i read last wednesday that vic davalillo passed away, and it made me pause.
thanks to his incredible, rally starting, two-out bunt in the 9th inning of game 3 of the 1977 nlcs and his inclusion in the 1978 topps set as a dodger, i got to know davalillo at the very beginning of my fandom and collecting days. he didn't play a lot, but he was a dodger and there was cardboard evidence of that fact, so he was respected and celebrated in my collection.
i have all of davalillo's major manufacturer cards (issued in the us, anyway), as his entire topps flagship run
is encapsulated in my "evolution of the 1978 topps dodgers" mini-collection, and his 1981 fleer offering
is in my dodger collection. there are one or two venezuelan releases that i wouldn't mind adding to the collection, but i haven't ever made it a priority.
davalillo is the sixth member of the 1978 topps dodgers to pass away. preceding him were glenn burke (1995), johnny oates (2004), lance rautzhan (2016), tom lasorda (2021), and don sutton (2021). time marches on, but it is still a bit of a thing to see these players whose cardboard i coveted back then pass away.
shifting to another way of looking at the 1978 topps set, i get excited when i can complete the immaculate grid using only players who appeared in that set. it is always my goal to use as many as i can, and there was a two day stretch last week where i was able to do so:
finally, i would be remiss if i didn't mention the 700 million dollar man, shohei ohtani. i feel for angel fans who will now see ohtani suit up for the dodgers, but not enough to not be excited about ohtani joining the dodgers. here are some 2018 topps update cards i have of ohtani
I like the idea of having a theme for an Immaculate Grid. At least once I've had a grid which could be a nine-man lineup, albeit with some guys playing out of their usual position (but at a position they did play in the majors at least some). I've thought about doing a grid with all guys who played for the Mets but haven't really come close to pulling it off.
ReplyDeleteDavalillo's bunt should be remembered more often. It was so perfect
ReplyDeleteThe best bunt of all-time.
ReplyDeleteSaw the news about Davalillo too. Wasn't too familiar with his career, but recognized his name. Sadly... I didn't even realize he was part of two of those three Oakland A's titles in the 70's.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Great job with the Immaculate Grid. I still have never complete one... let alone completing one with a specific set of players. I think my best is either seven or eight.
I try to go obscure as I can with the immaculate grid. That rarity score on the last one might have beat my all time low. I always seem to need a pick that is double digit %. Clearly those of us who can recall/use older players, it almost always shrinks the percentage. on the flip side, if I see Diamondbacks, Devil Rays, Marlins I usually just quit before I start. I don't have the same knowledge for newer players, having given up on new pack ripping over 2 decades ago.
ReplyDeleteVic got cheated after 74, unless he was off playing in a foreign league. I suppose that is probably the exact reason he was excluded from 75-77 Topps.
I kind of wish I could join in on the fun that everyone seems to be having with that game, but with my poor memory, I doubt I'd even be able to finish one.
ReplyDelete