i stopped being a team collector in 2012. that's not entirely true, obviously, but the focal point of my team collecting, up until that point, was my topps flagship and traded/update dodger collection. every year since 1980 or so, i would compile the team set with the players in alphabetical order (team card was in the first slot of the page), combining cards from series 1, 2, and/or traded and update sets in a binder separate from the rest of my dodger collection. even as i went back and completed older dodger team sets - they went in this binder that eventually became two binders. it made it easy for me to flip through the progression of the players for my favorite team.
in 2009, topps started including "legends" variations of base cards, and i went along picking up these short printed cards of jackie robinson and pee wee reese and others. all was fine until 2012 update was released. in that set, topps decided to super short print the players that were involved in the blockbuster trade between the red sox and dodgers. that meant that cards featuring nick punto, carl crawford, josh beckett, and adrian gonzalez would show them as dodgers, but they would be ridiculously difficult to find. i was ticked, as i was really looking forward to that first a-gon dodger card. this meant that my annual ritual of completing the full run of topps flagship "base" dodger cards was over.
here we are, thirteen years later, and i still cannot claim that i've completed my dodger team set from 2012 update. it's the only blemish on my record from 1954 up until that point, and it still annoys me. i did find the beckett card
for a good price a few years ago (i can't believe i didn't post about it, but i guess i didn't), and then about a year ago i won the gonzalez card
i've told this story before, but i was in los angeles when the trade went down. i remember seeing the crawl on the hotel tv that the dodgers had claimed gonzalez on waivers, but i figured nothing would come of it and that the red sox would pull him back. my son and i went to the dodger game that night, and a guy sitting next to us claimed to have some inside information out of boston and said that there would be a trade. the next night, gonzalez was in chavez ravine.
after adding the gonzalez card, i set up alerts for the punto and crawford cards, but there's been only one hit and it was for an outrageously priced crawford. annoying, but at the same time i decided to look at other dodger topps variations that had eluded me over the years.
there are still quite a few i am missing in addition to the crawford and punto cards from 2012, although the post-2012 active player short prints and super short prints are different, as they feature players who have a base card as dodgers. so, i could give myself a break but then there are still the legends, who don't have non-short printed cards. i should note that, in 2013, i got caught up in the yasiel puig bliss and wound up buying every photo variation of him and the other dodgers, so that year is complete. 2014, not so much, and not any year since, save for 2015, either. 2022 is close, but still not complete. note that i don't count the variations like the "sparkle" or sabrmetric backs or factory set - just the photo and legend variants from flagship and update packs. here is what i am missing:
2014:
331b yasiel puig future stars
400a clayton kershaw throwing
400b clayton kershaw celebrating
2015:
complete
2016:
150 clayton kershaw blowing bubble
2017:
5 corey seager horizontal
50 clayton kershaw hat off
375 jackie robinson
582 julio urias stretching
597 sandy koufax
597 kenta maeda horizontal
us50 cody bellinger pointing in gray jersey
the 2017 update variations (other than that bellinger ssp) were and are easier to come by than the series 1 or 2 variations. going forward, it seems like these variations (aside from the few ssp) were printed in greater numbers than in previous years.
2018:
42 cody bellinger warmup shirt
350 clayton kershaw t shirt
550 corey seager batting cage
550 corey seager celebrating
599 justin turner blue warm up
this kenta maeda variation
and this sandy koufax variation
are recent additions as i peck away at these needs.
2019:
10 clayton kershaw crouching
10 sandy koufax
41 corey seager blue shirt
178 jackie robinson
507 cody bellinger sliding in outfield
507 pee wee reese
658 max muncy horizontal
665 duke snider
us199 will smith yelling
the legends listed above are ssp. here's walker buehler's variation from 2019 topps
2020:
50 cody bellinger horizontal
120 sandy koufax
129 jackie robinson
235 dustin may horizontal
292 gavin lux blue shirt
381 sandy koufax
416 jackie robinson
420 mookie betts hoodie
420 mookie betts horizontal
432 walker buehler batting
432 walker buehler running bases
681 edwin rios holding bat up
u63 jackie robinson
u80 cody bellinger tuxedo
u80 cody bellinger
u90 sandy koufax
u100 david price hard hat
u234 gavin lux in dugout
u234 gavin lux back of jersey
u237 clayton kershaw at podium
u268 mookie betts hard hat
i really dislike the 2020 topps design so maybe that is why i haven't made a bigger dent in this list beyond the couple of variations i have.
is one of the only two (seager's is the other) that represents that success. here's the jackie robinson variation from series 2
the other 347 jackie listed above is an ssp.
2021:
13 mookie betts pointing
13 mookie betts headset
50 cody bellinger batting practice
256 keibert ruiz helmet off
302 jackie robinson
347 jackie robinson smiling with two bats
450 corey seager trophy
650 trevor bauer camera
us76 victor gonzalez kneeling
us200 albert pujols arm on bat
us200 albert pujols with fielding glove
us294 roy campanella
us309 jackie robinson
us309 jackie robinson signing autographs
it's funny - the year after the dodgers won the world series, this walker buehler variation
2022:
41 clayton kershaw white house podium
50 mookie betts smiling
442 jackie robinson
550 trea turner yelling
us42 jackie robinson signing autographs
us330 freddie freeman batting practice
those needs above are all ssp cards. i made a push to finish off the sp versions over the summer.
cody bellinger
mookie betts
max muncy
max scherzer
corey seager
will smith
julio urias
those are all from series 1 and 2. here are a couple from update:
jackie robinson
this is another one of those collecting endeavors that will never be completed, and i'll have to be ok with that. in fact, the more variations that were released, the less concerned i became, and with the golden mirrors that started in 2023, i don't care. i'll chase the ones that i want, sure, but the thought of even trying to complete the team set hasn't crossed my mind.
trea turner
roy campanella
to be truthful, i do consider my flagship teams complete without any short prints, but those 2012 update cards really bothered me. i still have my dodger team sets from flagship and traded/update intermixed in separate binders going up to 2011. eventually i will separate those cards out and put them with the other cards from those respective years, but i'm in no rush to do so. and, if i find those crawford and punto cards, maybe i will wait even longer.
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