Forever linked

The two card sets represented here don't have a lot in common. The card on the left represents 1975 Topps, my favorite set of all-time. It is colorful and BRIGHT in all of its '70s glory -- just how I remember the '70s as a kid. The card on the left is a 2006 Topps Updates & Highlights. It's the typical modern-day base card. Action photography. Colorful, but slick, in all its definitions.

But to me the two card sets are forever linked. The 1975 set is the first set I ever collected. I can remember every instance in which I bought a pack of cards that year. It's a big part of my childhood. Meanwhile, the 2006 set is the first major set I collected upon my return to the hobby. It also holds a place in my heart. It is the set that reminded me of what I first loved about collecting way back in 1975.

About the only other thing the two have in common is on the back:

Cartoons! The 2006 set represents the first flagship Topps set to feature cartoons on the back since 1986, which featured that repetitious cartoon baseball. But you'd have to go back to 1982 Topps for the last time they displayed a different picture and cartoon fact on each card. And you'd have to go back to 1980 Topps for the last time they displayed a cartoon on every player card.

This Izturis card and three others were sent to me by Craig of Free Andy LaRoche (a great blog title) to help me complete my '06 Updates and Highlights set. I'm down to needing 14 more (unless I miscalculated, which is always possible). Then I'll go after the inserts (fun!)

Craig also sent me these other U&H cards ...

"Free Andy" is a fellow Dodger fan, and we've each endured many a boneheaded Dodger transaction in the last two decades. The Dodgers were a once-proud franchise that swindled other teams in deals. Now they're lucky to come out on top in one deal for every six dunderhead moves they make.

I also received a bunch of Raul Mondesis from Craig:

In no particular order, there is a 1998 Topps Stars, 1997 Topps Chrome, 1999 Upper Deck Power Corps, 1996 Topps Profiles by Tony Gwynn (huh?), a super shiny 1996 Topps Power and Speed, 1998 Fleer SI, 1999 Stadium Club, and 1996 Metal Universe (along with a Metal Universe platinum parallel, which I didn't even know existed. Ah, hell, I didn't even know most of these cards existed).

Craig probably didn't know that Mondesi was my favorite Dodger for a period. For those of you scoring at home, here is the breakdown on my favorite player:

1975-83: Ron Cey

1983-85: Pedro Guerrero

1985-94: Orel Hershiser

1995-99: Raul Mondesi

2000-04: Shawn Green

2004-07: Brad Penny

2007-08: Russell Martin

Will Martin hold on to the crown for 2009? Or will Chad Billingsley or Clayton Kershaw or Andre Ethier or Matt Kemp sweep it away? Tune in to find out!

Thanks for the cards, Craig. A 2006 U&H Denny Bautista, Roberto Hernandez and Scott Proctor are on their way to help you complete your set!