Wes' Big ol' Cube - The Finale

Aloha, everybody, 

I hope you're all doing fine out there. I had a wonderful getaway to Laughlin, Nevada this past weekend. If you're unfamiliar, Laughlin is kinda like a VERY much slower and smaller Las Vegas. It's located along the shores of the Colorado River, with Arizona sitting on the other side. 

I needed to decompress from daily life and crazy politics on my mind, so Laughlin really hit the spot. Now that I'm back, let's get this part of daily life back on the burner and roll out the final highlights from the cube o' cards that mi hermano, Wes, sent out to me. 

We'll lead off with some cool vintage 1975 Topps that also filled in slots from my Dodgers team checklists...

Above is Boomer rockin' the 70' sideburns, and below is the greatest pinch hitter ever. 

Mota's beautiful card features the bonus of the Dodger Stadium pavilion with the old school scoreboard and paint scheme, and the famous palm trees, that Vin Scully dubbed "The Three Sisters". 

Speaking of beautiful cards: We get World Series Hero, Joe Ferguson, Hall of Fame skipper, Walter Alston, and a slew of Dodgers in the background...

For years I had only the mini version of this Mike Marshall card. Thanks to Wes, I now have its big brother. 

How about that? Two Hall of Famers on one card...

Here's Tommy John wearing his cap like the Sears photographer plopped it on him at the last second...

No, Marshall is not flinging a "poop ball special". Those brown things are small tears on the card surface. 

Here comes a nice surprise: A fistful of 1986 Oh-Pee-Chee Dodgers...

Gotta love that spelling on VandeBERG. The Dodgers have 22 of these, so Wes has given me a good head start on the team set. 

BTW, the cards look just like they came out of a pack last week. 

More newish-looking cards from 1987 Leaf...

I've never even seen variations like these before. The card backs feature text in English and French. Very cool. 

That finishes off the cube. As always, another fun pummeling from good ol' Wes. I'm still putting together my return salvo, so keep your helmet on, hermano. Fire directed at you coming soon! 

Aloha! 

Found in a Corner of my Clubhouse

Aloha, everybody, 

I was cleaning out my scans folder when I noticed a folder of cards that I haven't posted about yet! 

Adam from Cardboard Clubhouse sent some cards to help me check off some Dodgers team collecting goals, and I just found the scans I made.  Sorry for the delay in posting, Adam. My bad. 

Adam will (very) soon be hitting the pause button on his blog, so I hope he'll get to see this post before his new baby makes him forget there is such a thing as baseball cards. Homeboy will soon be consumed with baby bottles and bassinets! Good luck and congratulations, Adam! 

Without any more delay, let's check these cards out. There's a baby a-comin'! 

Leading off is Johnnie Oates, a Dodgers backup catcher with a Ron Cey backup mustache and full-fledged hair flips all his own... 

You might also remember Johnnie as manager of the Texas Rangers. 

This next guy never managed a ball club - he had enough trouble managing his own life. That said, I will always have a soft spot in my heart for The Straw because he was the home grown kid who returned to LA to play with the boys in blue. 

Someday, I'll have enough Strawberry cards to actually have dupes that I can send off to my friend, Peter, the only other Strawberry collector I know. 

Bobby Ojeda...I do love them Dodgers southpaws...

THIS next card was a very pleasant surprise. I don't know how many Dodgers cards Pedro got, but I suspect not many. I want and need more. 

Bonus: Dodger Stadium Anniversary sleeve patch. Darryl is sporting the other side of the patch in his card above. 

Here we go. Let's check some Dodgers off the team checklist! 

Bill North, card 668 is the last Dodger I need to close out 1979 Topps. 

Manny Mota! A forever Dodger. 

Finally, this awesome Walter Alston and his coaches card from '74 Topps. 

Bonus: Tommy Lasorda below, waiting in the wings for his chance at the helm, and legendary Brooklyn Dodger, Jimmy Gilliam. Great card! 

THANKS for the great batch of cards, Adam! He probably can't hear me because he's off practicing how to change a diaper. LOL 

Aloha! 

My Cards Are Marching Toward Their Collecting Goal

Aloha, everybody, 

I received a PWE from Jon, the proprietor of the brilliantly named blog,  "A Penny Sleeve For Your Thoughts". Jon sent some cards to help me along with my "Perfect Game Project" and he chipped away at my Dodgers team sets chase also. 

I don't want to lead off my post with hated Giants, so let's start off with a couple of Dodgers that I needed for the 1970 Topps team set. Here's the skipper, Walter Alston...

You can see The Quiet Man didn't spend as much time at the clubhouse buffet as Tommy Lasorda, his successor. 

Thanks for chipping those guys off my wantlist, Jon. 

OK, on to the 2012 perfect game battery of Matt Cain and Buster Posey...

    BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

Cain on flagship 2012 Topps, Posey on the Topps Chrome release...

Jon also sent along the ultimate perfect game card for King Felix, from one of the two perfect games thrown in 2012...

Now I need his battery-mate, John Jaso. Anybody out there got one?

I'm including a shot of Jon's cardboard box packing because it was the first time I'd received cards packed like this, and I want you all to see this option. 

It was a simple box cut to fold in half and protect the cards. Lightweight and easy to fit in a PWE, it was an easy and free packing solution.  

Back to the cards...

This is a nice little card from Sportsflix. When tilted you get a background of baseball threads or the wood grain of a bat. In this scan you can see both. 

Last up is a shot of the stamps Jon chose. Lots of guys use baseball stamps, but this is the first time I got one from Los Angeles Lakers legend, Wilt the Stilt...

I'm wondering if those penguins are a nod to Ron Cey? 

THANKS for helping with my chases Jon. I'll be putting something in the mail for you in around a week's time. 

Aloha! 

It's Dodger Blue Friday: Vintage Cardboard of a Vintage Manager

Aloha, everybody, 

One more Thanksgiving has come and gone, with one more celebration of the family traditions. Continuity finds its spots throughout our lives, including within our favorite sports franchises. 

When I was growing up, one aspect of Dodgers familiarity was having the same manager year after year. Although the Dodgers had a long tradition of only offering one-year contracts to their manager, it was understood the gig was practically a lifetime appointment. 

The first Dodgers skipper I ever knew was Walter Alston. He managed the club from 1954 to 1976. Today is the 63rd anniversary of his hiring to lead the team. Here's my small collection of Alston cardboard.

Leading off is 1958 Topps and one of my favorite vintage Dodgers cards, Boss and Power. 

1960 Topps. The Dodgers had moved to Los Angeles, but were still playing in the LA Coliseum.  They wouldn't play their first game in Dodger Stadium until 1962. 

Backside...

1961 Topps

1963 Topps. The Dodgers are now in their new stadium at Chavez Ravine. You can tell it's new by the state of the art rotary dial phone in the corner...

 1969 Topps. The world seemed to be topsy-turvy with hot and cold wars, revolutions, and protests everywhere. Among all the chaos there was one certainty, the Dodgers' skipper remained the same. 

Here's the backside cartoon....

1971 Topps. I was just discovering my lifelong love of baseball and all things Dodgers. 

Alston would manage until 1976, a 22-year run. Tommy Lasorda was named his successor, and he ran the club for the next 20 years. 

Continuity certainly has its place. Aloha! 

Zippy Zappings come in Vintage As Well

Aloha, everybody, 

Here's  the final installment of cards that came in the awesome package that Zippy Zappy sent to me.

When ZZ wrote his post about the cards I sent to him, he joked that I probably send him so many cards because I just want to keep him in cardboard debt to me. 

After this Zippy Zapping, I owe ZZ big time!

He chipped off another chunk from my chase for the 1974 Topps Dodgers...

The immortal Tommy John. Sure, half the pitchers on your team have had the surgery named after him, but I was lucky enough to grow up watching him pitch. Ol' TJ was probably my first favorite southpaw pitcher, as Sandy Koufax was before my time. 
 

Here's Billy Buck showing how to NOT field a grounder. Sloppy in Spring Training leads to sloppy in the World Series. Right, Bucky? 
 

I don't remember too much about Ken McMullen. I suspect not too many other people do, as well. 
 

Good ol' Fergie, who I used as a trivia question to stump Stu Nahan in a radio contest and win breakfast at home plate with Tommy Lasorda on Opening Day.
 

 Looks like Joshua is nursing a sore wrist. 

 Loving this Walter Alston card. He was the first Dodger manager in my life, and I can't have too many cards of the skipper. 

Speaking of skippers...

"Look ma, no toothpick."

 Here's one that Matt might appreciate...or dislike???

 I don't know how I missed adding the following card to the previous posts that featured younger players, but luckily I noticed it still sitting in my scans folder, and here it is, better late than never...

 2013 Bowman Sterling Prospect Chris Anderson Auto! 

Anderson is a two million dollar bonus baby, who is now pitching for my local Rancho Cucamonga branch in the Dodgers' minors. 

Finally, a card that traveled - apparently by accident - to ZZ when I put together my previous package for him.

Welcome home, Nomar. 

And THANKS for all these great cards, ZZ. I had a blast opening the package, and adding them to their various new places in binders and team sets. Now I'm in cardboard debt to you.

Aloha!

I'm Always Off Hiatus When It Comes To Great Trades

Hey Everybody,

As a result of the Grand Salami Of Trade Bait series, I was able to connect with Tony L. and his very cool blog, Off Hiatus Baseball Cards.  Tony bit on some Ryan Braun trade bait and the rest is cardboard history.  Tony's a Brewers fan and a fantastic trade partner, so be sure to shoot some Younts, Molitors and vintage Brewers over his way.

BTW - Tony wrote a great post with the cards I sent his way, weaving a mash up of cardboard and music from my rock n' roll tastes.  Tony, you've inspired me to riff off of your post and there'll be a mash up of my own coming soon.

Before that, let's get to these newest additions to my collection.  Apparently Tony and I both had a similar influence in our card-collecting educations; the importance of "Condition, condition, condition" was evident as I opened the trade package he sent...

These 3-D stars are great minis, but I rarely see any in as great a condition as this Dusty Baker.  It looks like it came out of the box yesterday. 

Speaking of miiiiiinnnnnniiiiiiis, here's a mini Goudey.  I'm not usually a collector of minis, but I'm a sucker for numbered and limited editions.  This one is 18/34.  SWEET!

You can never go wrong with shooting me a card of the Garv. Never mind the chop job on the bottom, that was my faulty scanning.  Once again, this 82 Fleer sings the praises of condition.  The surface and gloss are fantastic. 
Hey Nick, how about that great bat barrel shot?  Hey GCRL, how about that arm patch?

As much as I adhere to the Dodgers-Giants rivalry, on occasion, I have to rewire my thinking when ex-Giants switch sides and don the Dodger Blue.  It's certainly easier to do when the player contributes and makes it easy to be a fan. 

It's easy with Juan Uribe, in the past it was easy with Jeff Kent, and before him, it was easy with Brett Butler.  Butler was a pretty good lead off batter and base stealer for the Dodgers. That said, this card shows Butler learned his trade from the Giants and not the Dodgers.  Maury Wills teaches any lead off the base that does not require you to dive back, isn't really a lead at all.  

Did I mention I appreciate vintage that is in good condition?  (Never mind those little splotchy marks on Alston's uni - it's just time to clean the scanner).  Actually, this Walter Alston card is much closer to Ex-Mt condition.  Very nice, indeed. 

Enough with the non-players.  Here's Kenley Jansen, who's discovered the mix of off-speed pitches and 98 mph fastballs makes him a force to contend with in the 9th inning.

While we're on the subject of pitchers to contend with, I'll close out with the greatest pitcher the Dodgers ever had, and just maybe, the best pitcher the game ever saw...

Nuff said.

Thanks for an awesome trade, Tony.  Looking forward to the next one.