frankendodger sheet 77 (cards 685-693) - goodbye to vintage...

here's sheet number 77 of my dodger frankenset - cards numbered 685-693:

and the back:

these cards are:

685. 1970 topps tom haller
686. 1993 topps stadium club tim wallach
687. 2005 topps adam laroche
688. 1991 upper deck stan javier
689. 1992 upper deck chris gwynn
690. 1991 topps orel hershiser
691. 1998 upper deck bobby bonilla
692. 1993 upper deck todd worrell
693. 1981 topps steve howe

the "no brainer" of the day:

that would be the 1992 upper deck chris gwynn card, with the rare double play turn attempt at third base.

about the cards:

the best thing about the 1970 topps tom haller card is not fact that it actually features haller in a dodger uniform, nor that he has a look on his face that balances tolerance and annoyance for and with the photographer.  it's what is happening in the background with the two players over his left shoulder.

are they playing pepper? perhaps, but the fact that the guy with the bat is using his glove as home plate, just like we did as kids, is awesome.

i chose the 1993 topps stadium club tim wallach card for this spot over a steve garvey card from 1972 due to the fact that i didn't have a spare of the garvey card.  it's his high numbered second year card that is the most expensive to obtain.  garvey has had a good run in this frankenset, but i'm still a little bummed that he's not in this spot, too.

andy laroche's 2005 topps card is the next one up. laroche was a 39th round draft pick of the dodgers in 2003, so i suppose it's not a surprise that he had a short career.  i had hoped that he would bring stability to the hot corner for the dodgers, but he was traded to pittsburgh as part of the three-team manny ramirez/jason bay deal in 2008.

now we have stan javier's 1991 upper deck card right next to chris gwynn's 1992 upper deck card so we can see the design evolution. there's not much of a connection there, as upper deck finished their run around the bases in 1991 and went to something different in '92.  i was drawn in by the floating team logo within the picture on the 1992 cards, perhaps because i liked the 1991 topps set that had done something similar with the logo (although with a ribbon behind it) as evidenced by the 1991 topps orel hershiser card that finishes off this row.

i almost made it through the frankenset without a bobby bonilla card, but relented and put this 1998 upper deck card in at number 691.  bobby bo played for the dodgers in the last half of the 1998 season following the mike piazza trade, and i was pleased when they did not retain him for the 1999 season.

todd worrell's 1993 upper deck card features more foliage than we are used to seeing on a baseball card - both on front and back, but steve howe's 1981 topps card puts things back in a stadium where they belong.  i really liked the '81 topps design with the hats, and i have to believe that it influenced don and russ to go with the ball and glove designs for their product in the two years that followed.

cards that didn't make the cut:

1990 donruss ramon martinez at number 685, 1972 topps steve garvey

at number 686, 1992 upper deck tim crews at number 687, 1998 upper deck gary sheffield

at number 688, 1992 bowman pedro astacio at number 689, 1991 upper deck jim gott at number 690, 2002 upper deck 40 man andy ashby at number 691, 1992 donruss alfredo griffin at number 692, and 1971 topps jose pena

at number 693.

my favorite card on the page:

given the absence of the 1972 topps garvey on the page, it's a bit of a toss up.  still, i really do like the gwynn card, so it take the honors for today.

final thoughts:

it's a topic that has been thrown around the blogosphere for a long time - what is vintage? to me, vintage was always 1970 and prior, although i now see 1971 and 1972 as vintage, too.  the 1970 thing is based on when i was born. the 1970 topps set came out before i entered this world, so it's vintage. i am not. yet.  in 1984 i really began to take an interest in the 1971 set beyond the dodgers (i had a few cards, including a reggie jackson that i bought at the very first card show i attended), and an appreciation for the 1972 set followed soon thereafter. i was never really excited by the 1973 set until just a few years ago, so that's why i cut the vintage tag off with 1972.  at any rate, there was an opportunity to have the three 1970's vintage (to me) sets represented on this sheet, and only tom haller's 1970 topps card made it.  however, if a certain lawyer in new mexico wants to send me a fifth 1972 topps steve garvey card (i currently have one in the garvey collection, one in the dodger team collection, one signed in the garvey collection, and one in the 1972 topps set binder) for that 1993 stadium club tim wallach card, then the '72 garv would be the last vintage card in this set.

frankendodger sheet 51 (cards 451-459) - that is possibly the worst baseball card photo pose...

here's sheet number 51 of my dodger frankenset - cards numbered 451-459:

and the back:

these cards are:

451. 1995 score jeff treadway
452. 1987 fleer bill russell
453. 1998 upper deck mike piazza
454. 1994 bowman delino deshields
455. 1988 topps shawn hillegas
456. 2006 topps turkey red rafael furcal
457. 1968 topps jim lefebvre
458. 1993 donruss kevin gross
459. 1984 donruss burt hooton

the "no brainer" of the day:

i suppose the 1987 fleer bill russell 'final tribute' card is about as close as we get to a no brainer on this page.

about the cards:

i think the 1995 score treadway would have worked better as a vertical card. at least that way, terry shumpert's head wouldn't have been cut off. bill russell's elbows might be cropped out of the photo on his 1987 fleer card, but with the angle of the image we get somewhat of a 'hero' shot on russell's final fleer card.  the shortstop of the team of my youth played in his last game in 1986, and i am pleased that two of the three major card companies (shame on you, donruss) came through with final tributes in 1987.

mike piazza had 7 cards in the 1998 upper deck set, not counting inserts.  all but one of those show piazza as a dodger, with the last having both a mets and marlins version.  so, all of the piazza cards in this set remind me of the trade that sent the strongest man in socal away.  i don't know what the 'upper echelon' foil on the front of this particular card from that set is all about, but i do appreciate the photo on the back. with all of the boring spring training photos we've been subjected to since the beginning of card creation, it's nice to see a different aspect of the dodgers' time in vero beach.

delino deshields looks a little washed out on his 1994 bowman card which makes me think of all the times that i heard vin scully refer to the 'shirtsleeves' crowd when a fielder missed a line drive.  shawn hillegas's 1988 topps card, however, makes me think of the fact that hillegas was traded to the white sox during the 1988 season, and so he missed out on, to paraphrase scully, the impossible happening.

next up is rafael furcal on a 2006 topps turkey red card.  furcal is displaying the worst pose ever used on a baseball card, in my opinion.  in the interest of full disclosure, however, there is a photo of me somewhere at my parents house wherein i am displaying the same unnatural baseball pose while standing in front of the outfield wall at dodger stadium.  ah, camera day.

speaking of poses, jim lefebvre's pose in the photo used for his 1968 topps card is different than the type of pose we usually see from infielders in that he has his glove turned the other way.  just an observation.  another observation i have is that the pitch kevin gross has thrown on his 1993 donruss cards looks like it is going to be high, but it is hard to tell for sure.

the last card of the page is a 1984 donruss burt hooton card that catches him throwing his signature knuckle-curve, along with his lean.  check out that grip!  and, is there another pitcher that leans back the way hooton used to? i can't think of anyone off the top of my head.

cards that didn't make the cut:

some of the cards that i passed up include 2015 topps clayton kershaw

at number 451, 1993 fleer bob ojeda at number 452, 1991 topps lenny harris at number 453, 1994 pinnacle pedro astacio

at number 454, 2001 topps eric karros at number 455, 1995 topps stadium club tom candiotti at number 456, 2009 upper deck dodgers leaders (chad billingsley, matt kemp, james loney) at number 457, 1999 upper deck victory mike piazza

at number 458, and 1985 donruss mike scioscia at number 459.

my favorite card on the page:

since the piazza card makes me kind of sad, i'll say that the russell card is my favorite of these nine cards.

final thoughts:

the all-star break is here, and the dodgers have been playing well as of late.  unfortunately for us dodger fans, so have the giants.  i am hoping that kershaw is able to return right after the break, and also that corey seager doesn't lose his swing by participating in the home run derby.