Lineup cards
"You mean they just GIVE these away?!"
I'd been to hundreds of games before I happened to see some random fan behind the dugout ask for the lineup cards after the final out. He got them. Just like that. From that point on, I always asked and finally got my first pair on June 26, 1999 in Detroit.
Ground rules
This is the reverse side of the cards above, and as you can see, Tiger Stadium's ground rules were printed for the managers.
Incomplete pair
Usually I get both teams' lineup cards at once, but in this case it didn't bother me because . . .
Fancy-schmancy
. . . Diamondbacks manager Buck Showalter also gave me this. (I've scanned all these lineup cards full-size, and this one is BIG.) It's the fancier type that's taped to the dugout wall during the game. Managers usually keep the smaller ones on a clipboard or just stick them in their back pockets.
Rough night for Wiki
Exactly one year later, the Angels showed me some love at Qualcomm Stadium. The circled numbers indicate who made the final outs. Mo Vaughn, for example, was retired to end the top the third while catcher Wiki González was scrambling all night to put his equipment back on.
Q-comm again
What can we learn from this lineup card? In addition to the fact that Travis (Katzenmeier) was the home plate ump, two members of the 300-save club appeared in the game. Their names, along with other relievers who pitched, are highlighted in green at the bottom.
History!
What're the odds of seeing Randy Winn hit for the cycle and getting the lineup cards on the same day? That day was August 15, 2005 at Great American Ball Park — check out my blog entry about it.
Who's been pitching?
(Another reverse view with more to follow.) The Giants charted the usage of both teams' relievers and taped the info to the back of their lineup card. By doing so, they knew which of their pitchers to rest/use and had an easier time predicting which Reds they were likely to face. Jason Standridge? No way.
The curse of NYC
Why is it so hard to get lineup cards in New York City? Well, anyway, here’s another blog entry that shows how this went down.
No Standridge
See?! I TOLD you he wasn't gonna pitch!
Back-to-back-to-back
Third consecutive game with lineup cards. I can't explain it. These came from Cubs manager Dusty Baker at Minute Maid Park. Note his signature on the bottom.
Another chart
Dusty keeps track differently. Check out the performance of Houston's starting rotation. Even Ezequiel Astacio went six innings.
Barry Bonds
Pretty cool to get a piece of Bonds memorabilia. Want to read my blog entry about it? Yes, of course you do. Click here.
No ground rules
Odd.
Dusty does it again
Dusty Baker: total stud. Not only had he tossed me a ball after BP, but during the game he took the time to indicate which inning-ending outs came via strikeouts and with the bases loaded. Click here for the blog entry.
Citizens Bank Park
Chain link fence in right center? Aaron Roward would like a word.
Historic night
Not only was this the first time I ever got a lineup card in New York City, and not only was it Matt DeSalvo's major league debut, but this was the day I snagged my 3,000th ball. Also, shoutout to Ichiro. <3
I [heart] Manny Acta.
Manny Acta (at this point managing the Nationals) tossed me 16 baseballs over the years, and he also gave me the only lineup cards I got in more than 350 games at Shea Stadium. Click here for the blog entry.
Another BIG one
It had been eight years since I'd gotten one of these full-sized, taped-to-the-dugout-wall lineup cards. When one of the Blue Jays coaches handed this one to me, it still had two strips of white athletic tape stuck to the top and bottom (which you can see in this blog entry).
Bullpen slackers
This card came from the Blue Jays' bullpen at Champion Stadium. The guys out there clearly didn't care who made the third out, and they only bothered highlighting the lefties and switch-hitters on the other team.
September 24th = Bonus Item Day
On September 24, 2007, I got lineup cards at Shea Stadium. Exactly one year later, I got this pair of cards from the Braves at Citizens Bank Park AND a bat from Greg Norton. Hot damn.
Chicago @ Texas
This card came from the White Sox's bullpen at Rangers Ballpark. When I saw that it was still taped to the wall after all the players and coaches were gone, I lingered inside the stadium and eventually convinced a groundskeeper to get it for me. Here’s my blog entry.
Citi Field
Marlins manager Fredi González tried to toss me both of his lineup cards after the game. Unfortunately, I only got one of them, and here it is — the first lineup card for me at Citi Field.
"Not good"
Orioles manager Dave Trembley gave this to me at Target Field, and as you can see, he had scribbled an unflattering statistic about Twins switch-hitter Nick Punto. (The "RHH" presumably stands for "right-handed hitter.") Here’s my blog entry.
Lefties are red . . .
. . . switch-hitters are blue. Edwin Rodríguez, I love you. (My old blog entries are something to treasure; here’s another for your viewing pleasure.)
Strop making spelling mistakes!
This was the Blue Jays' bullpen lineup card on April 25, 2011, and as you can see, they butchered Rangers reliever Pedro Strop's last name.
A-Okay
The next day, the spelling mistake was corrected, and someone on Blue Jays drew this on the back of the lineup card.
Lefties and switch-hitter
The Blue Jays highlighted all the lefties in yellow and marked the lone switch-hitter in blue. Here’s my blog entry.
Four-peat!
Thank you, thank you, yes, this was the fourth consecutive day that I got these lineup cards from the Blue Jays' bullpen.
The BIG one
After snagging 18 baseballs on 5/13/11 at Nationals Park, I got Marlins manager Edwin Rodríguez to peel this 11" x 17" lineup card off the dugout wall and hand it to me.
Lineup sheet?!
Technically this isn't a lineup "card" because it's just a flimsy piece of paper. Nevertheless, I got it from the Angels' dugout after this game at Safeco Field, so it's worthy of being included in this collection.
Three colors
This came from the visitors' bullpen on 6/28/11 at Yankee Stadium. As you can see, the Brewers used three different colors for the Yankee lineup: red for the lefties, green for the switch-hitters, and blue for the righties.
Bob Feller logo
I love this logo (!!) and I also love Camden Yards. That’s where I got these on July 15, 2011.
Dusty's . . . crucifix?
Johnnie B. Baker Jr. (aka "Dusty") wrote several things on this lineup card that I don't understand. Check out my blog entry about this game.
Don Mattingly's signature
I pretty much worshipped Don Mattingly back in the day, so it was cool to finally get his signature (as the Dodgers manager) on these lineup cards on 8/19/12 at Turner Field.
Batting cleanup: Steve Pearce
Seriously, Yankees? At this point in his career, Pearce’s career high for home runs in a season was four. Here’s my blog entry about the game.
2012 All-Star Game logo
No, this lineup card isn't from the All-Star Game. It merely has the logo, but I still think it's cool. Meanwhile you should know that Jake Odorizzi made his MLB debut in this game.
Another BIG one with calligraphy
Brewers coach Jerry Narron is known for his stellar penmanship. Note that he wrote Norichika Aoki's name in Japanese and Jesus's name in Hebrew. Also, he intentionally omitted the vowels in the reserve players' last names and inadventantly misspelled "Headley" in the Padres' starting lineup. Here’s my blog entry.
Ohhhh, Canada!
The Blue Jays are good about leaving their lineup cards behind in the bullpen. It would've been better, though, if there were a date on this one. (I got it on 5/17/13 at Yankee Stadium.)
OUCH!!
This was the game when Tim Hudson fractured his right ankle in a gruesome collision at 1st base with Eric Young Jr.
Grammar 101
Dear Phillies, please tell the Braves that "managers" needs an apostrophe. Thanks. Here’s my blog entry.
Japanese
Here's another BIG ONE, given to me by Jerry Narron after the final out of the Brewers' season on 9/29/13 at Citi Field.
Suck it, Braun.
June 12, 2014 was a tough night for Ryan Braun, who made the final out of the 3rd, 5th, 10th, and 13th innings. If only he could have done something to improve his performance.
Strategic notes
This lineup card, which came from the Cubs on 9/2/14 at Wrigley Field, contains extensive notes about the Brewers on the back.
Marlins vs. Mets
Marlins bullpen coach Reid Cornelius gave this to me. Yay!
Thanks, ump!
Home plate umpire Chris Guccione gave these to me after the game on August 29, 2016 at Minute Maid Park. I didn't even ask. He offered. He's just cool like that. Click here for the YouTube video I filmed that day.
Sahlen Field
This one is extra cool for two reasons: (1) it came from the Blue Jays’ temporary home in Buffalo, NY, and (2) the game was played on my mom’s birthday. Huge thanks to Orioles bullpen catcher Ben Carhart for hooking it up for me. Here’s the video.
Bullpen catchers are the real MVPs
Shoutout to Dustin Hughes with the Oakland A’s — another super-friendly bullpen catcher who gave this to me, and once again there’s video evidence of how it all went down.
All right!
No, but really, the entire Indians lineup batted right-handed (including switch hitter José Ramírez) against Mike Minor, the Royals left-handed starter. Many thanks to Indians bullpen catcher Ricky Pacione for giving this to me. Check out the video.
What time is it?
First time I’ve seen time-stamped lineup cards. These are from Jackie Robinson Day, but they were given to me the following day by a friendly batboy named Jake at PNC Park. Here’s the video (which, by the way, is 22 minutes long and highly entertaining).
PNC Park again
Nationals bullpen coach Ricky Bones was responsible for this one, and you can see how it all went down in this video. When Bones was with the Mets, I got to know him somewhat at Citi Field, and that connection helped me here in Pittsburgh.
Double dip
On May 14, 2022, the Angels and A’s played a day-night doubleheader at the Oakland Coliseum. This was the lineup card from the first game . . .
Shohei’s 100th
. . . and this one came from the nightcap. During this game, Shohei Ohtani hit his 100th career home run, and no, I didn’t catch it but this memento is a damn cool alternative! Huge thanks to A's bullpen catcher Dustin Hughes for giving both of these to me.
The Cleveland WHO??
This is my first piece of Cleveland Guardians memorabilia. Yay! I got it on 5/25/22 at Minute Maid Park.
Glitch in the Matrix?
Yeah, I don’t know, but the word “matrix” does appear 20 times. This is not a true lineup card (it’s more of a bullpen stat-sheet kinda thing), but it’s still cool and you can see how I got it on 6/3/22 at Camden Yards.
Thank you, Richard Bleier!
I’ve talked a lot about Richard Bleier in my videos. He’s SUPER nice and chatted with me for a bit during the game on August 16, 2022 at loanDepot park. Bullpen coach Wellington Cepeda saw that we had a connection and because of that he decided to give this lineup card to me.
Dustin Hughes is the GOAT
Not only did A’s bullpen catcher Dustin Hughes give this to me, but he also threw me 17 balls over the course of the day (!!) including a Jordan Diaz game home run that landed in the bullpen. This was truly nuts.
Coffee, anyone?
See the coffee stain at the top of the Red Sox lineup? That was Dustin Hughes’ fault. He spilled coffee on this at the start of the game, but I forgive him because he gave it to me after the final out. Check out the video here.
PNC Park again again
The bullpen setup in Pittsburgh is great. The Orioles are also great. That’s a good combo for getting lineup cards. Thanks to bullpen catcher Ben Carhart and coach Tim Cossins for this one.