Davey Lopes: 1973 Topps #609 (RC)

I don't consider '70s cards to be vintage, but if a deal presents itself and said '70s card is enticing as well I'll gladly plunk down my hard-earned money for some nearly vintage cardboard. Such was the case when I realized that Davey Lopes' 1973 Topps RC is a tougher card than I thought it was.

We got in a copy at work and after throwing it online I learned it was our only one and, as I mentioned, tougher than I thought due to it being a high number. That being said, it was still an inexpensive card. For about a buck, it was an easy add.

Massive 4th Place Contest Winnings From The Legendary Fuji!

Fuji held a massive contest earlier this year and when the dust settled I found myself in fourth place, which in this case meant a prize package would head my way. Here's a handful of the cardboard that found its way to Southern California.

The hits, highlighted by a sweet Eric Gagne relic.

A new Kemp, a new Kershaw, and a new Russ Martin. The Martin serves as the 300th unique card in my PC of the former Blue Crew backstop.

Now here's an interesting card. Night Owl has written on many an occasion about people sending him Royals' cards because they thought they were Dodgers' cards, what with the Blue and all. Well, here's a case where it falls on the shoulders of the card company to have gotten the darn thing right. I pulled this out of the bubbler and said hmmm, I don't recall there being a prospect named Salvador Perez in the L.A. system. Because, you know, there isn't. It's Sal Perez, the Kansas City backstop who's a fantastic young player. Anyways, I quite like the card even though it erroneously says Dodgers on the front while the back does say Royals.

Some randomness to end things. Love the Billingsley rookie; lots and lots of Jered Weaver which just further emphasizes that Topps reuses the same photo over and over (Topps Chrome, top middle); Kirk and Orel are welcome sights; that Piazza is nails; and so many talented arms in recent years.

Thanks as always Fuji for your generosity!

Trade With Bob Walk the Plank: Konerko and Lopes Autos Highlight Stack of Cardboard Goodness

I completed my second trade with Matt from Bob Walk the Plank. Matt sent these cards along as a complete surprise at the end of March, but I wanted to wait and post them once I had accumulated some stuff to send back his way. Matt once again outdid himself, and hopefully what heads his way will be to his liking.

My second Paul Konerko auto, and both are on-card and picture him in his Blue Crew uniform. This is definitely my favorite of the two as the more important parts of his jersey are visible.

Hey, it's my first Davey Lopes signature! Or Dave Lopes, as he and Topps went with. I'm not a fan of the Archives set but I do like the autos from it. I am still in need of Davey's signature on my Great Infield 8x10 project.

Ugh, what a terrible scan. It's my first Paul Lo Duca relic (I think) and it commemorates his 6-6 game on May 28th of 2001. Lo Duca actually follows me on Twitter and once responded to me, which is pretty cool.

Next up, a pair of new Kemps and a pair of new Kershaws.

Finally, randomness in the form of a Kevin Brown relic; a Shawn Green Dodgers/D-Backs swatch that will end up with Alex, as he'll appreciate it more than I will; a Duke Snider /100; and Snider and Jackie Gypsy Queen base cards.

Thanks for another great swap Matt!

"Recent" In-Person Dodgers' Autographs.

I've got a few in-person autographs to post, and I'll lump them together, considering they happened ages ago. First up, a new project I've begun and am 25% done with.

Steve Garvey was doing one of his many free signings, and I had some time to swing by. I asked him to sign an 8x10 that will eventually include the rest of The Great Infield. Steve was kind enough to inscribe "'74 NL MVP" and was a great and nice guy, as he always is. Shout-out to Paul for letting me borrow a pen and giving me pointers on what pen to use for a project such as this, as well as George for saying hi. Great seeing you gentlemen!

Next up, a pair of John Hancocks I picked up at Dodger Stadium before a Friday Night Fireworks game. I hit up Aisle 27 and got Kenley Jansen on my "2012 Team Ball," and had I not had my cast on, I'm not sure he would have stopped, as he was wrapping up a quick signing session. After coming off of the field, I ran into Harry, who runs Eye On LA Sports. Harry spotted Ron Cey signing and helped me get his signature on my "team" ball, as doing these things one-handed is rather difficult. Good luck in El Paso buddy, and come back and visit!

Trade With Life and Baseball Cards: A Potpourri of PC Pickups.

I completed my first trade with Charley - better known as lonestarr - from Life and Baseball Cards. Charley sent me a huge bubble mailer full of great cards. Though I'll only be scanning my favorites, everything he sent is much appreciated.

First up, a new Russ Martin hit. This will go very well with the red parallel /180 and the sick patch /25 I already have from '09 A Piece Of History.

Next, an awesome new Kevin Love hit, and it's numbered 152/249 while featuring two full lines of stitching and a third partial line. It's got two wonderful things going for it on top of all of that: it feels really patch-y, and it's a bright purple. Colorful swatches are the best swatches.

My first Amare hit! Serial-numbered 221/499, this sweet two-color patch puts me two-thirds of the way to a STAT Trifecta. I'm short the auto. Eventually, it shall be.

A BCCG 10 of Chargers' running back Ryan Mathews. I have high hopes for Mathews, so this funky piece makes for a cool addition to my small collection of Mathews cards.

A slew of PC cards checks in as the penultimately scanned goodness. I love the Love/Westbrook dual, as well as that all three Love cards picture him in his UCLA uniform. Charley added three Kemps, three Kershaws, and two Martins (three when you include the relic high above) to my main PCs. I now have 130 unique Kid K cards and 191 unique Russ Martins.

And finally, some random awesomeness. The Mathews Platinum RC is a massively thick card.

I'm putting together a package with Charley's end of the deal, and I can't help but feel like Sheldon Cooper: whatever I send just won't be enough.

Thanks for the great trade Charley! I hope you enjoy the cards I'll be sending your way!

Russell Martin, Meet Davey Lopes

57/99, Blue

My Russell Martin 2008 Spectrum Swatches Rainbow is coming along swimmingly. No idea what parallels and numbering schemes I still need, but if you have something that would help this rainbow become even more rainbow-y, or can tell me what I'm missing, I'm all ears.

This particular iteration of the 2008 Martin relic came with some corner damage on both of the bottom corners, particularly the right one. The foil (or paper, whatever it's actually called) is kind of starting to peel up. Wasn't mentioned in the item description, so I left the guy 3 stars and moved on.

Here's the rest of my Martin Rainbow.

28/35, Red

26/50, Green

42/55, Purple

And finally, as the title makes mention of, Davey Lopes is also in the house. From the same seller as the Martin /99, I found this Lopes bat relic. Shipping was $2 flat, so I added the Lopes for $1.25. The Martin was also $1.25, and for under five bucks, it's a pretty sweet lot.

Boosh.

Jonathan Broxton Bobblehead Game Recap

I attended the Broxton Bobblehead game this past Tuesday. My buddies and I had infield reserve seats, third base side. We planned to get to the game around 6, and I wanted to go check out Autograph Alley in center field, having never been before.

Of course, my camera ran out of juice about 5 minutes after I entered the stadium, and try as I might, I couldn't take a picture after about 7:00. Remember kids, always charge the batteries for something you plan on using. Lesson learned.

This first response van was next to us at a light driving to the game. I imagine it was on its way to the stadium to pick up Garret Anderson's corpse.

On the way to the game, we passed by this huge billboard for Mannywood. Of course a huge bus got in my way, but you get the idea.

As we entered Dodger Stadium, we were given this nice booklet with Chad Billingsley on the cover.

We were parked right around 6:00, and made our way to center. I had no idea who would be at Autograph Alley, as the Dodgers hadn't announced it, and lo and behold I find Matt Luke there. Honestly, I have no recollection of Matt Luke as a Dodger, and had only heard his name maybe once before. I stand in a line of about 5 people, and Luke signs the card you see below for me. He was also nice enough to take a picture with me. Nice guy.

Loved seeing former Dodgers images immortalized on the pillars at the stadium. Though I unfortunately didn't run into any of the sons of the Sons Of Steve Garvey while at the game. Davey Lopes can be seen behind Garvey; I also saw Ron Cey, Bill Russell, and the amazingly awesome and exciting Mike Piazza.

The game was fantastic, a pitcher's duel from start to finish. There was a proposal (it seems there's one at every game I go to), and I thought it actually looked fairly fake, with the potential bride-to-be running away from her kneeling and ring-bearing boyfriend. She later returned and said yes, and we saw them walking in the parking lot after the game, having parked about two rows over from us. I clapped and said congrats, and they nodded and said thank you, then got in the same car and sat next to each other. So who knows, maybe it was real, maybe it wasn't. I hope it was real and they are getting married, but it did remind me of this other "marriage proposal" which was as fake as can be.



After Manny Ramirez's double to right to drive in the lone Dodger run (and the crowd was electric that whole inning), in walked the man of the day, Jonathan Broxton. As Iron Man blared throughout Dodger Stadium, the fans were going crazy, and Brox's first batter just so happened to be the best player in all of baseball, Albert Pujols. An epic at-bat followed, with Broxton finally striking out Pujols. Broxton closed the inning out, and the Dodgers went home with a 1-0 victory.

And I went home happy as well, having seen a great game and come away with an autograph and a sweet Broxton Bobblehead.