Trade with Dime Boxes: An Appearance From The Penguin

I completed my first trade with Nick from Dime Boxes fame last week. After a few emails back and forth last month, I was able to walk away with some much needed cards for my Topps Team Set Project, as well as a few more awesome pieces of cardboard. 

Because I received this package earlier in the week, I don't remember exactly what was going through my head as I was going through the stack of cards Nick sent me. I do remember that this card stood out above the rest.

Being born in '93 means I only know so much about the Dodgers. Reading about the earlier teams and players is enjoyable, but at the end of the day I can only retain some of the information. Experience really helps the brain, but I never did get to experience the Penguin first hand. (Not you Matthew) When the name Ron Cey comes up in conversation, I instantly think of the all-star third baseman for the Dodgers, but after that my knowledge is shallow. 

The front of this card shows just about everything I know about Ron Cey. What he looks like, what position he played, and his all star appearance as a Dodger. But, the back of the card is a completely different story. I learned Cey had 8 RBI's in one game against the Padres in 1974, while establishing the team record for Dodgers third baseman in homers and RBI's. Those records now belong to Adrian Beltre, but baseball cards contain a lot of knowledge I may have never known. 

Although I didn't know much about Ron Cey, I did know about Kirk Gibson before receiving this awesome card. I'm fairly positive this card doesn't need to be explained, but for those of you that have been in a box for the past 25 years; Kirk Gibson hit the infamous homer off of Dennis Eckersley to lead the Dodgers to a walk-off win over the A's in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. 

Another great card courtesy of Nick is the Paul Konerko RC from 1998 Score. Too bad Konerko didn't spend too much time in the organization. 

2005 is my favorite Topps set from the past 15 years. This is only my second card from the 38 card team set, so I guess I have a little work to do. Chad Billinglsey turned out to be a great arm for the Dodgers, though after having Tommy John surgery last year, he has been out of limelight lately. Joel Guzman, if my memory serves me correct, was once a "can't miss" prospect for the Dodgers. Like so many prospects do, Guzman did not end up having any kind of success at the major league level. Even though Guzman did not pan out, I enjoy seeing these doubled up player cards, especially of my boys in blue.

Thanks again Nick. Hopefully we can do this again soon.