What's your favorite Topps Mets card?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Wrung a quicky blog post outta this card today for this man's birthday:

http://mbtn.net/caught-act

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Wacky Packages was Topps. By the '50s, every Topps competitor was scraping by. In 1956, Bowman succumbed and sold its assets to Topps. The intense competition cut into Bowman's profit margins so deeply, that it could no longer operate. It was Bowman that first produced cards with color photographs, and first included the players' stats on the back of the card. Its' 1955 TV cards are classic.

I have some of those cards in my card collection. I need to get them organized and post some of the interesting ones someday. It's been so long since I have actually looked at my card collection.

[batmagadanleadoff]

I got these:

[batmagadanleadoff]

Wrung a quicky blog post outta this card today for this man's birthday: http://mbtn.net/caught-act

It looks like Prince put the pressure on you with his CPF inspired Jerry post.

That's one of my favorite Met cards of the '70s, and my favorite '70s set. Here's another great action shot card from the '78 set:



... better than the typical Topps action shot that often compromises detail for motion and results in green pea-sized players' faces.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

It was fortuitous timing more than anything. but whatever works. Someone actually posted that Randle card on fb today, that's what got it going, but once I figured out the play I had to follow through.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Gotta be
http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1977/B07172NYN1977.htm

PIRATES 1ST: Garner reached on an error by Randle [Garner to first]; Stennett doubled to right [Garner scored (unearned)]; Parker singled to left [stennett scored]; Robinson was called out on strikes; Oliver grounded into a double play (third to second to first) [Parker out at second]; 2 R (1 ER), 2 H, 1 E, 0 LOB. Pirates 2, Mets 0.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Gotta be http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1977/B07172NYN1977.htm PIRATES 1ST: Garner reached on an error by Randle [Garner to first]; Stennett doubled to right [Garner scored (unearned)]; Parker singled to left [stennett scored]; Robinson was called out on strikes; Oliver grounded into a double play (third to second to first) [Parker out at second]; 2 R (1 ER), 2 H, 1 E, 0 LOB. Pirates 2, Mets 0.

And there's your next MBTN post.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: And there's your next MBTN post.

Even better than the last if I may say so. http://mbtn.net/his-bag-tricks

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: And there's your next MBTN post. Even better than the last if I may say so. http://mbtn.net/his-bag-tricks

I'm in awe that you can pinpoint those dates! Outstanding.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Sweet work, JCL.

[G-Fafif]

This may be the Topps photography version of cell phone cameras catching athletes when they're not looking. "I know what you were doing on July 17, 1977, and I have proof!"

[batmagadanleadoff]

Let's turn this thread (once again) into a trivia contest. This one's only semi-trivia. I have a collection of Mets baseball cards and I keep track of the number of Mets cards in my collection according to player. My Mets card collection is large enough (though definitely not complete) so that my "player list" is probably a credible proxy for determining which Mets appeared on the most baseball cards. By combining your expert knowledge on Mets, baseball and baseball cards, see if you can guess the 15 Mets that appear on the most baseball cards (in my collection).

One guess per post.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Mr. Kranepool, I suspect, is one that list if you started collecting early.

[Benjamin Grimm]

John Franco. Probably appeared in more sets than Kranepool did, since he played in the Fleer/Donruss era.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Mr. Kranepool, I suspect, is one that list if you started collecting early.

Kranepool doesn't even sniff my top 15. His entire career took place when Topps had the bubble-gum/card market to itself* and produced only one set per year.

Kranepool baseball card trivia:
Ed Kranepool was card #1 in Kellogg's inaugural !970 set.



*But, see, Fleer 1963, supra.

[batmagadanleadoff]

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. John Franco -- Grimm
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

[batmagadanleadoff]

metsguyinmichigan wrote: Mr. Kranepool, I suspect, is one that list if you started collecting early.

I was scratching my head and wondering how you, of all people, could make that mistake. You probably thought that this exercise was limited to Topps cards only, I'm guessing.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Seaver

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Strawberry

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Stengel

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Piazza

[batmagadanleadoff]

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. John Franco -- Grimm
7.
8.
9. Darryl Strawberry -- JCL
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

Seaver is #17 on my list, but with a bullet. A recent trend in baseball cards is to include cards of retired players in the current sets. So, for example, Topps' base set, in addition to including the two dozen or so current Mets that are deemed most card-worthy, might also include a Nolan Ryan or a Tom Seaver in a Mets uniform and under the same design template as the other base cards. Seaver is on pace to break into my top 15, probably this year.

Seaver 2010 Topps


Seaver 2010 Topps National Chicle

[batmagadanleadoff]

1. Mike Piazza -- JCL
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. John Franco -- Grimm
7.
8.
9. Darryl Strawberry -- JCL
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

There might be a small margin of error attached to my list, due to faulty record keeping or that my collection isn't complete --- but there's not an iota of doubt that Mike Piazza appeared on more baseball cards as a Met than any other Met. Nobody else is close. And so long as the current status quo remains, with Topps the only official licensee authorized to produce cards with MLB's logos, nobody's gonna catch Mike.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Edgardo Alfonzo.

Bobby J. Jones.

[batmagadanleadoff]

1. Mike Piazza -- JCL
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. John Franco -- Grimm
7.
8. Edgardo Alfonzo -- Grimm
9. Darryl Strawberry -- JCL
10.
11.
12.
13.
14. Bobby J. Jones -- Grimm
15.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Al Leiter

[Guest Edgy DC]

Rick Reed

[Guest Edgy DC]

Sid Fernandez

[Guest Edgy DC]

Howard Johnson.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Gooden!

As for Kranepool, I thought you were an older collector.

Gary Carter, despite being a Met for a fairly short time, is in a bunch of sets.