my favorite cards of the year - 1983 edition

i recently introduced my mini collection focusing on my favorite cards from each year that i've been a collector. the basic gist is that i wanted to create a space for the cards that i most appreciated having in my collection in the year that they were released. these were cards that i acquired in the year that they were issued, and that i considered to be my favorites at the time. i have disallowed (most) cards that are already in other mini collections in order to avoid having a mini collection consisting of more steve garvey, double plays, and dodger stadium cards.

in 1983, i was buying topps, fleer, and donruss, but was disappointed to find that, for the first time, neither donruss nor fleer had more than one steve garvey card. still, there were plenty of cards that i was happy to find and to add to my collection. 

favorite non-dodger card: topps dave bergman

what's this?! a giant card?! well, yes. 1983 topps was a favorite set of mine - perhaps my second favorite set to the 1978 topps set at the time that it was released. there are a number of cards that i was happy to have from the set - rookies of ryne sandberg, tony gwynn, wade boggs, and willie mcgee, plus the reggie smith card with sandberg lurking that features a photo taken not too far from where bergman is playing. most of those cards, however, are in other parts of my collection, so i've put bergman in this particular mini collection.

i wrote the other day about mel ott and his place in my hall of famer collection. in that post, i referenced the retired number placards that the giants had placed out in right field at candlestick park in the early 1980's. i saw them on tv and hoped that the dodgers would follow suit, but they did not.  anyway, when i saw the bergman in a pack, i immediately took a liking to it because of mel ott's placard, but also because of the action of bergman himself. it's a great photo that catches bergman as he backhanded a ball hit down the first base line, perhaps preventing extra bases. this sort of action on a baseball card was rare in my collection, and it was a breath of fresh air.

favorite dodger card: donruss steve yeager

when my little league season began in 1983, my coach asked me if i would play catcher. i had previously mostly played shortstop, but had caught in my younger little league years. i said sure, and so i became a backstop. i wasn't the best, but i still made the all-star team that year. the next year, i was in babe ruth and was moved to second base, but was also the emergency catcher.

i was already a fan of steve yeager, but his donruss card spoke to me that year as i played the position. it may not be cropped as i would like it, but it shows him in full gear behind the plate, and we get a great view of the throat protector that he helped design. before this card was released, the only cards i had of the catcher on the team of my youth in full gear was the 1980 dodgers police issue and his 1981 topps card. neither of those, however, showed him in the crouch.

that's it for 1983 - next up i think i'll revisit 1991. stay tuned.