vladimir guerrero is in my hall of famer collection

big daddy vladdy, vladimir guerrero, is in my hall of fame collection with this card as his entry:

that's a 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures card. here's the back:

i still picture guerrero as an expo thanks to baseball cards, so i am happy to have him in this collection representing les expos. i only saw him play as an expo in person once. it was may 11, 1997 and montreal was visiting the dodgers in los angeles. vladdy went 3 for 5 with a ground rule double and 2 rbi that day (it was camera day at the ravine) as the expos beat the dodgers in 10 innings. the following year, i pulled vladdy's 1998 upper deck card from a pack and wondered if the photo on it might have been taken that day. regardless, it is one of my favorite cards, and my pc of vladdy was underway.

prior to the start of the 2004 season, the dodgers were close to signing vladdy as a free agent which would have been tremendous. however, as i understood it, there was concern about the size of the contract and the debt that would be incurred by the soon-to-be owner of the dodgers, frank mccourt, and so bud selig didn't approve the deal. i am not sure if that is what happened, but i am sure that vladdy signed with the angels instead. he went on to win the american league mvp that season.

a year later, when the dodgers signed nomar garciaparra, vladdy became my favorite non-dodger for a couple of years. he was also my son's favorite player at the time, and so it was fun to follow his exploits together. we were rooting for him and the angels to beat the yankees in the 2009 playoffs, and then for him and the rangers to beat the giants in the world series. vladdy and his teammates fell short both times, however, and his career came to an end after he played for the orioles in 2011.

i was able to see vladdy play with the "other" los angeles team several times. august 5, 2004 in minnesota against the twins (he went 2 for 5), may 1, 2005 in minnesota against the twins (1 for 4 with a home run), june 15, 2005 at home against the nationals (0 for 3 with a walk), july 15, 2005 in minnesota against the twins (0 for 4), june 30, 2006 at home against the dodgers (2 for 4 with a double and a run scored), and april 3, 2008 in minnesota against the twins (0 for 4). each time i saw him play wearing an angels' uniform i was reminded that the dodgers seem to have a long tradition of employing the "wrong" brother. this list of brothers include not only vladdy's brother wilton, but also ken brett, sandy alomar jr (although his brother roberto was retired by the time sandy jr joined the dodgers), chris gwynn, glenn hoffman, andy laroche, and mike maddux (although they did eventually acquire his brother greg - twice). oh well, at least he is in my hall of famer collection now.

here's my hall of famer collection as its been documented so far:

babe ruth - 2003 topps tribute world series edition world series tribute relic 351/425

honus wagner - 2001 topps tribute relic

nap lajoie - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic

tris speaker - 2011 topps tribute dual relic green parallel 53/75

eddie collins - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic

george sisler - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic

jimmie foxx - 2013 topps tribute retired remnants relic 91/99

mel ott - 2011 topps tribute quad relic 15/99

dizzy dean - 2001 topps tribute relic

hank greenberg - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic

bob feller - 2001 topps archives certified autograph

jackie robinson - 2004 topps clubhouse collection clubhouse relic

ted williams - 1992 upper deck baseball heroes autograph 1067/2000

roy campanella - 2001 topps tribute relic

stan musial - 2002 topps team topps legends autograph

yogi berra - 1998 donruss signatures significant signatures 1640/2000

sandy koufax - 1998 donruss signatures significant signatures 1707/2000

roberto clemente - 2005 donruss greats hall of fame souvenirs relic

warren spahn - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures

mickey mantle - 2000 upper deck legends legendary game jerseys relic

ernie banks - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures

willie mays - 1997 topps willie mays reprints certified autograph

al kaline - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

duke snider - 2003 upper deck sp authentic chirography hall of famers 144/250

bob gibson - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

hank aaron - 2004 topps originals 1979 topps all-time record holders rbi 03/32

frank robinson - 1995 upper deck autograph

don drysdale - 1993 nabisco all-star autographs

harmon killebrew - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures

pee wee reese - 2001 topps tribute relic

lou brock - 2018 topps archives signature series 1989 buyback 53/61

ray dandridge - 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts a place in history cut autograph 31/43

jim hunter - 1998 donruss signature series significant signatures 0736/2000

willie stargell - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures 

johnny bench - 2019 topps definitive collection legendary autograph 09/25

red schoendienst - 2012 panini cooperstown signatures 038/549

carl yastrzemski - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph

jim palmer - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

rod carew - 2004 topps retired signature autograph

fergie jenkins - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 154/333

gaylord perry - 2003 topps finest finest moments autograph

rollie fingers - 2018 topps archives signature series 1978 topps buyback 1/3

hal newhouser - 1993 front row premium all-time greats autograph

tom seaver - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 44/50

reggie jackson - 2018 topps tier one tier one talent autograph 19/60

steve carlton - 2018 topps five star career year autograph 43/45

mike schmidt - 2002 topps archives autoproof 1980 topps buyback 048/147

phil niekro - 2017 panini donruss recollection collection 1983 donruss buyback autograph 13/33

don sutton - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

robin yount - 2001 upper deck ultimate collection ultimate signatures 112/150

carlton fisk - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures

tony perez - 2004 fleer national pastime 2002 fleer greats authentic autograph buyback 30/59

dave winfield - 2003 upper deck sp authentic chirography hall of famers 121/350

ozzie smith - 2019 topps finest finest origins autograph

gary carter - 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game autograph collection

eddie murray - 2004 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary sigs 45/50 

dennis eckersley - 2017 topps archives signature series 1984 topps buyback 47/99

paul molitor - 2016 topps museum collection archival autographs 021/125

wade boggs - 2005 upper deck baseball heroes autograph red parallel 30/49

ryne sandberg - 2016 topps five star autographs gold parallel 17/50

bruce sutter - 2003 topps all-time fan favorites certified autograph

tony gwynn - 1997 donruss signature series millennium marks autograph 0702/1000

cal ripken jr - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 32/75

goose gossage - 2003 topps finest finest moments autograph

jim rice - 2005 upper deck past time pennants past time signatures

andre dawson - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph

bert blyleven - 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams autograph

ron santo - 2004 topps retired signature autograph

greg maddux - 2018 topps luminaries masters of the mound autograph 13/15

pedro martinez - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 09/60

ken griffey jr - 2003 upper deck game face autograph

mike piazza - 2014 topps five star autograph 35/50

tim raines - 2018 topps tribute tribute autograph green parallel 26/95

vladimir guerrero - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures

jack morris - 2004 donruss timelines recollection collection 1986 buyback autograph 23/45

alan trammell - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

roy halladay - 2017 topps archives signature series 2004 topps buyback 15/23

pete rose* - 2018 panini flawless legendary signatures 15/25

barry bonds* - 2001 bowman heritage autographs

roger clemens* - 1995 upper deck autograph

 

you can find the full list of hall of famers (and some not - yet) that i aim to include in this collection at my want list site.