Zistle Trade #86: royals

Well, this is the end of Zistle trading.  It actually ended last year, but being timely with posts is not my style.

Zistle was fun.  Made contact with a lot of great collectors.  Made contact with one terrible collector.  I sent cards to numerous states and a handful of countries around the world.  Sometimes good things do not work out, but we move on to the next good thing.

Finishing up my Zistle experience is another excellent trade with Josh.  Last time he sent a bunch of extras with our trade.  Like a lot.  I intended to make a post on those because there were so many, but that idea fell with father time.

I tried to offer as many cards as he needed that I had, but Josh is just too generous.  He still sent some extras!

I know some relic cards have small patches of material, but the Phil Seibel relic on the left has to be the smallest I have ever seen.  This isn't a knock on Josh and his generosity.  I guess Upper Deck was just trying to use up all of the jerseys.

Phil Seibel never pitched for the Mets.  His entire MLB playing career took place between 4 days in 2004 with the Boston Red Sox.  He pitched a total of 3.2 innings and struck out one batter (Jason Giambi).  Seibel received a World Series ring for his efforts.  Baseball is weird.

Thanks for another excellent trade, Josh!  Josh also has blog home at Royals and Random.  Check it out!

Zistle Trade #85: stevienicks77

We are getting to the end of Zistle now.  Trades were winding down and it seemed like people were moving on.  Zistle was a great experience and really great at getting me back into this hobby.  It is a shame to see it go down like this, but it is what it is.

This next trade was with Laurie.  Our first trade was excellent and this one was no different.  Laurie is still posting over on her blog at LV's TTM autographs and Baseball Cards.  Give it a read!

I received a nice mixture of Mets.  I really like how Topps did their mini cards in the past.  Today, they are just mini versions of the regular-sized counterpart.  Back in the 80's, the mini cards used the same or similar design with different photos and back designs.  Granted, these were not a 700+ card sets, but it made for some nice variation.

The variation we see now is pretty much what we see above.  The holiday release for 2016 Topps adds some snowflakes to the design.  I guess this was Topps way to do parallels without having borders on the cards.  The nice part about this release, though, would be how each box contained either an auto or relic card.  It had a nice price for a guaranteed hit.  I didn't partake in this release (I am an anti-Walmart shopper), but I did end up with a nice relic thanks to Laurie!

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 #82: SWATty67

Let's take a quick break and discuss the World Series.  It's been a week since the Houston Astros won their first World Series trophy in their franchise's history.  It was a pretty great World Series with some incredible games.

I had my hopes that the Astros would win it all.  I was rooting for them because I wanted Carlos Beltran to get that ring he waited 20 seasons to win.  It would have been great if the Dodgers won because of Curtis Granderson, but then there is the Chase Utley factor.  The Astros just have too many things to like about them that make rooting against them too difficult.  They also don't have Chase Utley.

Now, back to the cards!  This time with another new trade partner in Paul.  Pretty simple trade overall, if I recall correctly.

Also features new World Series champion Collin McHugh.  Collin never caught on with the Mets and was traded to the Rockies for Eric Young, Jr. in 2013.  He was claimed off of waivers by the Astros where started to shine.  In the Mets defense, they were rich in pitchers and could afford to lose a potential breakout to fill a hole in their bench.

This Jose Reyes Rockies card wasn't at Citi Field either.  This looks like it was from Wrigley Field which I believe is where he made his Rockies debut after being traded for Troy Tulowitzki.  So far, my thought about former Mets cards showing them playing the Mets seems to be falling flat.

Zistle Trade #81: mtavares

Marcelo sent me a trade request for some 2014 Topps needs and I was more than happy to make some space in my collection.

A downside to Zistle (and perhaps it's downfall) was that there were inaccuracies in the database.  It has happened before in trades when what was requested (i.e. red parallel) turned out to be something different (i.e. orange parallel).  Nobody is perfect and sometimes colors can be deceiving.  Fun fact: 8% of males and 1% of females have color vision problems.

I kind of expected that with the pink David Wright card.  I wasn't giving up too much in the trade, so I set my expectations low.  Marcelo didn't disappoint and sure enough the Wright card showed up being pink and numbered to 50.  Thanks, Marcelo!

Oh, and I also received another Tom Seaver reprint.  I can't recall from which year this one was from.  Maybe 2010?  Maybe 2011?  Maybe 2014?  It probably doesn't really matter.  Another one will be out soon enough.  Topps, thanks? 

Zistle Trade #80: CardinalSauce

Next up is new trade partner Marc.  He reached out with a request for some 1983 Topps needs and offered back a decent package in return.

Okay, so these Jose Reyes cards of him playing with the Rockies don't show him playing at Citi Field.  It would have been cool if they were, because I was at 3 of those 4 games in 2015.

Jose Reyes was the spark plus for the Mets from 2003 through 2011.  He was a cornerstone of the Mets along with David Wright.  He was a 4 time All Star and 2011 NL batting champion.  He left New York for a big contract with the Miami Marlins, but was never really the same.  

He played one season with the Marlins before being traded to the Toronto Blue Jays who then sent him to Colorado two and a half seasons later.  He only played with the Rockies for the latter half of the 2015 season, but you could tell he wasn't enjoying it.  Jose was arrested later that off season for allegedly assaulting his wife.  With the domestic violence charge looming, his time with Colorado was all but done.

Reyes returned to the Mets mid-way through the 2016 after serving his suspension and subsequent DFA from the Rockies.  It was a risky PR move for the Mets, but I feel it was the right move.  We all make mistakes and learn from them and it appeared that Jose did just that during his suspension. 

Jose finished out his Marlins contract with the Mets following the 2017 season and is now a free agent.  There is questions as to whether he is a fit for the 2018 Mets team, but he seems to definitely prefer a return.  I personally wouldn't mind seeing him back next season as a bench/utility role.  I think he can still be that spark plug he once was and also provide a veteran voice to the clubhouse.  Between him and Asdrubal Cabrera, I feel Reyes is the better fit.

Zistle Trade #79: cloverly

Once word came out about Zistle there was an uptick in trade requests for everyone.  Zistle has/had a very easy interface for trades, so it was best to get as many in as possible.

I reached out to Brian with a trade request.  He did not match up on a lot of my Mets needs, so I looked around and found some F&FM needs.

There is something interesting I have noticed since I started to look for cards for my F&FM collection.  There seems to be a lot of former Mets cards that show them playing at Shea Stadium, as seen in the 1986 Topps Jerry Koosman above.  I am pretty sure it has to be due to the Mets playing in New York and more sports photographers probably were based out of New York, but maybe it is all just a coincidence.  Maybe it depends on the team they were playing for after the Mets.  Maybe I will have to keep track and figure this thing out?

Anyway, thanks for the trade, Brian!

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 #76: The_Sandlot

I had not tried many different websites for card cataloging.  I found Zistle and settled right in because of how simple and intuitive it was to catalog my cards.  The best feature, to me, is by far the Trade Manager.  It was not with out it issues, but it kept things fairly organized.

Once word came out about Zistle's "sale" I knew I had to work out some large trades.  This trade was with Joe, who is a "Dog trainer by day, Mets super collector by night."

Joe sent along some nice vintage needs which is never a bad thing.

A lot of teams like to keep things in the family when it comes to their broadcast announcers.  The Mets are no different here.  Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling make up two-thirds of the Mets TV announcing team along with Gary Cohen.  They get a lot of high praise for their work, too.  They even have their own Instagram account @garykeithron.

I watch a lot of Mets games on the MLB At Bat app which allows you to select which TV feed you want to watch.  I typically watch the home feed when I watch other, non-Mets, games.  There is a distinct difference I hear from the announcers.  Some are good.  Some are boring.   It tells me how lucky Mets fans are to have such a great announcing team.

The highlight of the trade for me is the Daniel Murphy card below.  I was always a fan of Murphy and felt he always had the skills to be an All-star (except in the outfield).   It is nice to see Murphy being among the best players in the league.  It sucks to see that happen with the Nationals.

Another highlight of this trade for me was the Luis Ayala card.  Nothing special about this card except the image used.  It is a fitting choice since this card completed that Topps base set for me.

Zistle Trade #75: Ryans0625

This Zistle trade was with Ryan.  He reached out with a large trade request.  We both ran into some missing cards, but easily worked it out. 

By happenstance, four of the cards below depict the Mets playing the Cubs at Wrigley Field.  The Todd Hundley and Carlos Baerga cards look like they could be from the same game, but unlikely because those cards are from different release years.  It could be possible for the Baerga and Rey Ordonez cards to be the same game or even the same series.  I wonder if there is a way to find out these things?

I understand that photo shopping is sometimes necessary, but it really should not be used.  The Mo Vaughn card below is a good example of bad photo shopping.  There is nothing that I can think of that relates the Mets to mountains.  I recall Vaughn being a big guy, but something seems off about his body here.

Ryan also sent some nice shiny cards my way.  I dig the Jacob deGrom Future Stars chrome card.  It isn't grammatically correct since it features just one star, but I enjoyed the Future Star cards back in the day.  Sure, Topps was probably wrong more times than right with their choices, but it was a nice feature to the cards.

Topps started the Future Stars card back in the 80's when they would feature multiple players on the card.  Later in the 80's they changed it to just showcasing one player, but kept the plural tense on the cards.  I would think the 1987 Topps Bo Jackson card is the most recognized one.  Topps kept the tradition going, but would correct the cards to show the singular tense.

They changed the design over the years into the 90's and eventually stop it's use after 1996.  Topps eventually brought back the wrong tensed Future Stars in the 2014 flagship release.

Overall, this was an excellent trade.  Thanks for the cards, Ryan!

Zistle Trade #74: mattdamick

This was a quick trade with Matt.  He reached out with a simple request.  One PWE later and I received some nice cards.

Seeing Keith Hernandez in an Indians uniform is quite strange.  He isn't too fond of his time there either.  He batted right at a .200 average which was a career worst.  He retired after his one season in Cleveland.  He rarely mentions it during Mets broadcasts and pretty much changes the subject when it is brought up.  I also read something somewhere that he won't sign anything featuring him on the Indians, but I think there are some Leaf Buybacks out there that he has signed.

Seeing Gary Carter in a Giants uniform is also strange.  He only played one season with the Giants and mostly as a platoon player.  His best playing days were behind him at that point, but he did reach a catching milestone while playing with the Giants.  He became the all-time NL leader in games caught as 1,862.  He added to that total by playing a couple more years, but I believe he still holds the NL record.

Zistle Trade #73: Cardboard Mets

Next up is a Zistle trade with Thomas.  He had actually reached out via email prior to this trade offer just introducing himself and his blog, Cardboard Mets.  I don't recall if I replied because I am pretty terrible about email.  Seriously, if you have emailed me about trading and I have not replied, just shoot me another email.  I might reply to another one.

As you can see he chose a similar name for his user name and blog.  I am pretty bad with coming up with titles or names for things.  If I have a child one day it might just end up named Kid #1.  Now that I see someone going by something similar, I of course like it better.  

Like my previous Mets-centric trades, we matched up quite well.  First up are some vintage cards featuring a few with some nice action shots.

Next, we move into the 90's and 00's.  Thomas sent plenty of great cards.  I really enjoy the Fleer Ultra Rickey Henderson with him going into the ivy at Wrigley Field.

Finally, we finish up in the late 00's and 10's.  I think the Topps Chrome Cooper parallel looks quite nice.  I am not a proponent of color parallels, but it is nice to see something different.  Thomas also helped fill out with some missing Gypsy Queen base needs.

Thomas is a very generous trader.  He offered up a Mike Trout relic in this trade, too.  He wanted it to go to another Mets fan and that was me!  Thanks for a wonderful trade, Thomas!

Zistle Trade #72: SDre31

This next Zistle trade is with Steve.  He was one of my first trades completed on Zistle.  He reached out with a nice trade offer, but I offered back with a nice stack back to him.

I received a bunch of oddball cards from Steve.  Oddball cards can be a little frustrating at times.  Some look cheap and are airbrushed of logos.  Some are nice looking and sometimes beat their flagship release counterpart.  I would say the most interesting one here is the Topps Magazine card.  Although, the cards showing off Keith Hernandez's mustache are pretty sweet.

Topps released a magazine for a few years in the early 1990's.  One would think that there would 9 cards attached in the magazine (you know, since 9 cards fit to a page), but for Topps reasons there were usually just 8 cards.  Towards the end of its run it was decreased down to 4 cards plus one jumbo card.

 

A couple more oddballs I received were these Denny's cards.  I enjoyed getting these cards as a kid because of the cool holograms.  The cards still hold up well today and always fun to revisit.  

Overall, this was an excellent trade with Steve.  I recall our first trade being pretty cool as well, so it is nice to things have not changed.

Zistle Trade #71: tbjc

The Mets season has been pretty interesting thus far.  Pitching was suppose to be the strength of the team.  Yoenis Cespedes was suppose to playing MVP ball.  Michael Conforto was likely to start the season in the minors.  Nothing has really worked out for this team.

The pitching staff has been anything but stellar.  Noah Syndergaard thought he knew his body, but his body told him different.  Matt Harvey has lost his Dark Knight status.  Cespedes has been out with leg issues.  One bright spot has been Conforto.  He has proven that he belongs in the big leagues and is making a case for being the best player in New York.

There has been medical miscommunications, Harvey being suspended, and an over worked bullpen.  Then there was Mr. Met giving the middle finger to a fan.  To be fair, Mr. Met only has four digits on his hand.

There are some things to look forward to on the horizon.  There is some pitching relief coming that can hopefully pitch into the seventh inning.  Cespedes returning will make the lineup stronger.  Amed Rosario is knocking on the door to his big league call-up.  There is still a lot of baseball to play and the Mets have players to make it happen.

Speaking of disasters, let us take a look this next Zistle trade.  Another one to the Great White North.  This time with Richard.  He reached out looking for some 1994 Upper Deck Collector's Choice needs.  We struck a deal and sent off our cards.

Unfortunately for me, my cards never made it.  It was pretty weird.  I received a PWE, but the side of the envelope appeared to be sliced open.  Everything was there, except for the cards.  Richard's letter with a team bag attached to it was there.  The team bag was opened on the non-flap side, but that side was pointed towards the unopened end of the envelope.  Could they have slid out during their journey?  Could someone have grabbed the cards during their journey across the border?

There would have been just 4 cards and nothing important, so no big deal.  I do not think Richard tried to pull a fast one on me.  It was just a really weird experience.  After all of these trades, this was the first time something didn't show up.  Anyway, life moves on.

Zistle Trade #70: scottbdoug

We head back north to Canada for our next trade.  This one again with Scott.  We have traded a few other times and so far so good.
Scott sent a couple cards that will be going into my in-progress FFM binder.  That is Former & Future Mets.  I am still working on that name, but FFM is a decent abbreviation, right?  F&FM? 

Anyway, the 1983 Topps Keith Hernandez and Bud Harrelson should be nice additions.  I believe this is my first Hernandez in a Cardinals uniform from his playing days.

Bud Harrelson was the Mets' shortstop for 13 years.  He played with an excellent glove and poor bat, but that was pretty standard for his position at the time.  At one time he held the Mets single season record for walks, so he must have had a pretty decent eye at the plate.  Guess who broke that single season walk record?  Keith Hernandez.  That's right, we went full circle.  

  

Also received in this trade were some 1991 Score Traded.  Something I learned from this trade was that there was a Traded release for Score.  I guess Score thought their rather large sets needed to be larger.  The cards I received are not too bad, though.  Some have some pretty decent photos.

Pretty solid trade!  Thanks, Scott!

Zistle Trade #69: TheToddFather21

This Zistle trade came in from Josh.  When I saw his username, in my mind, I was thinking Todd Helton.  I believe there is another Blogger out there that goes by something similar.  Josh's request was for some Reds cards, so I thought that was weird.  Then it hit me and I was forgetting about Todd Frazier.

I always find Bobby Bonilla cards from his second stint with the Mets to be funny.  He put up pretty decent numbers during his first go round, but he never lived up to being the highest paid player in baseball.  I am not sure why the owners thought things would be different the second time around.

There is an annual reminder about how the Mets pay him over $1 million a year despite not playing baseball since 2001.  I do not understand why this is a big deal.  A lot of teams have deferred payments for players who are retired, just not as long as Bonilla's runs.  I guess it only gets attention because of the Madoff scandal that made his deferred salary possible.  Just Mets' owners being Mets' owners.

Zistle Trade #68: Lightningfan7609

Well, it has been awhile since my last post.  I am still around doing my thing.  I have spent the last few months not doing too much with baseball cards.  I had not logged into Zistle since February until recently.  The site is still up and running which is surprising.

I have been entering my collection into the Trading Card Database over the last few months.  It was a bit of a process that I will get to in a future post.  I won't give up on Zistle until the very end, so I will manage both sites until something changes (or I go crazy juggling both with trades).  I still want to get through these Zistle trades and acknowledge the many collectors I have traded with over the last few months.   

This next one was another simple trade.  This time with Justin.  There was only a few cards exchanged and the this card was not even apart of the trade.  Justin threw it in when he could not find one of the other cards he was going to send.  Not a bad replacement.

I do not recall a lot of the 1970 and 1980's Topps by design, but you can definitely tell this is from the 70's.  1978 to be exact.

Nino was not the Mets best pitcher by any stretch, but he had an 8 year career where he spent time with the Mets, Phillies, and Blue Jays.  Well, he did not spend a lot of time with the Blue Jays.  He pitched one inning of relief, gave up four hits and one run, then was released.  He never made it back to the big leagues and unfortunately died at the young age 34.     

Zistle Trade #67: Gerry

Here is another quick trade with Gerry.  Gerry has been a pleasant trade partner on Zistle.  He requests simple, PWE-sized trades.  Never hassles (not saying others do).  He is fitting of the namesake of the town where he lives.

I think all of my trades with Gerry have me receiving some Topps Bazooka cards.  I believe I will eventually get a team set from him.  They are not terrible cards.  They are geared towards the younger crowd with their colorful backs and fun fonts on the front.  I would put them on the same level as Donruss Triple Play and Upper Deck Collector's Choice.  I am not sure I would have bought them when I was younger, but I did enjoy some Collector's Choice.