frankendodger sheet 69 (cards 613-621) - bat flip!...

here's sheet number 69 of my dodger frankenset - cards numbered 613-621:

and the back:

these cards are:

613. 2015 topps josh beckett
614. 2003 topps kevin brown
615. 1969 topps len gabrielson
616. 1994 donruss dave hansen
617. 1986 donruss bill madlock
618. 1994 score raul mondesi
619. 1992 pinnacle brett butler
620. 1977 topps don sutton
621. 1975 sspc mickey vernon

the "no brainer" of the day:

given the lack of manager cards in topps' flagship series, the beckett card featuring don mattingly was an easy choice for the set.

about the cards:

josh beckett's 2015 stadium club card features the better photo, but i still like his flagship series 2 card for the mattingly appearance and for the fact that topps recognized beckett's no-hitter even though it came in his final season and he didn't get a regular final tribute card in the set (this card is a checklist).

the 2003 topps kevin brown card doesn't use the typical side view of a pitcher in their delivery, but the best part about this card (aside from the blue border that made 2003 topps a great set for dodger fans) is the inset photo of brown with a batting helmet on.  i was never kevin brown's biggest fan, but i did watch him warm up in the bullpen a few times, and also saw him throw on the side before a couple of games, and i will not forget the sound of the ball hitting the catchers' mitt. dude threw hard.

len gabrielson brings us the last 1960's card of the set. his 1969 topps card notes that he led the dodgers with 10 home runs in 1968. those 10 homers were a career high for gabrielson, who followed up that performance with just one home run in 1969.

dave hansen's 1994 donruss card actually shows him in the field, which is nice. hansen had played 108 games at third in 1992, but that number was down to just 18 in 1993 and then just 7 in 1994 as his career as a pinch-hitting specialist took off.

the best thing about bill madlock's 1986 donruss card is pinky tuscadero in the background above the dodger logo. i have no idea who that really is or what they are doing on the field.

1994 score gave us this raul mondesi card with the disgusted bat flip. i am guessing that the umpire who made the bad third strike call is either joe west, angel hernandez, or eric gregg.

the 1992 pinnacle brett butler card is pretty cool in that it dissects the bunt process. i know of a few major leaguers that could use a bunting tutorial, with byron buxton being at the top of the list.

don sutton is not suttoning on his 1977 topps card, but that's ok.  instead, he's striking the go-to full windup, hands behind head pose.

last card is the 1975 sspc mickey vernon card. vernon never played for the dodgers, but he was on walt alston's coaching staff as the team's hitting coach in 1975. vernon had begun his coaching career with the pirates in 1960 (he was their first base coach), but was activated in september of that year as the pirates were headed to a pennant and world series championship - vernon was manny mota before manny mota!

cards that didn't make the cut:

bill madlock at number 617 may be the only non-target set option at number 617, but i had these cards to consider at the other spots: 1990 score jose vizcaino at number 613, 1991 bowman eddie murray at number 614, 2013 topps mark ellis

at number 615, 1972 topps joe ferguson

at number 616, 1993 bowman raul mondesi at number 618, 2008 topps heritage blake dewitt at number 619, 1974 topps al downing at number 620, and 1973 topps joe ferguson

at number 621,

my favorite card on the page:

if you've been following along with this blog, you probably know that a coach card is going to beat out most others.  i like the beckett and the butler and the mondesi, but the vernon card is my favorite of the bunch.

final thoughts:

i know that the 1975 sspc set is really a 1976 set (kind of like 2012 panini prizm which came out in 2013). i refer to it as 1975 because of the copyright date, but i think most call it 1976 because of the release date (which was delayed due to legal issues if i recall correctly).

frankendodger sheet 66 (cards 586-594) - get your kicks...

here's sheet number 66 of my dodger frankenset - cards numbered 586-594:

and the back:

these cards are:

586. 1978 topps ed goodson
587. 1994 topps stadium club dave hansen
588. 2012 topps mark ellis
589. 1995 topps pedro astacio
590. 1993 donruss lenny harris
591. 1992 bowman jamie mcandrew
592. 1986 donruss franklin stubbs
593. 1974 topps steve yeager
594. 2013 topps carl crawford

the "no brainer" of the day:

i wanted to get a card from 1992 bowman into the set, seeing as how it was such a big deal. i ignored it at the time, but did go back and complete my dodger team set a few years ago.  i recall buying a pack at a card store in orange county around 1996 - the only pack i ever bought - for a high price, hoping for a piazza rookie. i got a charles johnson gold foil card, which at the time wasn't too bad. still didn't pay for the pack.  anyway, jamie mcandrew's card was not a no brainer, but the set it represents was, so that will have to do for this sheet.

about the cards:

i suppose ed goodson's 1978 topps card could have been the no brainer.  i have a history with it, trying to find an autographed copy for my modest 1978 topps dodger autograph project. i am still pretty happy about finding one and buying it before anyone else jumped on it.

it must have been a hot day in vero beach when they took the photo for dave hansen's 1994 stadium club card - there aren't too many folks in the seats.

mark ellis' 2012 topps card features some bad photoshopping of his uniform. he's a rockie (or maybe still an athletic) in the original photo.

i bought a lot of 1995 topps. maybe it was because of the strike and i needed a baseball fix. it wasn't because of the design - i didn't get the frayed edges of the photos or the font used for player names.  anyway, this pedro astacio card is the first '95 topps card in the set which says a lot about how much i don't care for it.

lenny harris is turning two on his 1993 donruss card against the braves. that is obviously david justice sliding in. it could be a play from the 5th inning of the september 7, 1992 game between the clubs - harris was at second when sid bream hit a ball to short with justice on first. the 6-4-3 double play was successful.

jamie mcandrew did not pitch for the dodgers in the big leagues.  shortly after his 1992 bowman card was released, he was taken by the colorado rockies in the 1993 expansion draft. the rockies later traded him to the brewers, and he made it to the bigs with milwaukee in 1995.

there's not much to say about franklin stubbs' 1986 donruss card, or steve yeager's 1974 topps card for that matter. we've seen plenty of cards from these sets and of these players in the set already.  yeager's card, however, has a couple of things going for it - a cartoon (steve enjoys art), and a couple of interesting facts about his experience in a game played on august 8, 1972. the card says that yeager had an extra-inning record 22 putouts in that game, and that he also had a record 24 chances in the same game. it was a 19 inning affair against the reds, and dodger pitchers struck out 22 batters accounting for yeager's putouts, and he caught two runners stealing, giving him 2 assists and 24 chances.  this game was the sixth game of yeager's big league career, and he had caught complete games in the dodgers' previous five contests. yeager caught all 19 innings of this game, and started the next day, too, although he only made it to the 7th inning.

last card on the sheet is carl crawford's 2013 topps card, which, like the ellis earlier, features some obvious photoshopping.

cards that didn't make the cut:

1996 upper deck collector's choice mike blowers

at number 586, 1984 donruss bill russell at number 587, 1989 score mario soto

at number 588, 1993 topps carlos hernandez at number 589, 1991 topps eddie murray at number 590, 1991 bowman bob ojeda at number 591, 1985 donruss ken howell at number 592, 2003 upper deck masao kida at number 593, and 1975 sspc checklist (carl erskine, ralph branca, and pee wee reese)

at number 594.

my favorite card on the page:

the goodson card has some meaning to me, but i like the hansen card the best out of this group.

final thoughts:

sheet 66 makes me think of historic route 66 and yasiel puig (and, i suppose, mario lemieux).  i've driven parts of route 66 over the years, but never made the full run from chicago to santa monica.  i have gotten some kicks, mostly in 2013, from watching yasiel puig play, but i am more and more resigned to the fact that he won't recapture that dynamic anytime soon. with the hamstring injuries and trade rumors swirling, i don't know whether puig finishes out the season as a dodger, let alone on an active roster.  we may know more later today...