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!

eBay: 2015 Topps Gypsy Queen

Like most collectors, I browse eBay from time to time looking for some good deals.  I came across a seller who does a lot of case breaks of Topps products.  I recalled the seller's name from Twitter and remember reading nothing but good things about him.  I am almost sure most of you have done business with Brent before and I have to agree with everyone's comments about him.

I decided to give Brent a try for the 2015 Topps Gypsy Queen release.  I enjoyed this release and like the design and look of the cards.  I think the Mets have some pretty good looking cards in this set, too.

The Mets have some pretty good looking inserts, too.  I think I like the Lenny Dykstra the best.  The Queen's Throwbacks is an interesting card, too.  Curtis Granderson is shown wearing a throwback jersey from a 2014 game against the Pirates.  The jersey says "Royal Giants" and would actually foreshadow (coincidentally, of course) the 2014 World Series match-up between the Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants.

I also decided to try some of Brent's single card auctions and picked up an auto and relic card.  Overall, I have to say this was a great experience just purchasing the team's master set and along with a hit card or two.  It does take a little bit out of the chase of completing a set, but I still have plenty of sets to complete.  Doing things the easy way is sometimes the way to go.

Zistle Trade #40: bdlehman18

Here is another trade with user Brian.  He requested a few needs and sent along a couple of Mets in this trade.

That 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen card is the mini version of R.A. Dickey.  Keen observers would note that this is not Dickey on the card, but rather Mike Pelfrey.  Does this make the card a photo variation card?  I am pretty sure some eBay seller is trying (or has tried) to pass it off as one.

Zistle Trade #13

Lucky number 13!  This Zistle trade was with fellow blogger Laurie at LV's TTM autographs and Baseball Cards.

I initiated this trade offering a variety cards that fit her various collections.

Here is what I received in return:

Those 1990 Topps Traded complete my base set Mets needs for 1990 Topps!  I think that is my first Topps base set completed, so far. 

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.  

eBay Summer Purchases Continued

It has been a little while since my last post.  I went on vacation with the wife then started back to work full steam.  Things do not really settle down for me during flu season (protip: get your flu shot people!), but I have some more posts to put out there.  I have completed some more recent trades and box breaks that I will get to at some point in the near future.

In the mean time, here are some more of my summer eBay purchases.  This time we will focus on the hits.

Here are some relic cards I received.

Some autos from various Mets, some who made it to the majors, some who did not, and one who has yet to get the call.

Wilmer Flores is projected to be the Mets starting shortstop Opening Day 2015 if no deals are made.  There has been a lot of talk about the Mets pursuit (or lack thereof) of a shortstop this offseason.  There were more options available earlier in the offseason and now there are less options.

Is Flores the worst option?  No.  Should the Mets give up top prospects for someone with a large contract who has been injury prone?  Probably not.  I see Flores as a fine option with most other options being not much of an upgrade.  His defensive skills need to improve, but he can provide some offense that the team lacks at a much cheaper cost.

eBay Summer Purchases Continued: Catcher Edition

Here are more of my summer purchases off of eBay.  This is what we will call the "Catcher Edition" and focus on two of the Mets well known catchers plus a cameo from a rising star catcher.

First, Gary Carter.  Gary was traded to the Mets from the Montreal Expos after the 1984 season.  In his first season with the Mets, Gary hit a career high 32 home runs and helped lead the team to a 98 win season.  The following year the Mets went on to win 108 games and the World Series.

Next up is Mike Piazza.  Mike came to the team in 1998 via trade with the Florida Marlins.  He immediately made the Mets a better team and reached the World Series in 2000.

The Mets' current catcher does not want to be left out.  Here is Travis d'Arnaud, who arrived from the Toronto Blue Jays via the R.A. Dickey trade.  It looks like Topps used some of Travis' minor league jerseys for these cards.

eBay Summer Purchases (plus a contest pimp)

I had another round with eBay this summer.  I decided to change things up this time around.  Instead of watching the auctions until the end, I decided to just place one or two bids and see what would happen.  Well, when all was said and done, I ended up with a nice stack of Mets cards.

First, lets start with some vintage Mets.

Next up are some modern cards.

The two auto cards are Juan Urbina and Fernando Martinez.

Urbina is one of the young Mets pitching prospects who has been playing in the rookie and low A leagues for the past few years.  He turned 21 years old this year and is the son of former All-Star closer Ugueth Urbina.  The older Urbina, a 2003 World Series champion with the Florida Marlins, has had an interesting post-career life.

Mets fans will remember Fernando Martinez as a promising prospect that eventually went bust.  He was highly ranked amongst multiple publications as the top Mets prospect.  He played very well in the minors, but just never materialized in the majors.  He also played briefly for the Houston Astros who ended up trading him to the New York Yankees.  He was suspended in August 2013 as part of the Biogenesis scandal.

To close out this post is a little contest pimping.  CaptKirk42's Trading Card Blog is having a contest celebrating the fifth anniversary of his blog.  Check it out and join in!