my favorite cards of the year - 2006 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 2006 i was having fun following the dodgers. jim tracy was out, and the kids were coming up. i was excited about russell martin, andre ethier, james loney, and matt kemp - each of whom debuted that season. i was even excited about seeing uber prospect joel guzman get the call to the majors, and he did in june of that year. mostly, i was excited about seeing nomar in dodger blue, but we'll get to that in a bit.

favorite non-dodger card: upper deck mark grudzielanek

what first struck me about this card was the color. the red pullover and the teal seats and the green grass and the white clouds combine for a nice looking card. plus, there's a bunch of stuff going on in the background. the duffle bag, pitching screen, bat weight, fungo, guy in shorts and loafers, and the field cart make this card worthy of the 1973 topps set.  and then there is what i noticed next: that grudzielanek, who is shown as a cardinal, was listed as a member of the royals. all that was missing was some good old o-pee-chee "now with" text. i soon noticed other cards in packs that i bought that were like this - doug mientkiewicz and rafael furcal were two of the first i saw - and i considered completing the full set just so that i would have all of these o-pee-chee like cards. in the end, i didn't quite make it, but i kept grudzielanek and mientkiewicz plus all of the dodgers. 

favorite dodger card: topps update & highlights nomar garciaparra

while i appreciated topps' efforts to photoshop nomar in to a dodger uniform in the opening day and factory team set releases, i really wanted an honest to goodness nomar dodger card to add to my topps flagship/update team sets that i had been curating in real time since 1978. when update was released, i was happy to see this card, although i was a bit confused as to why there wasn't just a normal card for garciaparra. this turned out to be his last topps card which disappointed me given that he was a favorite of mine.

up next - 2015. stay tuned!

350 is a magic number - 5s alive

a few weeks ago i noted that i was pondering the idea of adding a number type mini-collection to my collection. of the options i considered - 190, 272, 350, or none at all - i decided to go with 350.

i am posting cards from the same year of each decade, and so far i've shown the 8s, 7s, 6s, 3s, 2s, 1s, 4s, and 9s. this post will be all about the 5s.

1965 topps #350

mickey mantle made his final world series appearance in 1964, and although the yankees lost to the cardinals, mantle hit well with an ops of 1.258. as the card back states, he set a career all-time home run record for the fall classic as well. he passed a couple of milestones in 1964 as well, getting his 2000th hit and 450th home run. 1965 turned out to be a down year for mantle but he was immune to the whims of topps and still received card number 50 in the 1966 set. i bought this card for this mini-collection, and it remains in a psa graded case. it's only noted as "authentic-altered" because of the ink on the front. i already have a version of this card in my 1965 topps set with a better front but worse back.

1975 topps #350 

bobby murcer's 1975 topps card is an all-time classic, and i am glad to have a reason to keep this card in my collection outside of my complete '75 set. and, to have him follow mickey mantle in this post is especially cool. murcer (who like mantle was from oklahoma) was pegged as mantle's successor in centerfield for the yankees and he had some solid seasons in that role. the yankees traded murcer after the 1974 season to the giants straight up for bobby bonds, who also received an airbrush treatment for his 1975 card although what makes murcer's card so great is the american league all-star designation.

1985 topps #350

wade boggs hit "only" .325 in 1984 which lowered his career average which had been .357 entering the season. he finished third in batting average that year behind the yankee duo of don mattingly and dave winfield - the race that was memorialized on a 1985 donruss card. boggs rebounded in 1985 to lead the league with a .368 average, which kicked off a run of four straight batting titles and five in six seasons.

1995 topps #350

barry larkin makes it three hall of famers in a row. i appreciate the name cameo for pete rose on the back of the card, too. larkin had put up solid numbers in his career to date when this card came out, but he upped his game in 1995 and was voted the national league's mvp.

2005 topps #350

albert pujols and larry walker led the cardinals to a playoff victory over the dodgers in 2004, although the dodgers were able to win their first postseason game since 1988 thanks to jose lima. pujols went on to be named the mvp of the nlcs (the cardinals beat the astros), and walker continued the mash with a couple homers of his own. still, the cardinals were beat by the red sox which was fine by me given the circumstances. i have another copy of this card in my lurker collection thanks to the dodger catcher (brent mayne) watching the flight of the pujols home run. 

2015 topps #350

yasiel puig is the third dodger to be featured in these posts, and based on his first two seasons in the big leagues he was certainly worthy of card number 350. he helped lead the dodgers back to the postseason in 2014, although the result was the same with a series loss to the cardinals. puig's 2015 season was hampered by hamstring injuries, and he put up fairly pedestrian numbers when healthy. it is crazy to me that a few years later, he is not on a roster despite being only 30 years old.

i am tracking a few things in an effort to find any consistency with number 350, although there really isn't any. still, i am keeping track of the following occurrences, now through two posts:

number of reigning rookies of the year: 1 (kris bryant)

number of reigning mvps: 4 (ernie banks, frank robinson, robin yount, dustin pedroia)

number of reigning cy young winners: 0

number of reigning world series champions: 2 (keith hernandez, joe carter)

number of reigning pennant winners: 9 (frank robinson, mickey mantle, steve garvey, robin yount, jack clark, keith hernandez, joe carter, 2004 st. louis cardinals, clayton kershaw)

number of reigning league leaders: 16 (ernie banks - home runs, rbi; ernie banks - home runs; mel stottlemyre - complete games; willie mccovey - home runs; billy williams - runs, hits; garry templeton - triples; robin yount - hits, doubles; keith hernandez - walks; andy vanslyke - triples; kenny lofton - sb; larry walker - batting average; chase utley - runs; dustin pedroia - hits, runs; david ortiz - doubles, rbi; clayton kershaw - wins, era; dj lemahieu - batting average)

subset types: 2 (all-time all-stars, postseason highlights (4))

number of repeat players: 1 (ernie banks)

number of dodgers: 3 (steve garvey, yasiel puig, clayton kershaw)

frequency of teams: cardinals (7), cubs (5), astros (4), mets (4), yankees (4), twins (3), braves (3), dodgers (3), braves (3), reds (3), red sox (3), giants (3), a's (2), brewers (2), phillies (2), rockies (2), white sox, indians, blue jays, angels, rangers, orioles, rays, padres, pirates

i will have another post with another run of cards soon - stay tuned!

dale murphy is in my hall of famer collection

last week's post ended the run of current players that i have already inducted in to my hall of famer collection. now i am moving on to posts about players that i thought would be enshrined when i was following their careers, but have not received the call - yet.  

dale murphy is one of four players eligible for the hall of fame to have won multiple league mvp awards, but have not been enshrined in cooperstown. he's in my hall of famer collection, however, with this card as his entry:

that's a 2015 topps tribute foundations of greatness autograph, numbered 27/89. here's the back:

the other three players are roger maris, juan gonzalez, and barry bonds (who is also in my hofer collection). 

there was no doubt in my mind back in the 1980s that dale murphy was going to be enshrined in cooperstown. he had a 30/30 season in 1983 before i even knew that was a thing, and from 1982 through 1987, he averaged 36 homers, 105 rbi, and 18 steals per season. he won his two mvp awards, plus four silver sluggers and five gold gloves during that stretch, and was an all-star each of those seasons as well. i was also impressed that he had converted from a catcher to a first baseman to an outfielder over the course of his big league career.

unfortunately, murphy experienced a drop off in production in 1988, batting only .226 with his home run total dropping from 44 in 1987 to 24. he never hit more than that amount in a season again, and in fact, hit only 88 home runs from 1988 through the end of his career in 1993. i remember feeling badly for him when the braves traded him to the phillies in august of 1990 and said it was intended to give him a chance to win. the phils at that point weren't doing a whole lot better than the braves at that point, and of course atlanta began a run of winning seasons in 1991 that murphy deserved to be a part of.

i never saw murphy play in person, unfortunately, but i did see (and hear) him play plenty of times on dodger broadcasts. one such game was the incredible contest between the nl west rivals on september 11, 1983. murphy hit a 3-run home run to give the braves a 3-2 lead early in the game, on the way to building a 6-2 lead. the dodgers staged a 9th inning rally and won the game on a walk-off squeeze play to extend their lead in the division over the braves to 3 games. there was a lot of cheering in my house at the end of that telecast!

for his career, murphy hit 398 home runs and had 2,111 hits. hall of very good numbers, i guess.

here's my hall of famer collection as its been documented so far:

babe ruth - 2003 topps tribute world series edition world series tribute relic 351/425

honus wagner - 2001 topps tribute relic

nap lajoie - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic

tris speaker - 2011 topps tribute dual relic green parallel 53/75

eddie collins - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic

george sisler - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic

lou gehrig - 2010 topps tribute relic 96/99

rogers hornsby - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic

jimmie foxx - 2013 topps tribute retired remnants relic 91/99

mel ott - 2011 topps tribute quad relic 15/99

paul waner - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic

dizzy dean - 2001 topps tribute relic

hank greenberg - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic

zack wheat - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic 

bob feller - 2001 topps archives certified autograph

jackie robinson - 2004 topps clubhouse collection clubhouse relic

ted williams - 1992 upper deck baseball heroes autograph 1067/2000

roy campanella - 2001 topps tribute relic

stan musial - 2002 topps team topps legends autograph

yogi berra - 1998 donruss signatures significant signatures 1640/2000

sandy koufax - 1998 donruss signatures significant signatures 1707/2000

roberto clemente - 2005 donruss greats hall of fame souvenirs relic

warren spahn - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures

mickey mantle - 2000 upper deck legends legendary game jerseys relic

ralph kiner - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph

ernie banks - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures

eddie mathews - 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game autograph

willie mays - 1997 topps willie mays reprints certified autograph

al kaline - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

duke snider - 2003 upper deck sp authentic chirography hall of famers 144/250

bob gibson - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

hank aaron - 2004 topps originals 1979 topps all-time record holders rbi 03/32

frank robinson - 1995 upper deck autograph

juan marichal - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

brooks robinson - 2001 topps golden anniversary great autograph

don drysdale - 1993 nabisco all-star autographs

harmon killebrew - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures

pee wee reese - 2001 topps tribute relic

lou brock - 2018 topps archives signature series 1989 buyback 53/61

willie mccovey - 2004 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary sigs 46/50

ray dandridge - 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts a place in history cut autograph 31/43

jim hunter - 1998 donruss signature series significant signatures 0736/2000

billy williams - 2013 topps museum collection autograph 054/199

willie stargell - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures 

johnny bench - 2019 topps definitive collection legendary autograph 09/25

red schoendienst - 2012 panini cooperstown signatures 038/549

carl yastrzemski - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph

joe morgan - 2001 upper deck hall of famers cooperstown collection signature jersey

jim palmer - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

rod carew - 2004 topps retired signature autograph

fergie jenkins - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 154/333

gaylord perry - 2003 topps finest finest moments autograph

rollie fingers - 2018 topps archives signature series 1978 topps buyback 1/3

hal newhouser - 1993 front row premium all-time greats autograph

tom seaver - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 44/50

reggie jackson - 2018 topps tier one tier one talent autograph 19/60

steve carlton - 2018 topps five star career year autograph 43/45

mike schmidt - 2002 topps archives autoproof 1980 topps buyback 048/147

nellie fox - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic

phil niekro - 2017 panini donruss recollection collection 1983 donruss buyback autograph 13/33

larry doby - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

don sutton - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

george brett - 2001 topps finest finest moments autograph

nolan ryan - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

robin yount - 2001 upper deck ultimate collection ultimate signatures 112/150

carlton fisk - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures

tony perez - 2004 fleer national pastime 2002 fleer greats authentic autograph buyback 30/59

kirby puckett - 1998 upper deck retro sign of the times autograph

dave winfield - 2003 upper deck sp authentic chirography hall of famers 121/350

ozzie smith - 2019 topps finest finest origins autograph

gary carter - 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game autograph collection

eddie murray - 2004 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary sigs 45/50 

dennis eckersley - 2017 topps archives signature series 1984 topps buyback 47/99

paul molitor - 2016 topps museum collection archival autographs 021/125

wade boggs - 2005 upper deck baseball heroes autograph red parallel 30/49

ryne sandberg - 2016 topps five star autographs gold parallel 17/50

bruce sutter - 2003 topps all-time fan favorites certified autograph

tony gwynn - 1997 donruss signature series millennium marks autograph 0702/1000

cal ripken jr - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 32/75

goose gossage - 2003 topps finest finest moments autograph

rickey henderson - 2016 topps tribute certified foundations of greatness autograph 49/50

jim rice - 2005 upper deck past time pennants past time signatures

andre dawson - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph

roberto alomar - 2015 topps high tek pattern 1 grass/waves gold rainbow autograph 50/50

bert blyleven - 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams autograph

ron santo - 2004 topps retired signature autograph

tom glavine - 2019 topps tribute autograph 18/90

greg maddux - 2018 topps luminaries masters of the mound autograph 13/15

frank thomas - 2019 topps tier one autographs 42/70

craig biggio - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 019/333

randy johnson - 2019 topps tek high tek autograph

pedro martinez - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 09/60

ken griffey jr - 2003 upper deck game face autograph

mike piazza - 2014 topps five star autograph 35/50

tim raines - 2018 topps tribute tribute autograph green parallel 26/95

vladimir guerrero - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures

chipper jones - 2018 topps tier one tier one talent autograph 11/60

jim thome - 2020 topps archives signature series 2012 topps mini 1/1

jack morris - 2004 donruss timelines recollection collection 1986 buyback autograph 23/45

alan trammell - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

roy halladay - 2017 topps archives signature series 2004 topps buyback 15/23

edgar martinez - 2017 topps tribute walk off autograph 17/50

ted simmons - 2013 panini golden age historic signatures

larry walker - 1997 donruss signature series authentic signature

joe jackson* - 2001 upper deck sp legendary cuts sp legendary debut bat card

pete rose* - 2018 panini flawless legendary signatures 15/25

barry bonds* - 2001 bowman heritage autographs

roger clemens* - 1995 upper deck autograph

 

rafael palmeiro* - 2016 topps tribute rightful recognition autograph 98/99

alex rodriguez* - 1998 upper deck sp authentic chirography autograph

david ortiz* - 2017 topps clearly authentic autograph 02/25

adrian beltre* - 2019 topps tier one talent autograph 56/70

ichiro* - 2019 topps museum collection archival autograph 02/25

albert pujols* - 2003 topps autograph

miguel cabrera* - 2020 topps chrome black autograph

clayton kershaw* - 2015 topps museum collection archival autographs 43/99

mike trout* - 2016 topps strata autograph green 71/75

dale murphy* - 2015 topps tribute foundations of greatness autograph 27/89

joe mauer* - 2020 topps archives signature series 2015 topps triple threads buyback autograph 1/1

*not currently in the hall of fame

you can find the full list of hall of famers (and some not - yet) that i aim to include in this collection at my want list site.