the dodgers are giving away cards in 2018!

i remember back in 1980, looking at the dodger schedule and seeing "baseball card day" listed as one of the promotions.  i convinced my dad to take us to that game, and my mom and i debated the meaning of "cards featuring dodger players". was it going to be a set of only dodger players? was it going to be packs of topps handed out at the gate? who knew? this was a new thing.  up until then, we had only received sga swag like ponchos, helmets, and batting gloves.  well, we soon discovered that "baseball card day" meant a set of cards sponsored by the lapd consisting solely of dodger players. i was thrilled, even though those first several years were awkward, oversized cards.

fast forward to a week ago when i was checking out the dodger instagram feed and saw an upcoming promotion for baseball cards!  the video showed some live action embedded in different topps card designs, and looking further online, i found a photo that showed the 1965 topps design with the dodgers' 60 years in la logo.  i quickly pre-ordered a set and it arrived just a couple of days after the game.

six players of today, along with one from the '50s and '60s

none of those photos were taken in los angeles, but still, these are the first topps dodger cards given away at dodger stadium, and they are great.  sponsored by longtime advertising partner 76, murph would be proud.

here is the header card

there will be several more of these this season, as the other decades will be celebrated.  the photo for the '70s set features don sutton on a 1977 card design, so i am guessing there won't be a garvey (or for goodness sakes, a card of the infield) in this set.  however, if the ratios of 6 active to 1 retired player holds up, there would be 36 active players featured, which would require some duplication.  will dave roberts get a card? the coaches?  it's going to be interesting to see how the future sets shake out!

there aren't any images of the other sets yet, but i'll surmise that if the 6:1 ratio continues, the '80s set will feature tommy lasorda, fernando or orel hershiser (although the instagram photo showed a steve howe image on the 1980 topps design), the '90s will have mike piazza, the '00s will be shawn green, and the '10s will be, who knows? maybe vin scully?