Tuesday, March 18, 2014

The Wally Moon 1961 Union Oil Dodger Family Booklet

Here is another post featuring the 1961 Union Oil Dodger Family Booklet set.  Go here to see my past post showcasing this set; including complete scans of both the Vin Scully/Jerry Doggett and Sandy Koufax booklets.  This time I share the Wally Moon Booklet.

Wally Moon has been described as a ballplayers ballplayer; meaning he was always consistently great at his position.  He ably played the left field wall at the Coliseum, and had a penchant for hitting in the clutch.  He once said,
"I've always like challenges.  I like to feel that I'm the guy who can come through when the going's toughest.  My idea of a picnic is coming to bat in the ninth inning with a runner on base."
Wall Moon was also famous for his slicing opposite field home runs over the tall left field fence at the Coliseum.
When I came to the Coliseum," he explains, "I started hitting to right and center like other lefties.  But, with the size of those fields out there, this was really battling the odds.  So I started to work on something new."
That something new was a hitting method that included keeping his hands in close in order to slap the ball to left.  His home runs there would soon be called "Moon Shots". 

I would suggest taking some time to check out his official website here: WallyMoon.com, and you should definitely check out his autobiography titled "Moon Shots".  BTW, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention what card collectors know him best for -  his fantastic unibrow that is both glorious and majestic. 

Below are complete scans of every page from Norm Larker's 1961 Union Oil Dodger Family Booklet.  Click any pic to embiggen. 









* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *
* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *
By at Tuesday, March 18, 2014 0 comments
Labels: , ,

2014 Topps Heritage Baseball - The Dodger Base & Variation Cards

I'm sure this is the post many of you have been waiting for.  Here are all of the Dodger base cards that can be found in 2014 Heritage Baseball.  As you likely know, it uses the design from the very popular 1965 Topps vintage card set.  Card #425 to #500 are all short printed.  Also included in this post are all of the variations that exist.

BTW, you can check out all of my post featuring Dodger cards from this set, here.

Base Set

#8 ERA Leaders                                  #10 Pitching Leaders

#12 Strike Out Leaders                                    #22 A.J. Ellis
#40 Carl Crawford                                  #76 Chris Capuano

#79 Dan Haren                                    #84 Hyun-Jin Ryu

#101 Brian Wilson                                #217 Don Mattingly

#219 Michael Young                                #238 Josh Beckett

#260 Zack Greinke                                      #287 Juan Uribe

#300 Clayton Kershaw

#331 Onelki Garcia - Nick Buss

#370 Matt Kemp                                 #384 Andre Ethier

#403 Kenley Jansen

Card numbers #426 to #500 are all short printed base cards to the set.  Three Dodgers are a part of this portion of the set.  See them below.

Base High-Numbered Short Prints

#426 Yasiel Puig                                 #437 Hanley Ramirez

#473 Adrian Gonzalez

BTW, there are also miniature parallel cards of 7 of the above Dodger cards that are randomly inserted into packs.  The are all numbered to only 100 copies, and are roughly 20% smaller than the normal card.  They are called Mini Base Variations.  Below is a checklist of the Dodger cards:
  • #84 Hyun-Jin Ryu
  • #260 Zack Greinke
  • #300 Clayton Kershaw
  • #370 Matt Kemp
  • #426 Yasiel Puig
  • #437 Hanley Ramirez
  • #473 Adrian Gonzalez

All of the cards below are short printed variations featuring action photographs of 5 different Dodger players.  Check out all of them below.

Action Image Variations

#84 Hyun-Jin Ryu                            #300 Clayton Kershaw
#370 Matt Kemp                                      #426 Yasiel Puig
#437 Hanley Ramirez

Below is the Dodgers logo variation cards of Yasiel Puig.  As you will notice, the Dodger logo has been replaced with the "LA" logo in the pennant.

Logo Variations

#426 Yasiel Puig

Only 100 cards from the 2014 Heritage Base Set have a Chrome Base Variation.  Seven Dodgers are a part of this set.  As is usual, there are numerous parallel cards available, as well.

Chrome Base Variations

#84 Hyun-Jin Ryu                                  #260 Zack Greinke

#300 Clayton Kershaw                                #370 Matt Kemp

#426 Yasiel Puig                                   #437 Hanley Ramirez


#473 Adrian Gonzalez

Below are the two Walmart exclusive Blue Border variation Dodger cards that are available.

Blue Border Variations

#300 Clayton Kershaw                                 #426 Yasiel Puig

There are also three Target exclusive Red Border variation Dodger cards that are available, but I have yet to see any. In fact, I have yet to see red border cards from any team.  What's up with that?  Do these cards even exist?  Below is a Dodger checklist.

Red Border Variations

#84 Hyun-Jin Ryu                               
#260 Zack Greinke
#437 Hanley Ramirez
UPDATE:  Here are the red border Target Dodger cards.

#84 Hyun-Jin Ryu                                   #260 Zack Greinke

#437 Hanley Ramirez

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *
* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *
By at Tuesday, March 18, 2014 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Blog Kios: 3/18/2014 - Dodgers Links - Landing in Australia


Here's a pic of Vin Scully entering the plane to Australia, via @MLB on twitter.  Check out even more pics of the Dodger trip and landing from Jon SooHoo, here.  And here are some pics from their first workout at the Sydney Cricket Ground. 



Sometimes the absence of seeing a player play gets mistaken for upside. This is not the case here. I have watched Guerrero this spring, and although he doesn’t seem to have a great baseball IQ, the guy can flat out hit for power. As a second baseman with a full season of at bats, I wouldn’t be surprised if he led the position in home runs.
"I don't think our vision has really changed," (De Jon) Watson told me as we sat in a golf cart on the third base side of a minor league field where many of the prospects in his charge played an intra-squad game on Friday afternoon. "What's really nice is that we've actually invested into the international market. And it's given us a broader player pool to choose from. Whereas before, I don't want to say we were just domestically-I mean, [Vice President of Amateur Scouting] Logan White was doing internationally and domestic-but we just didn't have the resources to really go out and be aggressive on the international market. 
"It's almost more gratifying than being called up to the big leagues," said Figgins, released twice in the last two years. "The last four years have been hard. I wouldn't say it was life changing, but it makes me appreciate the hard work. I was with my wife when I got the call from my agent, and it was emotional. She's seen me come home the last four or five years, watching video and not playing. Now she sees me smile again."

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *
* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *
By at Tuesday, March 18, 2014 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , ,

Monday, March 17, 2014

On the Advent of Something Big - JulioMania is here and his Card Prices Prove it


On Saturday, Dodger Nation may have been witnessed something magical.  It was the first time that many of the Dodger faithful have had a chance to see teenage pitching phenom Julio Urias, and he didn't disappoint. 

In his MLB Spring debut against big league batters, the 17-year old struck out two.  Overall, he pitched just 1 inning, faced three Major League batters, and threw 14 pitches (9 for strikes).  (A video of his performance can be viewed here, via Dustin Nosler on YouTube.)

Not too shabby for a kid who looks like he has yet to grow any stubble.

Well, as you can imagine, not only did fans marvel at his abilities and poise, but they appear to have gone onto eBay to run up the prices for his only officially licensed Baseball card. 

Julio Urias has only one official card (besides a minor league issue created by the Great Lakes Loons).  It is 2013 Bowman Sterling Prospect Autographed Card (#BSAP-JU).  Check it out on the right.

For months, you could purchase the base autographed card for about $15.00 each.  In fact, I purchased a couple of them for my collection in January.  See my post about it here. 

Since Saturday afternoon, after his steller performance at Camelback Ranch, that same card has more than doubled in price.  Heck, some recent sales show a jump of over 400%.

The last 3 eBay auction sales for his base autographed rookie card have ranged from $60.65 to $67.89.  See the spreadsheet below showing the last 13 auction sales of the card.


eBay Auction Sales
Sale Date # Total Price Individual Price
3/15/2014 21:38 1 $67.89 $67.89
3/15/2014 20:00 1 $62.25 $62.25
3/15/2014 19:45 1 $60.65 $60.65
3/15/2014 16:17 1 $28.56 $28.56
3/13/2014 16:34 1 $12.61 $12.61
3/13/2014 14:10 1 $13.51 $13.51
3/10/2014 22:05 1 $12.62 $12.62
3/9/2014 20:00 1 $15.59 $15.59
3/9/2014 19:25 1 $12.50 $12.50
3/9/2014 17:59 1 $13.35 $13.35
3/9/2014 17:18 1 $11.32 $11.32
3/9/2014 17:13 1 $12.20 $12.20
3/9/2014 7:51 4 $59.06 $14.77

"Buy It Now" sales indicate a staggering number of the rookie cards have changed hands since Urias' Spring performance.  There have been 44 sales since Saturday afternoon, and the price range of those sales denote some volatility.  Individual prices since Saturday range from $22.95 to a high of $79.99; with an average value of $41.06.  See the spreadsheet below that shows every "Buy It Now" sale over the past several days.


"Buy It Now" eBay Sale Prices
Sale Date # Total Price Individual Price
3/16/2014 22:26 1 $41.99 $41.99
3/16/2014 13:46 1 $39.99 $39.99
3/16/2014 12:58 1 $39.99 $39.99
3/16/2014 12:24 1 $79.99 $79.99
3/16/2014 11:45 1 $58.50 $58.50
3/16/2014 11:43 1 $59.99 $59.99
3/16/2014 11:38 1 $59.99 $59.99
3/16/2014 11:04 1 $39.99 $39.99
3/16/2014 10:45 1 $37.99 $37.99
3/16/2014 10:15 1 $37.99 $37.99
3/16/2014 9:54 10 $379.99 $38.00
3/16/2014 7:16 1 $37.99 $37.99
3/16/2014 1:17 1 $55.00 $55.00
3/15/2014 21:49 1 $37.99 $37.99
3/15/2014 21:31 1 $37.99 $37.99
3/15/2014 21:16 1 $37.99 $37.99
3/15/2014 20:53 1 $49.99 $49.99
3/15/2014 20:49 1 $37.99 $37.99
3/15/2014 19:55 1 $37.99 $37.99
3/15/2014 19:55 1 $49.99 $49.99
3/15/2014 19:23 1 $37.99 $37.99
3/15/2014 19:02 1 $37.99 $37.99
3/15/2014 18:51 1 $37.99 $37.99
3/15/2014 18:12 1 $27.99 $27.99
3/15/2014 17:28 1 $25.00 $25.00
3/15/2014 17:13 1 $49.99 $49.99
3/15/2014 17:11 1 $45.00 $45.00
3/15/2014 16:52 1 $35.00 $35.00
3/15/2014 16:52 1 $30.00 $30.00
3/15/2014 16:52 1 $27.99 $27.99
3/15/2014 16:52 1 $54.99 $54.99
3/15/2014 16:46 1 $35.00 $35.00
3/15/2014 15:54 1 $26.95 $26.95
3/15/2014 15:52 1 $22.95 $22.95
3/15/2014 15:52 1 $25.00 $25.00
3/13/2014 20:12 1 $19.99 $19.99
3/12/2014 15:17 1 $15.00 $15.00

It remains to be seen if the "Mania" will last; especially when you consider how unrealistic it would be to see him at Dodger Stadium this season, or the next.  Still, the excitement is obvious, and I suspect Dodger fans and collectors will not soon forget his name.
(Julio Urias, pic via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014)


* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *
* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *
By at Monday, March 17, 2014 0 comments
Labels: ,

2014 Topps Heritage Baseball - The Dodger Autographed Cards

Following up on Friday's post that featured some of the Dodger insert cards that can be found in packs of Topps 2014 Heritage Baseball set, I now bring to you all of the Dodger autographed cards that are available.  Check them out below.

Flashback Autograph Relics

#FAR-MW Maury Wills


Real One Autographs

#ROA-DLO Davey Lopes                      #ROA-MW Maury Wills

There are a couple of different 'cut signature' Dodger cards available in the set.  Both of them are numbered as "1 of 1".  Below is a pic of the Tommy Lasorda card.  There is also a 1965 Cut Signatures card of (#HCS-JP) Johnny Podres, but it has yet to be unearthed.

1965 Celebrity Cut Signatures Set

#CCS-TL Tommy Lasorda

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *
* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *
By at Monday, March 17, 2014 0 comments
Labels: , , , ,

Blog Kiosk: 3/17/2014 - Dodgers Links - Uribe, Figgins and Some Magic Lights


The Dodgers are all packed up and ready to go to Australia.  Pic above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014.
After two dismal seasons in Seattle and one year away from the game, he’s one step away from making the Dodgers’ roster. When Figgins arrived at camp, he said his goal was to get on the plane to Australia. 
“It wasn’t long, but it was playing with some great guys,” Wynn said. “We won the 1974 NL pennant, and I told Walter and Peter O’Malley (before the season), ‘Thank you for getting me. We will the NL pennant.’ I said to myself, ‘Why did I say that? Now you have to go out and prove it.’ So I did it, and I did for the fans and for the O’Malley family.”
“I felt really happy,” Urias told reporters after his start. “I was under control and not nervous at all.”
"Physically, I feel 100 percent," he said. "It's time to start performing."
"I try every day to help my teammates, my guys," Uribe said Sunday afternoon at Camelback Ranch. "It's what I'm doing every day, all my life. It's important for me to be a good teammate. If I'm not hitting, I can still do something good on defense and help the team win a game that way.

"My first year here [2011], I had two operations. So much happened. I don't want to make excuses, but a bad year is a bad year. Last year I felt good. Now it's a new year, and I want to do better than I did last year. I want to play every day I can. I feel good right now."
  • Dodger Penguin shares his afternoon at the Kenny Landreaux autograph appearance.
  • Weird Science.  Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Wary of being weary, Dodgers see the light: Special bulbs designed for NASA should mitigate effects of jet lag in Australia".
"It's a sleep aid for jet lag," said Soler, who also provided the bulbs to the United States Olympic Ski and Snowboard teams in Sochi. "You'd be surprised how well it works."

    * Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *
    * Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *
    By at Monday, March 17, 2014 0 comments
    Labels: , , , , , , , ,
    Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)