Dodgers Blue Heaven: A Foam Party Celebration - The Many Iterations of the Dodger Bubble Machine in Fantasy Card Form

Thursday, September 25, 2014

A Foam Party Celebration - The Many Iterations of the Dodger Bubble Machine in Fantasy Card Form

In honor of last night's division winning victory and the good luck charm that got us there, I thought I would share some fantasy Baseball card creations I've been putting together in honor of the vaunted Dodger Bubble Machine.

My memories aren't entirely clear but from what I remember it first came into being in early June, and other than a brief respite in NL Commissioner jail it has traveled consistently with the Dodgers ever since. If anybody recalls the exact day or game it made its first appearance please let me know. I think it's important, for the sake of Dodger Blue history, to know these kind of things. Or maybe I'm just a weirdo with an unhealthy obsession with bubbles. Anyway, the Bubble Machine has been with us through it all and below is my way of honoring it. Check out my fantasy Baseball card creations below.

As you know the Bubble Machine has come in many different forms. After all, the rough and tumble Major League clubhouse would surely be too taxing for an inexpensive toy contraption like this. So, there have been many different Dodger Bubble Machines. I have done my best to capture them all.

The first fantasy card below uses a photo that was tweeted by the @Dodgers right after it was unofficially banned by the NL Commissioner in early August. The team wanted to let us all know that it had been all packed up and ready to go to Milwaukee.

The below fantasy card is of the Bubble Machine featured in the box above. The pic was shared by ESPN reporter Beto Duran on twitter, and taken just before it's banning. I used the vintage 1968 Topps Baseball card design.

Here's another version of the Dodger Bubble Machine from late August. The original photo was taken by Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014.

I believe this next Bubble Machine (on the bottome left) is one of the earliest version, if not THE earliest versions. The original photo was taken in Detroit and shared on CBS (Leon Halip/Getty Images) in early July. The card on the right is from late September and was shared by SportsNet LA on twitter. As you can see, by this time they started painting the Dodger logo onto the Bubble Machine.

The next series of fantasy cards are "In Action" cards, so to speak.

The below card uses a photo taken during the recent roadtrip to Chicago, taken by Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014. I'm not entirely sure who is holding it up, but I do know they are celebrating one of AJ Ellis' two home runs on Friday, September 19th.

Here is something different. The Bubble Machine just doesn't fill itself up. That's the job of Dodger Clubhouse Manager Mitch Poole. Photos below were taken by Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014 in mid-September.

Here are some classic "In Action" photos using the vintage 1972 & 1973 Topps Baseball card design. You might not see the Bubble Machine, but you sure do see its bubbles.

(Pic via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014)

And how could I forget to put up an "In Action" card featuring Clayton Kershaw celebrating his no-hitter (card on the left). This photo was taken by Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014. On the right is Adrian Gonzalez fiddling with it in late June; also taken by Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014.

These last two fantasy cards have nothing to do with the Bubble Machine. I just loved the photo (taken by Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014) and had to incorporate it into a couple of cards. I call it "Ryu & Turner's Ice Party."