984 was the better season for him individually, it was in 1985 that he was able to pitch in the world series for the only time in his career.  beckwith appeared in one game of the fall classic against the cardinals (game 4) and recorded three strikeouts while allowing no runs and just one hit in 2 scoreless innings of work.  it was his final appearance as a royal, as he was released by kansas city the following spring.  he soon after signed on with the blue jays and was assigned to their aaa affiliate where he pitched until the dodgers purchased his contract on july 31, 1986.

back in la, beckwith appeared in 15 games and did not earn a decision.  his first and last outings were by far his worst of the season, allowing multiple runs while recording just one out, and he was released after the season ended.  sadly, there are no 1986 traded or update cards featuring beckwith as a dodger, nor were there any cards made for him in 1987.

i do have, however, a few cards that he signed for me through the mail, including his 1980 topps rookie card

his 1981 topps card

his 1984 fleer card (hello chavez ravine)

and his 1984 topps card

on a personal note, beckwith was the celebrity in my dad's golf foursome in the don sutton celebrity golf tournament that was held on the central coast back in 1980.  he signed the back of the tournament dinner ticket for me

i'll show the front of that sucker in a future post.

here's to you joe beckwith, thanks for double dipping and signing stuff for me!

1984 fleer got along well with dodger stadium

back in 1984, i got a sense of how yankee fans might have felt in 1978 with their stadium turning up as the background on so many cards of other teams' players.  fleer photographers set up camp in chavez ravine and worked their craft.  here's jim barr, standing in front of the screen behind home plate.

lee tunnell is standing in a similar spot, though not quite as close to the limits of foul territory behind the plate.  he is distracted by something, perhaps a comely dodger usher in her skirt and fancy straw hat.

steve bedrosian is not the only, nor the first brave ( see len barker's 1984 fleer card) to be captured hanging out in dodger stadium

based on where he is standing, maybe lee tunnell was looking at bedrock and not an usher.  weird.

terry forster returned to dodger stadium, sans chaff of wheat, on his 1984 fleer card

i understand that forster may be ill - here's hoping he's ok.

i don't know who scott holman is, but he gets an 'in action' shot on his card

similar to steve carlton's card.  here's some more action, and another brave, it's bob horner

that glove belongs to steve yeager, mike scioscia or maybe even jack fimple.
the grinch, ed lynch, is almost smiling with the right-center field part of the pavilion behind him

much better than his 1987 topps card

lee mazzilli strikes a 1978 topps richie hebner pose, without the laid back smile

biff pocoroba, on the other hand, gets his squinty smile on

squinting, perhaps, to try to figure out what is going on behind manny sarmiento

someone should tell sarmiento that black mesh offers little protection when the photographer uses a flash.  good thing he has an undershirt on.

here's the link to steve carlton's card i mentioned earlier.  mike scott gets a similar look

while rod scurry celebrates movember in style.

finally, tom terrific looks terrific in dodger stadium.

i think seaver's 1982 fleer card also features the house that o'malley built.  i don't know exactly how many cards in the 1984 fleer set feature dodger stadium as a backdrop, but i am sure there are more (i don't have a 1984 joe beckwith card scanned, but i know his card is one).

but fleer didn't stop there - they sent the photographers back out to dodger stadium to populate photos for their landmark 1984 traded set.
here's former dodger johnnie b. baker

who returned to the stadium in the enemy's clothing.  boo, hiss.
ron darling may have been standing next to ed lynch

he and scott proctor are two pitchers i can think of quickly that wore number 44, traditionally a hitter's number.  are there others?

ron hassey - finally a card not featuring a brave, met or pirate

it looks like there is a dodger lurking behind hassey in the visitor's dugout.  i can't quite figure it out, but it might be gilberto reyes.  there's a name from the ether.
future dodger ricky horton gets his squint on

his 1989 topps card had him revisiting the stadium, with a prettier background.  i'll have to show that card soon.
back to the braves with brad komminsk

in all my visits to dodger stadium, i never made it to the stadium club restaurant (the windowed level behind komminsk).  as a youngster, i didn't understand the draw to sitting in a restaurant instead of out in the sun with a dodger dog.  i still don't, really.
speaking of which, the dude behind jerry martin has probably already eaten 2 dogs and downed a bud or two

he's also checking out an usher.
gerald perry

and gene richards strike similar (curious?) poses

they feel the heat, the heat between me and you.  yes, i just worked a 'when doves cry' lyric into this post.  not that any of you are still reading at this point.
here's one of the jeff robinsons.

not sure which one.  i guess it's jeff d, since jeff m didn't break into the league until 1987.
former dodger rick sutcliffe paid a visit to the stadium when he returned from his banishment to the american league

security wouldn't let him get near tommy lasorda's office this time, however.

here's alex trevino, who in a couple of years would be wearing dodger blue, with maybe the nicest background of them all

palm trees!
finally, mike vail

wearing dodger blue in dodger stadium!

not a 'brut' sign to be seen anywhere.  take that, yankee stadium.