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

[mrmopar]

I see Phil Bickford made the big club and appeared in a game. Nice to see and glad I pulled the trigger on the 2 autos of his when I didn. Scratch one off the wantlist immediately!

Another couple were added though. I still need 5 more.

 

[mrmopar]

This one in today, replacing a TTM/IP that could have been questionable, plus this is one of the modern Leaf sets I actually like. Trevor Bauer /25

 

[Therion]

Great card. I still hate him.

 

[mrmopar]

I received several of these neat photo give aways from 1979. I speculate that you either got them at a gas station, the car dealer and/or the ballpark. I don't see them that often though. I won't show all of them, but the ones I won were Pedro Guerrero, Gave Stewart, Del Crandall, Rudy Law, Dennis Lewallyn, Mickey Hatcher, Bobby Castillo, Jack Perconte & Gerald Hannahs, All were personalized to a Theresa (or TJ). I would have been happy to get all these unsigned, but signed was a bonus.



Aside from that, not a lot coming in. I did want to share a couple non autographed items that are Dodger related. One is a pretty rare 1974 Dukes minor League set. I still wish I would have been able to pull the trigger on a near complete signed set I saw on ebay a couple years back, but it was around $300! The set itself is tough and there are no major names outside of what a die hard Dodger fan might think, but some obscure toughies in the set. Jerry Royster may be the biggest name, although Charlie Manuel had a bit of managerial fame too.



The biggest item I got recently was a 2 sides poster that oddly enough if not something I have seen very often. Guessing it was a stadium item, but not sure. I swear that I either had one as a kid or maybe my friend who moved up from California had one. Now the images are familiar to me, but I am nearly certain I saw this poster as a kid in person. I did not have one that I can remember obtaining, so this might be the first one I had seen for sale. It was listed with at around $15 and a best offer. I thought about just bidding to take it off the market for BOs, but decided to offer $20. Its got a couple tears along the folds, but I really needed to have this. Of course, I went cheap and immediately got nervous, but held out. Within an hour or so, the seller accepted my offer. They were the same seller who sold the Dukes auto photos, so I had to wait a week before the package would even be sent. So happy to have this. Another obscure oddball item added to the Garvey collector at what I think was a bargain price, given I had not seen another listed for sale.



One final item with no relation to the Dodgers, but just a great card image and someone I have half-heartedly collected over the years. Diving in with passion would require a large pocketbook these days, but i try to grab some odd stuff here and there and an auto or two as well. I don't want to come across wrong here, but if you still need/want a Rod Carew autograph, pick one up ASAP! They are usually decently priced and I am just afraid that he doesn't have a lot of time left. I hope I am wrong, but his signature is looking pretty shaky and he has had a number of health issues. It's too easy to put off something like that if it is low priority. Don't let the opportunity pass you by. Joe Morgan, Tom Seaver, Mike Marhsall. 1970s stars that are gone already, with many others hitting their 70s or more.

What a great card!

 

[mrmopar]

Dick Egan Rookie Stars is the only surprise worth mentioning in the mail today. Not super exciting, but his signature seems to be somewhat harder to find among 60s era players of no substantial achievement.

He was 1-1 in 20 games with the Dodgers in 1967, his final year in MLB. The Angels had traded Egan and a player to be named later to the Dodgers for Howie Reed. That player to be named later never made the bigs. Egan is still alive and turned 84 this past March.



After I posted this, I went to ebay to check and realized that this is a high number card.. That does make it a bit more exciting. I also knew his 1967 Topps, his only Dodger card, was also a high number. Then I saw that his 1966 card was also a high number. He had no 65 Topps, so he was on 3 consecutive high number cards. I was convinced I had another card trivia question, assuming he had to be the only player with more than 1 card who had all of his cards issued as high numbers. Unfortunately for my trivia question, he also had a 1963 RC that he shares with Gaylord Perry, but is not a high number.

Egan might just have the record for the most expensive card run of a common player who appeared in multiple sets. Clearly someone sharing an expensive RC could lay claim to most expensive, but how about sharing your RC with a HOFer, then appearing on 3 straight high number cards!

 

[dano7]

Have the 1963 card, signed by everyone but Navarro

 

[mrmopar]

Have the 1963 card, signed by everyone but Navarro

I believe I have one signed by Perry, but maybe not. I saw him at a minor league game, but I may have not realized at the time that he had the multi-player card. I feel like I did get one signed, but would have to check. I am also pretty certain I have the Egan signed, but again would have to check. You get too many cards and then you get old and keeping track becomes tricky!

Here is one signed by all 4 on ebay now for the lowly price of $200!

 

[Therion]

I love multi-signed cards!

 

[mrmopar]

Here is a cautionary tale...about trying to predict the future.

Travis Blankenhorn was on the Dodgers 40 man roster earlier this season, waiting for his shot I used to scour that list pretty regularly a few years ago and when COMC was my friend for picking up cheap scrub autos on short notice, but eventually realized a lot of guys never made the 25 man roster from there, let alone the MLB level. I ended up with a lot of $1-3 autos of guys who either never made the bigs and/or never played for the Dodgers. I would keep them as minor league representatives for the Dodgers, but that is not the same. If I were doing a deep representation into the minors, then this would be completely acceptable. However, that is just crazy talk. Trying to get every single player assigned to an organization like the Dodgers is just plain impossible.

I finally ended up nabbing one of his autographs, in hopes of checking one off the list ahead of time, but failing to check back and realize that his stay on the 40 man was only a brief 10 days before the Mariners grabbed him off waivers. Mariner fans don't rejoice though, the Mets grabbed him 6 days later! Had I not checked that list when I did, I would have no reason to acquire a Blankenhorn autograph. Now I have 2 actually, as I won the same card from another seller around the same time. Stupid, stupid, me! My only salvation here is if he has a couple good seasons, or just one for that matter. His current 6 game resume doesn't cut it for my collection.

 

[MrMet]

Here is a cautionary tale...about trying to predict the future.

Travis Blankenhorn was on the Dodgers 40 man roster earlier this season, waiting for his shot I used to scour that list pretty regularly a few years ago and when COMC was my friend for picking up cheap scrub autos on short notice, but eventually realized a lot of guys never made the 25 man roster from there, let alone the MLB level. I ended up with a lot of $1-3 autos of guys who either never made the bigs and/or never played for the Dodgers. I would keep them as minor league representatives for the Dodgers, but that is not the same. If I were doing a deep representation into the minors, then this would be completely acceptable. However, that is just crazy talk. Trying to get every single player assigned to an organization like the Dodgers is just plain impossible.

I finally ended up nabbing one of his autographs, in hopes of checking one off the list ahead of time, but failing to check back and realize that his stay on the 40 man was only a brief 10 days before the Mariners grabbed him off waivers. Mariner fans don't rejoice though, the Mets grabbed him 6 days later! Had I not checked that list when I did, I would have no reason to acquire a Blankenhorn autograph. Now I have 2 actually, as I won the same card from another seller around the same time. Stupid, stupid, me! My only salvation here is if he has a couple good seasons, or just one for that matter. His current 6 game resume doesn't cut it for my collection.

View attachment 127215

If you have two you can send one my way, lol


Sent from my iPhone using Freedom Card Board mobile app

 

[mrmopar]

If you have two you can send one my way, lol


Sent from my iPhone using Freedom Card Board mobile app

I would be happy to. I have not actually paid for the 2nd one. Maybe the seller will direct ship to you if I ask him to. PM me your address. If he won't, I'll send it when I get it.

 

[mrmopar]

A couple in over the last few weeks that weren't really all that worthy at the time but growing tired of having nothing to talk about. The bargain market is pretty dry right now. Sutton is a nice, recently passed HOF pick-up that was fairly cheap. The Donruss Significant Signatures series is a pretty nice one. Wish I would have pursued it harder at the time.

Don Sutton.

Lorenzo Bundy (Base Coach).

Dual Fernando Valenzuela/Jack Perconte.

Kevin Pasley & Lance Rautzhan in this lot of 78T rookie prospect cards.



Brian Holton Minor League card

Bill Sudakis.

Tyler White, a brief visitor to LA n 2019 for 12 games, seemingly his last MLB experience since.

 

[Therion]

Yep, Tyler White is playing in Japan last I heard.

I really dig that Brian Holton card.

 

[mrmopar]

Going to lead with a non-Dodger, because I am pretty excited over the other item.

first up is another rod Carew auto. I have really liked the Topps Brooklyn card designs I have seen, all of them. Montgomery Club too. They blow their creativity on these special sets and then issue drab garbage for the regular sets! I don't understand why they can't bring back great designs for base cards too.



OK, this one checks another new need of the list, finally. After assuming I'd have no problem adding one when I first learned of his inclusion in the set, 2021 has been a bitter disappointment for trying to buy cards for most people. There must be a massive hoard of crazy, stupid, clueless, scared...you name it, people who have too much money and don't care if something is "worth" roughly $20, they'll spend $50 and so will all their crazy friends!

I still overpaid for this card by about twice what I wanted to pay, and think I should have been able to pay, but I patiently watched it sell for 4x, 5x and ever 6x what I would pay, shaking my head as the prices rose, then started to sink. Perhaps my FOMO kicked in, because I was willing to pay double what I think the card is worth. Maybe I am no better than the next guy, just cheaper!!

This add brings me down to needing 4 Dodgers, although technically I have two sitting hostage at COMC still! I am sure I will see this card settle back to what I thought it should be worth by season's end, but just in case I am wrong, I am happy to add this one finally.

Victor Gonzalez, with an Opening Day auto. These OD auto cards, like the Brooklyn/Montgomery sets, are also usually pretty neat designs. Topps has offered some pretty decent looking "insert" autographs over the years (Trading Places, Signature Moves, Bazooka, etc). They seem to get that right most of the time.

 

[mrmopar]

Not that I am getting a lot overall, but maybe I need to rename this my pick-up thread. The specific themed threads seem to do better over time though.

However, I will cheat today with no Dodger stuff in the mail.

I did pick up the brother to the Carew I shared yesterday, this one being the purple /10!



The other item falls into that category of interesting oddball items. This is some soprt of credit card-like fan club card for the Baseball Bunch Fun Club. OK, normally I would not care about this, but apparently Johnny Bench was a celebrity participant, sponsor or endorsor of sorts and his name/facsimile signature are on the card. The year is 1981. Its weird stuff like this that makes collecting still interesting to me. The new shiny cards grow less and less amusing, but this boring stuff that hardly anyone wants is what excites me these day!

 

[mrmopar]

Todays mail is highlighted (for me, at least), with a couple players who never played forn the Dodgers and one with a brief stint, but no Dodgers cards I am aware of.

Jay Gibbons will start us out. in 2010-11, Gibbons played in about 60 games for the Dodgers at the end of his career. This is a minor league card with a LA affiliate.



Then a couple of guys who had Dodger cards, but never made the team at the MLB level. These are both minor league issues. I got these 3, plus another 8 rather obscure guys who didn't play a lot of games among them, but are not seen all that often. I didn't need any of the signatures, but many of the cards were new. These 3 (Gibbons included)were the most interesting.

Eric Stuckenschneider.

Travis Denker.

Lastly, not a Dodger card, but this crosses a new one off the list anyway. Nate Jones joined the Dodgers this season and has appeared in 7 games thus far. I now need 3 LA Dodgers (2 are at COMC, so not counting them unless I get another copy elsewhere first). Technically, I am down to 1, since I do own them. Last year I was sharing COMC purchases as I made them, rather than when I got them. However, after that 4 month wait for those cards to show, I will not be doing that again. I show them when I have them! Mookie Betts remains the hold out and at his prices, I will have to add him after he retires or sees a huge decline in his popularity.

That said, if anyone has a way to hook me up with help getting a Mookie IP auto some how, please let me know. That may be my only shot at it.

And back to the task at hand, Nate Jones. I would like to upgrade this to a certified card or a Dodger IP/TTM, if he gets a Dodger card. I am not aware of any certified cards yet either though. For now, a White Sox card fills the void.

 

[mrmopar]

One other item I got today is probably my favorite Steve Garvey image ever. It also happens to be the cover of the 1975 Dodgers Yearbook too. For several years from the mid 1960s into the early 80s, the Dodgers made and sold these 8x10 photos with a thin white border. The photos are a little thicker than photo paper images, but not quite the thickness of a typical Topps baseball card. They are so generic that finding them can be tricky. There is no good name for them in the hobby. Players were issued of various photos across their careers and the dates are approximate. Take Garvey for example, he has several different photos. I wrote about them here, if you are interested. https://1978theyearitallbegan.blogspot.com/2010/09/dodger-team-issue-8x10-color-photos.html

Anyway, I see this particular photo the least of any. Some are extremely common, a few are what I might call scarce and some I have still yet to add to my collection. I even discover new poses now and again and since they really are not checklisted, this is a forever project.

I can't get enough of this photo and when I see them, I try to win them if they are reasonably priced. Even beat up, like this one is, I still chase them. I might have 4-5 now, much fewer than any other version of his photo.

If anyone has any of these or comes across any in good condition (i only collect them in top shape except Garvey and place fillers), I have plenty duplicates to trade or would consider buying them at the right price.

 

[Therion]

That's a cool pic!

 

[mrmopar]

After all my moaning and groaning about Zack McKinstry and then Dazed hooking me up, I see pricing falling fast, but still selling stronger than they should be. I had been tossing fruitless bids out on any McKinstry I saw with hopes of winning one for my price, as the prices escalated higher and higher. It finally worked and ended up with this one for around $8!? How this one slipped by is beyond me. Probably will be a classic case of overpay in a few years when we all look back on 2021 with contempt!

I will still be on the lookout for a Topps 86 design card and hope to add one someday for around the same price, or less. Wish me luck!!



The other Dodger auto I received today is a 1954 Topps Bob Milliken. Can't pass up on nice signed vintage cards at a decent price and this one was only $9.99. His unsigned card wouldn't cost much less than that, so win in my book.



Continuing to share some non-Dodgers to keep is somewhat interesting in the dry periods, this Brooklyn Collection Dennis Eckersley is /5. @Dilferules might be mad at me, if he didn't already have one. hopefully we didn't wage war on this one, although it went higher than I would expect to pay for an Eck auto, I always pay a little more for a low serial number (Yes, I am a sucker!).



Last item is something I should have acquired a long time ago, and it is possible I have a single I forgot about that is buried. 1990 Coke White Sox set. I finally bit the bullet and bought a sealed set, primarily for the Frank Thomas but also for Sosa and because I love oddball sets, I just know I can't afford to chase them all. If I could, I would.

 

[Dilferules]

Nah I wasn't in on that Eck, great card though. I should go for one of the more plentiful versions.