Tuesday, August 23, 2016

A 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers World Series Charger Plate with Team Photo


Call me uncouth and uncultured 'cause before a couple days ago I had no idea what a "charger plate" was.  A quick search tells me that it is basically an decorative plate placed underneath actual usable plates during an formal dinner - which strike me as the same difference between virtual and physical Baseball cards.  In other words, chargers are useless and have no real purpose.

Unless, of course, we are looking at the above "charger plate" that is currently at auction at Inside the Park Collectibles (Auction Link Here).

Featured is an 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers plate that was originally given out to ballplayers and selected employees of the team in celebration of their recent World Series Championship.  It measures 12" in diameter and is considered scarce.  Below is a close up look at the team photo.

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* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

AGon's Big Day and Toles & Segedin's Homer Barrage - 2016 Topps Now - #383 & #384


Just as I suspected.

Not only does Topps commemorate Adrian Gonzalez's three homer day with a 2016 Topps Now card, they also make note of Toles and Segedin's back-to-back dingers in today's offering.  Featured above are two Topps Now cards featuring Dodger players that are now available for sale through Topps online.

Check out and order AGon's card here.  You can go here to check out and order the Toles/Segedin card here.  Click on any pic to embiggen.

Of special note, Rob Segedin's first career home run was not the most exciting part of his day yesterday.  Per Cody Pace at MLB.com:
Segedin, who spent the first six innings in the field before being removed in a double switch, hoped he wasn't going to get a phone call, because Monday was his wife's due date.

"Once I got taken out of the game, I just came in and checked and made sure that she didn't go into labor while I was playing," Segedin said. "Once I heard from her, I was kind of relaxing knowing that I can probably get back in time just in case anything does happen."
Upon disembarking the Dodgers charter plane from Cincinnati he headed straight to the the hospital to meet his wife.  He shared a photo of himself and his wife with the home run ball on Instagram (see that here). 

UPDATE:  The print run for the Adrian Gonzalez card is 298.  The print run for the Toles/Segedin card is 330.

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *
* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

2016 Panini Immaculate Baseball - The Dodgers Base Cards

Last week Panini America released their high-end 2016 Immaculate Baseball card set.  Go here for a complete checklist.  Below are the Dodger base cards; including the "Rookie Autograph Patch" cards numbered in sequence with the base set.

Base

#7 Gil Hodges                                       #11 Leo Durocher

Blog Kiosk: 8/23/2016 - Dodgers Links - Trevor Oaks, Scott Kazmir and Adrian Gonzalez


I suspect yesterdays exploits at the plate will result in at least one Topps Now card being issued for the Dodgers... Maybe, two.  After all, when you steamroll over an opposition then there will no doubt be plenty of highlights worthy of special recognition. 

Case in point, Adrian Gonzalez (seen high-tening AJ Ellis above) had a career kind of day.  Not only did he start off the Dodger offense by walloping an three-run home run in the first inning, but he also continued to mash the ball all afternoon.  He finished up going 3 for 6 with three home runs and eight RBI's. 

Then in the fifth inning a couple of rookies hit back-to-back first-career home runs.  This unique feat accomplished by Andrew Toles and Rob Segedin had only occurred three other times over the past thirty years.  Per Cody Pace at MLB.com:
"I mean, when I saw he hit his, I looked up on the board and I saw that it was his first, so I was excited for him because I knew, especially because it landed in the net that he was going to get the ball back," Segedin said. "It was a big hit at the time, too. What I was able to do, the next pitch, it was pretty cool."
Later on in the same inning Corey Seager hit his 22nd home run of the year - matching a Dodgers franchise record for homers by a shortstop.  Per Mark Sheldon and Cody Pace at MLB.com:
"There was a lot of good things," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "Obviously, Adrian had a career day and Chase [Utley], Corey [Seager], guys were on base all game and to see that these guys didn't let up and continue to put together at-bats, run the bases, hit some balls out of the ballpark, very excited for our offense."
BTW, the Dodgers defeated the Reds, 18-9, and extend their lead to a full game over the Giants.  Photo at the very top via @Dodgers on twitter.  Below are more links to check out:
  • This Day in Dodger History:  In 1958 Gil Hodges hit his 14th career grand slam.  It had set a new NL record for grand slams in a career.  In 1989 Tommy Lasorda had Expos mascot Youppi! ejected from a game in Montreal.  The mascot was causing too much noise by jumping on top of the dugout roof during the 22-inning game.  You can watch Youppi! get tossed here. BTW, the Dodgers defeated the Expose, 1-0, on an home run by Rick Dempsey in the 22nd inning.
  • Happy Birthday, Casey Blake!