Starting Lineups are Back - A Look at the 1988 SLU Dodger Set

Do you know who's back?

Starting Lineups are back, and for folks like me, who were reared during the hobbies heyday in the 80's, this is welcome news.   Darren Rovell at ESPN has the scoop:

On Oct. 30, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will give away Starting Lineup figurines of quarterback Jameis Winston to anyone who buys a ticket to the team's game against the Oakland Raiders.

For the time being Starting Lineups will only be made as promotional giveaways, so it might be some time before we see any Dodger players in new SLU packaging.  (You can check the company out on twitter here: @SLUToys)

In the meantime, I thought I would confess to having a sizable group of Starting Lineups in my own collection.  I say confess because I had kind-of forgotten all about them, and frankly was a little embarrassed.  After all, none of them look anything like the player they are meant to depict. 

My collection mostly sits hidden within a huge bag in my closet - both cardless and completely out of its original packaging.  In fact, if memory serves right I am just a handful of figurines short of completing the entire 1988 SLU Baseball set.  Unfortunately, it's a set of just the figurines and not the cards themselves.

Anyway, since I had my mind on Starting Lineup's I thought I would take moment to pull out the five Dodger players in the set to share here.  Check them all out below.

As I said, none of my SLU figurines are still in their packaging, so I went ahead and grabbed an example of what each one looked like when sold in stores.  Of note, there appears to be at least two different packaging card backs available - one with or without the free autograph Baseball offer on the front.  I do not believe any one version is scarcer than the other.

Pedro Guerrero

Blog Kiosk: 8/3/2016 - Dodgers Links - Robinson Highway, Puig Problems and Brandon McCarthy

Brandon McCarthy came out to make his sixth start since coming back from Tommy John Surgery last night and didn't seem right.  Maybe it was the high altitude that did him in.  Or maybe it was the 38 minute rain delay in the middle of the first inning with him on the mound that did it.  I dunno.  Per Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:

"Never felt like that on a mound before," said McCarthy, whose first four starts were sharp, followed by one bad inning in a four-inning start, then Tuesday's three-run outing. "Coming back, there's a lot of ups and downs, but when the feeling was off, I was able to get through it. Tonight, just the opposite. There were just some horrific, bad pitches in there. I just felt very weird."

McCarthy needed 85 pitches to get through three innings.  He gave up three hits, walked five, struck out only two and allowed three earned runs.  You can listen to Dave Roberts talk about the outing here.  BTW, reliever Jesse Chavez did not impress in his first outing as a Dodger.  He came in to pitch the sixth inning and gave up three runs.  If not for an inning ending double play with the bases loaded it would have been much worse.

Fortunately, the slumping Giants couldn't get past the moribund Philadelphia Phillies.  They lost to keep the Dodgers two games behind in the division race.

Photo of Brandon McCarthy above via @Dodgers on twitter.  Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodger History: In 1959 the second All-Star Game of the season is played at the LA Memorial Coliseum.  The AL defeated the NL, 5-3, on a third inning two-run homer by Yogi Berra off Don Drysdale.  In 2013 the Dodgers set a franchise record by winning their 13th consecutive victory.

Julio Urias is One of Three 2016 Topps Finest Mystery Redemption Autographs

I thought I would make this quick announcement for Dodgers collectors out there.

Topps has just announced the three 2016 Finest Mystery Rookie Autograph Redemption players, and it includes phenom Julio Urias.  Go here for information.

Joining Urias as a part of Topps Mystery Redemption set are Trevor Story and Nomar Mazara.  Also, unlike in past years, collectors with an redemption card (like the one seen above) will get autograph cards from all three players mentioned above.

As soon a photos of the Urias card becomes public I will be sure to share it.  In the meantime, Urias collectors should be on the lookout for the redemption.

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Memorabilia from Walter Alston's Estate at SCP Auction - The 1955 World Champion Dodgers

I ended last week sharing some of the early memorabilia from the managerial and playing career of Dodgers Hall of Famer Walter Alston (link here).  As you know, a large portion of Alston's personal memorabilia is currently for sale at SCP Auctions, and you can view it all now.  Everything you can imagine is there; including his own personal billiards cue (Walt was quite a shark on the felt).   There are 130 different lots, and bidding starts tomorrow.  In the meantime, I thought I would take the next few days to highlight some of his collection.

2016 Topps Now - #302 - Trade Deadline Frenzy with Reddick and Hill

I'm not quite sure if I should include this card as a part of the Dodgers checklist.  Sure, two of the players featured (Rich Hill and Josh Reddick on the reverse) are now members of the "Boys in Blue," but neither of them are wearing "Blue" in the pics.  Still, I couldn't help but think that this card denotes an important event for the team, and will certainly be a major factor over the next few months. 

Featured here is 2016 Topps Now card, #302, that focuses on the six biggest names to change teams prior to yesterdays trade deadline.  On the front are Carlos Beltran, Jay Bruce and Jonathan Lucroy (as seen above), and on the reverse are Josh Reddick, Matt Moore and Rich Hill (as seen below).  Go here to check it out and order.

UPDATE:  Print run for this card is 297.

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Blog Kiosk: 8/2/2016 - Dodgers Links - Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig and a Couple New Dodgers

Mere hours after being traded from Oakland to Los Angeles, outfielder Josh Reddick and starter Rich Hill were at Dodger Stadium ready to meet their new manager and teammates.  Fortunately, their former team was already in the area to play the Angels in Anaheim.  So, it was just a short jump to get to their new team.  Featured in the pic above, via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers on twitter, are the new guys meeting Dave Roberts. 

BTW, we also found out that Reddick will wear #11 as a Dodger.  As you may know, Josh wore #22 in Oakland - Clayton Kershaw's number.  I am unsure what number Rich Hill will wear.

Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History:  In 1938 Dodgers President Larry MacPhail introduced the yellow baseball.  It was used on this day in the first game of a doubleheader at Ebbets Field against the Cardinals.  The Dodgers won the game, 6-2.  In 1982 Jackie Robinson becomes the first ballplayer to be on the US postage stamp.