Building a Best of the Decade Team from Flagship

It's admittedly been pretty quiet here on the blog for most of the year. Typical life stuff like work and moving (again!!!) have gotten in the way of blogging and collecting, but with COVID-19 forcing me to work from home and stay inside, I've once again found some time to devote to the blog. (For those wondering, I'm holed up in my apartment in Jersey City, NJ, and staying heathy. I hope you all are as well.) Let's hope I get back on a more regular schedule moving forward. 

2020 has been pretty light in terms of new cards for the collection, so I thought I'd revisit my binders and put together a different kind of post today--a best of the decades post. But rather than simply give a list of the best Dodgers cards of the decade, I decided to make things difficult and give myself a few rules:

1. Select one player for each position (just one starting pitcher and one reliever);
2. Each player has to represent a different year between 2010-2019; and
3. I have to have each player's flagship card in my collection. 

There were a few easy choices here, including a pair of MVP seasons and a Rookie of the Year. Other choices were a bit more difficult. Second base was a revolving door of incompetence for the Dodgers, especially earlier in the decade, which made it difficult to fit into the rest of the puzzle. Without further ado, here's the squad I constructed. 

Catcher - Yasmani Grandal (2017)
Key Stats: 22 HR, .459 SLG%, 2.4 WAR

Grandal was the Dodgers' best catcher of the decade and one of their best players since he joined the team in 2015. His 2017 season was actually his worst for the Dodgers, but I had to get him into this list somehow. 2017 didn't have the best Flagship design, but this is a great photo of Yaz in his catcher's gear. 

1st Base - Adrian Gonzalez (2015)
Key Stats: 28 HR, .275/.350/.480, 4.6 WAR

Vin Scully provided A-Gon with one of my favorite monikers of the decade, often calling him the "butter-and-egg man". Gonzalez drove in 448 runners in his 5+ years with the Dodgers, including 90 RBIs in the 2015 season. I assume he's watching a ball go over the fence in this card from 2015. 

2nd Base - Mark Ellis (2012)
Key Stats: 2.6 WAR

The Dodgers have had a number of guys man second over the years, but there wasn't a constant guy manning the position. Mark Ellis had a fairly productive tenure with the team for a couple of seasons, his value largely provided by his glove. 

3rd Base - Justin Turner (2018)
Key Stats: .312/.406/.518, 4.9 WAR

Turner came to the Dodgers as a non-roster invitee back in 2014 and has since cemented his place as one of the best third baseman in Dodgers' history. 2017 was his best season with the club. If there is no season in 2020, there's a chance he's already played his last game for the Dodgers. 

Shortstop - Corey Seager (2016)
Key Stats: 26 HR, .308/.365/.512, 5.2 WAR, NL Rookie of the Year, Silver Slugger

Seager hit the scene in an impressive fashion, smashing 26 homers in route to the Rookie of the Year award. He's been consistently productive since his debut, though a lost 2018 season due to Tommy John surgery has led many to overlook Seager. Should the 2020 season ever be played, he'll play an integral role in the club's success. 

Left Field - Yasiel Puig (2013)
Key Stats: 19 HR, .319/.391/.534, 4.7 WAR

The decade was one of the most succcessful in team history, and Puig's arrival is a big reason why. His first week in the majors is probably my favorite event of the decade, and his 2013 rookie card is still one of my favorite pieces of cardboard ever. 

Center Field - Matt Kemp (2011)
Key Stats: .324/.399/.586, 39 HR, 40 SB, 8.0 WAR, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger

My pursuit of Matt Kemp carboard was the reason I started this blog in the first place back in 2013. His 2011 season was the best of his career, and he just missed garnering MVP honors, losing to Ryan Bruan. I didn't start collecting on a regular basis unti 2012, so I missed the boat on the great 2011 set, but I managed to get this card into my collection pretty quickly. I'm just 4 cards away from completing the 2011 set, including Kemp's card from Update Series. 

Right Field - Cody Bellinger (2019)
Key Stats: 47 HR, 115 RBI, .305/.406/.629, 9.1 WAR, NL MVP, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger

Bellinger's 2019 was absolutely bonkers, though there's a chance he wouldn't have been the MVP if Christian Yelich didn't go down to injury in the last month of the season. Also of note, the 2019 Flagship design is one of my favorite designs from the decade (and perhaps one of my favorite sets ever).  

Starting Pitcher - Clayton Kershaw (2014)
Key Stats: 1.77 ERA, 10.8 K/9, 7.7 WAR, NL MVP, NL Cy Young

Honestly, any of Kershaw's seasons over the last decade would have been appropriate to include in this position. His production has certainly dropped off over the last few seasons, but he's still an incredible talent and one of the best pitchers in the game. His run of dominance--topped with an MVP award in 2014--from 2010-2015 is one of the best peaks for a pitcher in history, and I'm glad I've been able to see him pitch in person nearly a half-dozen times (including a 2008 game where he faced Max Scherzer of the D-Backs. It was Kershaw's 17th career start and Scherzer's 13th. The game was initially supposed to be a matchup between Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson, but both eventual Hall of Famers were scratched prior to the game.). 

Relief Pitcher - Hong-Chih Kuo (2010)
Key Stats: 1.20 ERA, 12 SV, 3.2 WAR

Kuo had a pair of successful seasons with the Dodgers but was otherwise ineffective during his time in the Majors. His 2010 seasons stands out as one of the best years for a reliever this decade. 

Just for fun, here's what a potential lineup might look like.  
Yasiel Puig - LF
Corey Seager - SS
Cody Bellinger - RF
Matt Kemp - CF
Adrian Gonzalez - 1B
Justin Turner - 3B
Yasmani Grandal - C
Mark Ellis - 2B
Clayton Kershaw - P

My First Trade in Five Years

I recently completed my first trade in nearly five (!) years, this time with Dion of Dion's Autograph Collection. 

Dion reached out to me in search of some autos, and I had several I was willing to move to help me move closer to completing some sets. And he certainly helped out with that.

Dion sent over a generous hodgepodge of Dodgers from over the years, including the cards from the 70s seen above. It's a bit hidden, but that Walt Alston card is the second card of his I've acquired in the last few weeks. 

Most of my Dodgers team sets outside of this millennium are still in their infancy, with the exception of a few sets from the late-80s and early-90s. Dion managed to triple the number of 75s in my collection, while simultaneously alerting me to a few holes in my checklists. While my checklists include all of the normal player base cards from a set, they are often missing other Dodgers cards that aren't player specific, e.g those spectacular MVP cards from the 1975 set above. Where do you all find your checklists for older sets? 

I recently shared my thoughts on 2019 Heritage and quickly realized I still didn't have a 1970 Dodgers card in my 70s binder. Dion fixed this with a well-loved rookie of Jack Jenkins and Bill Buckner. One of these guys is more well-known than the other.  

More cards I needed from 1983 and 1984 sets, including a fun Ron Cey. 

Dion also included a ton of modern cards in this package, including a pair of new cards for my new Justin Turner PC. That Donruss oddly lists Turner as a 2nd baseman, even though Turner has played primarily at third for the Dodgers since arriving to LA in 2014. Hell, Turner hasn't played predominately at second since 2011. Oh well, it's still a pretty cool card. Who doesn't love a dirty jersey?

A pair of new Kershaw's also found their way into this trade. Bask in the full emotional range of Clayton Kershaw. 

An errant Shawn Green card found in a box of cereal nearly 17 years ago was one of the catalysts that led to my Dodgers fandom and, later, my baseball card obsession. I hadn't added to my Shawn Green PC in quite some time, so this fun die-cut was a welcome addition. It's a bit hard to see in the photo, but it's also #'d to 99. Cool beans. 

There were quite a few more cards included in this wonderful trade--too many to photograph in the dull light of my apartment, however. I really need to get a scanner. Thanks, Dion!

This swap with Dion was my first trade in nearly five years. How I managed to go that long without exchanging cardboard through the mail defeats me, but I do know this swap marks my forceful return to the hobby.  

Something Old, Something New: Cards from Nick at Dime Boxes

I recently received a wonderful 'Welcome Back' package from my pal Nick over at Dime Boxes. It's been a couple of few years since I last received a bubble mailer of cards (February of 2015, to be exact), so I was ecstatic when I got home late last week to see a loaded bubble mailer sticking out of my mail slot.

The bubble mailer was nice, but the cards within were spectacular. I mean, take a look at this beat up 1966 Walt Alston manager card. I've largely dabbled with the modern stuff over the past few years, so finding this well-loved piece of vintage cardboard is certainly fun. It also inches me a card closer to completing the 1966 Dodgers Team Set--three down, twenty-five to go.

That beautiful Alston wasn't the only throwback card in the mailer. Nick also included this fun Dodgers team card from the 1964 set. It's too bad the Dodgers don't have a celebratory card in this year's set...

Finding cards from the 60s was certainly a welcome surprise, and coming across this Kellogg's 3-D card was also a bit unexpected. Despite spending the first half of this decade collecting, I never actually had one of these in my collection. Super fun.

Nick also passed along some modern cards, this Turner from perhaps the best product of the past few years: Stadium Club. I'm a huge fan of Justin Turner, both for his wonderful play in a Dodgers uni and for his magnificent red mane. I'm a redhead myself (though balding far too quickly), so redheaded players in the majors is a fun time. My exit from collecting coincided with Turner's rise in Los Angeles, so I was never able to collect many of his cards. I'm hoping that changes moving forward.

I don't have a whole lot to say here. You've just got to appreciate the wonderful photography in Stadium Club. Beautiful card.

More fun photography, this time from Flagship. Nick sent me a ton of Flagship, knocking out a ton needs from the past few years. While there were certainly some awesome cards, I definitely needed to comment on this wonderful Rob Segedin. First, it's a card for freaking Rob Segedin--not a household name by any means. Rob hasn't seen the majors since last season and probably won't find his way back onto the Dodgers roster this year, but this RC is fun. Second, how often do we see horizontal cards of outfielders throwing from the outfield? It stood out to me, so I'm guessing it's not all that common.

A Cody Bellinger card! The market was flooded with Bellinger (and Judge) cards last year after a strong rookie campaign, though a Belli card had yet to enter my collection until now. 

Thanks again for the cards. Nick! 

My Life on Bunt: The Autos

So I attempted to make a blogger comback in the summer, promising more posts about the digital world of cards, but that plan quickly broke down as soon as I set up camp in New York at the end of August (an update on that soon). Life got busy pretty quickly and the writing just never happened. I did, however, continue to collect on Topps Bunt, and today's post will feature some of the cooler cards I obtained over the past few months. I'll also have some posts in the coming week or so on some of the non-autos from my Bunt Collection, as well as some of the physical cards I've bought over the past three months. I'll probably put together a couple of care packages for some of my blogger buddies as well--stay tuned for that post and let me know if you are looking for anything in particular.

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Though Bunt has a ton of downsides ("fake" digital cards, limited app capabilities, pricey currency for high-end cards) it has been a boon these last few months. Making friends has been a bit difficult at my new college, and, with the exception of chilling with my girlfriend on the weekends, my social life has hit an all-time low. Anybody in the blogosphere live in New York City or Long Island? Needless to say, I've spent a good number of hours entertaining myself on Bunt, and I've managed to build quite the collection. Oh, and I've done it without spending a dime.

Like most freemium apps, Bunt reserves their high-end cards for users who spend money on the app. Being poor and unwilling to spend money on my fake card collection, I have refused to do so. Still, I have worked to swing some deals notching me high-end cards, though many of my better cards have derived from award chases, a component of the app where users who collect a certain selection of cards by a certain date are given award cards. Take the Clayton Kershaw Laces Auto/Relic below, for example. Bunt ran a 12 Days of Bunt promotion a few weeks ago and released four holiday themed cards a day for its duration. Users who managed to collect all 48 cards by December 26th were awarded the beauty below.

Despite Bunt's numerous flaws, the chase component of the app provides a fun and unique aspect to collecting that we don't have in physical card collecting. Still, Bunt does like to screw over its non-paying users, often including limited edition cards that can only be purchased with diamonds near the end of the chases. Yes, I am speaking from experience. Yes, I am still a bit upset.

I'm slightly less upset about this sweet Bellinger auto that was given out as an award card, and is limited to just 74 copies. Though I wasn't awarded the card, I managed to pick it up in a trade. Bellinger was certainly a highlight in the greatest season of Dodger baseball of my life, and I'm excited to see just how high he can climb next season (World Series MVP would be nice).

Though Bellinger was great all season for the Dodgers, the great play by Austin Barnes in the second-half, coupled with Yasmani Grandal's big slump, pushed Barnes into the starting role throughout the playoffs. I've been a fan of Barnes since the Dodgers acquired him in the Dee Gordon deal a few years back, so I'm glad his potential is finally being recognized at the big league level.

Barnes only has a few cards available on the app, one of them being this signature which I acquired via trade shortly after it was released. I don't think my physical collection has any of Barnes in it, so I think I'll have to fix that when 2018 Flagship is released. 

This triple-auto featuring Bellinger, Turner, and Maeda was the highlight of my collection for a few weeks and remains one of the coolest cards in my collection. I'm still a bit confused by the trio of Dodgers they selected for this card though (I would have opted for Seager instead of Maeda and created a triple-sig of Dodger pitchers). Anybody know if there are any physical cards that resemble this one?

All throughout the past four months I've had my eyes set on trading for a Sandy Koufax auto, though I never had anything enticing enough to swing a deal with other collectors. That said, I finally managed to get my hands on some Koufax digital ink recently.

It's too bad this is in my digital collection rather than my physical one, but I'm happy to be its owner nonetheless. This card was one of my favorites from Stadium Club a couple of years back, so it was certainly cool to nab a signature version.

Though Bunt's downsides often make it frustrating to play, it does provide users with a simple and easy way to trade cards and share their collections. I doubt I'd be able to afford any of the autos above, so being able to collect them on Bunt is a fun consolation prize.

Be sure to check out my full collection on Bunt. I'd be happy to swing a deal with you and hook you up with some cool cards. My username is Chavezravinin (note: there is no 'g' at the end).

Justin Turner is a Ginger

As maybe a few of you know, I have red hair. Yup, I'm what the kids are calling a ginger. Basically, I have an acute case of Gingivitis.

Anyway, the disease makes me feel much closer to my ginger counterparts. Case in point, Justin Turner.

For no reason other than the fact that he has red hair (Well, his excellent luck-filled season with the Dodgers also played into this, but shhhhh...) pushed me into purchasing the sweet auto you see above. 

Unfortunately, Turner does not have any autos as a member of the Dodgers, meaning I had to go out of my way and purchase a card showing him as a Met. Although the auto is of the sticker variety, I can definitely appreciate a fellow gingers autograph. 

I may start a small Justin Turner PC. I absolutely love the guy, and his red hair is pretty awesome. If you happen to have any extra JT cards laying around, send 'em my way. 

GINGERS HAVE SOULS!!!