GCRL Dodgers

No, that title does not refer to "Gulf Coast Rookie League" Dodgers. Everyone should know by now that it means "GarveyCeyRussellLopes" Dodgers! Direct from Jim!

I always assumed that Jim named his blog in the order of which '70s Dodger infielders he liked the most. Garvey first, then Cey, then Russell, then Lopes. I'm not sure if that's right. But if I were to go by that formula, my name would be "CeyLopesGarveyRussell." Doesn't have the same ring to it does it? Jim knew what he was doing.

Anyway, I got another package from Jim. Since we're fellow Dodgers fans it gets a little difficult to find Dodgers for each other. The Dodgers he sent had about a 40 percent success rate, which is pretty darn good for two guys with a whole mess of Dodgers cards. That's batting .400, you know. I'll be sending some Dodgers back at some point and I'll be lucky to get to that 40 percent mark.

So let's take a look at some that took care of a few wants.

I'll start with two from 1983 Donruss, the "bat and glove" set. Two guys who made solid contributions to the Dodgers for years, but weren't necessarily always respected for their work. I think Hooton should've gotten some more credit.

Here are four more from 1986 Fleer. This is during a period when I collected very few non-Topps cards. I get very fuzzy about any Fleer or Donruss in the mid-80s. In fact, I sometimes completely skip over '86 Fleer and get '87 Fleer (which I love) confused with '86. That probably explains why I still need several '86 Fleer Dodgers.

Jim sent a few Dodgers from 1997 Donruss. I honestly have never seen a '97 Donruss card. Ever. I know that's shocking. It's like I just said I've never been kissed. And I'm not extending that metaphor any farther, because I'll gross everyone out, including myself.

I love these 1988 Fleer World Series cards. I didn't know they existed at the time. Now I have about half of them. Tim Belcher looks very awkward here.

Ah, good times. The champs celebrate. The offensive heroes in the Game 5 clincher were Mickey Hatcher, Mike Davis and Rick Dempsey. Wow. I'll say it again: how did this team win?

This 1993 Don Newcombe card is from the Ted Williams Card Company, which I never knew existed until I received this card. Apparently, Williams jumped into the over saturated card market in the early '90s and marketed a line of cards for a couple of years. That's kind of cool.

O-PEE-CHEES!!!!! Jim is the king of O-Pee-Chees, at least as far as Card-Bloggers-That-I-Know-Who-Do-Not-Live-In-Canada. He sent about a dozen of the OPC. Quite nice.

Lastly, I'm graced with another '75 Topps mini, of one of my favorite Dodgers, Andy Messersmith. Unfortunately, I never saw Messersmith pitch for the Dodgers, but I always thought he was great.

I'll have to check my minis and see which Dodgers I'm missing. I do know I still need the '75 Ron Cey mini. So if you have it and you want to give it up, please let me know.

Thanks for the cards, Jim. As you know, I have a whole big box of extra Dodgers. I'll try to find some that you don't have.