My first Dodger card continued ... after a long break

 

 

Eight years ago now, I wrote a post called "My first Dodger card" in which I listed the first Dodger card I pulled each year I have collected -- or tried to since many years I couldn't remember.

 

The more recent years were easier because I have a blog and document the first packs I open each year, fortunately there have been Dodgers inside of almost every one.

 

In that 8-year-old post, I wrote that I planned to update it if I could get my brain to remember the first Dodger I pulled in, say, 1982. I also planned to continue the post for future years.

 

Well, after eight years of silence, that's what I'm doing now. I haven't bothered to update that post with my fresh memories of what I pulled in 1983 or 1989 or 2007. That requires many minutes of quiet reflection and who has time for that now?

 

So those years are still blank. But I can update the years since 2017. So I'll do that. I know you don't care, but this is for me, because I've been documenting this (sometimes) ever since I first opened a pack of baseball cards. 

 

 

2025 (Feb. 19): Yoshinbu Yamamoto. The first second Future Stars Dodger I ever pulled first.

 

 

 

2024 (Feb. 23): Freddie Freeman. I actually pulled his "Stars of the MLB" card first, but I don't count inserts and such as the "first card" because they didn't exist in the first several years I was doing this and we can't change the rules now!!

 

 

 

2023 (Feb. 23): Miguel Vargas. Not the first time I pulled a rookie card as my first Dodger. I believe the first time was 2016 with Zach Lee -- and judging how well those two turned out for the Dodgers, I can stop pulling rookies as my first card.

 

 

2022 (March 2): Moving On! (checklist). I thought about discounting this since it's a checklist, but I love this card too much. Also, this was in the post-covid days of massively delayed releases and bare store shelves so I ordered the team set this year and those arrived before I even opened any packs.

 

 

 
2021 (Feb. 26): Mookie Betts (World Series subset). The first World Series-related Dodger card I've pulled first. Bring back World Series cards in flagship!

 

 

2020 Topps (Feb. 7): Hyun-Jin Ryu. The first Dodger I pulled this year was actually the Turkey Red insert Dustin May at the top of this post.

 

 

2019 (Feb. 1): "Sweet Life/Max and Cody Celebrate" (checklist). Another checklist card. Also I'm quite sure that if I didn't have a young daughter around the time "The Suite Life" was on the Disney Channel, I wouldn't know what this reference was -- and I can imagine how lost a lot of collectors were. The time for this reference was when the show was on the air.

 

 

2018 (Feb. 2): Cody Bellinger. The first rookie cup card I pulled as the first Dodger. This is probably about the best card I've pulled among the first Dodgers, maybe a little debatable.

 

And now for the rest of the years, which remain unchanged from the last post:

 

2017: Josh Reddick

2016: Zach Lee

2015: Clayton Kershaw (checklist)

2014: Brandon League

2013: A.J. Ellis

2012: Javy Guerra
2011: Vicente Padilla

 

2010: Andre Ethier

2009: Greg Maddux

2008: (don't know)

2007: (don't know)

2006: Bill Mueller

2005: (didn't collect)

2004: (don't know)

2003: (don't know)

2002: (don't know)

2001: (didn't collect)

 

2000: (don't know)

1999: (didn't collect)

1998: (don't know)

1997: (didn't collect)

1996: (didn't collect)

1995: (don't know)

1994: (don't know)

1993: (don't know)

1992: (don't know)

1991: (don't know)

1990: (don't know)

 

1989: (don't know)

1988: (didn't collect)

1987: (didn't collect)

1986: (didn't collect)

1985: (didn't collect)
1984: (didn't collect)

1983: (don't know)

1982: (don't know)

1981: (don't know)

1980: Lerrin LaGrow

 

1979: (don't know)

1978: (don't know)

1977: Ellie Rodriguez

1976: (don't know)

1975: Steve Yeager

1974: Tommy John

 

I feel like I need to do better than that remembering, especially for the years when I was younger and cared a lot, like the late '70s and early '80s. So if I get a chance, I'm going to open those binders and stare really hard at those years until something registers.

 

Or I'll ignore this post for another eight years.