don't point fingers at me; i didn't cut up this card

i would tell you to avert your eyes, but it's too late now. 

several months ago i added this 2008 tristar signa cuts to my collection

i have a weird fixation with these things, and i couldn't pass up this destruction of a 1983 topps tom lasorda card, supposedly signed by the man himself.

what's interesting to me is that i never noticed before that tommy was mic'd up in the photo used for this card. i am sure that you are aware that there are many recordings out there of the dodger skipper speaking his mind, but i don't think i am aware of any that exist from 1982. i am guessing this was in spring training, but who knows.

it's a nice addition to my collection which boasts a few lasorda autographs, including this relatively recent arrival

that one comes from 2024 panini boys of summer. here's the back:

that signature looks more legit than the one on the tristar card. not sure how (or if) tristar bothers to authenticate, but i would think it would be tough. i didn't pay too much so i'm not too concerned.

another managerial pickup from last year sometime was this 2024 topps heritage dusty baker chrome purple refractor parallel

with baker retired, it was up to ron washington to represent the first ring of tommy lasorda's managerial tree. now that wash is no longer managing, there aren't any direct ties to lasorda in mlb's managerial ranks. lasorda's successor, bill russell, was the dodger manager for the first couple of games of alex cora's career, so the red sox manager is the closest to lasorda in that regard. i will also note that jim tracy's tree is alive and well with dave roberts at the helm of the dodgers. i'd be interested to hear roberts discuss tracy's style and influence.

for the love of all that is holy, avert your eyes

it has been a long time since i've looked for - let alone added - a tristar signa cuts card. for whatever reason, i took a peek at available inventory around the start of the year and wound up purchasing this 2008 brutalization of steve howe's 1984 topps card

i will never have certified autographs of all of the dodger rookies of the year, but with this howe card in hand, i have examples of each dodger roy from 1980 on except for 1995 winner hideo nomo. that would mean i have auto cards of these guys:

cody bellinger (2017)

corey seager (2016)

todd hollandsworth (1996)

raul mondesi (1994)

mike piazza (1993)

eric karros (1992)

steve sax (1982)

fernando valenzuela (1981)

steve howe (1980)

i also have certified autos of joe black (1952), don newcombe (1949), and frank howard (1960). howard is my newest addition, thanks to this 2001 topps archives autograph card

that i added not too long ago. this all means i am missing jackie robinson (1947), jim gilliam (1953), jim lefebvre (1965), ted sizemore (1969), rick sutcliffe (1979) and the aforementioned nomo.

of those, i only know of a certified cut robinson dodger autograph. the nomos that i have seen feature him in non-dodger uniforms - same with the sutcliffes. i don't think the other two modern players (lefebvre and sizemore) have any certified autos regardless of team.

and so, i will likely continue to periodically check the airwaves for signa cuts, even though they are destroyers of cards.

another tristar terror

i just can't quit these tristar signa cut abominations.  this one features a headless, last name-less steve garvey on his 1984 topps card

this is not the worst garvey card from this set that i've seen, but it might be the worst one that i own. that's saying something!

happy halloween!

all that glitters is not gold

just another cardboard abomination from 2008 tristar signa cuts

that i had to add to my steve garvey collection. this one is a gold parallel, and features a mutilated 1985 fleer superstar special card of the garv and goose gossage. this is fool's gold, but i can't resist.

i have saved a few signed cards from potentially becoming tristar fodder in the past few months as well, adding these cards to my non-certified autograph collection:

1983 fleer rick monday

1986 topps pedro guerrero

1981 fleer don stanhouse, 1989 upper deck ricky horton, 1990 topps debut mike munoz, and 1992 fleer ultra brett butler

1982 topps kmart maury wills

1982 topps kmart steve garvey

1982 donruss steve garvey (diamond kings)

1975 topps jeff burroughs/steve garvey (1974 mvps)

1984 fleer steve garvey

1984 topps ralston purina steve garvey

1985 leaf steve garvey

1986 topps quaker steve garvey

1990 pacific legends steve garvey

and finally, a 2015 theautographcard.com steve garvey

that is upside down, no matter how you look at it

that last one might actually look better as a tristar signa cut!

don't look marion!

keep your eyes shut!

or don't, and witness my latest tristar signa cuts pick up.

this desecration of a signed 1984 topps ralston purina steve garvey card is an abomination, but i like that it is in my collection.

what if i told you to avert your eyes?

you wouldn't, would you?

for those of you who couldn't look away, yes, i picked up another tristar signa cuts card for my collection. this one is a mutilated 1969 topps don sutton card that had been previously signed by the hall of famer. this is the last one. most likely.

one last time, avert your eyes

i have a sickness. i am drawn to these mutilated cards like a moth to a flame.

this one is frank howard, the 1960 national league rookie of the year. he kindly signed his 1988 pacific legends card for a fan, and sometime later, some guy in a suit looking to make some money cut it up, surrounded it with glitter, and stuck it in a slab.

and i'm the damn fool that bought it.

this one is not so bad, but still, avert your eyes because it has friends

my fascination with cut autos, and tristar signa cuts in particular, struck again in the form of a purchase of this 2008 tristar signa cut card of steve garvey

which features a chopped-up 1981 fleer card that he signed.  it looks more familiar on its side

even though garvey's signature lines up well with the card's orientation thanks to his penchant for signing cards vertically.

there has been a recent uptick in rare-ish garvey cards being posted on ebay lately.  in the span of a week, there were three different cut auto cards from 2014 leaf history of baseball listed.  i wound up with one of them that features a nice blue signature on a black & white photo

i thought i knew the photo that this came from, but i was wrong. i was thinking it was one of the team promo shots used on the 1982 builder's emporium 8x10 giveaway, but it is not.

another cut auto that i picked up is from something called 2013 historic autographs the decades - 1970's.

i've seen these before, but hadn't picked one up until now.  the cut auto is surrounded by 1970's references, including a misspelled thurman munson ("munsen") reference.  the auto comes from a signed cachet, but not this one commemorating garvey's 1000th consecutive game, 

nor is it this one from garvey's 1,118th consecutive game

which features billy williams during a postgame ceremony. this was a game that i attended, by the way.  instead, the cut auto comes from this cachet

which fetes the same milestone event.

last, but not least, is a cut auto from 2016 panini prime cuts harmon killebrew card

i think the design of this card is outstanding with the photo selection panini used and the way it's paired with the 1996 mlb alumni card. this strengthens my opinion that not all cut auto cards are abominations!

once again, i urge you to avert your eyes!

i know i should look away from the cardboard destruction, but man, i really do like some of these tristar signa cuts.

this one is the latest addition to my collection

it's from 2008, and features rick monday's 1981 donruss card butchered almost beyond recognition. i do give kudos to the tristar person who made sure to leave the bulk of the 'dodger' text, though.

mo joins the likes of steve garvey, burt hooton, ralph branca, candy maldonado, mike scioscia (x2), steve sax, ron cey (solo and with steve yeager and pedro guerrero), and tommy john in my hall of horrors signa cut collection, and he won't be the last, i promise you that!

the monday card is numbered 04/25 and actually celebrates monday's claim to fame as the first ever player taken in an mlb draft. and, while that occurrence would be better paired with a card from his kansas city a's days, i'm happy to have another hacked up dodger auto in my collection.