40 for 40

back in his "should have been mvp" 2011 season, matt kemp fell one home run short of becoming the fifth member of the 40/40 club. that honor has since gone to ronald acuna jr, some 12 years after kemp just missed out.

today is kemp's 40th birthday, so that's one 40 milestone he has reached successfully. in honor of his 39/40 2011 season and his latest trip around the sun, here are 40 kemp cards from my collection that i've not previously shown here.

2006 topps turkey red red parallel

2006 upper deck special fx

2007 topps chrome refractor

2008 topps chrome copper refractor

2008 upper deck timeline gold parallel

2008 upper deck ultimate collection

2009 bowman chrome

2009 bowman chrome xfractor

2009 upper deck o-pee-chee black parallel

2010 bowman chrome refractor

2010 topps chrome refractor

2011 bowman international

2011 topps attax foil parallel

2012 bowman orange parallel

2012 topps gold parallel

2012 topps walmart blue parallel

2012 topps tribute bronze and blue parallels

2012 topps update golden parallel

2013 bowman blue parallel

2013 bowman state and hometown parallel

2013 bowman platinum gold parallel

2013 topps blue slate wrapper redemption parallel

2013 topps chrome blue refractor

2013 topps chrome purple refractor

2013 topps chrome black refractor

2013 topps tribute blue parallel

2013 topps tribute superstar swatches and famous four baggers relics

2014 topps kemp green parallel

2014 topps chrome orange refractor

2014 topps chrome purple refractor

2014 topps chrome xfractor

2014 topps turkey red

2018 topps big league blue parallel

2018 topps chrome update pink refractor (all-star game)

2018 topps chrome update pink refractor 

2018 topps update (all-star game) rainbow foil parallel

2018 topps update (all-star game) rainbow foil parallel

and how about a 2013 topps museum collection primary pieces quadruple relics patch card numbered to 5 to cap things off

there are only five players better represented in my card collection than kemp, who clocks in at around 530 unique cards. i am always keeping an eye out, so that total will likely continue to grow.  happy birthday to the bison!

k is for kershaw. and kountdown.

after his start against the padres on cinco de mayo, clayton kershaw was tied with jim bunning on the all-time strikeout leaderboard with 2,855 k's. that is significant to me because bunning has always been the guy to me who got closest to 3,000 strikeouts without reaching the milestone. every non-active pitcher who has tied bunning has gone on to get to 3k. now, with both zack greinke and clayton kershaw working between bunning and 3,000 i am waiting to see if bunning will once again become the top man south of 3,000.

i have mentioned it many times before that, as a young fan, 3,000 was a number that i fixated on - both for hits and strikeouts. i remember watching the dodgers and padres on tv late in the 1978 season as gaylord perry became just the third man to strike out 3,000 batters in a career, joining walter johnson and bob gibson. within the next few seasons, several more pitchers that i followed in earnest joined the club, including steve carlton, nolan ryan, tom seaver, fergie jenkins, bert blyleven, and don sutton.

kershaw is another pitcher that i follow quite earnestly, and he pitched on wednesday against the brewers. he got the win and recorded 8 strikeouts, giving him 2,863 for his career.  now that he is past bunning, i am going to start counting down the 145 strikeouts he needs to get to 3,000. so, here are 8 clayton kershaw cards to celebrate strikeouts 2,856 - 2,863:

2,856 - 2013 bowman hometown parallel

2,857 - 2016 topps gold parallel

2,858 and 2,859 - 2019 panini donruss franchise features base and bronze parallel

2,860 - 2020 panini prizm red white & blue prizm

2,861 - 2020 topps on demand 3d

2,862 - 2021 panini donruss optic lime green prizm

2,863 - 2022 topps gallery

to summarize, kershaw is now in sole possession of 21st place all-time in strikeouts, and stands 137 k's short of 3,000. he trails zack greinke by 46 strikeouts, and is a decent bet to overtake him by season's end.

kershaw's next start looks like it will be on tuesday against minnesota. if that is the case, i am hoping for a big number as the last time he faced the twins, he struck out 13. i'll be sure to continue the kountdown regardless of how many he k's, as i have a lot of kershaw cards at the ready. stay tuned!