Collector Spotlight: Mark From Washington

This is a feature I've been wanting to do for a long time now. I know there is a large community of Dodger collectors out there who would love the opportunity to share their collection with other fans. As luck would have it, I came across a fan through eBay with a great Baseball room and an even better story.
A couple of weeks ago on eBay I came across a 1976 Centennial Game Used Bat of former Dodger outfielder Glenn Burke- made famous as the inventor of the high-five in Baseball- being sold by a long distance Dodger fan Mark (Dodgerbats) from Washington. He was kind enough to share his story.

Thank you for taking the time to share your Dodger fanaticism and collection. What are your earliest or fondest memories of the Dodgers?

My earliest and fondest Dodger memory is sitting in the farm truck with my dad, late at night, listening to Vin Scully describe the Dodger game! I grew up on a farm in Northern Montana. When the local radio stations would cut their power late at night, we could get the LA radio station all the way up to our Montana State!

Who is your favorite player- either in the past or now?

My favorite Dodger of the past is a tie! The tie goes to Bobby Valentine and Manny Mota!

My favorite current Dodger is Jason Repko! If he ever gets healthy, WATCH OUT! I'm just afraid that he might not ever get healthy, which is really sad! Hey, that kind of reminds me of my Bobby Valentine! Tuff breaks for some of the MLBers! But then again, that's how some of our other Dodgers get a chance to play, like Blake Dewitt! Blake's lookin' good!

I see from the photos on your eBay page that you have quite a collection from baseball bats to uniforms in your own Baseball room. Are they all Dodger related items? What is your collecting focus?

My main focus in collecting is Dodgers game used bats of past and present players. I also have a few Dodgers game worn jerseys, and other equipment such as a Maury Wills Equipment Bag, a pair of Tommy Lasorda's game worn pants, Eric Karros's game worn belt, Ron Cey's game worn undershirt, etc etc.. I only collect Dodger items, as I wouldn't even be able to sleep at night if I had anything in my Dodger Den from another team! LOL!

How long have you been a collector? How long have you been collecting Dodgers stuff?

I've been collecting Dodger memorabilia since 1968. My dad took me to a Great Falls Giants game in Montana. We sat out in our truck just outside of the left field wall, listening to the game on the radio. The Announcer said the famous words, "AND A LONG FLY BALL!" It was the very first homerun baseball that I ever got, and the homerun was hit by no other than Bobby Valentine! He was playing for the Ogden minor league farm system at the time!

Please share your favorite bat or uniform. Do you have another (other than a bat or uniform) that you consider your favorite?

My favorite bat in my collection would have to be my 1976 Bicentennial Manny Mota bat! The Bicentennial bats are getting very hard to come by. I also love my "LASORDA'S DUGOUT" restaurant entry rug. It makes my whole Dodger Den! :)

Is there anything on your want list you want me to put up to let other Dodger fans/ collectors to know your looking for?

The #1 item on my Dodgers wish-list is quite unique! I'm looking for a 1996 Mike Blowers game worn jersey. He only played half of the 1996 season because he unfortunately blew his knee out! Where did all his 1996 jerseys go??? I'm guessing they sent most of them down to the minors. My father did business with Mike Blowers up here in the Seattle area, where we live now! Therefore, Mike has always been one of our favorites! He's a very nice man!

Thanks again for sharing my Dodger Love with others! I sure wish I lived in Southern California! You have no idea what it's like to be a Dodger fan stuck in Seattle Mariner Country! My friends give me a pretty bad time!

The last time we visited California on vacation, I bought an ice chest and brought home $250.00 worth of Farmer John Foot Long Dodger Hot Dogs! Now my Dad and I sit in our Dodger Stadium Seats eating Dodger Dogs, while watching the Dodgers on MLB-TV! "GO DODGERS GO!"

Mark, thank you so much for sharing. I must say that I never knew how far Dodger fandom stretched, and BTW I'm envious of your Lasorda Dugout rug. That's awesome!

If anyone has a Dodger collection that you would like to share please write to me. I'd love to share your stories. I'm hoping that this segment will be the first of many.