autos by brooks

i received a quick ttm return the other day from hubie brooks.  he signed a 1990 topps traded card

a 1991 topps card

and a 1991 upper deck card

i always felt kind of badly for brooks.  first, he was traded to the expos by the mets for gary carter prior to the 1985 season, so he missed out on new york's 1986 world series victory.  then, he signed a three-year deal with the dodgers prior to the 1990 season, and he promptly went out and had one of his most productive years, setting or matching career highs in runs scored and home runs while driving in 91 runs.  yes, he struck out 108 times (the third year in a row that he had struck out exactly that number of times) but he was healthy and in the lineup for 153 games and helped the dodgers climb back over .500 and finish in second place.  in return, the dodgers went and signed darryl strawberry after the season ended and sent brooks back to the mets for bob ojeda with two years left on his deal.

thanks hubie for signing my cards!

the evolution of the right fielder, part 2

we begin part 2 (here's part 1 if you missed it or want a refresher) with perhaps one of the greatest right-handed hitters in dodger history, who was eventually traded away and revealed to be a 'clubhouse cancer'.  come to think of it, we'll end part 2 the same way.

pedro guerrero (1981-1982)

petey took over for the injured reggie smith in 1981, although he wound up finishing the season as the dodgers' third baseman.  guerrero's .300 season (an all-star season, at that) helped the dodgers advance to the postseason, where he was playing third in the nlds against the astros, too. he hit only .176 in that series, although he did have a big solo home run in game 4 to give the dodgers the lead.  he was worse in the nlcs against the expos while playing right and center, but came up big in the world series where he was one of the triumvirate of mvp's as the dodgers beat the yankees.

in 1982, guerrero had his first monster season.  he hit 32 home runs, drove in 100, stole 22 bases, hit .304 with a .914 ops and finished 3rd in the mvp voting.  however, with the loss of ron cey in the offseason, guerrero was moved to third base for 1983, opening the right field door for...

mike marshall (1983, 1985-1989)

man, i was ready for marshall.  he had won the aaa triple crown in 1981 with some monster numbers, and was hitting .388 in albuquerque when he was called up for good in 1982.  now with a full-time gig in right, i was looking forward to some huge big league numbers.  what we got was pretty good.  in 1983, marshall produced a line of 17/65/.284, and capped his season with a 10th inning walk-off grand slam against the reds in september.  then, after a year in left, marshall went 28/95/.293 in 1985.  he had some ups and downs the following four seasons as the dodgers' primary right fielder, but had a big up in game 2 of the 1988 world series.  he drove in 3 runs with a triple and a home run to keep the momentum going that kirk gibson had created in game 1.  after the 1989 season, the dodgers traded marshall to the mets.  before that, however, another dodger minor league wonder patrolled right field.

candy maldonado (1984)

while mike marshall spent his sabbatical in left field after the loss of dusty baker, candido maldonado played right. he hit .268 with 5 home runs in 116 games in 1984, before joining in the game of musical outfielders and moving to center in 1985.

hubie brooks (1990)

so, the dodgers traded marshall to the mets for juan samuel after the 1989 season, and then signed another former met to play right field for them in 1990.  brooks came in and hit 20 home runs, drove in 91, and had an average of .266.  and, for the third season in a row, struck out exactly 108 times.  then, for the second year in a row, the dodgers traded their primary right fielder to the mets and signed a former met to take his place.

darryl strawberry (1991-1992)

it was christmas in november when the dodgers signed strawberry.  his first season was decent - 28 home runs, 99 rbi, .265 average in 139 games, and he made the all-star team for the eighth straight year (and final time in his career).  he helped the dodgers win 93 games in 1991, although they finished a game behind the braves in the standings.  they were actually up 1 game with 4 to play, but lost 3 in a row to lose the nl west crown.  i recall some griping in the local rags about strawberry's performance in the last couple of losses, as he was just 1 for 8 with 3 strikeouts.

1992 was supposed to be better, but he missed a lot of time due to injury, as was the case in 1993. still, strawberry made more starts (39) than any of the other 9 players the dodgers used in right in 1992. then, in 1994, he failed to show up for the freeway series and was found to have entered rehab. 

cory snyder (1993)

in strawberry's absence, the corndog took over most of the right field responsibilities in 1993, making 107 starts there to go along with his other appearances all over the diamond.  he helped the dodgers get back to .500 after their historically bad 1992 season, but was only a temporary stopgap as the dodgers had rauuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuul ready to go.

raul mondesi (1994-1997, 1999)

mondesi won the rookie of the year award in 1994, and spent the next 3 seasons continuing to kick ass in right field.  he led the league in outfield assists in 1994 and 1995, and won gold gloves in '95 and '97.  1997 was the year he became the first dodger to reach 30/30, and he matched the feat in 1999 when he returned to right from a year as the dodgers' centerfielder.  1999 was also the year when he hit the most dramatic opening day home run since saxy's leadoff job in 1988.  in fact, he had 2 dramatic home runs that day.  first, with the dodgers down 6-3 in the bottom of the ninth in davey johnson's first game as manager, mondesi came up with two outs and two men on base.  he launched a 3-0 pitch into the bullpen to tie the game, and then, in the 11th, he hit a 2-run walk-off to win the game.  still, he was seen as tempermental and was traded to the blue jays in the offseason for shawn green.

gary sheffield (1998)

before we get to green (in part 3), we need to recognize that gary sheffield roamed in right for the dodgers in 1998 while mondesi was patrolling center for a season. or, at least part of a season, as that all happened after the mike piazza trade went down in may of '98.  as a dodger, sheffield played in 90 games in 1998, and hit .316 with a .979 ops.  his next three seasons (as the dodgers' leftfielder) were monsters, but he had worn out his welcome and was traded to the braves, just as pedro guerrero was traded to the cardinals in 1988.

the continuing evolution of the out of place guy

i left off the last time with don stanhouse.  definitely out of place as a dodger.  his former teammate, mark belanger also joined the dodgers in the early 80's - 1982 to be exact.

after 17 years of playing shortstop for the orioles, belanger was displaced by cal ripken jr and so he headed west for his final season.  he took his 8 gold gloves and hit .240 for the defending world champs in 54 games.

a couple of years later, prior to the 1985 season, the dodgers traded for al oliver

oliver was just 2 years removed from leading the league in hitting when the dodgers signed him.  he hit .253 for them until they sent him to toronto in july of '85 for len matuszek.  when i think of oliver i think of him as a pirate or an expo.  not a dodger.  he was out of place, even though it was for just a short time.

in '86 the dodgers picked up a couple of veterans to play third base - enos cabell and bill madlock.  i don't consider them out of place simply because they stuck around for more than one season.  but, there was another third baseman in the mix in '87:  phil garner.  the dodgers traded for garner during the 1987 season, and scrap iron took to the dodgers like a fish out of water.

he hit a buck-ninety after joining the dodgers in mid-june, pinch hitting and playing some second base, short and of course some third base.  in fact, he was their primary third baseman for the last part of the season.  he signed as a free agent with the giants for the 1988 season, ending his turn as the dodgers' out of place guy after just 70 games.

after the dodgers' 1988 world championship, the dodgers and yankees essentially traded second baseman, although steve sax and willie randolph were both free agents

randolph spent 1989 as the dodgers' second baseman, and he did so admirably.  he hit .282 and made the all=star team.  donruss even made him a 'diamond king' in 1990.  speaking of 1990, the dodgers traded randolph to the a's in may of that year since they had juan samuel to play second.

the dodgers then acquired another short-timer for the 1990 season in hubie brooks

brooks was the dodgers' right fielder in 1990 and didn't do too badly - he tied his career high of 20 home runs and drove in 91, but the dodgers signed darryl strawberry for the 1991 season, so brooks was sent packing.

they replaced brooks as the out of place guy for the 1991 season with a hall of famer - gary carter!

carter had been with the giants in 1990 after bottoming out with the mets in '89.  he caught (as mike scioscia's backup) but also played some first base for the dodgers.  he hit .246 with 6 home runs and was re-acquired by the expos for a farewell tour in time for the 1992 season.

in the ensuing seasons, the dodgers employed the services of a few different players who didn't stick around long - todd benzinger, jody reed, jeff treadway, roberto kelly, mike blowers, darren lewis, and otis nixon to name most of them.  but the next truly out of place guy was bobby bonilla.

acquired in the mike piazza trade, i don't think the dodgers could get rid of bobby bo quickly enough.  they really wanted sheffield and were ready to commit to 19 year old adrian beltre at third base.  still, bonilla matched beltre's production although just barely.  bonilla was traded to the mets after the season ended and steve phillips went nuts.

coming soon, the out of place guys of the 2000's!

bo knows dodger stadium

a while back i advertised some yankees cards that i wanted to trade for dodgers. bo at baseball cards come to life answered the call and sent a truly fantastic package of dodgers, double plays and cards featuring dodger stadium. it was the cards featuring dodger stadium that caught my attention, because there are some real beauties in there. let's look at some.

we'll start with 1993 upper deck eric davis.

this is one of my favorite cards - period. davis in the home whites, chasing a flyball down the right field line towards the low fence and the mustard field level seats. this is the same area where milton bradley famously spiked a water bottle a few years back. i used to sit in these seats (although usually on the left field side) and peek into the bullpen while pitchers warmed up. eric davis may have struggled to live up to the expectations coming home to la, but on this card, he's perfect.

1991 fleer damon berryhill.this card is interesting, not only because it features a play at the plate at dodger stadium, but because berryhill did not appear in a game at dodger stadium in 1990. i believe that this photo is from the game on may 7, 1989 - orel hershiser vs. greg maddux - and that's mike davis about to be tagged out at the plate in the third inning. the dodgers would knock maddux out of the game in the 4th, but lose 4-2 anyway. i don't think i was at this game - i am pretty sure i was recovering from seeing the replacements for the first time the night before or heading up to poly royal.

1993 topps stadium club john kruk.i am really hoping brett butler beat the throw. kruk played in six games against the dodgers at dodger stadium in 1992. the first (and only one i checked at baseballreference) was april 29th. in that game, butler did beat out a bunt to second, so let's go with that.

1993 fleer ultra darren daulton.another phillie in dodger stadium. can't tell who's on deck though.

1993 donruss mark gardner.the field level scoreboard is always a dodger stadium giveaway. gardner was the guy who had a no-hitter after 9 innings in 1991 against the dodgers, but lost the no-no and the game in the 10th. two days later, dennis martinez threw a perfect game against the dodgers.

1993 donruss bret barberie.this card is painful to look at. too hard to tell who the dodger player being hammered in the groin is, but i secretly hope it was eric karros. upon further review, barberie got a putout at home plate in the bottom of the first on july 6, 1992 on a relay that went 2-5. the victim? mike scioscia.

1992 upper deck ted power.there's that scoreboard again. power is a former dodger who was traded for mike ramsey. no, the other one. the one who was voted the most obscure dodger at jon weisman's dodger thoughts.

1991 upper deck ted power.two in a row. here's a good shot looking up at the different levels of dodger stadium. the best part about this card, though, is the ball next to power's head. it looks like he's about to use his laser vision to blast it to pieces.

1991 upper deck stan belinda.another pirate in dodger stadium. here you have the stands transitioning to the left field pavilion with the diamond vision screen and the good ol' unocal logo up top. this card comes with a bonus - check out the back:more dodger stadium goodness!

1990 upper deck jose lind.and another pirate. looks like lind was out at second base. he wasn't caught stealing at dodger stadium in 1989, so maybe it was a force or the front end of a double play. i'll let this one be a mystery. nice dodger stirrup, though.

1991 topps doug drabek all star.might as well stick with the pirates. this is the classic dodger stadium rhp shot with the visitor's bullpen in the background. i love how the bullpens at dodger stadium are set up so the pitchers and coaches can sit in a chair and watch the game. no benches parallel to the field level stands here. no sir.

1990 fleer jeff robinson.one more pirate, and a different shot of the right field side field level scoreboard with its own unocal 76 logo.

1990 fleer dwight gooden.not a pirate! here's the left field side field level scoreboard and its unocal 76 logo.

1987 donruss ken dayley.just as 1981 donruss featured an inordinate number of wrigley field shots, 1987 and 1989 donruss seem to have a lot of dodger stadium shots. here dayley is outshone (?) by the beauty of the outfield pavilion in the background, and he knows it.

1987 donruss benito santiago.a rated rookie padre in dodger stadium.

1987 donruss buddy bell.here's a pretty standard 'right handed batter at bat in dodger stadium' card.

1990 upper deck bryn smith.ditto. i secretly wanted smith to pitch from the dodgers. he had ties to (and now lives in) the central coast where i grew up. one of the greatest beards, too. well groomed - it looked like the beard of the young kris kringle in those rankin & bass christmas specials.

1988 fleer dave meads.now we're down by home plate with the old dugout box seats where mike brito used to stand with his panama hat, cigar (unlit) and radar gun. good times.

1991 upper deck rob dibble.now we're getting into some great finds. bo must have really spent some time looking through the cards because the dodger stadium element is pretty tough to see at first glance. there's just a little bit of the pavilion, the main scoreboard and a light stanchion off to dibble's left. awesome.

1991 upper deck joe oliver.not much going on here, but turn it overand you'll see oliver heading to the mound with the field level scoreboard in the background. fantastic.

1992 upper deck armando reynoso.again, pretty nondescript until you flip itnow you see the right field pavilion with joe ferguson lurking in the background!

1991 upper deck hubie brooks.not a dodger stadium shot (holman stadium, i believe). just curious about the person behind hubie. it looks like they're wearing the skirt uniform that the dodger stadium female ushers wore, but in shorts style. i am confused.

there were also some double play cards, like this 1993 upper deck mike bordick.it features a nice double play turn with dave winfield sliding in. bonus double play action on the back!

and we'll end with a few dodger catchers.

first, all-time greats roy campanella.and finally, the dodger back-up triumvirate from 1978 on their 1979 topps cards:

joe ferguson jerry grote johnny oateswith steve yeager also in the set, the dodgers may be the only team to garner cards for 4 different catchers in one issue. who knows?

bo, thank you for taking the time to put together such a great and enjoyable package.

a trade of traded trading cards from detroit tigers cards

i made a trade a while (and it has been a while - sorry about that) with rob at detroittigerscards trading tigers for dodgers. i would like to think we both came out ahead.

rob took the meaning of 'trade' seriously, and sent me a bunch of traded or update set singles. well done! here are just a few:

2007 topps update & highlights david wells. boomer just signed on as an analyst on tbs. should be good times. i always thought he would go the rod beck route and live in a trailer next to a minor league park somewhere. which reminds me, i need to get on that 2008 topps david wells final tribute. someday...

1985 fleer update bobby castillo i will go ahead and state the obvious here - he looks a heck of a lot like cheech marin. always good to see the dodger stadium field level scoreboard.

another dodger stadium shot, and another 1985 fleer update. this time it's mariano duncan. a homegrown talent, duncan was the heir apparent to bill russell and hair apparent to eriq lasalle in coming to america. let your soul glow!

yet another 1985 fleer update and dodger stadium background. say hello to al oliver. oliver spent just half a season in la before being traded to the blue jays for len matuszek. both teams made it to the postseason, so i guess everything worked out. baseball reference shows oliver's closest comparison to be steve garvey. get out!

1989 score rookies & traded john wetteland.wetteland was returned to the dodgers by the tigers (who had selected him in the rule v draft) prior to the 1988 season. i guess they didn't want him either. the dodgers wound up trading him a couple of years later in the eric davis deal (the reds flipped him to the expos). that makes 3 teams that didn't want him. he went on to save 330 games over the next 9 years, and was the 1996 world series mvp.

1990 score rookies and traded don aase. 3 and 1 with 3 saves for the dodgers in 1990. and with an era of almost 5!

1990 score rookies and traded hubie brooks. i am a fan of the photo from behind. maybe because that's how i usually see batters when i am at the stadium. the dodgers got a decent year from brooks before trading him to the mets for bobby ojeda.

1990 score rookies and traded stan javier.javier was a member of the 1988 a's. ha. the dodgers got him for willie randolph in 1990. he played for them for a couple of years (even showing up at 1st base a couple of times) before being sent to the phillies.

1990 score rookies and traded juan samuel.
i had high hopes for samuel. sure, he struck out a lot, but he could run and had some good years for the phillies. well, he still struck out a lot and didn't really bounce back from his poor 1989. for me, he was the epitome of the 180-degree departure from the dodger way of developing the talent from within. luckily, they would get back to that approach in the next couple of years.

thanks rob!