Tuesday, May 10, 2016

frankendodger sheet 7 (cards 55-63) - not the same...

here's sheet number 7 of my dodger frankenset - cards numbered 55-63:
and the back:
these cards are:

55. 2015 topps heritage justin turner
56. 2001 fleer greats of the game wes parker
57. 1966 topps jim lefebvre
58. 2009 upper deck signature stars jim thome
59. 1997 skybox circa brett butler
60. 1981 donruss rick monday
61. 2005 upper deck sp legendary cuts pee wee reese
62. 2010 topps national chicle chad billingsley
63. 2005 topps all-time fan favorites bob welch

the "no brainer" of the day:

i've written before regarding my affection for the 1966 topps jim lefebvre, so it was definitely on the must include list for this set.

about the cards:

one of my guidelines for this set is not to repeat the same set on any sheet.  that guideline is violated near the end of the set, but not here - even though it looks like there are two 1966 topps cards.  thanks to the heritage set, both justin turner and lefebvre appear on this sheet with the same design.  it's too bad turner isn't striking the same pose as lefebvre, though.

in between those two is a fantastic card of gold glove extraordinaire wes parker.  i am a fan of the 2001 fleer greats of the game set, and am just now getting around to posting a want list to complete it.  the thome card is somewhat forgettable, but the circa brett butler card has a superhero quality to it due to the colors and the 'butler' text.

i opened a bunch of 1981 donruss, and remember buying a brick of dodger cards from a fellow collector that summer.  as a result, i had a ton of dodger doubles - many of which i still have today.  monday gets to represent that set in the early going.

i'm not much of a fan of the 2005 legendary cuts set, but pee wee fit nicely here, so there it is.  i do like, however, the 2010 national chicle set, and this billingsley is a pretty decent card to rep that set.  i know there is at least one other card from that set later on.

finally, the welch.  he had a decent year in 1982 (16-11 with a 3.36 era), but i first thought that the point of the 2005 all-time fan favorites set was to use the card design from a player's best season (i later figured out that it wasn't), and 1982 wasn't it for welch. he had some better years, but i really wanted to see him on a 1978 design, if not on a card recognizing the awesomeness of his game 2 strikeout of reggie jackson in the 1978 world series.

cards that didn't make the cut:

don drysdale's 1967 topps card is number 55 in that set, but big d is out of commission until i get closer to card number 200 (or, in his case, card number 212 - hint, hint).  other notable cards that were omitted for various reasons include steve garvey's 1981 donruss card (number 56), a sweet charlie dressen 1979 tcma card (also number 56) that i have yet to acquire even one copy of, reggie smith's 1978 o-pee-chee card (number 57), a 2006 topps co-signers dual auto card of tommy john and bob welch (number 58),
a 1973 topps (or o-pee-chee) steve yeager (number 59), and a 2001 topps tribute tom lasorda (number 60).

my favorite card on the page:

well, there's the lefebvre which is clearly my favorite card on this page.  but visually, there is something about 2001 fleer greats of the game cards that i really like and the butler card is the star of the page the way it jumps out at you, so it was more difficult to stick with the 1965 rookie of the year than you might imagine.

final thoughts:

look at all that potential energy on display on the monday card! enough to hit a home run in olympic stadium and dash the hopes of expo fans, anyway.


  1. I believe Wes Parker was the only living player at the time of its release to not have a certified autograph version in that 2001 GOTG set. One of the best sets ever in terms of a Who's Who for certified on-card autographs.

    1. i had him sign one of the gotg cards via ttm, and he did so very faintly, as is his custom. would have been nice to have a bold, certified signature from him in this set.

  2. That John-Welch dual auto card is pretty sweet.

    Nothing needed here. And turns out I have that Gonzalez Prism card. So forgettable.

    1. i'm really glad that topps used welch as a dodger and not an athletic. of course, then the matchup with tj wouldn't have made any sense.

  3. Totally forgot that Thome was a Dodger at one point. Gotta love short term stops!

    1. the only team for which he played that he did not hit a home run with (or any sort of extra base hit). and then he went to twins the next year and raked.

  4. "one of my guidelines for this set is not to repeat the same set on any sheet." I have the same goal and wish I could have an actual vintage card with a Heritage card on the same page. You're right, they are different sets! Very nice!

  5. Had Brady Bunch flashbacks after seeing the Parker. Greg's math teacher was pretty hot.