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MrMopar's New Dodgers Autograph Thread (and other interesting items on a slow mailday)

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mrmopar

Member
Jan 19, 2010
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It may be a while before a mailday excites me like yesterday, but here is today's mail call

3X SP card with Garvey, Russell & Cey /753x.jpg

Devin Mann Mann.jpg

Al Oliver Archives /22. I am pretty certain I already had this, but oh well. Oliver 22 copy.jpg

The big news of the day is a 1952 Topps High Number auto, PSA certified. I am also thinking I have this card signed already, but I can't go wrong with a 52T Hi # deceased Dodger autograph card. I do not have a lot of 52T Dodger High Numbers, signed or not. It's always a treat to add one. Shuba.jpg
 
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mrmopar

Member
Jan 19, 2010
6,187
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You know something is wrong with the mail when you only have a 1 package mail day on the Monday before Xmas, at least with the amount I seem to buy.

I should be mostly done buying Marichal cards, but that high leg kick is just too awesome to pass up on! I desperately want a certified Dodger card signed. I hope someday someone makes one before it is too late! Marichal GOTG.jpg
 

mrmopar

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Jan 19, 2010
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One new arrival today. No new MLB signatures to add, but maybe a couple new MiLB signatures, not that I am chasing those. This is a 1974 Albuquerque Dukes team ball signed by 21. it was a local purchase that I almost decided to pick up last week, but with work before a vacation taking priority, I had it shipped. It took over a week to deliver, but it came and that is all that matters! I love this ball, as it is LOADED with really obscure Who's Who of no-name 70s Dodger who are also not easy every day signatures!

Several former (future) MLB players on that team. Included on the ball were:

Stan Wasiak (Manager). Long time Dodgers minor league coach/manager.
Herb Vike (Team Trainer) - This one took me a while to verify. Thanks to ebay for a roster sheet that showed Vike as the trainer!

Greg Shanahan - 11 games in 1973-74 for the Dodgers, with no record and 1 save.
Red Hudson - 1 game for the 1974 Dodgers, no decisions and a 22.50 ERA in 2 IP!
Rick Rhoden - Long MLB career, severla years in LA.
Phil Keller - No MLB experience
Orlando Alvarez - Played 10 games for the Dodgers between the 1973-75 seasons. He doubled in 9 ABs for his only Dodger hit.
Bernie Backman - No MLB experience
Bob Randall - Never played for the Dodgers, but did make the majors with the Twins, 1976-80.
Paul Ray Powell - Played 10 games for the Dodgers between 1973 & 1975, going 2-011 with a single and a double.
Eddie Solomon - Played 8 games with the Dodgers between 1973-74, with no decisions and 1 save. Would go on to pitch through 1982 with several teams and only 4 years out of baseball at age 34 died in a car wreck in 1986.
Terry McDermott - played 9 games for the 1972 Dodgers, hitting .130 with 3 singles in 23 AB. I learned he would later work in TV in Albuquerque as a popular sports caster.
Lee Robinson - No MLB experience
Rick Nitz - No MLB experience
Ivan de Jesus - Played 88 games for the 1974-76 Dodgers before heading to Chicago and playing out a decent career through 1988.
Mike Strahler - Strahler pitched in 31 games for the Dodgers from 1970-72, compiling a 2-3 record but had a solid era. His only other MLB experience was for the Tigers in 1973.
Stan Wall - Wall pitched 66 games for the 1975-77 Dodgers and had a 4-6 record and a save in just shy of 100 IP. That was his only MLB experience.
Kevin Pasley - Pasley played in 26 G for the 1974, 76-77 Dodgers and shared his 1977 Topps rookie card with Dale Murphy, probably his biggest claim to fame along with a HR in his final MLB AB, his only career HR!
Bob O'Brien - O'Brien was 2-2 in 14 games with the 1971 Dodgers, his only MLB experience.
Wayne Burney - No MLB experience
Greg Heydeman - He played a single game with the 1973 Dodgers, no decision in 3 IP.

s-l1600.jpgs-l1600-2.jpgAlvarez.jpgs-l1600-4.jpgWall.jpg
 

mrmopar

Member
Jan 19, 2010
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Two packages with autos, but will have to spl;it it to get everything shown.

First the photos:

A Garvey site specific signing photo. It's cheaply made, but still cool that you could only get it via the specific signing. There could be endless variations of things like this, but a lot of signings use generic photos, so always cool to find one with a specific location and/or date. Garv.jpg

Bob Bailey. 5x7 or so sized photo. Bailey.jpg

Moose Skowron, another specific signing PHOTO (laPy Ball, Las Vegas), but even more cheaply made than the Garvey. You can barely see the location in the lower corner, right. I bought a lot of 7 signed photos specifically for the Garvey, so the rest were just freebies (McLain, D. Larsen, D. Ellis & M. Barrett were the other 4 besides Moose and Bailey)mOOSE.jpg

Next were some certified cards, non-Dodger uniforms.

Toby Hall. He saw action in 21 games for the 2006 Dodgers. Once again, thank you baseball-reference.com for the trade details I don't want to retype.

June 27, 2006: Traded by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays with Mark Hendrickson and cash to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a player to be named later, Dioner Navarro and Jae Weong Seo. The Los Angeles Dodgers sent Justin Ruggiano (July 19, 2006) to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to complete the trade.Hall.jpg

Fausto Carmona aka Roberto Hernandez. R hernandez.jpg

Scott Kazmir. He was 10-6 for the 2016 Dodgers and was part of the Matt Kemp return to LA package. The Braves released him a couple months later, so LA was his final career stop.

December 30, 2015: Signed as a Free Agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

December 16, 2017: Traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers with Charlie Culberson, Adrian Gonzalez, Brandon McCarthy and cash to the Atlanta Braves for Matt Kemp.

March 24, 2018: Released by the Atlanta Braves. Kazmir.jpg

Dave Stewart. He was a top Dodger prospect who had his MLB debut in 1978 with 2 scoreless relief innings, where he allowed only a single hit. However, he would not see the bigs again until 1981, when he pitched in 43 games (all in relief) for the World Champs that year. He was 4-3 with 6 saves and a 2.43 era. In the NLDS against Houston, Stewart pitched only 2/3 of an inning between 2 games and got tagged with both losses as he was shelled, 40.50 ERA! The Dodgers did not use him in the NLCS against Montreal and then only 1 1/3 innings in the WS, completing 2 games but with no decisions or saves. This would be his first post season experience, but he would go on to dominate in the playoffs for the A's in the late 80s/early 90s, winning 2 ALCS MVPs and a WS MVP! The Dodgers used him as both a starter and a reliever in 1982 and he was 9-8 with 1 save in 45 games. In 1983, he was pitching pretty well for the Dodgers when they traded him to Texas in August. At the time, he was 5-2 with 8 saves and a 2.56 era.

August 19, 1983: Traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers with a player to be named later and $200,000 to the Texas Rangers for Rick Honeycutt. The Los Angeles Dodgers sent Ricky Wright (September 16, 1983) to the Texas Rangers to complete the trade.

He struggled in Texas and later Philadelphia, before signing in Oakland as a free agent, where something clicked and soon he was a 4 season consecutive 20 game winner (1987-90), all-star and perennial Cy Young candidate, while tearing it up in the playoffs. The brilliance wore off though and by 1995, he was done with MLB as a player. He has been working in the front office lately, inclduing a stint as GM of the Diamond Backs from 2014-16. Stewart.jpg

Lastly, Jimmy Wynn, recently deceased star of the 60s/70s. you'd think on a notable nicknames card, that Panini would have him sign "Toy Cannon" on the card, but nope. Minimal effort, lackluster card! Wynn.jpg

The certified Dodger cards are next...
 

mrmopar

Member
Jan 19, 2010
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Bill Biuckner, another recent passing of 2020. I was able to land both the base and gold /25 auto from the same seller. I really do like those gold cards. Will pick them up when the prices are right regardless of the player. Buckner Gold.jpgBuckner.jpg

Maury Wills wraps up a nice mail day. Wills.jpg
 

mrmopar

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Jan 19, 2010
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Al Oliver /22 Archives, a dupe. Oliver 22.jpg

Gary Bennett. Another wanderer who ended his career in LA. Bennett spent 10 games in la for the 2008 Dodgers after appearing for 7 teams in the previous 12 years. The end was not glorious, as he hit only .160.Bennett.jpg

Casey Blake on 4 different cards. I like certified cards, and I have not seen a Blake with the Dodgers, but also miss never TTM/IP cards. You just don't see base topps cards as much as you used to. Blake 08.jpgBlake 09.jpgBlake 10.jpgBlake 11.jpg

Juan Castro. Juan was a Dodger double dipper or bookender, both starting (1995-99) and ending his career (2009-11) in LA, with various travels in between. He was actually a triple dipper! This card captures him near the end.

June 18, 1991: Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent.

April 1, 2000: Traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Cincinnati Reds for Kenny Lutz (minors).

October 29, 2004: Granted Free Agency.

November 23, 2004: Signed as a Free Agent with the Minnesota Twins.

June 15, 2006: Traded by the Minnesota Twins to the Cincinnati Reds for Brandon Roberts (minors).

May 2, 2008: Released by the Cincinnati Reds.

May 4, 2008: Signed as a Free Agent with the Colorado Rockies.

July 19, 2008: Traded by the Colorado Rockies to the Baltimore Orioles for Mike McCoy.

November 5, 2008: Granted Free Agency.

January 7, 2009: Signed as a Free Agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

November 9, 2009: Granted Free Agency.

November 24, 2009: Signed as a Free Agent with the Philadelphia Phillies.

July 17, 2010: Released by the Philadelphia Phillies.

July 27, 2010: Signed as a Free Agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

October 5, 2010: Granted Free Agency.

December 14, 2010: Signed as a Free Agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

July 10, 2011: Voluntarily retired from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Castro.jpg

Hiroki Kuroda. Kuroda was a solid started for LA from 2008-2011, before heading to the Yankees for 3 years to end his MLB experience. He was 41-46 for the Dodgers and faired a little better percentage wise for the Yanks, but ended up 79-79 career. Kuroda.jpg

Grady Little managed the Dodger in 2006-07, following Jim Tracy and good for 2nd and then 4th in the NL West. Joe Torre would follow him in 2008. Little.jpg

Spike Lundberg never did crack the bigs, but he does have a MLB Dodger card and I really enjoy these types of signed cards. Something of a What if? Lundberg.jpg

More in the next post....
 

mrmopar

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James McDonald base and Chrome refractor pair. McDonald T.jpgMcDonald TC.jpg

Finally, Bill Mueller. Bill ended his 11 year MLB career in LA in 2006. In 32 games, he hit .252, only 3 years removed from a batting title with Boston in 2003 with a .326. he was a free agent pick up and retired after the 2006 season. Mueller T.jpgMueller UD.jpg
 

bstanwood

Well-known member
Sep 24, 2016
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Mystic, CT
Spike Lundberg sounds like a prewar vintage type of player...super cool name. Bill Mueller was a guy I really liked with the Sox, I was perhaps the only person that was excited when he got there as I had followed him a bit when he was with the giants.
 

mrmopar

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Jan 19, 2010
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Brusdar Graterol. This might be my first true Dodgers card of him, with logos and such. He played 23 games for the 2020 Dodgers and was 1-2 in mostly relief appearances. He would also log in 9 playoff games, but earned no decisions or saves in 7 2/3 innings of work. Hoping this 21 year old is a solid piece of the bullpen for the Dodgers into the future. graterol.jpg

Landon Knack. Being trying to score one of these as cheaply as humanly possible. This is where the $4-5 s/h really hurts. I think I was finally able to get one around $10 delivered. It might be a $1 someday, but such is the risk of the prospect buying. Better spend $10 on a card that may be $100+, then wait and hope it will wall to $3 and miss a good one. I really hate the game, but for now I still play with new Dodgers. the 22 year old pitched in the NCAA this past season and will probably work his way though the Dodgers farm system starting in 2021. Knack.jpg

Ricardo Rodriguez. The Dodgers gave him up in 2002 with Terry Mulholland and Fracisco Cruceta for Paul Shuey. Rodriguez did play briefly in the majors, but never for the Dodgers. Rodriguez.jpg

Mike Munoz. Started his career in LA in 1989-90, playing 11 games across the two seasons before being traded to the Tigers for a minor leaguer who never made the show. Munoz.jpg

Al Oliver Archives Snapshot /50. This is my nearly month long USPS holdout, leaving Delaware Nov 28th and arriving in my mailbox today, December 26th. An example of a card I could afford to lose, not that i ever want any purchases lost. Unless there is a 1/1, this completes what I believe is the run of these autographed cards. I have the gold (/10) B&W (/25), Blue (/50) and base now. Oliver 50.jpg

Carlos Hernandez. Essentially a back-up catcher in LA from 1990-96, his "big" year was 1992 with 69 games, and this would be starting catcher Mike Scioscia's last year in the bigs. However, Mike Piazza was a rookie that same year and would go on to take that starting role and run with it through 1998, making Hernandez disposable. Hernandez signed as a free agent with the Padres and would actually play nearly a full season in 1998, but otherwise his luck was similar there primarily as a back-up.Hernandez.jpg

Jose Valentin. Valentin made a short stop in LA in 2005, where as a 35 year old he played 56 games, while hitting .170. He joined and subsequently left LA via free agency, but was out of MLB by 2007. Valentin.jpg
 

deaconblues63

Well-known member
Oct 25, 2012
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One of the things that I enjoy the most about this thread is your appreciation of Al Oliver. While looking for a Phil Niekro card, I ran across my small Al Oliver stash and I thought you might enjoy it. I’ve also got about a dozen 8x10s of him, as well as a baseball or two.

Image1609195999.649040.jpg

Image1609196017.811019.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Freedom Card Board
 

mrmopar

Member
Jan 19, 2010
6,187
4,087
One of the things that I enjoy the most about this thread is your appreciation of Al Oliver. While looking for a Phil Niekro card, I ran across my small Al Oliver stash and I thought you might enjoy it. I’ve also got about a dozen 8x10s of him, as well as a baseball or two.

View attachment 119867

View attachment 119868


Sent from my iPhone using Freedom Card Board
That is a nice run there. You need that 85 F or T Update to get him as a Dodger now! I think maybe someday Oliver could even get some stronger HOF consideration.

If I stopped collecting Garvey, but was still collecting, i'd probably go into overdrive on the Oliver collection. For now, it is just the rare and obscure when I think about it.
 

mrmopar

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Jan 19, 2010
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We'll, today is for you guys again. Only 1 in and it's oliver again! Archives 1973 Topps /30. Oliver 30.jpg
 

mrmopar

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An Oliver free day, but there is more comin'...

Today brought a SI cover only, Don Newcombe. I really need to slow it down. I thought I was bidding on a full magazine, thankfully it didn't go too terribly high. I still like the cover only, but would have preferred a complete magazine. Newcombe.jpg

The only other auto I got with Dodger link is Lerrin LaGrow. Lagrowq 76.jpg

I am nearing the end of 1 year, recording ALL Dodger related autographs I obtained. 20 pages worth is quite a bit. I will definitely bring to a close the last remaining Dodger autos I obtained in 2020 within this thread, but I am still debating if I should continue to show all (regardless of team shown), just Dodgers in uniform (or cuts/3x5s) or only Dodger related signatures I don't already have. I'll decide in a couple of days, as tomorrow will be the last day of 2020 to obtain anything new at all.
 

mrmopar

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Jan 19, 2010
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Last official mail day of 2020!

I like this design, of course this plants me right back into the introduction to cards for me. The 77 position flag, the 78 team name and the 79 player name. Garvey has a base card, but no autograph that I have seen. Too bad, would have been a good one to chase the parallels of, although not right now with this crazy card market.Baker X.jpg

This would have been my first new Dodger auto of 2021, had it arrived any later. As it is, it is one of the first new player signatures I have needed in a while. He has yet to play a game, like so many of those bowman DP cards, but maybe one day. Still need Bobby Miller and that Beeter guy, but their prices are high. I may just take a chance and see what happens there. Really tired of fighting to overpay for potential that is often untapped. Omar Estevez. Estevez.jpg

Lastly, a Garvey card I fought hard for initially and frankly hoped I would be outbid by my rival in the end as i watched the final minute tick down with no snipe in place, but he/she failed to step up! I way overpaid for this card and it captures my feelings well about the current state of the market and my shrinking interest in cards. I should have never had to pay anywhere near what I did for this card and I feel a little ripped off now. it's my own fault, but that is what I am facing these days. Unlicensed cards with people willing to pay way too much for. I have let so many low serial numbered Garvey Panini cards go this year, so I don't feel the pain on each one anymore. I have officially given up on keeping up. Let the next sucker, I mean collector, take the flag and run with it. This one is #6/10, the old jersey number version. I have liked the Flawless cards and their rich colors in recent years, but again the logoless appearance is getting harder to swallow each year at Flawless pricing! Garvey 10.jpg
 

mrmopar

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I am going to start with what is still technically a 2020 acquisition, although it arrived today. A member reached out to me in early December to offer the pennant and added some other goodies to the package! Thank you @popguynyc!!

Garvey Pennant from a product in the mid 2000s that offered these in packs! IMG_8350.jpg

The extras included a bunch of inserts. GU and autographed cards, including the signed cards of Tom Candiotti, Darren Dreifort, Chad Fonville (Gold!), Ryan Luzinsi, Willie Otanez, Keibert Ruiz, Andrew Toles and Maury Wills! IMG_8352.jpg

From 2020 purchases, I received:

Terrance Gore /25. Believe this is a dupe. Gore 25.jpg

Dee Gordon Gordon.jpg

and hopping back on the Al train, with another 2020 Archives, this one /24. Oliver 24.jpg
 

mrmopar

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Jan 19, 2010
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The 2020 pick-ups are slowly trickling in still. Have not received any 20201 pick-ups yet.

Garvey and Yeager highlight today's mail. Garvey is /100. The Yeager looks a little better in person, but I do think the ink has faded some.


Garvey 100.jpgYeager.jpg

The other package contained a nice lot of 3x5s, mostly obscure nobody short timers, the kind I like the most sometimes. I think most of these guys have been featured before, so I won't bog down the post with extra fluff you already know.

Dave Anderson
Tim Belcher
Jack Billingham
Sid Bream
Greg Brock
Ralph Bryant
Dick Calmus
Ivan DeJesus
Davey Lopes
Candy Maldanado
Ken McMullen
Lemmie Miller
Bobby Mitchell
Tom Niedenfuer
Kevin Pasley
Dave Patterson (x2)
Ted Power
Ron Roenicke
Dave Sax
Greg Shanahan
John Werhas
Larry White
Steve Yeager (x2)
Geoff Zahn

s-l1600.jpgs-l1600-1.jpgs-l1600-2.jpgs-l1600-3.jpgs-l1600-4.jpg
 

Dazed

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Aug 7, 2008
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East of KC MO
@mrmopar Did you see that Al Oliver has a card in 2020 Heritage High Number?
1971 World Series Champion Autographs
71WSC-AO Al Oliver - Pittsburgh Pirates #/71
 

mrmopar

Member
Jan 19, 2010
6,187
4,087
@mrmopar Did you see that Al Oliver has a card in 2020 Heritage High Number?
1971 World Series Champion Autographs
71WSC-AO Al Oliver - Pittsburgh Pirates #/71
I did and it seems to be quite popular so far. I'll wait and see if I can grab one cheaper. I won't hold my breath on this one though. Heritage is popular and only 71 copies.
 

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