An Old Friend Gets Back in the Game

Aloha, everybody, 

You might think there are already plenty of Dodger bloggers around, but believe it or not, back when I first came on board, there were even more. 

One of those past blogger/collectors, Spiegel, stopped blogging a couple of years ago, and he pretty much disappeared - at least as far as our collecting community is concerned.

In a pleasant surprise, Spiegel reappeared in the form of a message to me via Twitter. He said he was ready to get back in the collecting game, and would I (the guy who runs a blog called "All Trade Bait, All The Time") be interested in trading again? 

In the time it takes Tommy Lasorda to put away a meatball and provolone sandwich, we had cards flying in the mail. 

Speigel sent me not one, but TWO fistfuls of cards. Here are just a few of the highlights...

Check out them high-tops! 

 I figure Mets fans think it blasphemy to see The Straw in A Dodgers uni, but I say I can't get me enough Straw cards. All your Darryl as a Dodger cards are welcome right here. 

Before Eric Gagne hit Chavez Ravine, the Dodgers had another beefy closer. Too bad we can't see his Elvis sideburns too well in this shot...

Unfortunately for Broxy he had most of his success rising to the level of closer. Once there, he had setbacks with blowing saves in the post-season and constant injury. 

Too bad, because he rocked those Elvis chops like nobody. 

Most of the Sports Flix I run into are non-Dodgers, so this was a pleasant surprise. 

Bad ass Mondi, also sporting high-tops. 

I don't know about you, but I'm thinking this is the same look the Duke had on his face when he received the news he was being indicted for tax evasion...

Just like the Straw, here's a card that's blasphemy to fans from that team up in the bay. Just send all yer Jeff Kent as a Dodger cards to me. 

What the heck is that structure behind Hirok? It looks like he was pulled away from his kid's birthday party at the park to take this pic. 

Some of you out there may have forgotten that I also collect Hall of Famers from other teams. Spiegel didn't...

I cannot have too many cards from the Human Vacuum Cleaner. This one is a sweet miiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnniiiiiiiii. 

This one threw me for a loop. Pudge as a Marlin! 

Here's a cool card of Christie...

Which is your favorite team's uni to see Junior wearing? I prefer him as a Mariner. 

Finally, a fun type of shot that you'll find everywhere in today's card sets, but I'm thinking was a rarity back in its day...

That's just a sampling of the cool cardboard that Spiegel sent my way. Oh yeah, he's back in the game, alright. Welcome back, buddy. 

A couple more notes: 

I ran into Ernest from Dodger Blue Heaven at the Dodger blogger event last Friday. Writing this post reminded me I ran into Ernest, Spiegel and Greg (from Plashke, thy Sweater is Argyle fame) at a card show back in the day. I found a photo of all of us...

I'll leave it to you all out there to decipher who is who. 

And this happened today...

Another blast from Operation Cardboard Rain hit the post office, because why not? 

Aloha! 

I'm a Real Sucker for Repacks

Aloha, everybody, 

I just have to admit it. I can't resist repacks. 

I didn't start out looking for a repack, but darn it, before I knew what hit me, I found myself pulled back into the repack cycle once again. 

It all started a few days ago I saw a beautiful Kenta Maeda insert that someone pulled from a pack of 2017 Heritage. Well, I thought - in my unrealistic hunter/collector logic - if that guy can pull a Maeda, surely I can too...or at least an Adrian Gonzalez base card. 

So off I went to my local Target. No Heritage in sight. Ugh! 

OK, what else was available? Nothing but flagship Topps. More ugh! I didn't want to drop $20 on a blaster, as my original plan was just to find a couple of lucky packs. 

The box containing individual Topps packs was picked through and disorderly. I figured some 12-year old messed them all up, and then I figured some 35-year old, cherry picking, pack sniffer had a go at the box. My chances at an lucky insert were dashed. Thrice ugh! 

A reasonable man would have just walked away and gone to a different store. That's what a reasonable collector would have done. 

And then, I saw it. 

Look at who was staring at me through the window. Kenta!! 

50 cards! 4 packs! A mystery bonus! All facade of self-discipline was gone. I hadda have it. Before I knew it, I was in the self-checkout line, repack box in hand, and my heart rate rising. 

As soon as I was home, I started in on it. First up was the bonus. It was another one of those mini-mites. This time it was a White Sox catcher. The only mystery to me was "who would want this?" 

Next I went for the 50-card repack. Here's what I found...(I mean, besides the 20 or so Astros cards that brought great feelings of regret and buyers remorse)

A 1987 Sportsflix Darrell Evans. 

And prospects cards....so many dead prospects....

Even Drew Hall looks like he knows he's never gonna make it in The Show.  

Anybody collect Durham Bulls with unspellable names? 

Anybody collect Yankees prospect checklists with Bernie Williams listed? 

I got a few O-Pee-Chees for those so inclined...

The Astros even infiltrated the O-Pee-Chees...

Who wants Rick Sutcliffe with perfect hair on O-Pee-Chee? 

I still had four packs to find some magic...

The best card from each of these packs...

The Morgan is one of those Bergman Bests. Maybe Nachos Grande would like this? 

Another insert. This time Mike Trout. 

Last chance for a Kenta Maeda...or Carlos Ruiz...any Dodger would do at this point....

From Stadium Club (and I had to try hard to find a card to showcase from this pack)...

Last pack, last chance...

Ugh!

Repacks...never again! 

Aloha!

Pitching, Pitching, Pitching

Aloha, everybody,

There's an old adage in baseball: Good pitching beats good hitting. Well, that's almost true, as in "almost always '. The second half of the equation is your team must do some hitting if it's going to win the day.

If your team's offense doesn't hit, then my personal adage kicks in, "Good pitching is not enough." 

I know that from which I speak, because the no (timely) hitting bug has always been the bane of the Dodgers. While they've had some masters on the mound over the years, even those guys had to walk tightropes to hold 1-0 or 2-1 leads far too often. 

Here are a few of those masters, on some of my favorite cardboard...

Of course, every discussion of Dodger mound-masters should begin with Koufax. While this Topps Upper Class card isn't vintage, it honors Sandy's rookie season, the same year the Brooklyn Dodgers won their only championship. Note how the background noise has been wiped away, allowing us to focus with Koufax, right before the pitch.

The trivia on the back says Koufax's first strike out victim was Bobby Thompson. Take that, sign stealer. 

 Speaking of Brooklyn, here's the man who led the '55 squad to the championship, Johnny Podres. 

This beauty came to me courtesy of Matt from Bob Walk the Plank fame. Lots of folks don't like sticker autos, but I say, when they are done right, they are right on. 

This card is a perfect example of "done right". The auto is clean and legible, and the silver backing matches the silver of the card perfectly. It's a clean design and the silver and white make the Dodger blue colors pop right out at you. 

 While there's not a lot special about 1977 Topps, I love this Sutton because of his perfectly relaxed, fake pose. The setting seems to be Spring Training in Vero Beach. 

This card is also a favorite of mine because of it's pristine condition. I often find myself checking the back to make sure this isn't a modern reprint.

 Everybody's goin' gaga over Kershaw, but he wasn't the first Dodgers mound master for me. Here's Orel Hershiser in 1986 Sportsflix glory.

 I got to watch Bulldog's legendary L.A. career unfold; what a joy. Whenever he took the mound, Nancy Bea Hefley, the Dodger Stadium organist, would play "Master of the House", from Les Miserables.

Bulldog dominated the late 80's, while the early part of the decade belonged to El Toro. Here's Fernando with bonus Dodger, Mike Scioscia. 

And now, one of the most underrated and under-appreciated Dodger pitchers - if not ever, certainly from my lifetime. Regular ATBATT readers know how I've often written about the Ace of the Dodgers, Ramon Martinez, Pedro's older brother. 

This great slice of cardboard is Ramon's RC. I love the lurking, brightly-painted Dodger pavilions in the background. 

 Big Don Drysdale was featured in my Bowie tribute, and he makes another appearance here on Legendary SP. This set would look great in a binder, but individual cards are always overpriced when I run into them at card shows. 

Good ol' Newk takes us back to the early days of the L.A. Dodgers. Newk is still employed by the club and he often makes appearances at Dodger celebrations and other occasions. 

Finally, the Tornado. Nomo earned the nickname due to his corkscrew windup.

I've got plenty of 90's shiny, busy, and laser-cut Nomo cards, but this simple example from Pacific Collection is one of my faves. Here we get a simple design, an odd brown diamond for the team logo to sit on, and a fantastic afternoon shot of Nomo's trademark windup. 

This all brings me to start off a new adage: Great pitching deserves great cardboard. Always. 

Aloha!