night owl sent a lot of lefties

i am glad that night owl is a dodger fan.  the well deserved popularity of his blog brings with it an expanded trading pool, and other dodger collectors like myself benefit from the hand me downs.

it's been quite a while since i received my most recent package of dodgers from new york state, yet i haven't finished putting together the return package.  what do you get the card collector that has too few holes in his collection?  i'm working on it.

one thing i noticed was that there were a lot of left-handed dodgers in the package he sent.  like johnny podres, of whom there was a 1961 post card

fast forward about 40 years, and we find kaz ishii on a 2002 fleer tradition update this day in history relic card

and a 2005 topps heritage chrome refractor

the relic card references may 4 (may the fourth be with you, by the way), as that was the day in 2002 that ishii made his sixth major league start, and earned his sixth major league win.  he was 8-10 over the course of the remainder of the season.  i saw his 9th start of the season in milwaukee, and he did not look very good.  he walked 6 in 5+ innings of work, but still got the win since that was the game that shawn green hit four home runs and drove in seven.

here's a 2010 topps update hong-chih kuo relic card

2010 was a good year for kuo. he was an all-star, and his era during the regular season was 1.20.  unfortunately, things seemed to fall apart after that.

2014 bowman chrome prospects julio urias

urias is 18 years old this season, and his k/9 ratio is still well above 11.  his win-loss record at the moment is 1-2 in double-a, but i don't think anyone is worried.

folks shouldn't be worried about clayton kershaw, either, as he shut out the nationals over 8 innings yesterday while striking out 14.  here's his 2014 panini prizm diamond dominance card

receiving that card in the package was a surprise, as it means that at least a couple of people bought packs of prizm and sent that card to night owl.

here's a 2015 topps fernando valenzuela highlight of the year insert

that was nice to receive.  fernando was never my favorite pitcher on the dodgers - i would say bob welch and then orel hershiser held that title during fernando's run - but his start to the 1981 season was undeniably awesome.

enough with the pitchers, here are some lefty batters that also showed up in the package.  this is a 2005 donruss champions jd drew impressions relic card

and this is a 2011 topps lineage andre ethier 1975 mini relic card

like i said, i'm glad night owl is a dodger fan.

when your postman brings a package from jaybarkerfan's junk

yes, the joy that sandy koufax is displaying on his 2013 topps update postseason heroes card is pretty much how i want to react if i were to be home when the postman drops off a package from wes at jaybarkerfan's junk.  as it is, i am left to feel the excitement when i open the mailbox after a day at work and there is nobody around to exclaim my happiness to.

the result is a trade post that doesn't really do the cards, or thoughtfulness of wes, justice.  here are some of the other goodies i received.

2013 topps heritage then and now koufax and clayton kershaw

koufax led the league in era for five straight seasons, while kershaw has a streak of four era titles in a row.  other than that, he's matched sandy in cy youngs (3 in four years) and mvp awards.  now he just needs those four world series titles...

another kershaw - 2012 topps chrome orange parallel

and a 2009 upper deck spectrum card of another all-time pitching great who once (twice) toiled for the dodgers, greg maddux

maddux won 4 cy young awards, by the way.

here's a 1982 donruss bob welch card

welch was the dodgers' number 1 pick in 1977, and he has the highest career war of any of the dodgers' first round picks in history.  his 44.2 war is higher than rick rhoden (35.9), rick sutcliffe (34.3), paul konerko (28.1), and mike scioscia (26.0), who are third through sixth on the list.  in 2015, welch will be passed by kershaw, whose war through 2014 is 41.1.

how cool are pitcher's bat cards?  pretty cool.  this is a 2005 donruss champions tommy john bat relic card

that wes included in the package.

it wasn't all pitchers, though.  here's a 2013 topps heritage matt kemp new age performers insert

he'll be doing his new age performing for the padres, unfortunately.

i had not seen a 2006 upper deck special f/x card in person before receiving this jayson werth card from wes

what is most shocking about the card is that you can see jayson's cheeks, which haven't seen the light of day since he left the dodgers for the east coast.

last but not least is this 1994 topps archives 1954 card that should have been prospects card of roberto clemente

there's a nearly identical card in the 1995 topps brooklyn dodger archives set, so you have to look closely at the back to figure out which set these cards come from.  how cool would it have been for jackie robinson and roberto clemente (who was taken by the pirates in the 1954 rule v draft) to have been teammates?  at least as cool as this trade package, but not much more.  and, as cool as this trade package was, i received another one with a fantastic piece from wes not more than a week or so later.  i'll get a trade post for that one up in the near future.

thanks wes!

dodger cards are patriotic

i bought a hanger pack of 2014 panini prizm last week primarily because i was intrigued by the 'red, white, and blue pulsar prizm refractor pack!' promised inside.  they look like bomb pops or rocket pops and are perfect for the fourth of july.  here are the three i received - former dodger kiroki kuroda

jorge de la rosa

and taijuan walker

also appropriate for the fourth of july is this 2014 topps wil myers future stars variation i found in a series 2 value box

while the futures game usa uniform is not red, white, and blue, myers is wearing the stars and stripes.  a better team usa jersey can be found on this 2013 topps joe mauer wbc card

and then there are these 2005 donruss champions cards of dodgers - al oliver

darryl strawberry

and jayson werth

- that could not be any more red, white, and blue.

the truth is, however, that when it comes to the home dodger uniform, there is nothing but red, white, and blue.  here are a couple of cards to illustrate that fact - a 2004 upper deck kazuhisa ishii at home in dodger stadium

and a 1995 upper deck collector's choice orel hershiser gold signature parallel

tailor made for the fourth of july.  happy birthday, america!

doug mientkiewicz through the mail success!

you knew i would have to follow up a billy grabarkewitz post with a similar one featuring the similarly last name addled doug mientkiewicz, didn't you?  i already featured one of the cards i received (a 2005 donruss champions (twins) card) in this post.  here are the others that i recently received back in the mail, signed by the nomadic first baseman:

2005 donruss champions (red sox)

2005 donruss champions (mets)

2007 topps allen & ginter

the donruss champion cards aren't short prints or variations - dougie just got three cards in the set.  i think his only dodger card, and may be his only dodger card, is a 2010 upper deck card.  garret anderson beat him out this spring, and so mientkiewicz is currently weighing his options.  i hope he gets picked up by someone or sticks with the dodgers in some capacity so i can try to get that upper deck card signed along with a 2004 topps which showcases the metrodome.

anyway, at one point minky was my favorite twin.  the guy hit the game winning home run for the 2000 usa olympic gold medal team, had a fantastic glove, and was fun to watch.  he had a couple of bad moments, including going public with his dislike of tom kelly and his demotion when justin morneau was called up, but he was still such a fan favorite after his trade to boston that his shirts remained full price at the metrodome concession stands.  i was impressed.

since leaving the twins, he's had a series of 'one and done' seasons with the red sox (2004 world series champion, thank you very much), the mets, the royals, the yankees, the pirates, and the dodgers.  his 2009 season was largely lost due to a shoulder injury he suffered in april after hitting a 2-run pinch hit double against the giants.

thanks doug!

i didn't make it to twinsfest this year, but...

in addition to being able to live vicariously through droidtrader's many posts, as well as those of crackin' wax, i have been doing fairly well with twins through the mail over the past year.

here's a sampling

1976 topps dave goltz

this was part of a second request to the former dodger.  i showcased the first attempt (which was also a success) here.

1978 topps dan ford

disco dan signed this 1978 card, as well as a 2004 upper deck legends card which i'll show off in a later post.  i remember dan from his angels days more than his time with the twins, but i love love love this card.

1983 jim eisenreich

jim is another former dodger, although he had way fewer dodger cards than goltz.  he did sign one of them for me, along with the 83 card shown above.

1984 donruss gary gaetti

one of the 'g-men' for the twinkies.  gaetti signed a few cards c/o baseball usa in houston.  he owns one of my favorite nicknames - 'the rat'.

1984 fleer tom brunansky

like gaetti, bruno signed a couple of cards for me.  i wasn't in minnesota at the time, but even i was shocked at the brunansky for tommy herr trade in early 1988.

1989 topps jeff reardon

the terminator is a great ttm signer, and i think he signed 3 or 4 cards for me.  the closer for the 87 world champion twins, reardon finished 4 of the 7 games and got the save in game 7.

1990 upper deck greg gagne

the other 'g-man' on the twinkies' two world series championship teams.  another former dodger, i have gone to the gaetti ttm well a few times, and he has not disappointed me.

1991 upper deck juan berenguer

berenguer was reardon's set up guy on the 87 team before going to atlanta in 91 to be their closer.  he was, of course, on the losing end of that stick, but not the way you think.  he broke his arm late in the season and missed the braves' run from worst to first.  around here, berenguer is best known for his trenchcoat and briefcase ensemble.  in fact, his bobblehead a few years ago featured that outfit.  he also signed his badass 1984 donruss card, as well as his dodger stadium featured 1992 upper deck card.

2005 donruss champions doug mientkiewicz

yet another dodger.  minky signed this and 3 other cards for me c/o the dodgers.  i sent them last summer and just got them back a couple of weeks ago.  i was a big supporter of mientkiewicz when he was here, although there's no way i keep him over justin morneau.

2009 topps allen and ginter michael cuddyer

the best active player autograph in baseball.  i love getting this guy to sign stuff.

of all of these guys, i think only goltz, berenguer and cuddy were scheduled to be at twinsfest.  still, it was the first time i had missed it in 10 years, so i am looking forward to standing in some lines next january!

indian cards giveaway bonanza!

as most of you know, david at indian cards... recently purged a bunch of cards from his collection.  i was the happy recipient of an 800 count box, filled with dodgers, twins, and blue jays (my 2nd favorite al team).

here is just a sample of the bounty i received.

1982 tcma baseball's greatest pitchers sandy koufax

this card is complete with creases and coffee stains, but it's koufax.  it needs to be celebrated.

2009 ud sp authentic chad billingsley platinum power

die-cut goodness.

1997 donruss elite hideo nomo checklist

celebrating nomo's no-no in 1996. you know, the one he threw against the rockies, in coor field, at the height of their offensive juggernaut.  also the one that bob dole claimed was thrown by a brooklyn dodger.  just before he fell off the stage.

2005 donruss champions kaz ishii jersey

this guy had more sp's and relic cards made than any other player i can think of for a couple of years.  big things were expected from him after what nomo did.  it didn't quite turn out that way, though.

1996 score sample raul mondesi

i'm pretty sure that's a sample card.  you have to know which subtle differences to look for to be sure, though.

2000 fleer focus raul mondesi

another rauuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuul card as we transition, like he did, to the american league portion of the post.  always nice to see these dual-team cards.

1981 topps ken landreaux

another american league dodger, although this card precedes his tenure in la.  dude caught the final out of the 1981 world series.

2005 upper deck classics lyman bostock

i wish bostock would get more love from the card companies.

awesome cards! this package receives the 1990 topps tommy lasorda official 'i bleed dodger blue, and i approve of these cards' thumbs up!

thanks david!