frankendodger sheet 81 (cards 721-726) - this is the end...

here's sheet number 81 of my dodger frankenset - cards numbered 721-726:

and the back:

[update! - i replaced card number 725 as the 1990 target dodgers were meant to be place holders. so, here's sheet number 81; front and back]

these cards are:

721. 1992 donruss jose offerman
722. 1984 topps bob welch
723. 1998 donruss collections preferred mike piazza
724. 2008 upper deck ramon troncoso
725. 1990 target john shelby 2022 topps heritage high numbers clayton kershaw
726. 1981 topps rick monday

the "no brainer" of the day:

i believe that the shelby card may be the only number 725 card ever produced to feature a dodger.  so, it is the no brainer of the day by default.

about the cards:

the much maligned 1992 donruss set opens up the final sheet with a card of much maligned jose offerman.  1992 was the year that offerman took over the shortstop position for the dodgers full-time. he held the position through the 1995 season, after which the dodgers and royals did the steve sax/willie randolph thing with offerman and greg gagne and "swapped" shortstops even though offerman was traded to the royals for a reliever and gagne left kc through free agency.

bob welch's 1984 topps card is up next.  the back of the card - in both the text below the stats and in the important sounding "dateline" section - mentions a couple of shutouts thrown by welch in 1983.  in addition to the one-hitter against the phillies and the 6-hitter in which welch homered for the only run, he also threw a 2-hit shutout that season against the mets, beating tom seaver in the process.

mike piazza makes an appearance on the final sheet with a card from the 1998 donruss collections preferred set. the card is number 173 in the regular preferred set, but in this shinier collections set, it's number 723 (the card number is in the lower right on the back).  strangely enough, the only other option for this spot besides the 1990 target set is piazza's 1992 fleer procards minor league card showing him as an albuquerque duke.

upper deck's last contribution to my dodger frankenset is ramon troncoso's 2008 ud flagship card.  it leaves me wondering if anyone ever entered those codes on the back of these cards into upper deck's website.  i did for some back in 2006, i think, but never enough to have it amount to anything. i don't even remember what the purpose was.

it figures that another 1990 target card would make the last sheet, and here is john shelby to fill a spot that otherwise would not be filled.  t-bone had a career year for the dodgers in 1987 following his trade from baltimore, and he won his second world series ring (he won with the orioles in 1983) as the dodger centerfielder in 1988. clayton kershaw was held back for the high numbers release in 2022, and i am glad that was the case! john shelby still exists in the set thanks to his 1989 topps card, so no harm no foul here!

that brings us to card number 726, the last card in the set, and it's rick monday's 1981 topps card.  wilbur wood was card number 726 in 1978 topps, the first set that i collected, but i later discovered that topps sets were not always 726 cards, and in fact the 1978 set was the first time they had been that exact size.  topps maintained the 726 set for three more seasons - the giants' prospect card held that place in 1979, and in 1980 and 1981, it was a dodger at the end of the set, with the centerfielder of my youth holding court in 1981. of course, this was also the year that the traded set was reinstated, and the numbering of that set began at 727, so one could argue that monday's card is not really the last in the set.

cards that didn't make the cut:

there weren't a lot of cards to choose from for this sheet, and so the biggest dilemma i faced was whether to go with the monday card at 726 or use steve yeager's 1980 topps card

there instead.  mo won out, thanks in part to his card featuring an action shot and being from their world championship season.  as for filling out the sheet, henry rodriguez's 1994 topps card

is numbered 727, and there are a couple of options at 728 (1985 topps bob bailor

and 1986 topps mike marshall

to be specific) had i chosen to extend the set.  however, the only 729 i could find (other than the target set) was a 1992 minor league card of eddie pye as an albuquerque duke from that same set as the piazza i mentioned above.  it's just as well to keep the set to 726 cards in my opinion.

my favorite card on the page:

that would be the rick monday card. it is fairly representative of the 1981 postseason to me.

final thoughts:

it wasn't too long after i ended my run at garveyceyrusselllopes about 13 months ago that i started working on this frankenset. it kept me busy with my collection, as did the trades that continued to happen even though i didn't have an active blog at the time.

speaking of trades, i offer a big thanks to those that continued to trade with me, and to those who are trading with me still.  i haven't posted any of the cards that i've received in trades over the last 13 months, so i'll give thanks here to the writer's journey, play at the plate, penny sleeve for your thoughts, arpsmith, tim wallach, tribe cards, dime boxes, 2x3 heroes, bob walk the plank, all trade bait all the time, off hiatus, brad's blog, infield fly rule, waiting 'til next year, baseball card breakdown, baseball every night, waxaholic, fuji, and night owl, who has even commented on all of these posts (assuming he comments on this one).  i've been tracking my trades on the sidebar over at garveyceyrusselllopes, updating it whenever i send or receive a package. it's mainly so i don't miss on sending a return package to someone, and completed trades get removed from the list after about a month. as a result, i may have forgotten to thank someone in the text above - if so, i apologize.  i hope to keep trading even after this blog is completed, and i'll keep that tracker going as long as folks are sending me cards. it is appreciated.

finally, thanks for indulging me with this endeavor.  it was fun to put together and share with you.

i'll be around...

frankendodger sheet 68 (cards 604-612) - don't sweat it...

here's sheet number 68 of my dodger frankenset - cards numbered 604-612:

and the back:

these cards are:

604. 1992 topps chris gwynn
605. 1979 topps rick monday
606. 1981 fleer steve garvey
607. 1988 topps mickey hatcher
608. 1991 bowman tom goodwin
609. 1982 topps rick sutcliffe
610. 1983 topps steve garvey
611. 1994 topps todd worrell
612. 2006 topps dodgers team

the "no brainer" of the day:

that would be steve garvey's last topps flagship card of him as a dodger.

about the cards:

chris gwynn could have been on this sheet twice instead of garvey, but i only gave him one spot. i chose sweaty chris gwynn and his 1992 topps card to start the sheet rather than use his 1989 upper deck card a couple of spots later.

rick monday was hitting .292 with 13 homers and 39 rbi heading into july of 1978 when he was voted in by the fans to start the all-star game for the national league. by the end of july, he was hitting .258 and still had 13 homers and 39 rbi. still, he was able to secure the all-star banner on his 1979 topps card thanks to his decent first half and the ballot-stuffing dodger fans.

it was pretty cool for a dodger and steve garvey fan to open packs of 1981 fleer and find out that the garv had two cards in the set.  this one was part of what would become the 'superstar special' subset in later fleer releases, and it recognizes garvey for having the most hits in the national league in 1980.  or, as fleer puts it, "most hits nl".  willie wilson also got an extra card in '81 fleer, as he led all players in hits with 230 (30 more than garvey) as well as in runs scored.

mickey hatcher was ok during the 1988 regular season, but his 1988 topps card here reminds me of his world series heroics that year.  after hitting .293 with one home run in the regular season, hatcher hit .368 with 2 home runs in 5 games against the a's.  had hershiser not been lights out in two games, i am sure that hatcher would have been the mvp of the series.

tom goodwin's 1991 bowman card features the future dodger double dipper wearing the always cool dual-ear flap helmet.  cards like this made me feel closer to the big leagues thanks to the helmets i wore while playing baseball. steve garvey even wore the dual-ear flaps a few times.

rick sutcliffe's 1982 topps card was his last as a dodger, as he had been traded to the indians in december of 1981. all he did after that was lead the american league in era in '82 and then win the cy young in '84 after being traded to the cubbies. speaking of last topps cards as a dodger, here's steve garvey's 1983 flagship card.  at least garvey got the o-pee-chee team and text variation treatment that year, while sutcliffe's 1982 opc card was too far along when the trade was made for the good canadian card makers to slap on the 'traded' text and different team affiliation.

todd worrell was still on his way back from injury when he signed with the dodgers for the 1993 season. he missed a fair chunk of the early '93 campaign which is reflected in the stats on the back of his 1994 topps card.  by 1995, worrell was back to his old self, and he set the dodger single season record for saves - a mark he broke the following year.

final card on the page is the 2006 topps dodger team card. these are your wild card winning dodgers who got swept out of the nlds by the mets, except the card uses the team photo from 2005 so jim tracy is still there instead of grady little, along with other missing players.

cards that didn't make the cut:

2014 topps clayton kershaw at number 604, 1978 topps rick rhoden

at number 605, 1991 topps jim gott at number 606, 1989 upper deck chris gwynn

at number 607, 2009 topps heritage jon garland at number 608, 1991 bowman darryl strawberry at number 609, 1984 topps steve sax at number 610, 2005 topps brad penny at number 611, and 1991 upper deck dennis cook

at number 612.

my favorite card on the page:

i like the 'bonus' 1981 fleer garvey card, and his 1983 topps card also has meaning, but my favorite here is the rick monday card due to the all-star banner.

final thoughts:

that is a lot of pink/purple for the dodgers, even if the bowman design was the same for all teams. night owl did a study and noted this pink dodger phenomenon that thankfully ended with the 1988 set. let's hope it stays that way.

frankendodger sheet 65 (cards 577-585) - the dodgers' first rated rookie...

here's sheet number 65 of my dodger frankenset - cards numbered 577-585:

and the back:

these cards are:

577. 1982 topps rick monday
578. 1991 upper deck mike morgan
579. 1983 donruss greg brock
580. 1968 topps bob bailey
581. 1985 donruss orel hershiser
582. 1989 topps mike marshall
583. 1992 score stan javier
584. 1996 upper deck collector's choice brett butler
585. 2010 upper deck clayton kershaw/matt kemp

the "no brainer" of the day:

that would be the hershiser card.

about the cards:

i remember opening packs of topps cards in 1982 hoping for a rick monday card highlighting his nlcs home run.  i was disappointed as this was the only card topps made of monday that year.  for whatever reason, topps took 1979 and 1980 off when it came to postseason cards, brought them back in 1981, and then dropped them from the checklist until, what - 1997?  i made my own 1982 topps nlcs monday card (two of them, actually),

along with other cards for the 1981 world series.

upper deck showed mike morgan on the basepaths in 1992, and the year prior, they had him ready for some bp.  he seems to be an odd choice for these sorts of cards as he hit .098 as a dodger, but they are better than another generic pitching motion card.  i do, however, appreciate the generic pitching motion photo on the back as it also includes part of the old field level scoreboard from dodger stadium.

one of the best things about the 1984 donruss set (my favorite donruss set, by the way) was the introduction of rated rookies. sid fernandez was a dodger in that set, and was included in the rated rookie subset that immediately followed the diamond kings subset at the beginning of the set, complete with the special banner on the front of the card.  however, donruss introduced the rated rookie concept in 1983, with greg brock being a part of those players chosen.  however, donruss decided to make the rated rookie designation known only on the back of the cards, so it didn't really capture the same level of interest.  still, brock is the dodgers' first rated rookie.

i like bob bailey's 1968 topps card a lot.  it has to do with the colors and the composition of the card (and the fact that bailey, who was acquired by the dodgers prior to the 1967 season in the maury wills deal, is not hatless). the burlap design works well with the dodger blue, the blue sky, the red circle, and the pop of red and white from the florida state flag in the upper left corner. throw in some green from the palm tree, and you've got a winner of a card.  i am curious to see how 2017 heritage plays out.

we already saw the leaf version of orel hershiser's rookie card, and now here is the donruss issue.  i found a double of the topps rookie, and i may go back and put it in the set (sorry 1987 topps tom lasorda), but then again, i may not.

mike marshall's 1989 topps card reminds me that i had too high of expectations for him coming out of the minors. the stats on the back show that he never drove in over 100 runs or hit over .300 with the dodgers despite some massive numbers in the pcl.

stan javier, seen here on his 1992 score card, was the guy the dodgers got from the a's in exchange for willie randolph back in 1990. he stayed with the club into their terrible 1992 season until he was traded to the phillies.

speaking of being traded, brett butler was dealt back to the dodgers by the mets after spending just part of the 1995 season in queens. when he returned, however, his number 22 was being worn by chad fonville, so butler went with 12 as seen on his 1996 collector's choice card. at some point, fonville switched to 3, and butler took 22 back, but i don't know if the photo on the back of the card (with butler sporting the 22 turtleneck and helmet) are from before or after his stint with the ny metropolitans.

last card on the sheet is from upper deck's 2010 swan song, and it features the duo of clayton kershaw and matt kemp - with visible logos! it's another team checklist card in the vein of topps sets circa 1982-1984.

cards that didn't make the cut:

1986 topps jerry reuss

at number 577, 1972 topps billy grabarkewitz at number 578, 1996 upper deck collector's choice greg gagne at number 579, 1991 upper deck jose vizcaino at number 580, 1988 topps tito landrum

at number 581, 1989 donruss ricky horton at number 582, 1983 topps terry forster

at number 583, 1976 topps stan wall at number 584, and 1990 topps kal daniels at number 585.

my favorite card on the page:

bob bailey edges out orel hershiser for the honor.

final thoughts:

thanks to the smaller set sizes and relative scarcity of cards from higher numbered series, the bailey card is the last of the 1968 set to make the frankenset, and the penultimate 1960's card, period.  it's not all junk wax era from here on out, but there are far fewer sets to choose from in these lofty numbers.

frankendodger sheet 7 (cards 55-63) - not the same...

here's sheet number 7 of my dodger frankenset - cards numbered 55-63:

and the back:

these cards are:

55. 2015 topps heritage justin turner
56. 2001 fleer greats of the game wes parker
57. 1966 topps jim lefebvre
58. 2009 upper deck signature stars jim thome
59. 1997 skybox circa brett butler
60. 1981 donruss rick monday
61. 2005 upper deck sp legendary cuts pee wee reese
62. 2010 topps national chicle chad billingsley
63. 2005 topps all-time fan favorites bob welch

the "no brainer" of the day:

i've written before regarding my affection for the 1966 topps jim lefebvre, so it was definitely on the must include list for this set.

about the cards:

one of my guidelines for this set is not to repeat the same set on any sheet.  that guideline is violated near the end of the set, but not here - even though it looks like there are two 1966 topps cards.  thanks to the heritage set, both justin turner and lefebvre appear on this sheet with the same design.  it's too bad turner isn't striking the same pose as lefebvre, though.

in between those two is a fantastic card of gold glove extraordinaire wes parker.  i am a fan of the 2001 fleer greats of the game set, and am just now getting around to posting a want list to complete it.  the thome card is somewhat forgettable, but the circa brett butler card has a superhero quality to it due to the colors and the 'butler' text.

i opened a bunch of 1981 donruss, and remember buying a brick of dodger cards from a fellow collector that summer.  as a result, i had a ton of dodger doubles - many of which i still have today.  monday gets to represent that set in the early going.

i'm not much of a fan of the 2005 legendary cuts set, but pee wee fit nicely here, so there it is.  i do like, however, the 2010 national chicle set, and this billingsley is a pretty decent card to rep that set.  i know there is at least one other card from that set later on.

finally, the welch.  he had a decent year in 1982 (16-11 with a 3.36 era), but i first thought that the point of the 2005 all-time fan favorites set was to use the card design from a player's best season (i later figured out that it wasn't), and 1982 wasn't it for welch. he had some better years, but i really wanted to see him on a 1978 design, if not on a card recognizing the awesomeness of his game 2 strikeout of reggie jackson in the 1978 world series.

cards that didn't make the cut:

don drysdale's 1967 topps card is number 55 in that set, but big d is out of commission until i get closer to card number 200 (or, in his case, card number 212 - hint, hint).  other notable cards that were omitted for various reasons include steve garvey's 1981 donruss card (number 56), a sweet charlie dressen 1979 tcma card (also number 56) that i have yet to acquire even one copy of, reggie smith's 1978 o-pee-chee card (number 57), a 2006 topps co-signers dual auto card of tommy john and bob welch (number 58),

a 1973 topps (or o-pee-chee) steve yeager (number 59), and a 2001 topps tribute tom lasorda (number 60).

my favorite card on the page:

well, there's the lefebvre which is clearly my favorite card on this page.  but visually, there is something about 2001 fleer greats of the game cards that i really like and the butler card is the star of the page the way it jumps out at you, so it was more difficult to stick with the 1965 rookie of the year than you might imagine.

final thoughts:

look at all that potential energy on display on the monday card! enough to hit a home run in olympic stadium and dash the hopes of expo fans, anyway.