6 Degrees Of Mookie - The Dennis Lamp Connection

You gotta love pure irony! I had this post written for awhile, awaiting a needed filler day to pop it into. I decided last month to go ahead and get it all set and scheduled to go for today, and now we're mere days removed from the start of Mookie's Dodger days. I'll be honest, I'm not sure where to take this series from here. Do I silently suffer and continue to connect the former Boston star? Do I reboot the series with someone else? 6 Degrees of Verdugo doesn't quite have that same ring, you know? 6 Degrees of Raffy perhaps? 6 Degrees of Bogaerts? I'm genuinely curious about what my reader think here. Let me know. In the meantime, I've got one (maybe) last one to share...

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It's time once again for "6 Degrees Of Mookie" - the fabulous game show blog post where I take a random card in my collection and attempt to connect it to FORMER  Red Sox superstar Mookie Betts! Let's take a look at today's contestant!

Random TCDB Card: 

1989 Topps #188 Dennis Lamp

Here's a first! I have the complex task of connecting one Red Sox player to another. However will I manage this? Lamp pitched from 1977 to 1992 for 6 different teams. He has the distinction of not only giving up Rod Carew's 3,000th hit, but also Cal Ripken Jr's 1st!

Teammates in the 1989 Topps set
#188 Dennis Lamp	#785 Ellis Burks

Full disclaimer: I've used the Ellis Burks to David Ortiz to Mookie Betts chain before. The fact Burks started his career with the Red Sox in the 80's and later returned for his last season in 2004 makes him the go-to guy for any junk wax era guys. I'll at least try to use different cards than before.

Teammates in the 2004 Topps Total set
#680 Ellis Burks	#388 David Ortiz

As I stated, Ellis finished off his career in 2004. Injuries limited him to only 11 games that season but he was so respected as a clubhouse leader that he was given the honor of carrying the World Series trophy off the plane when it arrived in Boston.

Teammates in the 2019 Stadium Club set
#281 David Ortiz	#1 Mookie Betts

Ortiz may have retired in 2016, but it's fun to show off a set featuring both from the current year. Especially when you have that great Stadium Club photography!

Degrees of Mookie: 3

You'll be missed Mookie!

6 Degrees Of Mookie - The Cal Ripken Jr Connection

It's time once again for "6 Degrees Of Mookie" - the fabulous game show blog post where I take a random card in my collection and attempt to connect it to current Red Sox superstar Mookie Betts! Let's take a look at today's contestant!

Random TCDB Card: 

1988 Topps UK Minis #61 Cal Ripken Jr.

1988 Topps UK Minis #61 Cal Ripken Jr.

Another Hall of Fame player! The fact that the random card comes from the 1988 Topps UK Minis set makes this interesting however. This small set only has 3 Baltimore Orioles in it! My only options are to pair the Iron Man with either fellow Hall of Famer Eddie Murray or Larry Sheets. I was tempted to go with Sheets honestly, as he was born in Staunton VA where I currently work. I know Murray will get me where I want to go quicker though.

Teammates in the 1988 Topps UK Minis set
#61 Cal Ripken Jr.	#53 Eddie Murray

Just like last time, I get to show 2 Hall of Fame players side-by-side! Baltimore was lucky to have both these guys together for most of the eighties! 1988 would be Murray's last year as an Oriole.

Teammates in the 1996 Score set
#79 Eddie Murray	#305 Manny Ramirez

"Steady Eddie" took his big bat to Cleveland in his later years, where he was able to watch another young slugger come up and establish himself.

Teammates in the 2009 Topps - Ring Of Honor insert set
#RH20 Manny Ramirez	#RH98 David Ortiz

Ramirez and Ortiz played just under 6 full seasons together, forming one of the most potent back-to-back hitting tandems in history. There's no shortage of sets these two appeared in together, so I decided to honor their World Series legacy by using this insert set.

Teammates in the 2016 Topps Update set
#US254 David Ortiz (AS)	#US201 Mookie Betts (AS)

"Big Papi" made his last All-Star appearance in 2016, which ironically just so happened to be Mookie's first! He's made every one since then, and I hope he's still in Boston for next year!

Degrees of Mookie: 4

6 Degrees Of Mookie - The Rich Gossage Connection

It's time once again for "6 Degrees Of Mookie" - the fabulous game show blog post where I take a random card in my collection and attempt to connect it to current Red Sox superstar Mookie Betts! Let's take a look at today's contestant!

Random TCDB Card: 

1985 Topps #90 Rich Gossage

Does anyone call him Rich anymore? The man known to the world as Goose was smack dab in tne middle of his Hall of Fame career in 1985. It did, however, mark the last of Gossage's 9 All-Star appearances.

Teammates in the 1985 Topps set
#90 Rich Gossage	#660 Tony Gwynn

Ususally with the initial card I'll look for one of two types of players. Guys I know will be future Red Sox (Greg Harris fit the bill here, but he wasn't going to get me very far) and Hall of Famers on the early side of their careers. That makes Tony Gwynn an easy choice here, especially since it's fun to show two Hall of Famers side by side!

Teammates in the 2000 Fleer Tradition set
#346 Tony Gwynn	#264 Matt Clement

Over the course of his long and illustrious career, Gwynn had a lot of teammates who would go on to play for Boston. I eventually settled Matt Clement.

Teammates in the 2007 Upper Deck set
#574 Matt Clement	#68 Alex Cora

Clement had a short but unusual time in Boston. He made the All-Star team his first year with the Red Sox, then lasted 12 starts before getting hurt in year #2. He never pitched in the majors again. Still, he was there long enough to play with someone quite close to Mookie!

Teammates in the 2018 Topps Now Boston Red Sox World Series Champions set
#WSC-20 Boston Red Sox	#WSC-2 Mookie Betts

Alright, I cheated a little bit here. Technically, Alex Cora isn't a "teammate" but the connection is just too perfect!

Degrees of Mookie: 4

6 Degrees Of Mookie - The Charles Hudson Connection

It's time once again for "6 Degrees Of Mookie" - the fabulous game show blog post where I take a random card in my collection and attempt to connect it to current Red Sox superstar Mookie Betts! Let's take a look at today's contestant!

Random TCDB Card: 

1989 Topps #236 Charles Hudson

Hudson was a pitcher in the Major Leagues from 1983 to 1989. His career pretty much ended in August 1989 after he drove intoxicated into a telephone pole and had to have reconstructive knee surgery. The most interesting thing about this card is it shows him holding the ball in a split-finger fastball grip.

Teammates in the 1989 Topps set
#236 Charles Hudson	#380 Rickey Henderson

Hudson didn't play for the Yankees for very long, but long enough to play with the immortal Rickey Henderson.

Teammates in the 2003 Upper Deck set
#598 Rickey Henderson	#590 David Ross

Rickey's last stop was with the Dodgers in 2003. Even then I bet he could still out-run a fresh legged young David Ross.

Teammates in the 2014 Topps Update set
#US-60 David Ross	#US-26 Mookie Betts (RC)

Ross of course went on to being a key member of Boston's 2013 World Series title run. Mookie would make his debut the following year.

Degrees of Mookie: 3

6 Degrees Of Mookie - The Warren Newson Connection

It's time once again for "6 Degrees Of Mookie" - the fabulous game show blog post where I take a random card in my collection and attempt to connect it to current Red Sox superstar Mookie Betts! Let's take a look at today's contestant!

Random TCDB Card: 

1992 Score # 398 Warren Newson (RP)

Newson has a rather nice action shot on his 1992 Score card. He spent a impressive 8 years in the big leagues, all in the American League. He played with guys who had longer careers, such as...

Teammates in the 1992 Score set
# 398 Warren Newson (RP)	#893 Frank Thomas (DT)

I always thought 1992 Score was a great set, and the Dream Team subset is one of the reasons why. This simple shot of "The Big Hurt" looks normal until you realize he's holding an oversized bat.

Teammates in the 2009 Topps set
#24 Frank Thomas	#46 Brad Ziegler (ASR)

While Frank Thomas was winding down his Hall of Fame career, Brad Ziegler was just starting to make his mark. Guys who throw sideways always look weird on their cards. That arm is made of rubber!

Teammates in the 2016 Topps Update set
#US127 Brad Ziegler	#US201 Mookie Betts (AS)

The Red Sox acquired Ziegler in a mid-season trade in 2016. He signed with Miami after the season and retired last year. 2016 was the year Mookie started breaking out as a superstar, finishing 2nd in the MVP Award race.

Degrees of Mookie: 3

6 Degrees of Mookie - The Teddy Higuera Connection

It's time once again for "6 Degrees Of Mookie" - the fabulous game show blog post where I take a random card in my collection and attempt to connect it to current Red Sox superstar Mookie Betts! Let's take a look at today's contestant! 

Random TCDB Card:

 1992 Donruss #294 Teddy Higuera

If someone were to ask you who was the MLB's best pitcher in 1986, you'd probably say it was Cy Young and MVP award winner Roger Clemens. However, Higuera finished that season with a higher WAR! That season was one for the ages as Higuera earned his only All-Star selection en route to becoming the first Mexican to win 20 games. He one of the many tales of a pitcher with Hall of Fame talent derailed by injuries.

Looking at the list of Brewers in the 1992 Donruss set, I think I have a connection.

Teammates in the 1992 Donruss set
#294 Teddy Higuera	#51 Paul Molitor

It helps to find players who have either had long careers and played on numerous teams. Paul Molitor definitely qualifies here. Among those teams, I recall him having a stint with the Twins.

Teammates in the 1999 Fleer Tradition set
#222 Paul Molitor	#248 David Ortiz

David Ortiz was just starting out as Molitor's career was winding down. These Twins can claim to have two of the greatest designated hitters in history on the same team!

Teammates in the 2016 Topps set
#400 David Ortiz	#84 Mookie Betts

David Ortiz is probably the one former teammate Mookie has had that can claim to have been playing in the 1900's - if I can connect a card to Big Papi, that'll make my job a lot easier!

Degrees of Mookie: 3

Playing Around With A New TCDB Feature

If you're a blogger who has their collection on the Trading Card Database, there's a new feature that may prove useful. Recently the Admin of the site installed a random card feature, where you can have a random card selected from your collection. The first time I used this feature, this was the card it chose:

2017 Topps #8a Jose Berrios

Ironically, this was the very first card I ever featured on this blog! How funny is that? You can also pick a random card from your favorite team or set.

It a fun little time killer. Personally, it'll help with a new feature I've been contemplating. I've been toying with the idea of a variation of the "6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon" game. The plan is to connect a random card to a card of Red Sox player Mookie Betts ("6 Degrees of Mookie!"). The added wrinkle is that the connecting players must also appear as teammates in a baseball card set. (Trust me, it's not as easy as it sounds!)

Let me give you an example. Using the TCDB random card generator, I pulled up this card of former Springfield nuclear power plant worker/now also former Angels skipper Mike Scioscia:

1985 Topps #549 Mike Scioscia

Looking at other Dodgers in the 1985 Topps set, I found one player I knew would also later play for the Red Sox, and was able to create this link:

Teammates in the 1985 Topps set
#549 Mike Scioscia	#85 Mike Marshall

Now that I have my Red Sox player, the other degrees fall into place:

Teammates in the 1991 Topps set
#356 Mike Marshall	#70 Ellis Burks

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Teammates in the 2004 Topps World Champions Boston Red Sox set
#28 Ellis Burks	#29 David Ortiz

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Teammates in the 2015 Topps set
#500 David Ortiz	#389 Mookie Betts (FS)

So, Mike Scioscia has 4 degrees of cardboard separation to Mookie Betts! Just for fun, I'm going to go to Basebal Reference's Oracle page and see what a non-cardboard connection would look like:

Oracle can do it in 3 steps, but I wouldn't have been able to match that. Mike Morgan wasn't a Dodger until 1989, so I would have needed a step in between to connect them. Also, he was a Twin for only half a season, and his appearance on cards in a Twins uniform is limited to two sets - 1998 Upper Deck and 1998 Pacific Online, neither of which has A.J. Pierzynski on the Twins. (Funny enough, David Ortiz was a Twin in those sets, so I could have still made that connection!)

I figure with most of these I'll need one more step than Oracle.  Most connections are made by journeyman relievers/bench players who don't get a lot of cardboard love. We'll see! Tune in next time...