Raauuuuuuuuul!!!!!

Long before Phillies fans were howling the first name of their left fielder, Ibanez, (it sounds so much better than "Buuuurrrreeeeelllll!" doesn't it?), Dodger fans were doing the same for their right fielder, Mondesi.

Raul Mondesi was my favorite player during the 1990s, a decade laced with Dodger misery. But Mondesi could do it all -- hit for average, hit for power, run and, best of all, obliterate baserunners heading plateward. I didn't even mind his belly flops into second base. He was very entertaining to watch.

But Mondesi came along during a time when I wasn't collecting cards, so I have had a lot of catching up to do. Now, I have a healthy number of Mondesi cards. But as Ryan of The Great Orioles Autograph Project found out, there are always Mondesi cards that I need.

Most of the Mondesi cards from Ryan came from 1995, which is an ideal year to find cards that I don't have. Combine a year when I didn't collect with a year in which companies issued far too many sets, and you have the perfect storm.

Here are just a few of the Mondesi cards, followed by a whole mess of other Dodgers that Ryan sent:

1995 Studio: A very gimmicky set. It's like having a bunch of credit cards in your binder.

1995 Topps Stadium Club: This is the "Award Winner" variation. ...

... not to be confused with the "virtual reality" variation. Yes, I am glad I wasn't collecting in 1995.

I don't know what this is. It is thick, it is textured and it is from Topps. But I know nothing else about it. Set? Insert? Subset? No idea.

1995 Fleer insert: I do like this card a lot. Very colorful. It accents Mondesi's Dominican heritage (he is now a political figure in his native country).

That gives you just an idea of the Mondesi cards I received -- there were 19 Mondesis in all that I did not have already -- but I want to move on to some others Ryan sent:

1996 Finest, Chad Fonville: I've been neglecting my peel-and-remove responsibilities. But I assure you, I will be doing that with this card. Covering up his face is just wrong.

2004 Upper Deck Timeless Teams Steve Yeager: Yeager really had the Michael Caine look going in the late '70s and early '80s. I believe Pedro Guerrero is to the right of him and Ron Cey to the left, as they were all MVPs of the 1981 Series.

1995 SP October Legends Steve Garvey. Everyone was getting on the die-cut train in 1995. I'm trying to figure out what that kid on the right is holding out in his grubby hands. A ticket stub? A candy wrapper?

The horror. I have dreaded getting this card since I first knew it existed. First it's one of the less attractive tobacco era designs. Second, I hate it when they chrome-up a tobacco era set. Third, it's Andruw. There are way too many cards of him in a Dodger uniform.

Weee! A Hershiser card I didn't have. From the 1989 Donruss All-Stars set.

This is purty. It's my first orange 2009 Bowman variation card. I'm glad it's of Billingsley. I still like the guy. I think he'll return to form next season.

Hey! Jay Kirkpatrick autographed a card for me! Along with 6,005 other people! I'm No. 4,137! No wonder he never made the majors. His fingers on his writing hand probably locked up forever.

Ryan is the latest to earn pretend bonus points for sending me a Ron Cey card I didn't have. I watched the Dodgers' win in Game 4 of the 1978 NLCS against the Phillies not long ago. Cey was awesome. As was Dusty Baker and Garvey. Great game.

Ryan also sent several Hideo Nomo cards that I needed for the player collection. Here is a look at them:

I am always happy when I can show a Nomo card that I didn't have before.

Finally, two more cards, both from the same year, that are greatly appreciated.

This is Steve Sax's rookie card from the 1982 Topps Traded set. I have this set, but I needed the Sax card for the Dodger collection.

And this card is one that I completely forgot that I needed. It's from '82 Donruss, a set that I thought I had finished off -- Dodger-wise -- a long time ago. But I always forget about the Dick Perez thingies.

Fernando, you've eluded me for too long. Thanks for finally making your way home.

Ryan, it's hard to believe an Orioles fan has so many Dodgers. But don't you worry, I'm adding to the O's stack almost every day. Well, almost every week, anyway.