2016 Topps Gypsy Queen - All the Dodgers Base Cards

Here is a peek at the Dodgers base cards within Topps 2016 Gypsy Queen set.  Go here for a complete checklist.  Each card has a companion mini card, as well.  I show a couple examples in the photos below.  Also cards #301 to #350 are all short-printed, and with the exception of Maeda include only retired ballplayers.  Tomorrow, I'll share the known variations and some of the parallels.

UPDATE:  Thanks to an reader I've just learned that I failed to include Trayce Thompson's card in the below listing.  It is now included.

Base Set

#7 Corey Seager

2016 Topps Now - Kenta Maeda #7 - A Dual Threat for the Ages

Several days ago Topps unveiled a brand new product line on their website called "Topps Now."  As the name suggest, it consist of cards that highlights the biggest and most prominent events of the day.  Then, they make a card to celebrate the moment and give collectors an opportunity to order it on their website during an 24-hour window.  After that time period is over all sales close, the cards get printed and shipped within a week.

What this creates is a product line that has a print run that is at the whim of the collecting public.  For instance, six cards have already been made and the print runs vary from 266 copies of an Francisco Liriano card to 981 copies for a card about Diamondbacks Rockies rookie slugger Trevor Story.  Today, Topps decides to honor Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda with a card, #7 on the checklist, and you can go here to check it out.  Photos of both the front and reverse of the card are shown in this post.

BTW, this isn't exactly a new concept for Topps.  Over a decade ago Topps started marketing a product line they called "eTopps" that was based on the same principle - except they emphasized the investor/stock market approach to collecting.  They established an online marketplace on eBay and sold individual player cards with print runs based on the same method.  Cards were printed up and kept safely at an Topps warehouse.  They were only shipped to collectors on demand. 

For awhile these cards were on fire and sold for rather large premiums online.  Then, as time wore on collector growth waned and prices fell.  Today, eTopps is no more.  Although, I believe there are collectors who still have cards in inventory at Topps.

Anyway, I am excited about this new venture, and I hope it continues.  I figure there will be a whole bunch of nice rarities that focus on great moments.

UPDATE:  The print run was 952 copies

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Don Drysdale Collection at SCP - Part IV - The Awards

No auction featuring personal items from an marque ballplayer like Don Drysdale would be complete without a peek at all of his awards, and as you can imagine he has plenty of great hardware.  Take a look at some of his best trophies below.

Directly below is Drysdale's 1962 Cy young Award.  (Auction Link)  This one piece alone has been the subject of some controversy.  As you may know, the Don Drysdale Collection is being sold by his widow, Ann Meyers Drysdale, over the public objections of his oldest daughter Kelly (from his first wife).  Per an AP story at ESPN:

"She has the legal right, but moral and decent right? Absolutely not," Kelly Drysdale said through tears by phone from her home in Hawaii. "It's not a very nice thing for someone to do. This is something that has caught me by surprise and is heartbreaking."
...
Now 56, the same age as her father when he died, Kelly Drysdale particularly wanted his 1962 Cy Young Award, which has a minimum bid of $15,000.

"That was the one thing that was proudly and prominently displayed in every house in which I ever lived," she said. "That was the first thing I asked if I could have and there was never a reply. These are things that have been in my family long before she ever met my father."

Whatever happens it is clear that this award will soon find a new home.  Hopefully, it'll be in a place we all can visit - like a museum, somewhere.

(Auction Link)

Blog Kiosk: 4/7/2016 - Dodgers Links - All About Kenta

Kenta was all smiles yesterday

He came into the game as an unknown quantity in the Majors and left knowing that his craft plays well in the States... And so does his bat.  Maeda went six strong innings, struck out four, walked none and gave up five hits.  Although he scrambled a bit in the sixth inning, Kenta induced several key ground balls to get out of the jam.  Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:

"I'm just very happy to get the win in my Major League debut," Maeda said. "I was a little bit nervous at first, but my teammates scored four runs for me [in the first inning] and that helped me relax a lot. I was able to get back on the mound and do what I usually do."

So, is swinging a mighty stick also a part of his repertoire?

Kenta not only stifled the Padres, he beat them to a pulp with his bat.  In the fourth inning he whacked an 0-2 pitch for a home run run into the left field bleachers.  It was his first Major League hit in only his second career at-bat. 

"He did everything we thought he could do, and even hit a home run, so that's tough to match," said Clayton Kershaw. "Watching him hit in batting practice, I knew he had the ability, but I've played for eight years and hit one homer, so I'm pretty impressed. We're supposed to pitch good, but when we do that, that's Little League stuff."

Watch an Japanese broadcast of his homer here.  Photo above of Kenta Maeda via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2016.  Go here to check out more pics by Jon from yesterday's game.  Below are more links to check out:

• BTW, per many sources the Dodgers are only the second team in Major League history to start the season with three straight shutouts.  The only other team to do it was the 1963 Cardinals.  BTW, that Cardinal team did not make the playoffs that year, so don't think for a second that this beginning should automatically lead to something grander.