bet your bottom dollar

i am really looking forward to tomorrow. one day closer to the weekend, sure, but it's also going to be the season debut of clayton kershaw.

the future hall of famer is back from his offseason shoulder surgery and subsequent rehab and will be on the bump against the giants. my expectations are tempered, but i am hoping that he doesn't suffer any setbacks and is able to pitch for the remainder of the season on a regular basis.

kershaw is just 56 strikeouts away from 3,000 and if he stays healthy over the next 10 weeks, he has a real shot at achieving the milestone this season. of course, that depends on his stuff. anyway, here are 17 kershaw cards to share in honor of his 17th season kicking off tomorrow.

2024 topps grand gamers

2024 topps superstar blueprints

2020 topps choice black parallel /299

2016 topps chrome sepia refractor

2017 topps triple threads

2019 bowman's best

2019 topps allen & ginter x

2020 bowman platinum

2013 panini hometown heroes zip code parallel

2015 topps tribute

2017 bowman chrome

2019 panini prizm blue prizm parallel

2020 panini prizm stargazing white wave prizm parallel

2021 panini donruss photo variation holo pink parallel

2022 panini capstone summit

2023 topps favorite sons black parallel /299

2024 topps silver pack chrome 1989 35th anniversary

once he gets on the mound, the "k is for kershaw kountdown" will continue! stay tuned!

the k is for kershaw kountdown continues - regular season wrap up edition

yes, the kountdown to 3,000 strikeouts for clayton kershaw continues as he took the mound against the giants on saturday night in san francisco. he struck out 5 batters to give him 137 strikeouts for the 2023 season. those 5 giants that he k'd increased his career total to 2,944.

in honor of his performance, here are 5 cards from my collection to represent strikeouts 2,940 through 2,944.

2,940 - 2015 topps gallery of greats

2,941 - 2016 topps chrome refractor

2,942 - 2017 topps chrome prism refractor

2,943 - 2017 topps finest refractor

2,944 - 2018 topps update 2017 postseason logo manufactured patch

i figured that last card was appropriate as kershaw's next appearance will come in the nlds against the diamondbacks or brewers.

kershaw remains in 21st place on the all-time leader board, and he will remain there until he passes zack greinke. greinke, who struck out 5 tigers last tuesday and 2 yankees on the last day of the season, has a career strikeout total of 2,979. kershaw is now 35 k's behind greinke and 56 away from the 3,000 milestone. 

kershaw pitched five and a third innings against the giants in his final start of the regular season. he finishes the year with those 137 strikeouts to go along with 13 wins and a 2.46 era in 24 starts.

so now it is on to the postseason and then it will be time to find out whether or not kershaw (and greinke, for that matter) will continue his career in 2024. remember, no pitcher has ever had more than 2,855 strikeouts and not gone on to reach the 3,000 milestone, and i hope that neither kershaw nor greinke become the first. if and when kershaw makes his next regular season appearance, know that i will be back to update the kountdown soon thereafter. stay tuned!

the k is for kershaw kountdown continues!

yes, the kountdown to 3,000 strikeouts for clayton kershaw continues (previous post here) as he pitched against the twins on tuesday. he struck out 7 batters to give him 63 strikeouts on the season. those 7 twins that he k'd increased his career total to 2,870.

in honor of his performance, here are 7 cards to represent strikouts 2,864 through 2,870.

2,864 - 2012 topps tribute

2,865 - 2014 bowman platinum blue sapphire

2,866 - 2015 topps update gold

2,867 - 2016 topps chrome black refractor

2,868 - 2017 topps gallery heritage

2, 869 - 2018 topps gold label class 3

2,870 - 2018 topps heritage high numbers transogram

i was happy to be in la on tuesday, and made the last minute decision to buy a single ticket and head to the ravine to see kershaw pitch. it was only the second time i've seen him pitch in person, and although he didn't have his best stuff, his 7 strikeouts came in only 4 innings of work. in total, i've seen 20 of kershaw's career strikeouts in person and have enjoyed witnessing each one of them!

kershaw remains in 21st place on the all-time leader board, and will remain there until he passes zack greinke, who struck out 5 earlier in the week to increase his strikeout total to 2,914. kershaw is now 44 k's behind greinke and 130 behind the 3,000 milestone. kershaw is scheduled to make his next start on sunday against the cardinals, and he has said he plans to do so even though his mother passed away a few days before his start against the twins and there was some speculation that he would go on a longer bereavement leave after that start. regardless of when he makes his next start, i will be back to update the kountdown soon thereafter. stay tuned!

playing catch up

i've fallen behind in my trade posting, and still won't be caught up after this post. between giveaways, contests, and straight up trades, there hasn't been much of a slowdown in incoming cards during the pandemic.  here are some cards to prove it.

cards from diamond jesters

these 2019 topps holiday cards were a return for one of my "almost free stuff friday" trade bait posts, and are an appropriate trio of cards to kick off this early december post.

cards from gtt

these three cards are also part of a "almost free stuff friday" trade. the 2007 fleer ultra saito at the top reminded me that it is tough to tell the difference between hobby and retail versions of these cards. the hobby versions have rainbow foil, i believe.   a new-to-me ryne sandberg lurker card and the tatooine bobby bonilla parallel card fit right in with a couple of my mini-collections.

cards from it's like having my own card shop

daniel and i exchanged a few pwe's over the summer, and these were some of the highlights. the 2003 upper deck 40 man dave roberts card is a rainbow parallel, which is great. the rest are inserts or parallels that were new to me. i suppose i should have shown these cards in october, given the pinkness of the 2016 topps chrome trayce thompson card.  speaking of pink...

card from card hemmorrhage

i claimed this 2019 panini donruss max scherzer franchise features pink firework parallel from one of jay's giveaways.

card from cards that never were

i won this custom card from john in a giveaway. you can buy packs of customs through his blog - they look great!

card from the diamond king

i won this 1979 topps comic nolan ryan card for correctly guessing that kevin had a dupe of it.

cards from nachos grande

i claimed the 103rd trade stack. you can see all of the cards that i obtained by doing so here, but i was really in it for the 2020 topps allen & ginter gavin lux card. the 1996 leaf limited hideo nomo was the other dodger in the stack, and i thought that the 2000 pacific private stock tim hudson mini was neat enough to scan and show here.

cards from fuji

these cards are from the oldest trade that i had yet to post about - sorry about that mark! lots of great cards including the 2001 upper deck decade the 1970's willie davis relic. one of the nice things that resulted from waiting on posting these particular cards is that i can now say that all 8 of the players shown are world series champions. of course, a couple of them (rafael furcal and manny ramirez) won their rings with teams other than the dodgers, but they are champions nonetheless.

thanks to all that trade or offer cards on their blogs - it is appreciated! and, i still have a few trades to post about and will try to get caught up in the new year.  in the meantime, check out my wantlists and let's trade!