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

[mrmopar]

Got this one in yesterday but forgot to list and then almost forgot again today

Eovalldi /30

 

[mrmopar]

Pretty happy to get this one for cheaper than I expected. I have a few from this series. This one is /10


Then this one is /5, but was not a bargain unfortunately. I am pretty sure I already had one, but dupes of a /5 is never a bad thing.


I think I had this already as well, but I do like the design of this one with dual relic and autograph. Maybe he gets the call this time for the HOF ballot. Have plenty of his autos already and have already considered him a HOF in my mind. This would just make it official. Good Luck Sheff!

 

[mrmopar]

/5


Avert your eyes. I truly dislike this issue, but the absurdity of how they cut up some of the donor pieces is like a car crash you can't stop looking at. This is a Hough RC card cut up (poorly at that) and inserted into a sparkly frame and numbered to 25 copies. i am willing to bet all 25 cards look completely different with different cut items inserted, so this might be a unique card in that regard.


Martin /75.


Busch

Dodgers photo Album. You can find this one with and without the 76 on the cover. not sure if one is more scarce or not. guessing the dodgers sold these through mail order and at their concession stand. inside are full page perforated photos with stats and bios on back. Cool item, but not widely collected. A few teams did similar and there is even an Eddie Murray pre-rookie issue that nobody seems to care about or has yet to widely discover.


Alexis Diaz, brief Dodger. Already had the auto, but liked the trophy card. Lost another like it that was just a plain refractor version. Don't love these obnoxious refractor designs that detract from the card eye appeal.

This one is from a set that was either very hard to pull, wildly popular or both. These still sell quite strongly when listed, Manager relic cards with autographs. I have several that have ties back to the Dodgers including Davey Lopes, Johnny Oates and now Garner, who was a Dodger himself. i may even have 1-2 more, but my brain is not remembering. There are a few more in the set with Dodger ties, but patience is key. Bobby Valentine was one I believe. Mike Scioscia was another. Have never seen the actual Dodger card in the set. I think it is Davey Johnson if I recall correctly. Would like to get it, but with his passing recently, that may be a tricky one especially given I have never seen one offered for sale.

 

[mrmopar]

2001 Fleer Platinum Rack Pack Autograph /15.

Here is the tricky part of this card. It is not serial numbered, nor is there any indication this was from a specific series (besides the obvious 1987 Fleer). The only way to tell that this card is special is from the Fleer embossed logo and knowledge that Fleer did a 1987F buyback for their Platinum set that was advertised at 15 copies.

 

[mrmopar]

Garvey /25


Sheeham/Liranzo Leaf 1/1

Cool if one of them has a decent career. Sheehan debuted in a blaze in 2023 (with no autographs on the market), but has not really done a whole lot since. He is 10-4 career with no action in 2024. i think he must have been recovering from an injury or surgery. 6-3 this year in 12 starts, so decent showing for the World Series Champs!


Cartaya /25

 

[mrmopar]

Garvey /15


Garvey /13. Pretty sure this is now the 4th copy I have won. they got cheaper and cheaper, then 6/13 popped up and it went for more than 2-3 of them combined. I did not win, but I made sure the winner did not get a bargain either.


Buehler /75. Had the all blue border from this set, but I like the white border better.


Finally a cheap one I don't think I had already. Chad Billingsley.

 

[mrmopar]

It's Leaf, but decent all the same. It's /2.


Kendrick TTM/IP. I have a couple of these as Archives Signature cards, but the basic TTM/IP card was cheap, so why not?

 

[mrmopar]

I decided to grab a duplicate Heritage Red. These still sell stronger than I think they should for a card numbered to 75, so maybe that will help them hold their value long term. Someday maybe Garvey makes the HOF and eventually he will no longer be with us. Two events that do drive demand above the typical norm. He has signed a lot of autographs, so i don't expect there to be a significant surge when he does pass away, but there is always a small spike.


I grabbed a few more of these 85/86 Coke Dodgers postcards. Those were the only 2 years these PCs were issued. They are a great set and although the team was not loaded with traditional stars, there are a decent number of fan favorites. A blank-back, except for the Coke Logo, Orel Hershiser rookie year card was part of the lot. Not sure if that is uncommon or not. Only 4 of the 58 cards didn't have the typical fan note and facsimile signature on back.

Some cool PCs for decent players with short stays in LA include Bill Madlock, Al Oliver & Enos Cabell.

 

[abide]

2001 Fleer Platinum Rack Pack Autograph /15.

Here is the tricky part of this card. It is not serial numbered, nor is there any indication this was from a specific series (besides the obvious 1987 Fleer). The only way to tell that this card is special is from the Fleer embossed logo and knowledge that Fleer did a 1987F buyback for their Platinum set that was advertised at 15 copies.
View attachment 367536

it's not hand numbered to 15 on the back?

 

[mrmopar]

it's not hand numbered to 15 on the back?

No

 

[mrmopar]

Today brings a trio of low numbered Garvey autographs.

Two are /5 and the other is /4. I actually find these more appealing than 1/1s these days, as they are very scarce, but there is a chance that more than 1 person can own one. I liked/enjoyed the 1/1 days, but it has been overdone...too many of them now. I would like to see them retired except for printing plates.


I went a little harder than expected for this. If anyone collected these Studio Portraits, they probably experienced the frustration of trying to complete a 56 card insert set of basically the same card. There were different product backs, different images and different border colors, but its the same image and design for each card x 56! This one was actually one of the lower print runs that still reside on the wantlist, /35. I have a lot of dupes for this set, but expect that the few that float freely now will be scooped up fairly quick when offered. Lots of people still trying. Only

I completed my Garvey set and in the process of fighting for them and hoarding, I was only a handful away from a 2nd set! I still need 8 more and they range from a print runs of 20-50. I don't expect to ever finish the 2nd set, but if I do come across anymore I need on the cheap, I will definitely nab them. Of importance to note, one of the cards is /5, so only 5 complete player sets is possible. I am so close to have 2 such sets.

I got this for a reasonable price, I am shocked to report.

I realize there are all kinds of collectors and a card numbered to 25 copies is pretty scarce in the big picture of things, but at the same time when a player basically goes bust, who is really collecting them? In his 3 year MLB career with 2 teams, Jackson was 1-4 in 26 games pitched. Dodgers are a popular team and Topps is always a popular set, but its frustrating that so many people still hold these low print run cards hostage by asking ridiculous prices. Sorry, you missed the prospect lottery! Let the card go to someone who will enjoy it for what it is, not someone who was hoping for the next Kershaw!

Lux
I still pick up a card or two of his now and again, but I suspect he'll never really do anything significant. I like this Topps 582 Montgomery design enough to have a couple of these and this was a BIN at a pretty decent price in my mind. Probably more than he's worth, but I am a sucker for Dodger autographs.


Lastly, a couple of 67 Topps High number autos. One a Dodger common, the other a former Dodger common.

 

[mrmopar]

This actually came yesterday, but I forgot to mention it.

Its a late 50s/early60s postcard folder. the images look very close to the 59 PC set. I have a couple of these, but each had a serious flaw. This was the best condition and cheapest one I have obtained. Features all the big stars of the day, lead by Koufax. That Duke on the end is supposed to be folded like that. He is the image on the pack of the cover that folds into itself.

 

[dano7]

This actually came yesterday, but I forgot to mention it.

Its a late 50s/early60s postcard folder. the images look very close to the 59 PC set. I have a couple of these, but each had a serious flaw. This was the best condition and cheapest one I have obtained. Features all the big stars of the day, lead by Koufax. That Duke on the end is supposed to be folded like that. He is the image on the pack of the cover that folds into itself.

View attachment 367687View attachment 367688View attachment 367689View attachment 367690View attachment 367691

Very cool addition!

 

[mrmopar]

I had been watching this for a bit and then did the math and realized that even at the BIN price, it was not a bad deal. BO was activated, but after making several offers that were auto-rejected, I hit 10% off and it was accepted for consideration and ultimately accepted for the sale.

I collect these team issued photos unsigned, but I will grab signed ones when I have a chance. 17 in the lot and the average price was less than $8 to my mailbox. That isn't bad for an 8x10. I covet Dodgers and see most of the players as better than "commons", but the reality is, many are just that, commons. Guys like Steve Yeager, Doug Rau, Manny Mota, etc. Even guys like Bill Russell, Ron Cey, Rich Rhoden and Terry Forster who had lengthy careers and maybe a little more success than others at times are commons to most.

The best of the lot was Garvey and Tommy John, 2 HOF borderliners or snubs, whatever position you take for them and 1 deceased, Gene Michael. Still, happy to add them.

Deluca, had him but liked the design.

Teoscar, earlier card. Also liked the throwback rated Rookie and design, despite no logos. Want to see some Dodger autos of the guy, but they probably won't make any. Too busy flooding the market with River Ryan, Michael Grove and Emmett Sheehan!

 

[mrmopar]

Yawn...another boring Leaf auto. This one /10. I think I have 3 now and probably only won this because it went exceptionally low.

Gagne /225


Loutos. Pretty sure I had one already, but just in case.

Maybe I can scratch this guy off the Dodgers wantlist officially some day? He has yet to be called up but did well in AAA this year. He may have been on the 40 man roster at some point, which is probably why I grabbed one.

 

[mrmopar]

Holiday slowdowns are making mail days sporadic. This was the only item that came today. I used to stockpile mail items for months and then spend a day filing it away, but as fewer items arrived, I started filing everything away more frequently. Now I do it weekly and put away everything I have gotten for the week after Saturdays mail arrives, so it's a letdown to just have 1 card to add to the pile on filing day, but so it goes.

 

[mrmopar]

Saw this and thought, why not. It's a brochure for the Tampa Walk of Fame, 1992. Signed by Garvey and Al Lopez. Several others in this are still alive, but I am not aggressive enough in my pursuit of autographs to try to add more to it.


A pair of Noah Miller cards. He is in the Dodger system, but got him mixed up earlier this year with Noah Davis, who did make the MLB roster, but has no cheap autos that I have been able to land yet. Hopefully Miller breaks out and makes the club. At least these are semi-considered dodger cards, although they are unlicensed. My colelction is littered with Dodger prospects who either never made the big club or did, but with another team later on. The risk of buying them so early.

 

[mrmopar]

Garvey Bat/Auto /25

These are sharp cards