2016 All-Star Game Fantasy Dodgers Baseball Cards

You had to have known I would be making these.

Featured here are a bunch of fantasy Baseball cards I created showing our three Dodger All-Stars enjoying themselves in San Diego on Monday.  All of the photos I used were taken and shared by Dodgers photographer Jon SooHoo/2016 LA Dodgers on his blog.  Go here to check out even more pics from the day.

2016 Topps Factory Set Variation Inserts - All the Dodgers Cards

Are you not interested in buying pack after pack to complete this years flagship Baseball card set?  You just don't have the time or inclination to chase after that one last card.  No worries, Topps has you covered.  Complete (Series 1 & 2) factory sets are now available at local stores, and exclusive factory-only variation or parallel cards of some of the game's best players and rising stars are inserted in them.  Go here for a checklist.

Like in years past, there is both a hobby and retail versions of the factory sets.  The hobby (sold only at card shops) factory sets include a five-card pack of foilboard patterned parallel cards that are serial numbered.  The retail (sold at stores like Target and Walmart) factory sets include an exclusive five-card photo-variation set of the games top rookies; including Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager.  Other players include Kyle Schwarber, Miguel Sano, Michael Conforto and Luis Severino.  Check out both the normal base Seager card and the photo variation card on its right, below.

Also, a complete All-Star Edition factory set is available, and it includes an exclusive five-card photo-variation set featuring several of the games top players; including Clayton Kershaw.  The other players in the set are Mike Trout, Buster Posey, Bryce Harper and Kris Bryant.  Check out the Kershaw normal base and it's All-Star variation below.  BTW, every card in this All-Star Edition includes a foil All-Star Game logo, and I include photo of the entire Dodgers team set at the very bottom.

Base Retail Rookie Variations

#85 Corey Seager

Base                                                          Variation

Blog Kiosk: 7/12/2016 - Dodgers Links - Urias, Kershaw and Corey Seager

That wasn't half bad.

Last Night was the MLB All-Star Game Home Run Derby and rookie shortstop Corey Seager was slated to face off against the Mark Trumbo, who leads the league in homers this season.  It was the first round of the derby and pitching to Seager was his father, Jeff (as seen in the photo above).  Per Cary Osborne at Dodger Insider:

Seager said choosing dad was a sentimental pick, but he also provided a lot of familiarity. And as we’ve learned with Seager, familiarity breeds success.

“He’s probably as nervous as I am,” Seager said. “He said he’s going to try and not look at me and not stare up. He said he’s just going to try and stare at the catcher and block everything out. I said, ‘Good luck.’”

Overall, I thjink Corey's Dad did just fine.  He threw strikes and Corey hit 15 of them out.  Unfortunately, the inhuman Trumbo bested him with 16 of his won.  Via Alden Gonzalez at MLB.com:

"It was fun," Seager said of the event, ultimately won by Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton. "It was very fun. It was one of those things that not a lot of people get to experience, and to be able to do it, with my dad, was real fun. It was really enjoyable."

Jeff Seager has been throwing batting practice to his three sons -- Kyle and Justin of the Mariners, Corey of the Dodgers -- since they each could even swing. Corey took hacks from him four times a week in North Carolina throughout this past offseason, but this was wholly different.

"I thought I was really lucky that he thought of me and asked me," Jeff Seager said. "Then I started thinking about what it means."

Photo above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2016.  Go here to check out a bunch of great pics by Jon from the day.  Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodger History: In 1949 Larry Doby of the Cleveland Indians and Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe of the host Dodgers became the first black players to appear in an All-Star game.  In 1966 Maury Wills drove in the winning run on a walk-off single in the 10th inning of the All-Star Game played at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
• Happy Birthday, Ron Fairly and Howie Kendrick!

2016 Bowman Inception - The Rest of the Dodgers Cards

Below is a final look at the Dodgers cards found in Topps' 2016 Bowman Inception set.  Featured are the Autograph Relics, Veteran Autograph Relics, Inceptionized Bowman Prospect Autographs, Origins Autographs and various other rarities.

Autograph Relic

#IAR-CS Corey Seager                          #IAR-JP Jose Peraza

2016 Topps Now - #239 - Kenta Maeda

Kenta Maeda closes out the first half of the season with his fourth 2016 Topps Now Baseball card of the year. Yesterday afternoon he dominated the San Diego Padres to win his eighth game.  Maeda went a solid seven innings, gave up no walks, two hits and recorded a career high thirteen strike outs.  Even more amazing, he made some history.  Via Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider:

Maeda is the ninth pitcher in Dodger history to strike out at least 13 in a game while walking none. Kershaw has done it the past five times, including twice this year. Before Kershaw, there were Dazzy Vance, Van Lingle Mungo, Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, Kevin Gross, Brad Penny and Chad Billingsley.

That's some lofty company!

Go here to check out the card and to order.

UPDATE: The print run for this card is 322 copies.

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Blog Kiosk: 7/11/2016 - Dodgers Links - Piazza, Cotton and Kenta Maeda

What a fantastic way to end the first half of the Baseball season.  Kenta Maeda was on the mound and absolutely stymied the Padres. With 97 pitches he recorded a career high 13 strike outs, two hits, no walks and a single lone run on a homer by Derek Norris in seven innings pitched.  Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:

"You could see the look in Kenta's eye after that last outing. He was set to dominate and that's what he did, and it was just what we needed," said manager Dave Roberts. "Even for his psyche, for the starters, and to go into the break so strong, it was great for him."
...
"We chased offspeed out of the zone," (Padres manager Andy) Green said. "He pitched us backwards all day long and we didn't seem to make an adjustment. He could spin us early, hard and late, mix in a fastball periodically, but it was pretty much all offspeed."

BTW, Maeda is the ninth Dodger pitcher in history to ever record at least 13 strike outs and zero walks in a game.  On another note, Yasiel Puig is once again surrounded by persistent trade rumors (link here).  I have doubts anything will get done since management clearly will not take a discount, and rightly so.  Since coming back from the DL in late June Puig is slashing .317/.417/.467/.883 with two home runs, eight RBI's and a BABIP of .347.

Photo of Kenta and Yasiel on the bench above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2016.  Go here to check out more pics by Jon from yesterdays game.  Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodger History: In 1978 Steve Garvey becomes the first two-time MVP in All-Star history.  In the game played in San Diego Garvey hit a game-tying, two-run single and a triple to help the NL beat the AL, 7-3.
• Happy Birthday, Hal Gregg, Dick Gray and Billy Ashley!