diamond priority

keeping with my renewed focus on team set completion, i spent some time earlier this year revisiting a set that sat unfinished for 14 years. back in 2011, topps issued some new parallels to their flagship set to celebrate their diamond anniversary, and the diamond parallels were pretty sharp in my opinion. 

as of the first of the year, i was only missing those parallels of the "legends" variations - in the case of the dodgers, that meant the typical brooklyn era hall of famers and one los angeles dodger goat. without further ado, these are the parallels that completed my 2011 topps (series 1, 2, and update) diamond anniversary parallel team set:

jackie robinson

roy campanella

duke snider

sandy koufax

and pee wee reese

koufax also had a legends variation in update, but i had the diamond parallel already.

with that set out of the way, i also decided to complete the cognac parallels. 

pee wee reese

and jackie robinson

were two of the bigger cards i needed, but i also went and tracked down some lesser remembered dodgers like vicente padilla

cards like his are sometimes tougher to find than the big names, but in this case i didn't have much difficulty at all. here are the other cards i needed to complete the team set:

hong-chih kuo

chad billingsley

casey blake

ivan dejesus jr

kenley jansen

and sandy koufax

in this instance, i also needed koufax's card from update

pov when the mailman delivers a card i need to complete a team parallel set!

i am not sure if i will work to complete any of the current slate of parallels in team set form, but i have enjoyed knocking out some of these from the 2010's, so who know.

the almost daily dodger - juan uribe

here's a look at two-time world champion juan uribe in some brooklyn dodger baby blues

courtesy of his 2011 topps update diamond anniversary cognac parallel.

the dodgers wore these uniforms - a nod to the 1940's - six times during the 2011 season, which was uribe's first with the club. he was just coming off his second world series win as a member of the 2010 giants (he was the starting shortstop for the 2005 champion white sox) but didn't really hit his stride for the dodgers until 2013.

i remember hoping that the dodgers would wear throwbacks again in 2016 in honor of the 100th anniversary of their first fall classic appearance because that would have meant some sweet checkered uniforms on cardboard. no dice, unfortunately, but the team will get a new city connect uniform this year so there is that to cross your fingers on.

if i say 66, you say?

if i am being honest, when i think of the number 66, i think of mario lemieux. however, yasiel puig is a close second and is certainly the dodger that i associate with that number. however, five other dodgers have donned the dual-sixes, including mike macdougal

who did so immediately prior to puig's arrival. that card is macdougal's 2011 topps update cognac parallel which may have at one time sat in a pack next to mike trout's rookie card! value by association! in all seriousness, i am trying to collect all of the 2011 dodger diamond parallels (just need the series 1 and 2 legend variations) and the cognac parallels, and this macdougal reduced the update version of the  want list to just sandy koufax's cognac card.

in other news, we are now 66 days away from the 2024 mlb season opener featuring the dodgers and padres in south korea. lemiuex days, puig days, macdougal days...however you think of it!

shine on you crazy diamonds

every once in a while, there comes a parallel that catches my eye and inspires me to complete a dodger team set of it. 2007 topps chrome blue refractors and 2011 topps chrome atomic refractors are two good examples of such parallels for which i have completed the dodger team sets.

i can check another one off the list, and it's the 2011 topps platinum diamond anniversary parallels. with this clayton kershaw card

and this update matt kemp card

i have completed the flagship series 1 and 2 and the update series team sets of this particular parallel!

full disclosure, i still need the legends variants from series 1 and 2 (i already have the update sandy koufax sp) but i will call this complete even without those short prints.

while i was looking for those two cards, i took the opportunity to add a couple similarly themed cards from 2011 topps.  this andre ethier card

was part of a wrapper redemption offer, and this jackie robinson card

was a target exclusive. there are similar ones that were exclusive to walmart, and they are blue-themed.  there is a chance that we get a bunch of diamond themed cards again in 2026 if fanatics recognizes topps' 75th anniversary as it looks like diamonds and gold are the themes of that particular event. i'll keep my eye out for a decent parallel set in the meantime.

gone fishin'

several months ago, i read a post on fuji's blog about si for kids cards and how some were selling for a decent amount of money. i went looking for some sheets i had from 2008 and 2009, back when i had a subscription for my son. 

sure enough, i still had the sheets and so i put them up for sale. mind you, i had tried to sell these before back in 2010 or so with no takers. this time, i sold three or four of the sheets. one had a lewis hamilton card, one had a usain bolt card, and one had a steph curry (college) card. between those three sheets and a 2000 topps update miguel cabrera dupe i found in one of my monster boxes, i had flipped just about enough bait to pick up a card that i should have already owned. 

i went fishin' and reeled in a big one:

yes, i went out and bought a 2011 topps update mike trout card at just about the worst time possible. i did wait until he was on the injured list, and i "settled" for a psa 6 version, but still.  i don't think i bought any packs of 2011 update as i was on a "no more packs" kick for a little bit back then. i did buy a bunch of the dee gordon rookies, as well as the brandon crawford rookie from that set because dodgers and double plays. if only trout had been shown sliding in to second trying to break up a double play on his card, too.

i am happy to add this card to my collection, which i am trying to get to its proper configuration.  let's see it again:

that's a big fish!