2015 Topps Series 1 Baseball - All the Dodger Base Cards & Variations

As promised, here are all of the Dodger base cards in Topps Series 1 flagship Baseball card set.  There are twelve individual Dodger cards and three "League Leaders" cards featuring a Dodger player.  Go here to see a complete set checklist.  At the very bottom are the currently known Dodger variation cards.

Base Set

#61 League Leaders - Cueto, Kershaw & Wainwright

#85 League Leaders - Cueto, Kershaw & Wainwright

WooHoo! Baseball Can Now Officially Begin!

The long winter hiatus is over.  The event that ushers in the new season has finally come.

Today is the official release date for Topps flagship Series 1 Baseball card set, and as you can tell from the photos above Yasiel Puig is this years spokesman. 

Last night I visited my local Target, but didn't find any boxes on the shelves.  Hopefully, I'll find some this afternoon.  In the meantime, I thought I would share pics of a couple of notable cards.

This past August Topps ran an instagram contest asking fans to pick which one of two photos they should use for Clayton Kershaw's 2015 Baseball card.  See the choices below.

Over the course of several days fans voted, and now you can see the results below.  Check out Kershaw's 2015 Topps Series 1 Base card.

I also wanted to mention that recently traded outfielder Matt Kemp makes an appearance as a Dodger in the base set.  This is likely to be one of the last base cards of Kemp wearing Blue.

Stay tuned, later this afternoon I'll share photos of all of the Dodger base cards in the set; including the handful of variations available.  Below is an advertising flyer for 2015 Topps Series 1.

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Blog Kiosk: 2/4/2015 - Dodger Links - Moncada, Bridges and Ryu

Adrian Gonzalez, Yasiel Puig and Kenley Jansen are captured in the midst of their running drills in preparation for Spring Training in the photo above.  Pic via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2015.  Go here to check out more pics of his from yesterday.

Below are some more links to check out:

• Let the Yoan Moncada sweepstakes begin!  Via Jeff Todd at MLB Trade Rumors, "With MLB Rule Change, Yoan Moncada Cleared To Sign."  As you may know, the Dodgers are rumored to be chasing after him.

There's palpable tension in the air as Dodger fans wonder, "will they sign another Cuban high-flyer?"  Moncada is thought to be the best unsigned prospect in the game and only a year (or two) away from making an impact at the big league level.

• Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "With no guarantees, Pederson ready for challenge."

"I'm just going to work hard and go about my business and whatever happens, happens," he said. "Nobody plays that well when they are trying to prove something. Just be yourself."

• Jeff Jaffe at The Futility Infielder writes a fantastic tribute story on Rocky Bridges, here.

When Don Zimmer passed away last June after 66 years in baseball, I called him the ultimate futility infielder. Allow me to amend that, for Rocky Bridges, who died last week at the age of 87, was every bit as worthy of that title, and every bit as much an inspiration for this site. The secret of futility infielders is their ability to thrive despite their shortcomings in talent, thanks to persistence, flexibility and a command of fundamentals that go well beyond the playing field. They’re the laces that hold the leather together, the very soul of baseball.

• Via Jae-Ho Kim at MK Sports, Hyun-Jin Ryu pitched his first bullpen session of 2015 in Arizona yesterday.  He is working out with the Korea LG Twins at Camelback Ranch, threw 30 pitches and remarked "too easy."  In other words, he felt really good after throwing for the first time this year.
• Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, "Dodgers in 2015 Caribbean Series."  One of the newest Dodgers, Kike Hernandez, had a great day at the plate yesterday for Team Puerto Rico.

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A Peek at AGon's 2015 Dodger Bobblehead

With Spring Training and the 2015 Baseball season just weeks before getting underway, the Dodgers are deliberately releasing preview pics of their upcoming bobbleheads for the masses to digest.  This year the Dodgers will once again hand out ten different Dodger bobbleheads, and Adrian Gonzalez will be the second one out of the gate.  As you'll recall, the Dodgers released an early photo of the first Dodger bobblehead of Clayton Kershaw several weeks ago (check that out here).

The Adrian Gonzalez bobble will be handed out to fans on Saturday, May 23rd against the Padres.  As you can see in the photograph above, Adrian is shown playing his position at first base in anticipation of making a stretch for the ball.  This is appropriate considering his Gold Glove won last season.  Both pics (above and below) are via @Dodgers on twitter.  BTW, this is Adrian's second Dodger bobble.  He was previously honored with a bobblehead during the 2013 season.

The bobblehead schedule for the 2015 season are as follows:

• #1: Tue, May 12 - Clayton Kershaw
• #2: Sat, May 23 - Adrian Gonzalez
• #3: Thu, Jun 4 - Kenley Jansen
• #4: Mon, Jul 6 - Maury Wills
• #5: Sat, Jul 11 - Juan Uribe
• #6: Wed, Jul 29 - Yasiel Puig
• #7: Thu, Aug 13 - ?(Unknown)
• #8: Tue, Sep 1 - ?(Unknown)
• #9: Wed, Sep 16 - ?(Unknown)
• #10: Wed, Sep 23 - ?(Unknown)

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When You Want to Wear Your Pride on Your Tie - at Huggins & Scott

Nothing says you're a fan better than wearing a jersey and cap, but what if you're at work?  Not many folks can get away with that get-up while employed, so what is a fan to do?

If you don't mind something vintage (and likely out of style) then this item available at Huggins & Scott Auctions is right down your alley.

Featured below is a 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers National League Championship tie featuring various pennants and facsimile autographs of 26 players; including Rookie of the Year Jackie Robinson.  Other players include Pee Wee Reese, Gil Hodges, Carl Furillo and Ralph Branca.

As you know, this was the year Jackie broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball and was the teams first appearance in a World Series in six years.  Unfortunately, they would lose to the Yankees in 7 games, but I think it's fair to say that this season marked a new era for Dodger Baseball.  Over the next decade the Dodgers would win six pennants and a World Series crown in 1955.

I wonder how this would look on me with a jacket and slacks.

(Auction Link)

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Blog Kiosk: 2/3/2015 - Dodger Links - Puig, Greinke and the Kings in DC

My beloved Kings made their second visit to the White House in as many years yesterday afternoon.  Congrats, boys!  Now, win another!  Pic above via @LAKings on twitter.  Via a story by Dan Rosen at NHL.com:

"As a Chicago fan I'm a little resentful, you guys have an embarrassment of riches," President Obama said during his seven-minute speech. "Today feels like Groundhog Day. If you're feeling a little déjà vu you're not alone. Two years ago we had the Galaxy and the Kings here together. So if you see Bill Murray playing the piano in the foyer you know something weird is going on, and we're probably going to do this again."

Hopefully we'll see a triumvirate of the Dodgers, Kings and Galaxy in Washington DC for this ceremony.

Below are some more links to check out:

• Via Alden Gonzalez at MLB.com, "Puig looking for redemption vs. rival Cardinals."  This is a fun story about a family friend who happens to be a Cardinal's fan and constantly taunts Puig about our playoff losses to them.

"He's driving me crazy," Puig said in Spanish. "I have to kick him out of that family. He has four blue things of mine in his room, and he tells me it's because he feels sorry for me, sorry for the Dodgers. He has everything else red -- the comforter, the sheets, the ceiling, everything. His room is red. And he says the best city in the United States is St. Louis."

• Via Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA, "There’s more to Chris Hatcher than just being a baseball player – A lot more."
• Via Mark Saxon at ESPNLosAngeles.com, "Zack Greinke offers less-than-glowing review of Dodgers' moves."

“Well, I guess the best way I can answer that question is that, in the playoffs last year, I thought our team was the best team in baseball,” Greinke said. “To say we’re better than that, I don’t know if you could say that, especially without seeing us play.” 

• Via John Hogan at Cards That Never Were, "1977 Topps Don Sutton All Star MVP: Going Horizontal."  Here's a fantastic Sutton fantasy Baseball card.
• Via Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider, "Daniel Coulombe learns from September stint."

“It gives me a lot of confidence,” said Coulombe, who turned 25 in October, one week after getting married. “I proved to myself I have the ability to get big-league hitters out … now it’s a matter of executing.”

• Via Bob Lemke, ""War Bond Game" was $800MM extravaganza."

When the event was initially proposed it was expected that sales of $100 million worth of war bonds would be realized. When the dust had settled from the last out of the all-star game, it was reported that $800 million in bond sales and pledges had been made. (In today's dollars, that's about $11 billion!)

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