matt kemp held on, but topps didn't

matt kemp is my current favorite non-dodger, and i was looking forward to adding a 2020 topps update card to my "favorite non-dodger" year by year mini collection. kemp spent the entire 2020 season with the rockies, but topps left him out of the update set.  they did include him in the topps now summer camp set, so i bought one of those cards instead.

oddly enough, kemp wasn't in series 1 or 2, but he was included in 2020 topps gallery and 2020 topps fire - both as a marlin.  i only have the fire card

which i bought on sportlots sight unseen thinking it would be a rockies kemp card. i've since sent it to nick as a "short-term stop".

for the record, here is the other kemp card in my "favorite non-dodger" collection, a 2019 topps big league gold parallel of kemp with the reds

i actually saw kemp play in person as a red - it was the game in which he hit his only home run with the team.  

previously, kemp had been my favorite dodger from 2007 through 2014, and he is represented in my "favorite dodger" year by year mini collection by these cards:

2007 topps finest rookie finest moments

2008 upper deck timeline 2004 legends timeless teams

2009 upper deck sp authentic

2010 topps chrome

2011 bowman blue parallel

2012 topps museum collection

2013 topps chrome chrome connections die-cut

2014 topps archives

the collection is a good use of some of my dodger doubles. of course, i pick up other kemp dodger cards for my dodger collection as well. here are a couple that i added to my collection a few months ago:

2014 topps gypsy queen blue framed parallel 

2011 topps allen & ginter mini framed silk #/10

2018 topps update photo variation

i hope kemp is able to continue playing in 2021, and i will continue to follow his exploits, but i think i might find a new favorite non-dodger who plays a bit more regularly. any suggestions?

hail, hail, the infield's all here

i was very happy to see that topps included ron cey in this year's archives autograph checklist.  they could have given him a regular base card, too, but i'll take the auto.  topps used the 1979 design for cey's card

and they featured a photo that i believe to be new to cardboard.  it's a similar image to what topps used on cey's 1977 card, but different.  you will recall that last year, topps gave steve garvey a short print base card and an auto

but used his 1972 card photo (more tightly cropped) rather than a new one.

in 2014, bill russell was given the auto treatment in archives with a 'new' photo

and the year before that, it was davey lopes who received the base card short print and an auto

the photo used on the lopes card was used by upper deck in the 2004 legends timeless teams issue, but i don't believe topps had used it before.  

since its revival, archives has featured other dodgers from the team of my youth - don sutton has been a base card member of the checklist twice and dusty baker got the short print and auto in 2014.  this year, i was very excited to see that manny mota was included in the checklist

as well as the skipper of the team of my youth, tommy lasorda

it would have been nice if topps had used card designs that those two had not appeared on previously, such as 1980 for mota and any number of years for lasorda.  still, i am happy to add these autos of dodgers to my collection!

i also went and picked up another parallel of garvey's archives auto - the red /50 version

plus a ron cey auto from 2006 upper deck ultimate collection

that features a couple of other dudes.  i was also so pleased to see cey in this year's archives that i grabbed the peach parallel version

as well.

with 2017 archives in the books, i now have recent autographed cards from the entire infield

as well as the manager and pinch hitter. i was surprised to find that i did not own the dusty baker auto, so i will correct that soon.

edit - corrected:

in the meantime, topps can go ahead and get reggie smith, steve yeager, and rick monday lined up for next year.