after noting that the longtime most wanted card from my "nefarious nine" list was off the board (not because i had acquired it, but rather because i doubt its existence), i figured i should post some of the most recent acquisitions i have made based on cards that have been on that list at one time or another.
i'll show two "nefarious nine" worth's of dodger cards in roughly the order that i added them. unfortunately, i no longer have a record of where they sat on the list at the time of their entry into my collection. i don't have pricing handy either, although there were only a few that would have been more than a couple of bucks.
1. 1984 renata galasso baseball collector series sandy koufax
this is a pretty nondescript oddball, but i added it to the list after picking up the jackie robinson card from the same set and decided that i should go ahead and complete the two card dodger team set.
2. 2011 topps gypsy queen jon garland sp
3. 1998 topps chrome adrian beltre
not beltre's most sought after chrome rookie card, but this one helped me complete my dodger team set of '98 chrome. i had added this shortly after i picked up his 1997 bowman chrome rookie, which is the one most collectors covet.
4. 2003 topps heritage duke snider/alex rodriguez then and now
5. 2004 topps retired signature duke snider
another team set completer after i mistakenly ignored it thinking that duke was featured as a met as he had been in the 2003 set.
6. 2015 topps opening day yasiel puig opening day stars
i wanted to complete the 2014 red hot foil dodger parallel team set, and greinke was the last one i needed to do so. i see he is throwing in arizona, and i hope he signs with someone to get to 3,000 strikeouts sometime this year.
8. 1994 panini album stickers mike piazza
needed to complete the team set
this one eluded me for some reason. it's not as tough to find as these cards from 2014 opening day, but puig was pretty hot back then so maybe that's why.
7. 2014 topps update zack greinke red hot foil
9. 1998 topps tek gary sheffield
10. 2005 upper deck flyball giovanni carrara
i thought this one would be on the list for a long time, but it really wasn't. it completed the team set, and someone actually listed it on ebay for a buck or so. i figured it would wind up being a comc find but that's part of the fun of collecting - you don't know where the card you are looking for will pop up.
11. 2010 topps 206 matt kemp sp
this is the kemp card that has a different photo and different back
than his base card, but is not considered a variation because there is no card number. it completed the team set.
i went for a refractor rainbow of joc's 2017 topps chrome card, and this is the last card i picked up to that end.
12. 2017 topps chrome joc pederson green refractor
13. 2001 upper deck decade 1970s manny mota game used bat
i had finally completed the dodger team set as far as bat cards from the 2001 upper deck vintage set was concerned, so figured i would do the same for this set. with the manny, i now only need maury wills' card to finish the four card dodger set (steve garvey and bill russell are the others included).
14. 1990 baseball wit manny mota
i already had a mota card from this set, but i needed the one that was numbered on the back
it's been long enough that i miss upper deck baseball products. this was from their final release, and their lack of care regarding logos (even though it's barely visible) means it outshines panini product with ease.
i needed mookie to complete the dodger team set of chrome parallels of the overproduced insert
to complete the team set in that regard. to this day, the first mota i owned is the only dodger card i have that is the unnumbered version.
15. 2010 upper deck manny ramirez pure heat
16. 2023 topps mookie betts stars of mlb chrome
17. 1989 pacific baseball legends joe black
another card for team set completion.
18. 1994 topps gold roger mcdowell
this card completed my dodger team set of the 1994 gold parallels, and is the most recent card to be struck from the nefarious nine.
i actually owned this card at one time but sold or traded it before i decided to collect fernando's post-dodger cards as part of a pc.
and now, just like the list itself, here are some bonus non-dodger cards. these all fit into a mini-collection or player collection, just like the nine bonus non-dodger cards that currently sit on the list.
1. 1998 upper deck fernando valenzuela national pride
2. 1993 pinnacle delino deshields/carlos baerga team pinnacle
another dp turn, assumedly unsuccessful as the point of the card is that the batter reached first base on the play.
deshields is on the front of the card, but it's the baerga side that i wanted for the double play collection. bonus glimpse of gene autry's retired number on the outfield wall at the big a!
3. 2020 topps allen & ginter 9 ways to first fielder's choice
4. 2016 topps (and topps chrome) byron buxton perspectives
and
5. 2016 topps andrew mccutchen perspectives
technically, i only had the flagship cards of buck and cutch on the list, but picked up the chrome buxton at the same time. these are for my name/number on the back mini collection.
6. 2001 fleer platinum travis lee
same for this arod card. don newcombe's mural is on the wall behind rodriguez, who may well be turning two here.
it may be blurry, but that's dodger stadium's outfield wall behind lee, so this was wanted for that mini-collection.
7. 2004 donruss alex rodriguez
8. 2004 fleer ultra preston wilson
mookie's kid is also in dodger stadium, with steve garvey's mural in the background! this is one of two cards that will forever be on the most wanted list - the other is kent bottenfield's 2001 fleer triple crown card - because of garvey's appearance in the background. i've considered doing the same with thurman munson's 2023 topps stadium club card, but haven't pulled the trigger on that yet.
i currently have 10 bottenfields and the same number of wilsons, but only scanned five, along with one of the gold medallion parallels
i would love to add more!
9. 1980 topps football dan dierdorf
this card was wanted because of the black armband dierdorf is sporting. the st. louis football cardinals added the memorial for teammate j.v. cain who passed away during training camp prior to the 1979 season. it's only the second football card i have in my memorial collection, with the other being a card showing the patch the cowboys wore for tom landry.
lastly, i will show this 1993 pinnacle mike piazza home run club
card for some reason. this card came from a box set and is the lone dodger, so my team set is complete! i am not sure why it is here because it was never on the most wanted list, but yet i scanned it and added it to an early draft of this post. perhaps it was a card that was destined to join the list but was acquired before that could happen.
at any rate, there are nine dodger cards on the list today, along with nine non-dodger cards, so please take a look at my "nefarious nine" and see if you can help a blogger out. you will be rewarded!
