jim thome through the mail success!

straight outta glendale, arizona - i received a sase in the mail on saturday.  i thought that maybe it was from the injured chris withrow or perhaps a certain cy young and mvp award winning pitcher, both of whom have (or should have) received a request from me this spring.  i was wrong.

that's a 2010 topps jim thome card, signed by the one time dodger pinch-hitter.  thome works for the white sox now, and the chisox share the space with the dodgers at camelback ranch. i sent this card to thome ℅ the white sox in mid-february as some others have reported success during previous spring trainings.  needless to say, i was pretty excited when i opened the envelope.

thome was a huge fan favorite here in minny, and the only appearance he made at a twins autograph party was met with lines longer than those for guys named mauer, morneau, and even killebrew.  he hit the first walk-off home run in target field history, and about a month later he tagged the flag pole beyond the bleacher seats in right with a monster blast.  i only wish he had hit a home run as a dodger.

as an aside, i am pretty sure that's frank mccourt's smug mug right in front of thome's shin guard.

thanks for signing my card, thome!

600 non-dodger home runs for jim thome

congrats to jim thome who joined the exclusive 600 home run club tonight with not one, but two bombs in detroit.  this awesome (and perfect and immediately one of my favorites) card from 2011 topps seems appropriate

even though it's from a game at target field and is from a game against the white sox in which thome hit a walk-off homer.  he was still greeted by a crowd in detroit after 600 (which landed in the bullpen, so there was no drama about getting the ball back).

that means that as of now, thome has 36 homers as a twin to go along with 334 as an indian, 134 as a white sock (?), 96 as a phillie and exactly 0 as a dodger.  at least he has a few cards to remember his short stint in la by, like this 2009 upper deck signature stars card

a local fan shop had a private signing with the future hall of famer a couple months ago, and i figured i would get a card and my son's yearbook signed.  until i saw the price - over $100.  i still got the yearbook signed, but nothing else.  thome is also commanding a high price on baseball reference.  you can sponsor his site for $830.  there should be a fair amount of traffic the next few days, but still.

ron cey is looking like a steal at $65... 

getting caught up with the out of place guys

as fas as out of place guys go, luis gonzalez didn't have that bad of a season with the dodgers in 2007

however, we dodger fans resented him for blocking matt kemp and then complaining about losing playing time late in the season to the bison.  after 15 home runs and a .278 average, gonzalez went back to florida.
that opened the door for ned to inexplicably sign andruw jones for the 2008 season

jones hit .158 in 75 soul sucking games for the dodgers.  it's hard to believe how long it took joe torre to sit andruw down.

thankfully, ned resisted the urge to sign some other washed up outfielder for the 2009 season.  instead, he brought in orlando hudson to replace jeff kent. 

things started out well for hudson - he hit the first dodger cycle since 1970 in the dodgers' home opener and made the all star team.  but, as the season went on, he fell out of favor and was actually benched in favor of ronnie belliard.  he and his gold glove wound up in minnesota.

along with another out of place guy from 2009 - jim thome

ned wanted a matt stairs of his very own, and got thome from the white sox just before rosters expanded.  in 17 games, which means 17 pinch hit appearances, thome had 4 hits (all singles), 3 rbi and 7 strikeouts.  he was also 1 for 3 in the postseason (also just a single).  still, it's cool that there are a number of cards featuring thome as a dodger and i am happy he is doing so well in minnesota this year.

that brings us up to date with the evolution of the out of place guys (i profiled this year's entry garret anderson previously).  i can't wait to see who ned brings on board next year...

time to pay the collector

yes, it is once again time to pay up for i am joe collector's monthly box break.  while i haven't been delinquent in my payments, i have been slow in posting the bounty i have received.  here's a smattering from the april breaks.  you'll note that it's been so long that only one of the players i am showcasing is still with the dodgers!

and that player is russell martin, shown here on a 2009 topps unique card

martin's done for the year, though, so that almost counts.  in fact, he may not be back as a dodger next year.

jim thome is now a twin

along with joe mauer

ok, so mauer was never with the dodgers.  i don't know if the red or the black is the base in this set.  i think it's the black.

here's yet another twin, orlando hudson on a 2009 topps u&h card

this is also the card hudson refused to sign (but he did so very politely) at the twins autograph party.

here's his 2009 topps heritage high number card.  it's an sp, i believe.

here's that thome fellow again.

i wish he would have hit at least one homer as a dodger.

how about jon garland?

he's a padre.  i think we could have used him this season.  11 wins?  yes, we could have used him.

finally, there's mark loretta

he's retired and presumably tired of waiting for me to post his final card.

thanks for hosting the breaks, jeff.  keep 'em coming!

my obligatory 2010 topps heritage post

well, i figured i should post about the rack pack of heritage i bought.  i really haven't bought too much retail  this year, focusing instead on trades and team sets on ebay.  but, i wanted to open a pack so i found one with a dodger on top.  now, don't get upset with me - the wrappers on the rack packs are see through and i quickly saw the 'los angeles dodgers' text showing through.  here's what i wound up with:

jim thome

so happy that there are dodger cards being made of thome.  looking forward to the high numbers twins version of this, too.

james loney

two dodgers.  not bad. 

michael cuddyer

and joe nathan

it's too bad nathan is injured.  the whole state had high hopes for the first season in the new ballpark.

i also got a high number (carlos lee) and this shiny former twin, johan santana

along with a nice al kaline insert

i don't think 'claims back' is a proper phrase.  'reclaims', anyone? 

i was hoping to get a combo card just to see how they reworked some of those 1961 classics.  it's too bad there isn't a martin or ausmus brother that pitches for the dodgers.  it would have been nice to see a remake of this awesome 1961 card

here's where most people seem to mention the 'blah' design of 1961.  not me. i kinda like it, even though the rest of the pack has been emptied into my trade box as i am not going to collect this set.

i'm really not looking forward to 2017 though...

the flying dutchman delivers, unlike the georgia peach

last year i bought a topps cereal box in pursuit of the jackie robinson shiny insert.  i passed on a box with jackie's picture on it, figuring that would be too obvious, and picked a ty cobb box.  that box had the ty cobb shiny insert.  go figure.  this year, i skipped lou gehrig and went for honus wagner.

let's see how he does.

there were 3 or 4 twins in the first few cards, but not much else to be excited about.  then there was the a's franchise history rickey henderson card, which is not too bad

my first dodger of the box, sort of.  russell martin lurking on matt holliday's card.

hey it's a million card giveaway thingy.

let's see what i get....

could have been worse.

now the good stuff starts - golden jim thome

pretty sure that's dodger owner (or part owner, depending upon who you believe) frank mccourt just next to thome's right shin.

another russell martin as lurker sighting, this time on randy wolf's card

a couple of years ago, this would have been a 'classic combo' card

manny.

i don't know about anyone else, but i am pretty tired of this pose for manny's cards.  it seems to be the only type of photo that gets used.  i'm too lazy to provide proof, but believe me, we've seen it before.

here's the last card of the box (immediately preceded by an aki iwamura photoshop job).  it's vladdy!

mercifully left in his angels garb as opposed to an airbrushed rangers uni.  that's what series 2 is for, right?

finally, the individually wrapped card.  whaddaya know?!? mission accomplished!

pinch hitters get their due - the jim thome card that should have been (and still might be)

with the arrival of jim thome in los angeles as the designated pinch hitter, it brings to mind the question of position on his 2010 cards. since 1974, 'dh' has been an acceptable position for players, including thome as seen on this 2009 upper deck o-pee-chee card.'ph' is a bit different. even manny mota, one of the best pinch hitters ever, was listed as an outfielder (and coach) on his last card, a 1981 donruss.this despite the fact that all 7 of his appearances in 1980 were as a pinch hitter. using the pinch hitter position is not unprecendented, though. take a look at lloyd mcclendon's 1992 donruss card.in 1991, mcclendon had 183 at bats including 33 as a pinch hitter, yet donruss deemed it more fitting to list him as a pinch hitter. fair enough.

and then there is perhaps the most famous pinch hitter in dodgers history: kirk gibson, who was given the title of an all star ph on this 1989 topps card.so, it would seem that we might expect to see 'ph' on thome's cards next year. heck, we could see it this year with the topps traded release. wouldn't it be nice if upper deck would update their o-pee-chee issue with this card?awesome. and even though he's only 1 for 6 so far with the dodgers as the designated pinch hitter, gibson showed that it only takes one to make it count.

garland, thome and belliard - oh my!

in what may be the last of the dodgers' 2009 goose joak originals, here are the latest acquisitions.

jon garland.jim thome.ronnie belliard.

that is all.