Package from down the road

When I first saw this Score disc card (I'm not sure which year it is -- 1991 or 1992 it looks like), I had an instant flashback to the round cards that were sold with whiffle ball bats during the 1970s. Does anyone remember those? They were white and yellow and had a player's black-and-white head shot in the middle. My brother and I had a couple of those cards.

Anyway, this card and a whole mess of other Dodgers came from reader Randall. He contacted me a couple of weeks ago and said he was a Dodger fan and had a bunch of extra cards he thought I'd like. It turns out that Randall is almost down the road from me. Just a few hours away. I love seeing Dodger fans on the east coast!

I received the package on Monday, so it's about time I reveal the contents. Lots of good stuff in here from a very generous collector.

I'll start with some old-time Dodgers since I've been watching that Don Larsen no-hitter on the MLB Network quite a bit since yesterday. (One of these times, Jackie Robinson's going to sneak a ball through the infield).

Three key ones right there in Robinson, Roy Campanella and Junior Gilliam. I like the Campanella card the best, although the '52 design is starting to wear on me a little. Don't destroy it like you did to Mantle, Topps.

The Gilliam card, like the Campanella card, is a Topps Baseball Archives card. Those cards don't have copyright dates on the back, and since I wasn't collecting many cards five or six years ago, I can only guess what year the Archives cards are from. I'm assuming since the Campanella card has a 2001 stamped on the front, that Topps continued the design progression, so Gilliam would be from 2003.

Tommy Lasorda, 1997 Upper Deck. Lasorda is another mid-50s Dodger, if only for a few moments. This is a shiny card (a prerequisite for late 1990s cards). Nice shot of Lasorda. He has some good cards.

On to more modern times: James Loney, Future Gems, 2002 Upper Deck. I keep hearing talk about packaging Loney in a trade for a starting pitcher. I don't like that talk. I know you have to trade talent to get talent, but I'd hate to loses Loney.

Edwin Jackson, 2003 Fleer Ultra gold medallion (I don't know if they were calling it that in 2003, though). I think I'll just stare at this card for awhile and pretend that the Dodgers didn't really trade away Jackson, and that they're not really hurting for another starting pitcher or two. (sigh).

Shawn Green, 2004 Upper Deck. Green is taking second-billing to the scoreboard on this card. It's a great card. I might have to start an "Awesome Scoreboard Card" series of posts.

Jerry Reuss and Dusty Baker, 2004 Upper Deck Timeless Teams. I really missed the boat on this set. I'm liking these more and more. And you can't show the fronts of these cards without showing the backs:

It looks like Opening Day at Dodger Stadium.

Shawn Green, 2005 Fleer Ultra Gold Medallion. Very nice card. Green trying to cue one the opposite way.

The final two cards are cards that made this a special package. First, there's my favorite player, Ron Cey, on a 2005 Upper Deck Classics card. I don't have this Cey card, so that's terrific.

AND a Steve Garvey, 2005 Donruss Greats autographed card! And Randall's a Garvey fan, too (he had doubles). Wonderful!

There were many other great cards in this box. I needed about 75 percent of them. Thanks again, Randall. Go blue!