sunday morning target dodgers

for the second day in a row, i am leading off a post with a card of jim lefebvre! it's lefebvrepalooza time, apparently.  yes, jim lefebvre's card was on this week's sheet of 1990 target cards.  let's have a look (at 14 of the 15 from that sheet, anyway).

jim lefebvre

he's turning two!  i actually put this card in my double play binder - i bought a single online so that i could keep the sheets intact.  i think the only other target single i have is steve garvey.  anyway, lefebvre was the 1965 nl rookie of the year and he was also a henchman of the riddler on the batman tv show.  top that justin turner or dee gordon!

hal janvrin

janvrin was on the red sox team (along with babe ruth) that beat the brooklyn robins in the 1916 world series (he hit .217 in the series as the second baseman for the sox).  he joined the robins in 1921 following a midseason trade from the cardinals, and remained with the club through the 1922 season.

roy jarvis

jarvis may well be the shortest tenured of all the dodgers.  as an 18-year old in 1944, he had one solitary plate appearance and struck out (he also caught a few innings that day).  it was his only appearance as a dodger, although he did resurface in the major leagues with pittsburgh in 1946 and 1947.

tim jordan

jordan is the only member of the brooklyn/los angeles franchise to have led the league in home runs more than once - his 12 home runs led the national league in both 1906 and 1908.  jordan spent 4+ seasons with the superbas before his big league career ended in 1910.  he continued to play minor league ball until the age of 41.

frank kellert

kellert spent only one season with the brooklyn dodgers, but it was a good one.  he was acquired via trade from the orioles in march of 1955 in exchange for erv palica, and he went on to appear in the only world series that the brooklyn dodgers won.  kellert hit .325 in 39 games during the regular season, with many of his appearances coming as a pinch hitter.  in the world series, he was 1 for 3 (all appearances were as a pinch hitter) although each game he appeared in were games the dodgers lost.  after the series, kellert was claimed on waivers by the cubs which was unfortunate because topps then had time to put him in a cubs hat on his 1956 topps card.  kellert did get a dodger card in the 1995 topps brooklyn dodger archives set, though.

clyde king

this card would have been killer in color - it would be great in the 1957 topps set.  anyway, king is a dodger double dipper and a former yankee gm.

tony lazzeri

speaking of yankees, lazzeri is best known as the second baseman for the yankees (including the 1927 club), as he spent 12 seasons in new york and won 6 world series between 1926 and 1937.  lazzeri joined the cubs in 1938 and took them to the world series, where they lost to the cubs thanks to a called shot and a billy goat, supposedly.  in 1939, he returned to the east coast as a member of the brooklyn dodgers.  he hit .282 in 14 games for the dodgers and was released.

bill marriot

marriot played for the robins in 1926 and 1927.  he was the team's primary third baseman in 1926, hitting .267 in 109 games.

len matuszek

a modern era dodger!  matuszek came to the dodgers in 1985 in the al oliver trade with toronto.  he stuck with the team as a pinch hitter through the 1987 season, and was 1 for 1 in the 1985 nlcs.

fred mitchell

mitchell's contract was purchased by the superbas during the 1904 season.  he made 8 starts for them that year, and had a record of 2-5.  he returned for the 1905 season, and was 2-7 in 12 pitching appearances, although he also played in the field in more than a dozen other games.  he spent the next few seasons in the minors, but returned to the major leagues in 1910 with the new york highlanders (yankees) as catcher.  mitchell later turned to managing and led the 1918 chicago cubs to the world series in that role.

eddie morgan

morgan hit .188 in 31 games for the 1937 brooklyn dodgers following a cup of coffee with the 1936 saint louis cardinals.  morgan has the distinction of being one of the few players to hit a home run in his first major league at bat, and it was the only home run of his career.

val picinich

valentine here was a catcher who joined the robins in 1929 and stayed with the franchise until he was released during the 1933 season.  he appeared in a total of 187 games during that span, and hit .255 with 6 homers.

bill schardt

schardt's major league career consists of 46 games spread over the 1911 and 1912 seasons, all as a dodger.  he posted a record of 5-16 in those appearances and completed 10 of 22 starts.

nick tremark

tremark also spent his entire big league career with the dodgers.  he played in 35 games over the course of three seasons - 1934 through 1936.  he hit .247 and at 5'-5", he was the freddie patek of his day.

thanks as always to baseball reference for shedding light on these guys.  it makes the set much more enjoyable the more you know about the players.

len matuszek through the mail successes!

the dodgers have long had a history of employing some of the best pinch-hitters in the history of the game.  manny mota, of course.  also, vic davalillo, jose morales, lenny harris, and dave hansen (plus a dramatic pinch hitter, kirk gibson).  al oliver had still been a regular in the giants' and phillies' lineups in 1984, but the dodgers were hoping that he would be a potent left-handed bat off the bench when they acquired him prior to the 1985 season to be primarily a left-handed bat off the bench.  unfortunately, the dodgers were forced to use him as their regular left fielder to start the season despite the fact that oliver hadn't played there with any regularity since 1980.  after a dozen or so starts, oliver was moved back to the bench, but injuries, coupled with the inconsistencies of not playing every day led to struggles, and the dodgers wound up dealing him to toronto in july.  the guy they got in return had been the best pinch hitter in the national league in 1984, len matuszek.

matuszek signed some cards for me through the mail a couple of years ago.  here's his 1986 donruss card

and his 1986 topps card.

he must have shaved his mustache sometime in 1986 - here's his 1987 fleer card

and his 1987 topps card

i had to be careful back in 1987 - i recall almost discarding that topps card into my doubles pile when opening a pack because at a quick glance i thought it was greg brock's card, which i already had.

matuszek was just 2 for 17 as a pinch hitter for the dodgers in 1985, but he was also thrust into the left fielder's spot late in the season, and he hit much better when he was playing in the field.  he got only one official at bat in the 1985 nlcs, and it came as a pinch hitter in game 4 (he had been announced as a pinch hitter in game 3, but was called back to the dugout when the cardinals made a corresponding pitching change).  in his at bat, matuszek singled and later scored in the dodgers' 12-2 loss.  it was the only postseason at bat of his career, but not his final postseason appearance.  that came in game 5 of the series, when he was a defensive replacement in the bottom of the 9th inning.  with matuszek at first base, ozzie smith hit his one-out walk-off home run off of tom niedenfuer.  folks in saint louis went crazy.

meanwhile, al oliver was tearing it up for toronto in the alcs, including hitting a game winning pinch hit double to drive in two runs in game 4 against the royals.  oliver was done after the blue jays lost the series to the royals, but matuszek returned to the dodgers for the 1986 and 1987 seasons.  unfortunately, he never was able to duplicate the pinch hitting prowess he had shown with the phillies in 1984.

thanks for signing my cards len!

topps dodger autograph project - 1984 through 1989

the mid-80's were still heady days in southern california.  the dodgers were in the postseason, in odd years at least (through 1985), and also if 1988. and, they still had a few members of the team of my youth kicking around through the middle of the decade.  let's take a look at some of my ttm successes from 1984-1989.  as usual, thanks to the lost collector for the inspiration for these posts.  these autographs were obtained through the mail for free, and the players shown have not shown up in the topps dodger autograph project before.

1984 topps, fernando valenzuela

fernando is a fickle signer, at least in my experience.  i'm not complaining, though - he has signed a few cards for me.  i also have received 1984 topps cards signed courtesy of dave anderson, candy maldonado, mike marshall, jose morales, tom niedenfuer, jerry reuss, derrel thomas, and pat zachry, as well as joe beckwith and rafael landestoy.

i only have one 1984 topps traded card signed, though, and it's mike vail.

1984 topps traded, mike vail

i don't count the traded sets towards the successful completion of this project, but if i have 'em i will show 'em.

1985 topps, burt hooton

hooton has signed for me a few times.  i have also had success with 1985 topps cards from dave anderson, greg brock, rick honeycutt, mike marshall, candy maldonado, tom niedenfuer, jerry reuss, steve sax, franklin stubbs, fernando valenzuela, and pat zachry.  plus sid bream.  i should show his cards sometime.

here's where the topps traded successes come to an end.  i would love to get al oliver to sign one of his cards, and i have sent a card to mariano duncan without success.  bobby castillo and ken howell are the other dodgers to appear in the set.  castillo has signed for me, with a fee, but i didn't sent his '85 tt card.  howell has also signed for me, but again, i didn't send an '85 card.

1986 topps, enos cabell

cabell was one of many who tried to replace ron cey.  he hit .292 down the stretch for the dodgers after they acquired him during the 1985 season.  in the nlcs against the cardinals, however, he was just 1 for 11.  1986 was the final season of his career - he went out a dodgers.  other dodgers who have signed their 1986 topps card for me include bob bailor, greg brock, rick honeycutt, jay johnsone, tom niedenfuer, jerry reuss, bill russell (dodgers leaders card), steve sax, len matuszek, and bill russell.  i also have a ken howell signed card that i picked up in a lot on ebay.

1986 topps traded is another shutout for me.  my options there are ed vande berg (sent, but not yet received), franklin stubbs (i should send - he's a good signer), and alex trevino (haven't sent - don't think he signs ttm).  if i get the vande berg back, i'll update the post.

1987 topps, steve sax

saxy!  when i first started sending cards ttm, sax didn't sign.  but then he started signing profusely.  i am grateful.  other 1987 topps cards i have successfully obtained with signatures through the mail came from greg brock, ron perranoski, mariano duncan, rick honeycutt, mike marshall, tom niedenfuer, jerry reuss, bill russell, steve sax (regular base card), franklin stubbs, reggie williams, ed vande berg, maury wills (with fee) as well as len matuszek, and bill russell and a fernando valenzuela card i picked up by trade.

1987 topps traded, matt young

back with a traded success in 1987.  there were 7 dodgers in the set, and i think tim leary and mickey hatcher might sign as well.  but, i only have the young card signed.  he signed some other cards for me, too.

1988 topps, len matuszek

matuszek's final season was in 1987, so this would be his final tribute card.  he's signed a couple of other cards for me, which i don't think i have featured here yet.  other dodgers who have signed their 1988 topps cards for me include phil garner, tim leary, ken howell, mike marshall, steve sax, franklin stubbs, matt young, and glenn hoffman.

i'm without a success from the 1988 topps traded set. kirk gibson, mike davis, and jesse orosco don't sign, but i might be able to get a tim belcher, alfredo griffin, or jay howell success.  i'll have to work on that.  not sure why mickey hatcher wasn't in the traded set that year; i'm sure he would sign for me.  oh wait, he did.

1989 topps, mickey hatcher

the stunt man has signed for me a couple of times.  i am glad to see him back with the dodgers even though i don't know exactly what he does.  i have also received 1989 topps cards signed by dave anderson, alfredo griffin, ricky horton, jay howell, tim leary, franklin stubbs, john tudor, tracy woodson, plus ramon martinez (with fee), and tim belcher.

no dice from the 1989 topps traded set.  the only dodgers in that set were eddie murray, willie randolph, and mike morgan.  i think my best chance would be to find a morgan card for sale somewhere.  maybe even around here, since he pitched for the twins (no surprise there) at one point during the latter years of his career.

until then, 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
1984 topps - fernando valenzuela
1984 topps traded - mike vail
1985 topps - burt hooton
1986 topps - enos cabell
1987 topps - steve sax
1987 topps traded - matt young
1988 topps - len matuszek
1989 topps - mickey hatcher