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

[mrmopar]

Garvey leads the charge today, an early-mid 70s team issue type photo with vintage signature.

Ron Cey.

Jim Gott, pitched 1990-94 with the Dodgers. Compiled a 19-22 record and 38 saves in that time frame, 25 of which came during the 93 season. Free agency brought him to and then away from LA. He ended his career in Pittsburgh in 1995.

Sean Maloney, pitched in 11 games with the 1998 Dodgers, going 0-1, which followed the 3 games he pitched for the 1997 Brewers. That was the extent of his big league career.

This is the first signed card I had seen from Maloney, until checking recently to find someone had listed 4-5 of his cards at around $15 each. I got this one right before seeing the others for a bargain price of $2! While searching for info on Maloney a while back, thinking I was going to need to track him down for a possible TTM deal since his signature seemed to be non-existent, I found two things. 1). He has the same name as a politician, which made it harder to find info about him. 2). Sadly, he lost his wife of 16 years in 2014, when she was just 43. She left behind 4 young kids. I'm guessing that didn't give him a lot of time to do baseball stuff, possibly why his autograph just isn't out there. That and a very brief, uneventful MLB career.

 

[mrmopar]

All TTM/IP mailday

Ralph Bryant, played from 1985-87, appearing in 79 games across those 3 seasons. He hit .253 with 8 HRs and 38 H.

Matt Young was one of the better starting pitchers for the Mariners in the mid 80s that I recall seeing live. He later game to the Dodgers for the 1987 season in what was essentially a swap between him and Dennis Powell. A year and a day later, the Dodgers dealt him and Bob Welch to the A's in a huge 3 team trade. The Dodgers also sent Jack Savage to the Mets. The A's sent Alfredo Griffen and Jay Howell to the Dodgers and sent Kevin Tapani and Wally Whitehurst to the Mets. The Mets sent Jesse Orosco to the Dodgers.

Another Ron Cey.

Another Tommy Dean.

Chuck Essegian spent part of 1959 and 1960 with the Dodgers. The Dodgers gave up Dick Gray to get him. He played a total of 76 games in those 2 seasons, but was around for the 1959 World Championship, and played well in 4 games, going 2-3 with 2 HRs and 2 RBIs. The Orioles purchased his contract in early 1961.

Another Jim Gentile.

 

[mrmopar]

I actually want my mail days to slow, and have been doing more to resist randon searched (which can get me into trouble fast), but it also sucks to only get 1 package in a day or worse, no packages! No autos in my one package today, so went for my near daily COMC search. This is purely a bargain shopping exercise 99% of the time. I appreciate the sellers who recognize that low serial numbered cards are virtually worthless to the majority of the collecting population. I get that there MAY be a few set collectors (for certain sets) willing to pay a premium for commons. Beyond that, who is even buying these cards anyway? Maybe an occasional team collector (like myself) and any player collectors who might exist for a given player. Most seem to sit in dollar boxes or collections. Case in point today, James McDonald. He lasted 6 years at the MLB level, with LA and Pittsburgh. He sandwiched a 45 game season 2009 between (2) 4 game seasons and was ultimately shipped to Pittsburgh on July 31, 2010 with Andrew Lambo, for Octavio Dotal. Dotal didn't even finish the season with LA (1-1 with 1 save in 19 games), before being shipped to Colorado for a minor leaguer to be named later! McDonald, who was 5-6 lifetime for LA, ended up with a record of 32-30 before it was over. Give the Pirates the nod for the best of that trade

This is thew card I gladly picked up for $2.25. Frankly, I am down for just about any scrub Dodger certified card for $1-2, if I need it, but was very happy to see this copy was /25. I don't believe it is worth much more because of this, but it adds depth to my Dodger autograph collection, which I enjoy seeing. Often, this low serial numbering means stupid pricing from hostage takers who must think someone will eventually believe that he was secretly a potential HOFer and pay $20 for it? Not likely!

 

[mrmopar]

Al Oliver is kind of like Garvey for me. It's a nice coincidence that he played briefly in LA, but he and Rod Carew are my 2nd tier player collections when I feel the need to step out. Neither have extensive collections, but I especially like to grab odd stuff when I see it. Oliver is in this years Archives Retired series, so he has a lot of cards. I am not chasing all of them, but will grab a few if the price is right. One I really wanted is in route from Canada, but it has taken a lot longer than normal (even with Covid) and with no tracking, I am starting to worry a little. Hopefully it shows soon.

Anyway, this was my prize today. Drakes Cookies, 1984 I believe of the top of my head and numbered /22. Drakes made some pretty nice cards in the 80s, but I believe as I have said before, that scarcity often plays a roll in what we remember when it comes to cool designs. If these were scarce, I think people would be all over them. They are abundant though, so nobody seems to notice them. In comparison, the 1950 Drakes cards are rather mundane, but are well received, mainly due to scarcity. I do like the TV look and black borders, but they are definitely nothing fancy.

My other autographed item was a Matt Kemp Heritage card. This was a BIN that I hoped would pair with a Torre Dodgers Topps card, but I lost out on the Torre so Kemp traveled alone. 1961 is one of my favorite sets, just a nice clean design.

 

[mrmopar]

A non-auto mail day, but COMC saves the day with a cheapie buy. Chad Billingsley. Billingsley had a nice run with LA from 2006-2013, with 6 straight double digit win seasons, going 81-61 with 1 AS year, 2009. I am guessing he was injured in 2013, as he only pitched 2 games for the Dodgers then ended up playing in the low minors the rest of that year and all of 2014. He was granted free agency in Oct 2014 and the Phillies picked him up in January 2015. He managed to pitch 7 games for the Phillies in 2015, going 2-3, before his career ended at age 30. Weird to think he is only 36 now, with many players still active who are older. Seems he could still be playing at this age. I guess when you lose it or are injured, age doesn't matter.

Went shopping again and added a few more bargains.

Andre Ethier.

Mike Freeman. I would like to add the Black and red Heritage autos, but the seller won't allow offers in my range. Freeman is 32 and has played in 141 game over the last 5 years. I don't think his cards are going to all of the sudden explode, unless it is a single event type thing. Anyway, this one is /50. He played in 4 games for the 2017 Dodgers and was hitless in 5 AB.

Russell Martin, played for 5 years with the Dodgers at the beginning of his career and did pretty well. He was a 2X AS, GG and SS (all three in 2007), then the Yankees grabbed him in free agency. He returned to LA in 2019 via a trade with Toronto, who sent Martin and $ for 2 minor leaguers. He was granted free agency after the season and it seems nobody picked him up for 2020.

Finally, Brandon McCarthy. He had a 3 year stint in LA near the end of his career, 2015-17. He ended up 11-7 in 33 games. Dodgers got him via free agency, and I am certain I mentioned this previously, and when they traded him to Atlanta in 2017, they also sent Adrian Gonzalez, Scott Kazmir, Cherlie Culberson and $ and got Matt Kemp back for a solid AS year. They promptly traded Kemp away following that year to the Reds with Yasiel Puig, Kyle Farmer, Alex Wood and $ for minor leaguers Jeter Downs, Josiah Gray and Homer Bailey. Bailey was released and Downs was shipped to Boston with Alex Verdugo & Connor Wong for $, David Price and Mookie Betts! Gray is still with LA.

Went back a third time and found 1 more and have an offer in on another I hope will be accepted. Beckett/Sheets dual, /25. Had a corner ding so sold for a hair over $5. I'll take that deal! Beckett ended his career in LA, with 3 lackluster seasons 2012-14. He was a combined 8-14 in 35 games. Prior to that though, he was a 3X AS, ALCS MVP and WS MVP. Sheets wasn't bad himself, although never a Dodger. He was a a 4X AS who spent most of his career in Milwaukee.

And by the time I finshed the Beckett blurb, my Chris Taylor offer had been accepted. /99. I like the design and the gold border. Taylor had a couple solid seasons with LA when he played full time. He was also the NLCS MVP in 2017 against the Cubs.

Last one for the night, Brandon Beachy. He pitched in 2 games for the 2015 Dodgers, going 0-1. Those would be his last MLB games.

 

[mrmopar]

Yasmani Grandal sums up today's mail. This one is /11. Heritage has some nice designs and this one just caught my eye.

 

[David K.]

I see Dustin May auto's for the 2020 Topps Chrome are starting to get hot......$30.00 Plus and going up....

 

[mrmopar]

I try to stay away from hot autos. I grabbed a couple off brand May when he first started showing up. I never flip for profit, so just getting one for the collection is the goal. Then I can work on adding better cards if I want to.

 

[mrmopar]

Tony Gonsolin. I do enjoy a nice horizontal card these days.

Steve Garvey 1979 Post Raisin Bran Box (with tip on back). I got it because the price was right and it was signed, but I would some day like to have a full set still on the box. This one has some wear, as most do. Why people just didn't flatten the boxes and store them that way is beyond me?

Final item was somewhat of an impulse buy. I grabbed his 2020 Topps certified auto, which I was excited to see. This is just something to go with the 8x10 collection now. Dodgers announcer (Spanish) Jaime Jarrin. This guy has been calling Dodger games since 1959!

 

[mrmopar]

I can't believe that I forget Pee Wee yesterday. He was in with Jarrin and I simply forgot until I pulled them out of the sleeve. I have mostly been buying cheaper and more obscure guys lately. I had obtained most of the better players years back. I have several Reese autos, so this was not a need for me. Although I would like to find a newer certified Reese (it would need to be a cut), I can't say I had ever shopped for an 8x10. There was a guy selling a collection of the core commonly found HOFers that most people have and I bod on a few and ended up winning Jarrin and Reese, but I have to admit that more and more, buying star players makes me more nervous than I ever have been in the past. Maybe I was less oblivious to fakes than I am now. I still don't really buy anything autographed that is very expensive, so any lessons learned will be minor purchases for the most part. That said, what he was selling looked generally good and there were no crazy hard names or anything, but that doesn't mean he could not have been slipped a fake here and there. I guess what I am saying is that I am hoping this is legit.

 

[mrmopar]

Wills Thrills!

My mailday today is 3X the same, but 3X different. All 3 cards are 2020 Archives Retired Edition cards of Maury Wills, but all three are different.

87T /54

85T Record Holders, possibly Woolworth, but was definitely one of those 80s boxed sets. They all kind of blend together now. /11

This is probably the worst with regard to autograph appearance, but kind of cool. He signed over the dark seating background in a dark pen. 1981 T Mariners Team Card, /7.

 

[David K.]

I try to stay away from hot autos. I grabbed a couple off brand May when he first started showing up. I never flip for profit, so just getting one for the collection is the goal. Then I can work on adding better cards if I want to.

And never get them afterwards because players like Trout...Pujols, Ichiro, etc, etc....have gone way beyond your means. Best regards, David

 

[mrmopar]

And never get them afterwards because players like Trout...Pujols, Ichiro, etc, etc....have gone way beyond your means. Best regards, David

True, that is why I try to get something as soon as I know the player is either on the roster or a Dodgers card is issued. case in point, Mookie Betts. it may take a while, if ever, for me to land him. It's sad thought that with everything he has already signed, i can probably get a dozen HOFers for the price of 1 Betts.

 

[Therion]

Alternatively, just be in no rush to get them. They will eventually come back to reality. Look at Bagwell and Biggio auto prices.

 

[mrmopar]

True, I am extremely patient most of the time. Puig was driving me crazy, but finally got one for my price. I think they will come down ever further, as most do. If I miss one, I miss one. Eventually most autographs become affordable either through just the sheer numbers produced, a turn in direction of their career success or finding a needle in the haystack deal through patience.

 

[mrmopar]

Kyle Garlick. First "real" Dodgers auto I believe, and maybe only one? He is already on to Philly. The Dodgers got Tyler Gilbert (minors) for him. He hit .250 in 30 games for the Dodger in 2019 and that is all he wrote!

Trevor Cahill. This is one of those weird ones. Apparently, he never actually played for the Dodgers, but got himself on a Heritage card anyway. This amazes me so much, that a player can have a card on a MLB team that they never played for, yet so many don't have cards with teams they DID play for!? He was on the downward trajectory already, but maybe Topps figured he'd make the team??? I'll take it since he is shown as a Dodger.

There is no transaction involving LA on baseball reference, but in 2015 it is showing he may have some time in the minors with LA. Wikipedia comes through...

On July 2, 2015, Cahill signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He started seven games in the Dodgers system between three levels and was 1–3 with a 5.24 ERA before exercising his opt out and becoming a free agent on August 14.

 

[mrmopar]

This one comes with what I think is an interesting story and perhaps a few lessons learned for both buyers and sellers.

I took notice of this item that was tucked into a larger, much more expensive lot. Normally, I just pass on by, but this appeared not to be the typical frequent collectibles/card seller. There was a hat, a ball, this photo and maybe a few other things. The asking price was around $150. As the auction was closing in on ending, maybe a little less than a day, and no bids, I thought I would see if the seller might be willing to sell me just the photo. It's always worth a try. I felt the lot ask was high, so I was not counting on any bids and hoped that the seller was open to dealing. Sure enough, I got a reply and we exchanged messages. She asked what I might offer, to which i gave a fair price based on what the item was and a typical price for his signature on a photo. In the end, she said she would think about it, but that it would be a few days as she was heading out of town. I thanked her and figured I'd check back in a few days if I didn't hear anything more. Odds were, I'd never hear back and all my negotiating would have been for naught.

I hopped offline and maybe a few hours later was back on to do my nearly nightly "ended auction" search for Garvey items. My heart sank when I saw the photo I wanted, SOLD, for the price I had offered the seller. It had not been long, maybe 15 minutes prior, but I had been offline. Actually, I was kind of mad. I had put in the effort to reach out and try to work a deal, was told maybe and that it would be a few days at the earliest anyway. That was the end of it, yet clearly she had decided to go for it, listed it, and didn't tell me it was listed. Not that it might have mattered much at all, I was offline when it was listed and it had sold before I even knew it had been listed. I am not sure how long it lasted, but it had to have been only minutes. At this point you might think the offer was low, but the reason why this item went fast is because it was unique. I have 100s of signed Garvey photos, but anytime I see a new one at a reasonable price, I will buy it.

Here is where it gets interesting. I knew in my heart who bought it and i was right. i have a fairly reliable rival that gobbles up BIN items on a regular basis. I am not sure if the guy lives on ebay or what, but he seems to see everything before anyone else does most of the time. Maybe he has some sort of audible alert that sounds when new Garvey items are listed. Considering that is many items per hour, I don't think I could handle it or keep up with it, but I am not sure how else to explain it. Many times, he has already bought an item I would have had interest in, BEFORE I have even seen it.

I messaged the seller and expressed my disappointment that after making an offer and being told it would be a few days, the item was listed at my price and i was not told about it. Obviously, I have no claim to this item. The seller can do what they please. I was polite, but shared my frustration that this had gone down this way. It was not the first time this had happened to me, and probably not the last. At this point, I figured I would plead my case and ask if they might be willing to cancel the sale and sell it to me. Sounds shady, I know, but considering I was the only reason the item was busted out of the lot and offered at that price, it sounded reasonable to me. She said she would see what could be done, but I was not holding out much hope. The last time this happened, the seller promptly told me that it was sold and there was nothing they could do. Kind of a tough ****, you missed out attitude, even though it was a similar case where I negotiated an item and price, only to have the person list it later w/o my knowledge. I don't live on ebay, after all!

I went back to view the auction again, maybe to torture myself further. It was then that I noticed a legit "out" that the seller could use if they needed/wanted it. She had listed the Garvey, but neglected to delete out the part about the other items. The lot was "advertised" as everything, but was priced just for the photo. This would all come down to how willing the seller was to work with me and technically "stiff" the other buyer. Before I could point out the "out", she told me that she had cancelled it because of that very reason. She was going to sell the item to me, as we had agreed upon. She just needed the cancellation to clear up.

The next trick in my mind was getting me an auction to buy w/o making her look bad or giving the buyer any reason to fight it or complain. Of course, if it were me as the buyer, I would be upset that the listing was canclled. I'd probably ask why, but again, at that point there is not a lot you can do. The seller does what they want/what they feel is right. I suggested just listing it generically, so there was no image or description, make the title for "insert user ID" only and let me buy in now. She said she would just relist it w/o the other items described. Now I was worried that my rival would notice the cancellation, but see the relisted item and beat me to the punch again. I really just wanted to tell the seller to do it my way, so that the auction would attract no special attention to anyone but me. She moved forward and messaged me that it was listed. I searched her items as fast as my fingers and computer would allow. No listing! All i could think of was "Are you F'ing kidding me? Did he beat me to it again?!". I checked ended listings, but it was not there. Went back to active listings, no item. I was starting to panic a little. I messaged that I didn't see it and could she send me a link, all the while worried someone (you know who)would buy it again! After what seemed like hours (it was probably less than a minute), I searched again and finally saw it. I jumped on the BIN, paid and messaged the seller back. Happy with the results, how the seller reacted to the situation and not feeling one bit guilty or shady for what I had dome to reverse history, I waited for the item to ship.

Today brought closure to the ordeal, as the item arrived. I wish I would have been more clear to the seller originally about my desire to buy the item or make better arrangements to buy it if they agreed (don't just list it willy nilly) but you have to be careful when dealing with folks. You never know how it will turn on you. I also would have liked to have had the item sold "under the radar", so as not to make it look like it was pulled and resold for no reason (although, as you have read, it was cancelled and relsited but with some legit reasoning for the process on both ends). Although it was no fault of the original buyer, who likely knows nothing of the details unless he asked and the seller spilled the beans, I still feel the way it worked out was fair. As I said before, he should never have had a shot to buy it to begin with, had this played out the way I had intended it to.

Long story, not so short, but I wanted to recognize the seller for doing what I feel was the right thing, even though it might have put them in a bad light. Sometimes things just work out, other times not so much.

 

[mrmopar]

Frank Robinson on a Sport magazine cover. Cover loose from magazine, but came with the complete mag. I am never too sure about Robinson stuff. His signature seems to differ every time I see one. I have a lot of certified cards signed by him. This was cheap, so not out too much of this is not real. His Dodger tenure was short and he didn't have a ton of stuff. He does have a jumbo Topps auto that I snagged, but would like a regular sized Dodger certified auto. Looks like with his recent passing, this is likely never going to happen, but you never know. Cuts and stickers can mean anything could happen.



I am still waiting for the "favorite" Oliver so far from this set to show up. It seems lost or taking it's sweet ass time from Canada. I hope to be able to share it someday, if it ever arrives. Meanwhile, I found a 78T tucked in a lot for cheap. I love signed 78T, so this is a welcome addition. I'd love to see a 70T and a 85T Traded next.

 

[DeliciousBacon]

Sean Maloney, pitched in 11 games with the 1998 Dodgers, going 0-1, which followed the 3 games he pitched for the 1997 Brewers. That was the extent of his big league career.

This is the first signed card I had seen from Maloney, until checking recently to find someone had listed 4-5 of his cards at around $15 each. I got this one right before seeing the others for a bargain price of $2! While searching for info on Maloney a while back, thinking I was going to need to track him down for a possible TTM deal since his signature seemed to be non-existent, I found two things. 1). He has the same name as a politician, which made it harder to find info about him. 2). Sadly, he lost his wife of 16 years in 2014, when she was just 43. She left behind 4 young kids. I'm guessing that didn't give him a lot of time to do baseball stuff, possibly why his autograph just isn't out there. That and a very brief, uneventful MLB career. View attachment 115480

Sean Maloney lives on my mail route. It took me a while to figure out why a guy I'd never heard of was getting mail from the MLB Players' Alumni Association. There aren't many players from RI so I thought I knew them all. I've never seen him get a TTM request (cards are very obvious in the mail), so maybe he is just too obscure for most people to know about.

 

[mrmopar]

I wonder if he is just trying to avoid the fan fair? As i mentioned, it took me a long time to find a signature originally (a 3x5) and then this card I got was the first one I had ever seen. Now there are a handful out there, mostly from the same seller. I would like to send him a request, but have not gotten around to it yet.

And since, I am here now....Today's mail day

Miguel Vargas with the last name only sticker sig. I am guessing this will change significantly if he hits it big and continues to sign things. Born in Cuba, this 19 year old is in the A level at this time. he hits for average well, so we'll see how things progress and if he ever makes the majors, let alone the Dodgers. However, he already has multiple Dodger cards because that is the card world we live in today.

Another Archives Oliver, this one is /11 from the 1983 Topps Glossy AS mail-in set.

Last item was a lot of 84F cards. 6 Dodgers or former Dodgers were included. Jose Morales and Burt Hooton represented current Dodgers at the time. Ron Cey and Steve Garvey were recent departed from the team as former Dodgers. Finally, John Tudor and Phil Garner would eventually join the Dodger at the end of the decade. This was probably my favorite Fleer design of all time.