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Sometimes it’s difficult to predict how well a prospect will perform at the big league level. This card produced by Topps displays Mike Scioscia, Fernando Valenzuela, and Jack Perconte and is autographed by each player.

Though Perconte would enjoy seven Major League seasons, the two men pictured with him became mainstays for two Dodger championship teams.

Scioscia played in more than 1,400 games for the Dodgers while Valenzuela would win the Rookie of Year and Cy Young awards for Los Angeles.

Fernando made six consecutive All Star teams from 1981-1986 and added in a pair of Silver Slugger Awards and a Gold Glove for good measure.

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Fernando Valenzuela took the baseball world by storm in 1981. He earned both the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Awards for his work in the regular season before the Dodgers beat the Yankees in the World Series. Fernandomania was all the rage throughout the country.

Perhaps his most memorable single-game performance came more than a decade later when he pitched a no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals. The home plate umpire that night was Jerry Layne.

Layne broke into the big leagues in 1989 and has been on the field for some memorable moments. In addition to Valenzuela’s no-hitter, Layne worked the plate when Barry Bonds hit his 71st homer of the 1991 to eclipse Mark McGwire’s single-season home run record.

The umpire has worked the post season as well as the 2011 All Star Game. In the collection is the document Layne signed to receive his ring from the Midsummer Classic that year.

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Fernando Valenzuela’s 173 career victories is the most in major league history by a Mexican-born pitcher. In 1981 the left-hander took the baseball world by storm, earning both the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards in his first full season.

An All Star all six seasons from 1981 through 1986 Valenzuela finished in the top-5 in Cy Young balloting four times during the run. He also added a Gold Glove and two Silver Slugger awards.

In many ways, Fernando’s counterpart on offense is Vinny Castilla. The slugging Mexican third basemen hammered 40+ homers in three straight years starting in 1996. Castilla hit 20 or more homers in 8 of his 16 big league campaigns to finish 320 career bombs. With five 100-RBI seasons and 1,105 overall, Castilla is the top Mexican-born homer and RBI man in MLB history.

In the collection is this first day cover postmarked on April 26, 1995 from the Coors Field postal station the day the stadium opened. The envelope is signed by Castilla and three of his Colorado teammates, Larry Waker, Dante Bichette, and Andres Galarraga. In 1995 the Rockies mates became the second quartet in baseball history to each slug 30 homers.

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Some players reach the level of franchise icons but fall just short of Cooperstown. In 2019 the Dodgers created a way to honor such men as Legends of Dodger Baseball.

The first class of Dodger legends included Don Newcombe, Steve Garvey and Fernando Valenzuela. Left-hander Valenzuela starred for the club in his 11 seasons in Los Angeles. An All Star in six of his ten full seasons in Dodger blue, Valenzuela helped the team to two World Series titles. Individually, he earned both the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards.

From 1981-1986 Valenzuela finished in the top-five in Cy Young balloting four times. For good measure he claimed two Silver Slugger Awards.

Three years after Fernando was honored with legend status, Maury Wills, and Kirk Gibson joined the ranks. In 2022 Manny Mota and Orel Hershiser got the nod. Dusty Baker received the same recognition in 2024.

Shown here is a the autographed rookie card of Hershiser. A teammate of Valenzuela for 8 seasons, Hershiser is a Dodger Cy Young winner and World Series MVP.