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

[mrmopar]

Garvey /2 Au and /10 parallel

 

[mrmopar]

Just a single card arrived for me in the mail today. That feels very odd to me to highlight and the reality is, I still buy too much stuff even when I constantly talk of approaching a slowdown or a sell off point and getting only 1 card in the mail on any given day in 2025 is still kind of rare for me. On even rarer instances, I get nothing in the mail, but those are pretty scarce and i am not counting Federal Holidays either.

10-15 years ago I would have raved about this card I got today and it's not even the perfect serial number, but it's close. Now, it's much less exciting, but still worth the story. I am one of those jersey serial number collectors, or was. I still go for anything close, but at least one other collector has proven to be much more dedicated to that and pays a hefty premium, of which I would prefer not to pay at all.

Any Garvey card with a serial number of #6 is considered the perfect card for that particular run. 6/6, 6/10, 6/25. 6/50, 6/100 and so on. I have a pretty good sized collection of these, as I had less competition in the earlier ebay days than I have now. I didn't stop there though. I would also chase numbers like 60, 66, 600, 660...pretty much any combo of 0's and 6's. Not as great as 6/100, but 60/100 is pretty close.

Todays lone addition is one of those 60/100 cards. Still happy to find them, but will pay less of a premium now since I have lost countless #6 cards over the last decade or more. Still, it's fun to find and win one now and again and this one was cheap as well.

 

[mrmopar]

Dick's Sporting Goods promotional appearance photo (5x7) w/o tab. I am pretty sure I have one already, but decided just in case to offer on this one. There is a Dodger version on ebay now, but seller is greedy and wants well above market for a Garvey autograph photo, so it will either sit or go to a buyer who doesn't care that it's way overpriced.


Also got this Piazza Recollections. I thought it was a Padre card at fiurst glance, which would have made it cooler, but it's just an unlicensed Mets card. It is /5, but the signature bubbled too. Overall not the greatest card and the price reflected that.

 

[Pinbreaker]

Dick's Sporting Goods promotional appearance photo (5x7) w/o tab. I am pretty sure I have one already, but decided just in case to offer on this one. There is a Dodger version on ebay now, but seller is greedy and wants well above market for a Garvey autograph photo, so it will either sit or go to a buyer who doesn't care that it's way overpriced.
View attachment 366120

Also got this Piazza Recollections. I thought it was a Padre card at fiurst glance, which would have made it cooler, but it's just an unlicensed Mets card. It is /5, but the signature bubbled too. Overall not the greatest card and the price reflected that.
View attachment 366121

The Recollection Collection Auto is licensed by the MLB Players Association but not the MLB. I have a few from when Donruss was creating these back when they were licensed by the MLB before Topps received the sole MLB license.

Here's one of my recent pickups of a Recollection Collection Auto. I believe this was from around 2016 or so.

 

[mrmopar]

A couple Garveys that I am not ever all that excited for. I think this is truly signaling the beginning of the end. I still rave about weird oddball stuff like a brochure or pamphlet and just found an ad FEATURING garvey in an old Japanese baseball periodical that I must have missed a few times before, but these artificially scarce, hardly look any different, shiny cards have just grown disappointingly boring over time. Yes, I am the idiot for still bidding on them. Eventually I will learn my lesson.

One is /8, one is /10. Both went for less than i expected and thus why I won them. If I had lost, i would not have cared one bit.

 

[mrmopar]

Garvey SC /25

GU /10


Grimes, matching set, both numbered 87/100.

 

[mrmopar]

Cheaper Dodger autos, but some interesting sets/cards

Jackson /10

Baller Rios

Urias refractor

 

[Dodgerfan74]

Cheaper Dodger autos, but some interesting sets/cards

Jackson /10
View attachment 366260

Baller Rios
View attachment 366261

Urias refractor
View attachment 366262

Julio really messed up his Baseball career. Couldn’t have won the 2020 World Series without him, but domestic violence is awful

 

[mrmopar]

This thing graded is huge! It's slightly larger than 3x5 to begin with, but the holder is way oversized.



1/1


/100


Shawn Green base and /5 version


Ortiz /50. I'll pick up scrub parallels if they are very cheap, otherwise can't see spending good money for guys who never did much. I guess there is still a chance. He's still with the team and only 25. I just hope he makes the MLB roster and plays in a game, so I can officially add him to the list. If he explodes into a mega star from there, cool.

 

[mrmopar]

Julio really messed up his Baseball career. Couldn’t have won the 2020 World Series without him, but domestic violence is awful

Yes, it's a shame that he abused his wife and that he essentially tossed his career in the process. I read where his suspension has ended and he was going to be eligible to play again, if anyone is willing to sign him. I figure he's tainted though, like Bauer. That won't stop me from collecting him or others with a scandalous past. It's just cards, I am not campaigning for his election of Man of the Year.

 

[mrmopar]

This gets the leadoff spot because I actually got it in yesterdays mail, and this is a really sharp looking card for being a logo-less abomination! The green is a chrome/refractor type finish and a nod to 91 Leaf Gold Rookies with the gold feature. I am a sucker for retro design salutes.

Eric Gagne /7

Another Garvey dupe to further pad my ridiculous collection of Garvey autographs.

Cartaya and Ramos /100


Wally Moon

 

[mrmopar]

Another Leaf 1/1, but it was relatively cheap compared to what most Garvey 1/1s sell for, thanks mostly to me!


Added the 90 Topps retro /50


A cheap scrub that I am pretty sure I had already

I think this may have been my first real introduction into the hype of new prospects and trying to land an autograph. I remember needing Yasiel Puig and that these were the only options early on. I also recall being very frustrated and how I could not win one to save my life. Then he got hot and they took off like rockets. Some were listed for $500 or more, depending on serial numbering. I came to the realization that I might never own a Puig autograph. Even after he cooled off and eventually left MLB, people were still asking too much for what he did in his career. Another reminder that some sellers never let go of the past.

Prices finally came down with enough sellers that I was able to come back and buy a number of versions, in fact I may have most of them now. I don't have anything less than 25 copies, if they made them. I recall some were /5 but can't remember if it was this year's release or not. This is a dupe /99, but a BIN of $10 made me go for it. I still really like how this issue looks, despite the unlicensed nature. I always thought Puig looked like he was wearing pajamas in this shot.

 

[mrmopar]

Seems as if the more vintage Archives Signature cards are a LOT harder to win now than they ever were. I have a small variety of cards I won, just because I liked them and they were decently prices. Now, I can't win a simple 1987 Topps AS card to save my life. New money has entered the arena clearly and it's being controlled by people who have no clue what things should sell for.

I did manage to overpay for this one. I have at least 1 of this same card from a previous year issue, maybe a couple. I have them sorted by year of the issue, not the original card year, so I'd have to look through all of my Archives Signatures to know for sure.

This one is /9/. Despite it being a batting cage shot, this one is a pretty decent card and the AS designation helps a great deal to elevate this card to better than average status in my mind.

 

[dano7]

The increased cost could be to increased pricing of the product they come in.

 

[mrmopar]

The increased cost could be to increased pricing of the product they come in.

I suppose anything is possible. I don't think the brand has changed much, although I don't know for certain. Never bought a new pack/box (i think they are 1 card per "package") in my life, so all my purchases have been secondary.

A lot has changed in the card hobby since Covid, most of it for the worst.

 

[mrmopar]

Garvey /74

 

[mrmopar]

A couple more Garvey Autos because I don't have enough yet.

one with bat /46, Archives 81t IS /63

 

[mrmopar]

Actually have not bought one of these in quite a while. Topps originals is what i think they were called. Essentially buyback signatures with the cards serial numbered, They are (poorly) sealed in an outer case that eventually gets removed on a lot of them. There is a hologram sticker, but I seem to recall that these don't correspond to anything specific and you can't look them up. Bad execution by Topps. They left a huge door open for fraud with these. They have since learned to stamp or sticker their autographed buybacks.

I rarely see them or maybe I skip over them because I have all of the easy to find versions and they are mostly later career or boring cards with higher (100+) print runs. This one was a little better than average, although I didn't really expect to win it. It jest went cheap enough for me to be the victor! 1984 Topps /32


Joe Black 2nd year Heritage Real One. Joe had a fairly short and mostly uneventful MLB career after playing for a half decade or more in the ***** Leagues, but he did win ROY in 1952 as a reliever, posting a 15-4 record, 2.15 ERA and 15 saves. He finished 41 games, a league leading number that season. He never came close to the success of his rookie year unfortunately and toiled briefly until 1957 before retiring at 33. He would go to college after baseball, earn a Masters and teach for a bit before becoming discouraged by the low pay/lack of respect and eventually found himself working at Greyhound, where he eventually retired after a successful career as a senior executive. He died in May 2002, the same year of this card issue.



Pedro Guerrero and Julio Urias Autos round out the mail day

 

[mrmopar]

I don't get to very many baseball games in person anymore. Cost and convenience are factors. Yesterday my neighbor surprised me with an invite to the Mariners v. Dodgers game at T Mobile. I could not pass that up. I have only seen the Dodgers in person 1 other time, in 1981 at Dodger Stadium as a kid. With free tickets and the ability to take the light rail to the park, the only real issues to navigate were the ridiculous concession pricing and the massive crowds. Its been a long time since I have gone to a game with that many people also attending. There was also a concert (Megan Moroney for those that follow Country Music) next door at the Lumen Field Event Center, around the same time adding a sea of young girls in short skirts and cowboy boots to the crowds of people. Both teams shared the same record going into the game and had already won their Divisions. Of course, Cal Raleigh was the one to watch, sitting at 60 Home Runs on the reason. I was hoping for a chance to see him tie or surpass Maris or Judge. it was not to be, unfortunately. I may have been witnessing a preview of the 2025 World Series match up, if my baseball worlds somehow align just right.

We got to see a great game that was close and fairly exciting. The Dodgers Tanner Scott ended the game with a 9th inning K with the bases loaded! Mariners were hitting well, but left 12 on base. The Dodgers looked a little sloppy early on, with a couple fielding errors and Kim getting picked off, but they held off the assault and took home the victory.

I got to see some players live that I have only seen on TV before, although Freeman and Betts were both not playing, which was a bummer. Having them in the line up would have bene great and the topping on the cake would have been to be able to see Clayton Kershaw pitch, but that was not in the cards. Typical starters Will Smith (15 day), Tommy Edman & Max Muncy were out of the line up as well. I did get to see Roki Sasaki pitch briefly (along with starter Sheehan, Wrobleski who got the W, Klein, Banda & Treinen), Hyeseong Kim played, Ohtani swiped his 20th base and Kiki Hernandez drilled a HR. Since we track every possible stat now, this SB was significant in that this made 2 seasons where he hit 50HR/20SB, the only player in MLB history ever to do it twice. He leaves behind Mays, Griffey Jr, A Rodriguez and Brady Anderson who are the only other players to ever achieve this feat once each.

Bummed that you no longer get physical ticket stubs and apparently they don't even sell game programs anymore. Digital world is stealing fun keepsakes from us.

Left early to catch the game, so didn't open mail until today. The 2 day mail bounty brought:

Garvey Leather & Lumber /10



Sporting Life custom


Unopened Ralston Purina Pack



Neat oddball golf tournament scorecard


Snider /5

Muncy /10

Miller /13

 

[mrmopar]

Leaf and their odd combos (this is a LA connection, but Hockey and baseball?), but this was the first one i was able to win. All have been various 1/1s that i have seen.

Marcel Dionne and Steve Garvey



These are sharp. Just wish there were logos/team names. Flawless. Emerald /5


Any another massively overproduced "limited" Leaf card /8. Heck, you can make 50 1/1s of a player, as long as they have different foil colors and border designs. nothing wrong with that! I am getting these cheaper and cheaper, as i am just not chasing them hard, and apparently nobody else is either most of the time.



I mean, if you are selling 8x10s autos for $1.99 each with combined shipping, I am going to take advantage. Nobody of any significance, but I do like to stockpile dodger autos. 18 photos and a Fleer card of Eric Weaver, who seems less available than a lot of the same era players. Not hard, but less frequently seen than say Jeff Shaw.