in support of catfishing

i don't really fish, and i certainly don't condone the luring of anyone into a relationship by way of a fictional online personality, but i do wholly support more cards of jim 'catfish' hunter, especially when they show him dealing in dodger stadium

that card may be my favorite from 2018 topps archives.  it features a photo of hunter from game 5 of the 1977 world series (the only day world series game in which hunter pitched at dodger stadium), and the only way it could be better is if it were featured on a 1978 topps design.

hunter was one of the first non-dodger players that i started a pc of, which is weird to think about now since my first awareness of him was him pitching against the dodgers in the world series.

i found another postseason dodger stadium photo on cardboard recently - on a 2016 topps stadium club lucas duda card

hard to believe that the mets won two postseason series (including the nlds against the dodgers) just three seasons ago.

almost forgot to mention that i completed my 1971 topps set

boog powell's card was the last that i needed to complete the iconic, black-bordered set.

i also decided to go the lazy route and bought a 1975 topps set.  that means that the 1972 topps set is the only one in my way from having a complete run from 1970 through 2010.  therefore, i am putting out an apb for cards on my 1972 topps want list.  you have 'em, i want 'em.  you will be rewarded!

not waiting to chronicle these cards

cards have come in recently from peoria, san jose, pleasanton, and portland. it's always fun to find some cardboard in the mailbox!

p-town tom send me a few dodgers as i helped him with a card towards his 2018 topps big league set build. the cards he sent included this yasiel puig gold parallel from that same set

this 2018 panini donruss justin turner card

and this 2003 playoff prestige shawn green inside the numbers card

the green card is clear outside of the black borders.  all three are new to my collection.

meanwhile, fuji also sent some cards, including a 1997 fleer ultra todd hollandsworth rookie reflections

a 2018 topps stadium club matt kemp sepia parallel

and a 2018 topps allen & ginter world talent yasiel puig insert

fuji also threw in a new-to-me tatooine card

that's good stuff from fuji.  the kemp is a great one to get as he has been pretty clutch since i received mark's mailer.  coincidence?

i knew that tom and fuji were sending me cards, but mr. haverkamp's envelope was a surprise.  he found a hard-to-find 2002 disabled american veterans dusty baker card for my collection

plus some 2012 topps allen & ginter a&g backed dodger minis

it's great to know that my collections are on the mind of fellow collectors as they peruse card shows.  i know that i often look for cards for others while i am at shows, and mr. haverkamp has returned the favor.

finally, kerry at cards on cards sent me the dodger related bounty from his recent anniversary clearance.  it was advertised primarily as a minor league purge, so cards such as this 1995 upper deck sp top prospects adam riggs card

were not unexpected.  

here's another minor league card - a 2013 topps heritage minors corey seager

major league cards were also included, one of which was a 1985 donruss action all-star card of pedro guerrero.  it's an oversized card, so there is more room for stuff on the back, which is why i scanned the back

fielding stats!?  also note that the indians traded a 17-year old guerrero to the dodgers for bruce ellingsen in 1974. it has always confused me as to why the indians gave up on guerrero so early.  one of the better trades for al campanis.

there was also a pack of 1991 fleer ultra, which i could not resist opening.  it was a pretty good pack - 4 hall of famers (cal ripken jr, wade boggs, alan trammell, and paul molitor) plus roger clemens and bo jackson.  the only card that fit in my collection, however, was this pat combs card

that's some dodger stadium field level scoreboard goodness!

thanks one and all for the trades!

a tisket, a tasket, here's a piece of jacket

we've seen jerseys and patches and even pants, and panini even cut up one of steve garvey's gloves to put into some cards recently, but now we also have a jacket:

that's a jumbo jacket swatch from 2018 panini immaculate collection.  it doesn't say 'jacket' anywhere, but the official checklist lists it as such, and there isn't anything on the dodger jersey that is so largely blue and slick. makes me wonder if there is a red, white, and blue (or mcdonald's) sweat band that panini is going to cut up next...

more umpire memorials

like all mlb franchises, mlb umpires have a history of honoring the loss of members of their fraternity through the use of armbands or patches.  in 2017, there were four umpires remembered through patches worn on the left sleeves of the active umpires.

there was an 'rg' patch for russell goetz, an 'mj' patch for mark johnson, an 'sp' patch for steve palermo, and an 'kk' patch for ken kaiser.  each square patch was worn to form a larger square, as can be seen on jose altuve's 2018 topps big league card (below the white postseason patch)

the first card that i picked up for this memorial was this 2017 topps now albert almora card

but i think i'll put that one in my lurkers collection, thanks to the presence of austin barnes.

this season, the umpires are wearing three similar patches for former colleagues who've passed away in 2018

those patches are 'dr' for dutch rennert, 'dh' for doug harvey, and 'be' for bob engel.  i'll add a card to my collection if i can find one, and i'll post it here as well.

nick puts some good wood on my collection

alex wood's delivery is what i would describe as 'all knees and elbows'.  pretty sure vin scully has called it the same.  the lefty's delivery is on display on a trio of cards that were included in a recent trade package from nick at dime boxes.

first up is wood's 2018 topps opening day card

that's about as compact as wood gets in his windup.  

next up is a 2018 panini donruss card

here is where wood extends his left arm.  you've heard of 'making the t' with your arms as part of the throwing motion? wood makes a sort of forward slash.

last up is a 2018 topps 1983 design insert

wood is a bit more upright here than you'd expect. at some point he leans over during his delivery - somewhere between the photos shown on the donruss and 1983 card.

there were more great cards in the package, as always.  thanks nick!

so you're saying it's good?

it's been a little while since i completed a vintage dodger team set, so i started looking around at some 1954 bowman.  at the time, i needed three cards - duke snider, don newcombe, and roy campanella.  i found a campy card on the cheap and pounced.

roy looks like he's feeling the same fatigue as the card, which has some real vintage wear.  it's got rounded corners and creases and even some ballpoint pen gouging in the lower right corner.  here's a close-up:

looks like someone was doing some on-card grading.  as far as i can tell, it says "good".  yes, 1950's roy campanella cards are always good.

i also found a very inexpensive newk to add to my collection.

it's in much better shape than campy, and the colors are great.  love the baby ruth ad in the background!

duke was the last card i needed for the team set and here he is:

with another vintage dodger team set completed, things are (just like the duke) definitely looking up!