i've got their backs

i was pleasantly surprised to learn that there was another card release featuring steve garvey in 2018.  i didn't know what to expect when i first saw the checklist for leaf's in the game used sports set, but i think they did pretty well for an unlicensed issue.

using the backs of jerseys works for me, and the first card i picked up was this 'classic rivals' card that focuses on the 1977 world series

i've said many times that the 1977 fall classic is my first real memory of actually sitting down and watching baseball as a dodger fan, so this card is a nice homage to the beginning of my fandom.  it's not perfect - the garvey jersey shown is an away gray, but the patch used comes from a home white, and that's a fake reggie jackson jersey shown (no names on the back of yankee jerseys!) with a swatch from an angels jersey instead of yankee pinstripes.  still, i love that ron cey's red number 10 patch is represented, and i really do like this card.

garvey (and the penguin) also show up on a different 'classic rivals' card - this one focused on the 1978 pennant chase card with division rival members of the big red machine in pete rose and johnny bench.

i do not know why leaf went with photos of rose and bench, but it does detract a bit from the card's aesthetic.  1978 was the first full year of my dodger fandom, and the first year that i fully collected cards, so again, it's a great connection for me to see that season referenced on cardboard.

this set is a multi-sport release (similar to the 2002-03 upper deck superstars) and so there is some cross referencing based on cities.  this is the los angeles city of champions card (the purple parallel, anyway)

that features garvey and fernando valenzuela, along with laker legends kareem, kobe, and shaq, plus jonathan quick of the kings.  it is strange to think that the kings are the most recent champions in the city of angels.  also, to me, 32 for the kings is kelly hrudey but his tenure in los angeles didn't include a stanley cup championship so he doesn't get any play on these cards.

last but not least, garvey gets a spot on one of the multi-mvp 'mvp 8s' cards

man, these are the players of the teams of my youth. i was really pleased to see a focus on teams and players from the late 1970's and early 80's. if only don baylor and dale murphy could have found their way on to the card, too.

these are a great addition to my steve garvey collection and i think a good example of unlicensed relic cards done pretty well.

hall of confusion

back in july of 2016, i sent a ttm request to former dodger toby hall. i included one of his 2006 topps update and highlight cards - it may well be the only card showing him as a dodger - and hoped for the best.  just over twenty-six months later, i received this:

that is clearly not the card i sent. rather, it is a 2002 bowman heritage (black box version). 

this is not the first time that i've had such a mixup (rick dempsey is the other), and while i do appreciate the return of a card, i'd rather it be the one showing hall with the dodgers.  if you, or anyone you know, mistakenly received a 2006 topps update card from toby, and would rather have a 2002 bowman heritage card instead, please let me know!

wonder twin powers, activate!

form of: 

a superfluous parallel of a common base card that is collected by no one!

ok, so it's not exactly how zan and jayna did it on the super friends, but this card made me think of them.

seriously, does anyone "need" this 2018 topps ken giles rainbow foil parallel?

somewhat significantly, steve signed stickers

how many stickers should steve sign, should steve sign stickers?  a lot, apparently, as panini has included the nl iron man in a large number of their recent releases.  they've certainly been the primary source for "signed" steve garvey cards lately, and their latest example comes in the form of autographed cards in the 2018 donruss optic release.  

parallels of this release abound, and i've picked up just the regular version and the blue version

which is numbered to 20

plus the red version

numbered to 15

and also the gold version

numbered to 10

i'm not tracking the jersey number notation as a variation (i have done so in the past), as i am figuring that panini is just pulling from sticker inventory and not purposefully looking for notations.  i have no way of knowing what kind of sticker quantity panini has on their hands, but i do know that as long as there is a supply of stickers, there will be more signed cards.

in support of catfishing

i don't really fish, and i certainly don't condone the luring of anyone into a relationship by way of a fictional online personality, but i do wholly support more cards of jim 'catfish' hunter, especially when they show him dealing in dodger stadium

that card may be my favorite from 2018 topps archives.  it features a photo of hunter from game 5 of the 1977 world series (the only day world series game in which hunter pitched at dodger stadium), and the only way it could be better is if it were featured on a 1978 topps design.

hunter was one of the first non-dodger players that i started a pc of, which is weird to think about now since my first awareness of him was him pitching against the dodgers in the world series.

i found another postseason dodger stadium photo on cardboard recently - on a 2016 topps stadium club lucas duda card

hard to believe that the mets won two postseason series (including the nlds against the dodgers) just three seasons ago.

almost forgot to mention that i completed my 1971 topps set

boog powell's card was the last that i needed to complete the iconic, black-bordered set.

i also decided to go the lazy route and bought a 1975 topps set.  that means that the 1972 topps set is the only one in my way from having a complete run from 1970 through 2010.  therefore, i am putting out an apb for cards on my 1972 topps want list.  you have 'em, i want 'em.  you will be rewarded!

not waiting to chronicle these cards

cards have come in recently from peoria, san jose, pleasanton, and portland. it's always fun to find some cardboard in the mailbox!

p-town tom send me a few dodgers as i helped him with a card towards his 2018 topps big league set build. the cards he sent included this yasiel puig gold parallel from that same set

this 2018 panini donruss justin turner card

and this 2003 playoff prestige shawn green inside the numbers card

the green card is clear outside of the black borders.  all three are new to my collection.

meanwhile, fuji also sent some cards, including a 1997 fleer ultra todd hollandsworth rookie reflections

a 2018 topps stadium club matt kemp sepia parallel

and a 2018 topps allen & ginter world talent yasiel puig insert

fuji also threw in a new-to-me tatooine card

that's good stuff from fuji.  the kemp is a great one to get as he has been pretty clutch since i received mark's mailer.  coincidence?

i knew that tom and fuji were sending me cards, but mr. haverkamp's envelope was a surprise.  he found a hard-to-find 2002 disabled american veterans dusty baker card for my collection

plus some 2012 topps allen & ginter a&g backed dodger minis

it's great to know that my collections are on the mind of fellow collectors as they peruse card shows.  i know that i often look for cards for others while i am at shows, and mr. haverkamp has returned the favor.

finally, kerry at cards on cards sent me the dodger related bounty from his recent anniversary clearance.  it was advertised primarily as a minor league purge, so cards such as this 1995 upper deck sp top prospects adam riggs card

were not unexpected.  

here's another minor league card - a 2013 topps heritage minors corey seager

major league cards were also included, one of which was a 1985 donruss action all-star card of pedro guerrero.  it's an oversized card, so there is more room for stuff on the back, which is why i scanned the back

fielding stats!?  also note that the indians traded a 17-year old guerrero to the dodgers for bruce ellingsen in 1974. it has always confused me as to why the indians gave up on guerrero so early.  one of the better trades for al campanis.

there was also a pack of 1991 fleer ultra, which i could not resist opening.  it was a pretty good pack - 4 hall of famers (cal ripken jr, wade boggs, alan trammell, and paul molitor) plus roger clemens and bo jackson.  the only card that fit in my collection, however, was this pat combs card

that's some dodger stadium field level scoreboard goodness!

thanks one and all for the trades!

a tisket, a tasket, here's a piece of jacket

we've seen jerseys and patches and even pants, and panini even cut up one of steve garvey's gloves to put into some cards recently, but now we also have a jacket:

that's a jumbo jacket swatch from 2018 panini immaculate collection.  it doesn't say 'jacket' anywhere, but the official checklist lists it as such, and there isn't anything on the dodger jersey that is so largely blue and slick. makes me wonder if there is a red, white, and blue (or mcdonald's) sweat band that panini is going to cut up next...

more umpire memorials

like all mlb franchises, mlb umpires have a history of honoring the loss of members of their fraternity through the use of armbands or patches.  in 2017, there were five umpires remembered through patches worn on the sleeves of the active umpires - four were worn on the left sleeve, with a fifth added at the end of the regular season to the right sleeve.

there was an 'rg' patch for russell goetz, an 'mj' patch for mark johnson, an 'sp' patch for steve palermo, and an 'kk' patch for ken kaiser.  each square patch was worn to form a larger square, as can be seen on jose altuve's 2018 topps big league card (below the white postseason patch)

the first card that i picked up for this memorial was this 2017 topps now albert almora card

but i think i'll put that one in my lurkers collection, thanks to the presence of austin barnes.

the fifth umpire to be memorialized was negro league ump bob motley, who passed away on september 14, 2017.  unfortunately, i haven't seen a card showing his patch, although this photo from getty images does

the 'bm' patch is above the umpire's numbers.

in the 2018 season, the umpires wore three similar patches for former colleagues who've passed away in 2018

those patches are 'dr' for dutch rennert, 'dh' for doug harvey, and 'be' for bob engel.  i'll add a card to my collection if i can find one, and i'll post it here as well.

[edit - topps issued a card of umpires in 2019 that shows the patches]

same goes for 2019, which has the umpires wearing a 'jm' patch for jim mckean who passed away in january.