these cards just fit

i don't really recall, but i am guessing at some point back in the early 1980's i separated the pieces of one of those donruss puzzles and actually put the thing together. maybe it was 1984 and i assembled the duke snider puzzle - i bought a ton of '84 donruss so this seems most probable to me. it might also explain why i don't currently own the complete snider puzzle.

typically, i don't pay much attention to those sorts of things (which are exceedingly rare these days). i just collect cards that fit in my collection, no pun intended. however, last year i decided to complete the dodger team set of stadium club triumvirate inserts. featured were clayton kershaw, mookie betts, and trea turner:

their cards fit together nicely

but not perfectly - the interface between betts and turner is off slightly. such is the danger with these sorts of things, i suppose.

i also recently sought out one (actually two) of my most wanted non-dodger cards - 1988 panini album stickers:

steve lombardozzi and frank white in some sweet double play turning action that looks even better when the stickers are laid together

these stickers are a great addition to my double play collection, and they are not the only nefarious 9 cards i have picked up in recent months (future post foreshadowing). be sure to check out my current list and let me know if you can help a blogger out - you will be rewarded!

some other cards have come in to my collection that are great fits, too - although they don't fit together like the ones above. reader derek (collectortbnl on tcdb) reached out and sent this card my way

it's a 2003 upper deck leading swatches relic card of hideo nomo from his second stint in dodger blue. it was great to see nomo have a bit of a career resurgence with the dodgers in 2002 and 2003, and it was great of derek to think of me!

i've also received a couple of pwe's from kerry at cards on cards that have taken awhile to be recognized here. sorry about that, kerry. he's been a great source of dodger goodness over the years, and the latest cards he sent continue that trend.

from 2022 panini capstone, here's a trea turner card

and a clayton kershaw deja vu insert

even though it's a padre who is in color and at the forefront of the card, this is still a dodger card to me. 

this 2023 topps big league kershaw insert

is a bit more dodger centric. i think it shows kershaw as out of this world? the betts insert from this set is the only one i've seen that makes sense because it shows betts bowling. speaking of mookie, kerry included a few of his cards, too.

2022 panini chronicles zenith

2022 topps update black gold

2023 topps big league roll call

and 2022 topps stadium club master photo boxtopper

i actually had this boxtopper in my hand at a monthly card show this past summer but put it back when the guy asked for $5. i am glad i did because kerry's envelope showed up just a few days later. it's great when things come together like that!