my favorite cards of the year - 2016 edition

i recently introduced my mini collection focusing on my favorite cards from each year that i've been a collector. the basic gist is that i wanted to create a space for the cards that i most appreciated having in my collection in the year that they were released. these were cards that i acquired in the year that they were issued, and that i considered to be my favorites at the time. i have disallowed (most) cards that are already in other mini collections in order to avoid having a mini collection consisting of more steve garvey, double plays, and dodger stadium cards.

as a fan of the game as well as a collector, it's always fun to have cards show up that are more than just a checklist filler. cards that go beyond a posed photo or headshot and deliver something unexpected. i was very pleased in that regard in 2016.

favorite non-dodger card: topps jose bautista (rainbow foil)

i've written before about my early thought (hope, really) that the photo used on gary carter's 1980 topps card came from the 1979 all-star game. it was within a few seconds of finding the card in a pack that i realized it was not from that seminal game of my childhood, but rather from a spring training matchup. still, it was a game action shot of which there were very few at that time. it seems to have taken a long time for topps to use action photos that can be tied to certain plays on the base cards (non-highlights or postseason cards) of players, and so i was surprised and pleased to see jose bautista's bat flip from the 2015 alds make the grade for his 2016 topps base card. bautista's home run capped the blue jays' comeback from a two games to none deficit in the series against the royals as it just about guaranteed their game 5 victory and advancment to the alcs, and his bat flip was the exclamation point. it was a fantastic baseball moment that caused some controversy, but i believe the reaction was unplanned and done without malice or disrespect to the pitcher, sam dyson.

favorite dodger card: panini diamond kings walter o'malley

speaking about being surprised, i had to do a double take when i saw that o'malley was on the checklist for diamond kings in 2016. upper deck had previously given us cards of former dodger general manager al campanis and executive branch rickey, but we hadn't seen one of the guy who moved the dodgers to los angeles. i tried my hand at creating a couple of cards for my collection of o'malley, but having a honest-to-goodness card of him tops that, hands down. and it only took six years after i asked the question, where are the walter o'malley cards?

up next, 1982. stay tuned!

rod has some dodgergraphs, too

i had the pleasure of meeting rod from padrographs in person as part of the great nw bloggers summit when i was in portland for business a couple of years ago.  i enjoyed talking with him (and the other bloggers present) as he had some great collecting stories, including hanging out with tony gwynn during signing appearances and other interaction with former players.  he's also an avid reader (as am i) and has offered up some recommendations for me to check out.

finally, he's a generous guy. rod held daily giveways a couple of months ago that i sometimes participated in. he even sent some cards that i didn't request which was nice.  the first card received through the giveaways was this 2020 topps opening day alex verdugo red foil parallel

i suppose the red will look better once verdugo starts getting cards showing him with red socks, too. still, a sharp looking card!

here's a 1997 donruss elite mike piazza card

piazza was a popular guy on the recent giveaways, and i am consistently surprised at the number of his cards that i still need.

i didn't need this next card, but i did comment that i am/was a fan of the pinnacle 'the idols' subsets.

rod sent the card to my anyway. it was cool to see the variety of players featured as 'idols' - jim abbott idolizing nolan ryan made for a good pairing.

here's a card for my double play collection - a 1998 topps opening day derek jeter issue

turning a double play as a shortstop always felt more stylish to me than when i was playing second base. the turn is a lot more natural coming from the shortstop side of the bag, and the lean that jeter shows on this card reminds me of a 3-6-3 turn. i probably participated in only a couple of those during my baseball playing days.

after receiving those cards from his giveaways, i was able to find a couple of signed cards for rod's autograph frankenset as a way of repaying his generosity. rod recently returned fire with a great item for a fan of the dodger teams of the late 1970s and early 1980s.  check out this letter of transmittal responding to a fan's request for an autograph from peter o'malley (walter's son, and the owner of the dodgers following o'malley's passing in 1979)

that came with this signed index card

these items pair nicely with the signed business card that rod sent to night owl earlier this summer, and it is great that he was able to share the bounty of this collector's request!  the letter and signed index card also go great with the 1978 topps dodger team card that o'malley signed for me through the mail for me a few years ago.

and let's not forget this great vinyl sticker(?) of his logo

would that be the "swinging signing friar" then? very happy to add this to my blogger custom card collection!

thanks rod - there's a pwe in the mail for you that should arrive soon!