Zistle Trade #57: gasypo

I was browsing the Trade Recommendations section of Zistle when I came across Gabriel's name.  I saw he was a Chicago White Sox collector and knew I could help him out.  I reached out with a trade request for a near complete White Sox team set.

Gabriel did not have too many matches from me to choose from, but that was alright.  Matching the number of cards in a trade is not always the most important factor of a trade.  It is fine as long as both sides are happy with what they receive.

I only received two Mets cards in the trade with the remaining majority being non-Mets needs.  I am happy with Mets I received, though.  The Robles cards is the Rainbow Foil parallel, but the scan does not really show it very well.

Gabriel has his own blog over at White Sox Card Adventures.  It looks like he is big on TTM autos and even got a couple of the cards I sent him signed. 

Zistle Trade #50: danculbertson

This Zistle trade was with user danculbertson.  Dan was looking for a few Topps needs and sent some back in return.

The combo Tulowitzki/Reyes card is quite interesting now that they have been traded for one another.  I wonder how many cards feature multiple players that were later traded for each other?  There has to be some collector out there that has that collection going, right?

Zistle Trade #48: sam383

This Zistle trade was with user sam383.  Dave sent a trade request during the midst of a number of other trade requests.  Unfortunately, I was a bit slow getting back to Dave, so he eventually moved on.  This happens on occasion.  We all have lives that do not center around cards.  I hope no one takes it personally.

Feeling sorry that I ignored his request, I reached back out to him.  Luckily, Dave was cool about it and got things going again.  He requested some various Topps needs while I received the same in return.

Whenever I see older Topps Heritage cards I get reminded that they exist.  I guess I think Topps Heritage is a newer set that has only been around for maybe 6 or 7 years.  Apparently, it has been around for twice as long.

Group Break at Crackin' Wax: 2015 Topps Heritage

Let us pause the trade posts and check out a group break.  This break was a number of months ago, but at least I am now in the current year with my posts.

I have known of Topher over at Crackin' Wax for a while now.  I read his blog, follow him on Twitter, and like how he does his group breaks for charity.  He always comes off as a good dude.

I decided to join one of his group breaks.  The spots in his breaks go fast with the Mets spot being among the fastest to get claimed.  I was able to claim a spot in the 2015 Topps Heritge group break as you can see below.

It was a fun break.  Topher makes his breaks enjoyable as he and his wife discuss things while he is crackin' the wax.  I generally do not watch breaks because they get boring for me (probably because I would rather be the one opening the packs).

As you can see, I ended up with a complete Mets team set (including the deGrom, Harvey, and Wright short prints), a deGrom insert, and a deGrom chrome parallel.  I did not get a hit, but still enjoyed what I got during this break.  I also like the look of this year's Heritage release.  The blue sky background works very well with the Mets uniforms and the shots are mixed up well enough to keep each card looking fresh.

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 #5

Another Zistle trade in the books.  This one with user hpennington22.  He has completed the most trades on the site and the only user with over 100 trades completed.

He initiated this trade for some of my 2014 Topps Heritage duplicates.  This time the Mets cards were not the majority of what I received.  Since I show my Mets cards here, though, these are the Mets that I received:

The scan does not do justice to the R.A. Dickey card.  It is so much better looking in person! 

Only one current Met of the bunch.  As much as I like Ike Davis, it looks like the Mets made the right choice by trading him and giving Lucas Duda more playing time.  Duda has really turned into a respectable player and has shown he can handle being an every day player at first base.  He hit his 22nd home run of the season in today's lost to the Cubs.  

Zistle Trade #4

Another "recent" Zistle trade.  This time with Raz over at The Raz Card Blog.

I recall starting this trade because he had a Hakeem Olajuwon card on his want list and I want to get rid of all of my non-baseball cards.  I found another dozen or so cards he wanted and a dozen or so cards I wanted and sent him the request.  This was probably the least back-and-forth trade I have done so far on Zistle (which is a good thing!).

Here are the Mets I received in the trade:

Look at those nicely scanned cards...

That is my first Jacob deGrom card.  Jacob has been pitching quite well his last few starts (really, overall since being called up).  He didn't get as much talk as Noah Syndergaard has gotten, but that has not seemed to matter to him.  His recent success can get any Mets fan excited about the team's future.