TCDb Trade #2: tjhorak (or Party at Tribe Town)

My second completed trade on TCDb was with TJ.  He is a Cleveland Indians collector from Akron, OH, so naturally he requested a bunch on Cleveland Indians.

My favorite card I received from TJ is the 1998 Pacific Crown Royale Carlos Baerga.  Die-cut cards are nice, but sometimes they are a pain.  This one is nice because it doesn't have any sharp points that can easily be bent.  The curved edges is much appreciated from the handling side of collecting.  I also like the look of the 2003 Donruss Studios Prentice Redman with the Shea Stadium backdrop.

There have been 121 players to play for both the Mets and Indians.  I received cards from 4 of those players in this trade.  Carlos Baerga (above), Roberto Alomar (above), Julio Franco, and Rick Cerone.  TJ ended up getting 3 of those players.  Julio Franco, Sandy Alomar, Jr., and Matt Lawton.

The most recent Mets-Indians connection is the Mets new manager, Mickey Callaway.  He had been with the Indians system as pitching coach since 2010 and at the MLB level since 2013.  This will be his first time in the manager position.  Mickey's hiring seems to be embraced overall by Mets fans.  I think this is a great move by the Mets as it can bring in a new culture of thinking into the clubhouse.

Thanks for the trade, TJ!

Now, here is a cool performance by one of my favorite bands, The Black Keys. 

TCDb Trade #1: herkojerko (or the start of a new online home)

Now we move onto my next online home for collecting and trading.  Trading Card Database.  I recall looking into the site along with Zistle.  I found it a little confusing, especially when compared to Zistle.  I ended up here anyway, so might as well as settle in and get going.

It took a while to get my collection added.  I used an exported Excel file of my collection from Zistle, so any inaccuracies were transferred over.  I split-screened the Excel file of my collection with TCDb and just went down the list.  Eventually, I figured out shortcuts and quirks to the site, so it wasn't slow going the whole time.  After getting things entered and marked what is available for trade, I was good to go.

My first trade completed on TCDb was with herko who collects Phillies and NJ born players.  He requested a bunch of Phillies from me and offered back a nice mixture of cards from the 70's, 80's, 90's, 00's, and 10's.

Herko sent a few auto cards in the trade.  I didn't have a Lenny Dykstra auto before, so this is very much appreciated addition.

Another first was an auto card of Esix Snead.  Esix's career didn't amount to much, but he was regarded for his speed.  He broke stolen base records during his minor league career, but only managed to steal 4 bases during his brief MLB career.

The highlight of his MLB career came on September 21, 2002.  He came in as a pinch runner in the bottom of the 8th inning as the Expos were leading the Mets 3-2.  The Mets tied the game in the bottom of the 9th on as pinch-hitter Brady Clark reached on an error that allowed Edgardo Alfonzo to score.

The game reached the bottom of the 11th with two outs.  Joe McEwing (HBP) and Roger Cedeno (walk) were on base.  Esix smacked a 3-run, game-winning homer to right field.  This was his only MLB home run and the only RBIs he would accumulate in his career.  Still more than I have, though.  Check it out below in glorious VHS quality.

Finishing up this trade with some Topps Unique.  I wonder if Topps intended for this to be a one year thing or not.  It's a perfect name for how things turned out.  The cards don't look bad either.

This was a nice and smooth start to my TCDb trading.  Thanks for the trade, herko!

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.