Zistle Trade #84: paulb

Back to the World Series, but specifically the studio team that Fox delivered.  Kevin Burkhardt, Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, and Keith Hernandez.  Both Ortiz and Hernandez were new additions this postseason and the four of them seemed to gel together nicely.

Burkhardt and Hernandez worked together for eight years before Burkhardt moved over to Fox.  It was actually Burkhardt himself who called Hernandez asking him if he was interested in the position.  Alex was gushing about Keith even before their first show together.  The gushing is well deserved though.

Keith Hernandez was barely considered for the Hall of Fame when his time came, but he is very much regarded by his peers and current players.  He brought the shows his usual honesty and critiques with his off the cuff wit.  He almost got into some hot water with an off the cuff remark about San Francisco that was taken out of context.  People who brought it up seemed to not know that Keith grew up in San Francisco and was very much entrenched in the Giants-Dodgers feud.  I didn't even realize people took offense until a bit later, but I can see why that would happen and so did Keith.

Anyway, back to the cards!  This trade is another one with Paul.  I recall Paul being a NY team guy, collecting both Mets and Yankees.  This was a nice trade that filled in some missing holes in a number of sets.

I think there are some pretty classic designs here from Donruss, Fleer, and Upper Deck.  It also looks like Fleer decided to tone down their Metal Universe set.  This time players are placed in locations with their home teams, but just look like giants.  Here we see John Olerud playing ball over Central Park.

Finishing up with new World Series champions, Carlos Beltran.  Carlos has had a great career that looks to be wrapped up now with the World Series victory.  He really has no reason to continue except for his love of the game.  I could see him doing one more year with an AL team, though.  He also seems to have enough passion for the game to be doing something (coaching or front office) after retiring.  (Edit - He announced his retirement.)

He probably also wrapped up a Hall of Fame induction with this ring.  He could become the next Met to be inducted since he played his best years in the orange and blue.  That debate is in the future, though.

Zistle Trade #83: TNTCardsStg

Next up is a trade with Trevor.  Pretty straightforward trade with some decent stuff traded.

So, we thought Fleer learned their lesson with their 1995 design when they went the simple route for their 1996 design.  Well, it turns out that they just took their crazy and put it under the Metal Universe name.

I guess if you are into comic books, then these Metal Universe cards look cool.  They are definitely different, so that's nice.  I am not sure why Bernard Gilkey needs a falcon on his arm while he bats.  That would seem to be a bit distracting.  It makes sense that Todd Hundley needs an over sized glove since he was a catcher, but does he really need a headset mike?  Do the other players need him to tell them where the ball is going?  Was he trying to earn extra money working a drive-thru?  And what is the deal with the laser?

I guess the Metal Universe is not the worst thing to happen with cards.  It was creative and probably remains one of the most creative sets ever released.  Fleer was definitely doing their own PEDs designing those sets.

Zistle Trade #78: mkaz80

Next up is another Mets-centric trade with Mark over at This Way to the Clubhouse.

We all have duplicates.  Sometimes we have multiple duplicates.  Matching up with other Mets collectors is always nice and welcomed.  It is an easy way to get rid of duplicates and clear up some storage space.  Mark and I were able to exchange a nice mix of Mets cards ranging from the 1980's to 2016.

I think the mid 90's had some decent sets.  One of those sets is the Upper Deck release of 1996 SP.  There were five SP sets released from 1993 to 1997.  The set was renamed to SP Authentic starting in 1998 until it's final run in 2009.

I like the 1996 design the most from the original SP sets.  It is not too flashy and looks pretty sharp.  Maybe it is the wood-grain design that brings the nostalgia of 1987 Topps to mind.

The other set I like is 1997 Fleer.  There have been some pretty terrible designs for Fleer.  There was probably an intervention at Fleer HQ after their 1995 set.  Fleer made a radical change in 1996 to the soft finish on the card and continued going border-less.  They must of liked this look because it barely changed from 1996 to 1997.

Continuing on to the 2000's when every card company decided to go over board with releases.  Topps this and Topps that.  Fleer this and Fleer that.  Upper Deck this and Upper Deck that.  They weren't all duds though.  Topps probably had the better releases, but Fleer didn't do too bad either (at least I think).  

By the end of the 2000's it was pretty much down to Topps and Upper Deck.  I can see why MLB went with Topps with their exclusive license.  Upper Deck had some okay sets, but overall not much varied with checklists.

It is long over due, but thanks for another great trade, Mark!  Mark stopped his blog back in October of last year, but keep an eye on it as he might return someday.

It also looks like Mark made the switch over from Zistle to Trading Card Database.  A cool feature at TCDb is that you can see where you rank among other collectors.  There was a short period of time when I was #1 in the Mets collection.  I thought I was safe because I had a decent lead over #2, but then Mark entered his collection and claimed the #1 spot. 

Zistle Trade #77: scottbdoug

Back to Canada we go with another trade with Scott.  This was a larger trade then some of our previous ones, but Scott has always been a great trader and getting things sent down from Canada safely.

Scott has always been a great source for 1980's and 1990's junk wax cards.  I can probably estimate that he has sent me most of my needs for that period than anyone else. 

My favorites from this trade are those 1981 Fleer cards along the top row below.  That year was the first release for Fleer since 1963.  I am more partial to action shots compared to posed shots, so it is nice to see some in a 1981 set.

Overall, this was another great trade with Scott.  Lots of 80's needs filled and some good FFM needs. Thanks, Scott!

Zistle Trade #65: sam383

It has been a while since my last post and a lot has happened in the baseball world.  We will leave the real world out of this because that shit is crae-crae.  Anyway, the Chicago Cubs finally won a World Series in an exciting 7 game series against the Cleveland Indians.  Bill Murray and Eddie Vedder will die happier men.  Free agents have signed and players have been traded.  Bryce Harper wants to be the $400 million man, allegedly.  Nobody seems to want Jose Bautista.  Relievers are getting paid.  There is no lock out, but there was never going to be one.   

On the Mets front, Cespedes and Walker are both returning.  Bartolo Colon is now a Brave.  Jay Bruce is still on the trade block.  There will be an unfortunate, but appropriate, suspension of Familia.  Syndergaard is lighting fire on social media.

Spring Training is right around the corner.  Players will start to report and continue to get ready for the new season.  Some will participate in the World Baseball Classic.  Before we know it, Opening Day will be here.

On the card front, I have been keeping busy making trades while my beloved Zistle is around.  There is really no information available that suggests that Zistle will stick around.  It sucks to be in the dark.  I also had another go around with COMC's Black Friday special.

Speaking of trades, here is another Zistle trade.  Dave reached out with another trade offer shortly after our previous trade.  He was looking for a bunch of Gypsy Queen needs and offered up something solid in return.

You can not feel bad when you receive some vintage needs.  My favorite is probably the Cleon Jones in the middle of the top row.  I like action shots on vintage cards for some reason, but probably because they are not as commonly seen as modern cards.  It is always nice to receive some Gary Carter Expos cards, too.    

Zistle Trade #62: sam383

Next up is another Zistle trade with Dave.  This time he reached out looking for a bunch of commons and was patient waiting for my acceptance.

I think the most interesting card, besides Ramon Castro hamming it up on his card, is that Doc Gooden Bowman card.  Gooden is shown wearing number 64, but we all know him for his number 16 during his Mets tenure.  Gooden did wear number 64 during his first big league camp, but changed over to number 16 once called up, but this card was in 1993.  My best guess is that he is either in Spring Training or doing a rehab stint somewhere in the minors on this card.

Like a lot of ball players and their chosen uniform numbers, Gooden was no different in his choices.  Along with 16, the occasional 64 with the Mets, and 11 with the Yankees, Gooden chose his uniform numbers based on his birthday (11-16-64).

Blogger Trade: Tony L.

In the five months I went between posts, the Mets have played five months of up-and-down baseball.  The team has been plagued by injuries with some key pieces going down with season ending injuries.  Other players have been dealing with nagging injuries most of the season.  Other players have not played up to expectations.  Despite all of this, the team is still in playoff contention which in my eyes is still an accomplishment.  

Up next is a trade with Tony.  Many of you might know Tony.  He has his blog over at Off Hiatus Baseball.  Check it out if you haven't done so.

Tony reached out sometime last year on my Topps project page (which I still need to flesh out or just delete).  He said he could help me out with a bunch of my 1970's Topps needs.  His comment totally went unnoticed by myself as I did not realize it was there until months later.

Eventually, I got back to Tony.  Luckily, he still had those cards.  He sent along a bunch of Topps needs that are much appreciated.  

It looks like Topps used a couple of nice action shots in their 1978 set.   I wonder what the percentage is of action shots versus posed shots for vintage Topps sets.

I think the 1979 Topps set is pretty decent.  The set does not really have many memorable cards.  The most memorable is definitely Ozzie Smith's rookie card when he was with the San Diego Padres.  I think the set has a simple design that works quite well.  I also like the use of the "vintage" Topps logo.  I am not sure if vintage is the correct term, but I think it was the first year they put their logo on the card fronts.

Tony was kind enough to send along some non-Topps needs, too.  He also sent along some Donruss, Fleer, Score, and a few oddball cards.

I thought Sportflics cards were pretty cool when I was younger.  I wonder how long it will take Topps to make digital cards like this for their app.  Gif cards?  It still won't get me to use the app, though.

Thanks for the great trade, Tony!

Zistle Trade #52: BucCollector

Next up is another Zistle trade with user BucCollector.  David reached out prior to last season's playoffs with a trade request for some Pirates with some Mets coming my way.

He had high hopes for his Pirates making it to the NLCS to face my Mets.  It was definitely the match-up I wanted to see, but it just was not meant to be for the Pirates.

Zistle Trade #32: Rosenort

Here we are with my first post of 2016.  I have not been reading many blogs recently, but have noticed a trend of "State of the Blog" type posts.  I do not have anything against those posts and those that I did read were well done.  That whole thing is just not for me.

I like my current setup of showing some cards I get via trade or whatever with a little commentary here and there.  I will have better, more well-rounded posts on occasion if the creative juices flow.  For now, though, we keep it nice and simple.

Speaking of nice and simple, here is another trade completed on Zistle with user rosenort.

Not much "Wow!" factor, but still a solid trade to fill some holes in my collection.  

Zistle Trade #31: tidalwav90

It is the end of 2015 with 2016 just a few hours away.  This has been a pretty great year for Mets fans.  We went into Spring Training with a returning Matt Harvey, but then lost Zack Wheeler for the season.  We started the season strong, but then lost a couple of big bats to injuries and stopped scoring runs.  We traded for a big bat then went on a tear to the top of the NL East.  We made it to the World Series then lost it in five games.

I have read a lot of Mets fans being upset at the lack of a big signing this off season, but I think the signings we have made are just fine.  Cespedes would be nice, but not at the cost he is asking.  Zobrist would have been nice and filled many needs, but he wanted to play somewhere else.  Murphy signing with the Nationals hurt a little, but we got a nice replacement in Neil Walker.  We still have a couple more needs to address, but this off season has been good enough so far. 

Now back to the cards!  Here is another Zistle trade completed, this time with Jesse.  He reached out with some Cubs needs and offered up some Mets in return.

I always like to get 1988 cards since they show Mets players in their 1987 uniforms.  The 1987 season was the only time they wore those New York script uniforms.  Here's to hoping they bring it back for some games in the future.

Finally, here is nice Jeff Kent card depicting him about to make a play at second base.  Kent had a great career and showed a lot of promise with the Mets, but played his greatest elsewhere.  For Mets fans, at least for me anyway, it feels like there are a number of players we can look back on in the same regard.

Zistle Trade #24

We are now into September with the Mets in first place.  They look to continue their forward momentum into a playoff run.  Due to the Cardinals, Pirates, and Cubs playing great ball, but being in the same division, the Mets must win their division to make the playoffs.

The Mets and Nationals started a crucial series on Labor Day.  The first game was exciting with the Mets giving up the lead, but then coming back for the win.  The entire team looked ready for this game and did not seem distracted by the recent media hoopla.  Now, it is the person at the center of the hoopla to make his start to continue the Mets path to the playoffs.

Moving along with another Zistle trade with user SDre31.  Steve was one of the first few trades I completed on Zistle a couple of years ago.  This was our second trade.

Those 1987 Topps cards that you can find literally from anyone.  These are from the Topps Traded set which I believe finishes off that 1987 set for me.

The bottom-right card is a rookie card of Kelly Stinnett.  I know he is not one of those players you trade for, but I was glad to get this card.  

I have been to over 20 MLB games, so far, in my life.  I have always wanted to catch a foul or home run ball, but have not done so yet.  The closest was when Kelly threw me a ball after batting practice.  I was maybe 11 or 12 years old and pretty far away from what I recall.  I was waving my glove and he threw the ball up to me.

Zistle Trade #22

Zistle user, BucCollector, reached out to me with a trade looking for some various Pirates and some basketball cards.  I generally can not turn down a trade that gets rid of my basketball cards.

I do not mind getting some junk wax oddball cards. We all know what the main sets look like and these are a nice change of pace when dealing with junk wax cards.

Finally, a card that can pretty much sum up the Mets from 1992 to 1995.  I guess you can expand that up until 2035 as the Mets will be paying Bonilla a little over $1 million dollars per year due to a contract negotiation with his release before the 2000 season.

Fun fact:  the "V. Wells" you see on the above card is the father of former MLB player Vernon Wells.  The artist Wells has done numerous pieces of art for many players over the years.

Zistle Trade #21: Hockey Edition

I am getting closer to finding good homes for all of my non-baseball cards.  This Zistle trade pretty much wiped out all of my hockey cards.

I found user opierocks forum post about wanting any hockey cards for any of his non-hockey cards.  It seemed like a perfect match, but I thought I might have missed the boat.  I found his post at least a month, maybe two, after he posted.  I still sent him a trade request.  He did not seem too active on the site, so I figured the request would go unnoticed.

Of course, he got back to me.  Why else would I be writing this post?  These are the Mets received from the trade:

Currently, I am down to just two hockey cards.  If anyone reading this is (or knows) a hockey fan or Florida Panthers fan, let me know if you (or they) want my last two hockey cards.  Both are auto cards that were obtained in person during a preseason many years ago.  

Zistle Trade #18

This Zistle trade was with user Bumfan.

This was a simple trade.  In my quest to find good homes for my unwanted football cards, I found Bumfan had a some on his want list.  I sent some his way while getting these in return.

Charlie O'Brien played for the Mets from 1990 to 1993.  He was their starting catcher until Todd Hundley was brought up to the majors.  Charlie is probably best known for introducing a hockey-style catcher's mask to the MLB world.  He began using the mask while playing for, whose else, the Toronto Blue Jays in 1996.

Now you can find Charlie selling his own brand of Charlie O's Products.  Sadly, these are not cereals, rather a line of hunting scents.  Well, I think that is what they are (I am not a hunter).

Zistle Trade #17

This Zistle trade was with user glassnickels.

Not too long before glassnickels sent a trade request, I had purchased a number of 2007 Upper Deck Goudey packs.  I found them in the clearance section at a local drug store for $0.75 a pack.  I ended up with a few Mets, a number of short prints, and a Ken Griffey, Jr. relic.  Griffey was one of my favorite players to collect back in the day and pulling a relic was quite the surprise.

Anyway, glassnickels requested a bunch of these for his set.  He offered quite a large number of cards in return when compared to my previous Zistle trades.

I debated leaving off those 1991 Fleer, but I just need one of each Met.  They look bad due to their yellow color, but at least they look different.

Some more glorious 1992 cards from Donruss and Score.  It looks like Score kept to two basic types of card shots that year.  Hitters hitting and pitchers pitching.

I sometimes forget that Carlos Gomez started out with the Mets.  He was part of the deal that brought Johan Santana from the Minnesota Twins to Queens.

Zistle Trade #14

Another trade in the books with Zistle user neckababy1.  He offered a handful of Mets for a few cards in return.  He has been a good source for Darryl Strawberry cards thus far.

Here is what I received:

The Hall of Fame ballots were made official yesterday.  Mike Piazza will have to wait another year to be elected.  It was a pretty stacked list this year with those getting elected being very deserving.  Piazza will be the top holdover next year and will only have one sure thing in Ken Griffey, Jr. in front of him.

I think the biggest oversight on this year's ballot was Carlos Delgado.  He did not receive enough votes to remain on the ballot next year.  Oh, and this was just his first year of eligibility.  He definitely had an amazing career.  Some might say he was not quite a Hall of Famer, while others will say different.  He does deserve, at the least, to be on the ballot longer than one year.  I feel it is another reason to throw amongst the many others to reevaluate the voting process for the Hall of Fame.

eBay Summer Purchases Continued: Franchise Edition

Another edition of my summer eBay purchases.  Well, I do not see another one of these in my drafts, so I guess this is the last edition.  It only took a couple of seasons...

This time we have the "Franchise Edition" and look at Tom Seaver and David Wright.

Tom Seaver really needs no introduction to Mets fans.  His accomplishments are well known among baseball fans:

1967 National League Rookie of the Year

3-time NL Cy Young Award (1969, 1973, 1975)

1969 World Series champion

Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1992 (highest first ballot vote percentage)

Seaver has quite of few modern cards, but not a whole lot of variety of photos.  Not complaining, just an observation.

The current face of the franchise is, of course, David Wright.  While the 2014 season will hopefully go down as an off-year for him, he still ranks among the best Mets player of all-time.  He currently is the all-time Mets career leader in runs, hits, doubles, and RBIs.