they won one for the baker

it is hard for me to believe that it is already february and that pitchers and catchers will be reporting in just a couple of weeks. it seems like just a month ago (it's been just under three) that the astros won the world series and topps fully engaged in the dusty baker love.

i was there for it, picking up his topps now card that was released the day after the clinching game

along with the one issued the day after the parade in houston

i also picked up his entry in the topps living set

which came out that same week. it makes sense to show baker as the astros manager given the milestones he achieved in 2022, but i will say i was a bit disappointed that topps put tommy john in the set around the same time as a yankee. it is looking like his appearance in the 2021 topps chrome platinum set as a dodger is a one-off as he was also featured as a yankee in 2022 topps archives and chrome black.

enough about john - this post is about johnnie b!  all three of those cards above are welcome additions to my post-dodger dusty baker collection for sure. however, they are not the only baker cards i've added since the end of the world series.

friend of blogs mr. haverkamp sent me an unannounced envelope containing this gem:

which is known as a 1994 san francisco chronicle giants card on the checklist. it's actually the card backing for a pin - you can see where the pin was under the newspaper's phone number.  here's the back:

i am happy to have the card without the pin, to be honest. it's much easier to store!

with all of the attention baker received in 2022, wouldn't it be great if topps gave him a card in 2023 heritage? with his coaching staff? yes, it would be great. i'm not holding my breath though.

mr. haverkamp included a couple more baker goodies for me - these ticket stubs 

from 2001 and 2000 (i put them on the scanner wrong and didn't bother to correct them in post editing). i am a big fan of ticket stubs as souvenirs and like when teams featured players or managers on them. these are also a great addition to my baker collection.

the other item mr. haverkamp sent was one that he wasn't too sure about:

it's dusty's old teammate and first base coach (with the nationals) davey lopes. thankfully, i knew exactly what it was - a "panel" from the 1977 dodgers photo album. it's paper thin and has a bio and stats on the back. it never occurred to me to separate these out from my album, but they are perforated for that purpose. who knew?

in between baker's managerial stints in san francisco and houston, he managed the cubs, reds, and nationals. here's a 2005 topps gold parallel card from his cubs tenure that i added recently

and here's one more dusty baker card that is new-ish to my collection. 

it's baker's card from 2005 topps all-time fan favorites in refractor form! seeing a shiny version of the 1978 design was a trip for me back then.  i am definitely looking forward to 2027 topps heritage and the chrome parallels! of course, this card goes in the dodger collection not the baker post-dodger collection.

many thanks to mr. haverkamp, one of a handful blogosphere mainstays that i have met in person (i recently added to that list, by the way) and a person who has contributed mightily to my dusty baker collection over the years. it is much appreciated, and i'm hoping he continues to keep an eye out for those hard to find regional releases! and to topps, keep making those dusty baker cards!