it's half there in black and white

orel hershiser is one of the many players for whom i had a pc going through 2002. in 2003, i dramatically reduced the number of players that i collect non-dodger cards of, and the bulldog didn't make the list. i've considered reinstating him, as i did with fernando valenzuela, but haven't done that yet. still, i sometimes see a card of hershiser as a met or indian (or giant) and think that i should bring him back into the fold. 

his non-dodger cards sometimes pop up in a couple of my saved ebay searches, and the card below is one of those

you may say that it is clearly a dodger card because the uniform shown is clearly the back of a dodger jersey with hershiser's number 55 on display. that is correct, but the "jumbo patch" comes from his stint as the texas rangers' pitching coach because the patch is half of the black square that the team wore for their late manager johnny oates in 2005. the other half of the patch (with the "6") was on a separate card from this release, but it sold to someone else.

the card is from leaf's 2020 in the game used sports release. here is the back:

it's not the first card to mix up the image on the front with the swatch on the card - reggie jackson was confused with reggie white on one series of cards from this set - and i noticed in one of the 2023 releases that a john roseboro bat knob card featured a number that wasn't roseboro's. doesn't mean it's not valid, but it raises an eyebrow. same goes for the black bat knob that was on steve garvey's 2023 card. i don't know that he ever used a black bat in a game. makes me glad i could authenticate the bat knob and bat end that i have in my collection.

this is the first card that i own that features a game worn memorial patch, but topps has issued at least one commemorative patch card that features one

as the marlins incorporated a memorial to carl barger in their inaugural season patch. that gary sheffield card is from 2010 topps. both it and the hershiser card are in my arm band and memorial patch mini-collection as tangential cards to the theme.

there are a few patches that were worn in 2024 by various teams and i've already shown a card featuring one of them. i'll have some others in the future as i continue to be captivated by these memorials to players and other field personnel who left an impact on the franchises that they represented during their careers.