Who knew?

Like so many I'm waiting on the '09 Heritage from Topps to be released. I was going to swing by the store on the way home, but luckily I checked a couple of my favorite blogs and they mentioned that the release was delayed. That's probably for the best. I'm not exactly flush with cash right now. 

Speaking of flush. I have twenty cards left to finish the 2008 Topps Stadium Club set. I'm not being picky about cards. The variations in this set could make a grown man cry. I just want to finish with at least one card of each player in the base set 1-150. I've been lucky enough to pull a couple of autos and a beam team of Delwyn Young (which I traded to nightowl). But, basically I just want to finish the set. So, last night I headed to ebay to see what it would take to go that route.  I managed to find all the cards I needed from the same dealer. The cost, however, gave me pause and I will continue to search for more trades.

The Spring Training exhibition season has started. If you can't get down to Florida (or Arizona) I suggest swinging by Matt Cerrone's Metsblog.com.  Matt has posted videos, interviews with players and coaches, updates and fun stuff  from Duffys. It's like I'm there. Matt has the fans in mind. He asks the questions you would want to ask. He does a great job. Or if you want to check out photos from my trips in the past, then read the posts below. 

My boss came by my office and asked, "Now that Spring Training is underway, are we going to get any work out of you?" My reply, "You don't get much from me to start with." haha funny guy. 

Help.

I visited my friend at the flea market a few weeks ago. He had a stack of photos sitting on the table. The top photo, (5x7,  b/w, autographed) was of Gil Hodges in a Mets uni. "What's that," I asked? "Take a look." I picked them up. Fifteen black and white photos, all autographed, of the 1969 NY Mets. A little tattered, dogged eared, and yellowed. He got them in an auction. 

I can't determine their origin. Are those actual autographs? I checked a couple of the players against signatures I found on-line. They look like matches. 

Last week I went back to the flea market. My friend hasn't been doing well health-wise. I sat down to talk and saw another picture sitting there. It was Ken Boswell. "Oh, yeah" he says, "that goes with the set. I saved it for you." 

Where did these come from? In my mind I've created an entire story. It involves an 8-year-old kid from Queens. His dad takes him to a fan-fest type thing at the beginning of the 1969 season. You pay a buck or two. The players sign these pics and slide them across the table to you. "Thanks Mr. Swoboda. I hope the Mets win the series this year." "Thanks kid." 

Anyway, they mean the world to me. 16 photos of the "Amazing Mets". I will be finding frames and hanging them in my office. Anyone have any ideas about their origin?

Here's the line-up

Tom Seaver

Jerry Koosman

Cleon Jones

Tommie Agee

Jerry Grote

Ron Swoboda

Tug McGraw

Donn Clendenon

Ed Kranepool

Wayne Garrett

Bud Harrelson

Gary Gentry

Ron Taylor

Art Shamsky

Ken Boswell

Gil Hodges

Am I a Blogger?

    Spring Training is here. How do I know? The Yankees had a press conference so some other player could express his sorrow for cheating. I'm sorry I don't like A-Rod. He tried to choke up some tears. He tried to seem like mattered to him. He doesn't give a c@#p. Enough.

   I still haven't decided what, if any, cards I might collect this year. Last year was my first and I started late. I ended up hooked on Stadium Club. I tried Series 2 Topps. I tried Topps U & H. I tried Heritage High Numbers. Liked those. This year I will continue my pursuit of building Mets team sets. 2009 Topps here I come. 2009 UD. Look out. I saw a post on paulsrandomstuff about 2009 Topps Heritage. They look cool. This stuff is addictive.

House Cleaning

I have moved some stuff over from my old .mac account, posted links to my picassa account and cleaned up some old posts that were rambling.  

2007 Grapefruit League (A look back/moved from my old .mac account)

This was the year! I was sure the Mets would make it to the World Series. I got an autograph from HOF'er Ralph Kiner in front of Tradition Field. I also got autographs from Julio Franco, Endy "The Catch" Chavez and Mike Carp. I saw Tom Glavine, Scott Kazmir, Carlos Beltran and Howard Johnson as the Mets batting coach. In Clearwater, I got autographs from Aki Iwamura, Delmon Young and Jonny Gomes.  That was also the year Josh Hamilton made his return to the bigs with the Reds. Nobody knew what he would do the next year.....Finally, the NY Mets finished Spring Training at Tropicana Field. They lost to the D-Rays..

Parks Visited:

Knology (Toronto Blue Jays) Dunedin

Tradition Field (NY Mets) Port St. Lucie

Holman Stadium, Dodgertown (LA Dodgers) Vero Beach

Brighthouse Networks Field (Phillies) Clearwater

Tropicana Field (D-Rays) St. Pete

Ed Smith Stadium (Reds) Sarasota

Anyway these are the pics

Grapefruit League 2006 (A further look back/stuff from my old .mac account)

Spring 2006. The first year I started the "annual" trip to Florida for Spring Training. The NY Mets had a great run that year and lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the Playoffs despite the memorable catch by Endy Chavez. I stayed in Orlando/Kissimmee that year. I drove back and forth to Port St. Lucie to see the Mets, as well as, going to the Astros in Kissimmee and the Braves at Wide World of Sports/Cracker Jack Stadium/Champion Stadium. I spent the second part of the trip in St. Pete. Blue Jays, Devil Rays & Phillies. 

Autographs from:

David Wright (photo hangs on my wall)

Astros Program:

Andy Pettitte 

Trever Miller

Phil Garner

Russ Springer

Taylor Buchholz

Mike Gallo

Eric Bruntlett

The highlight of the trip was seeing Yogi Berra on the field at Al Lang. It was 21 years since someone in my family had snapped a picture of a Spring Training game in St. Petersburg and Yogi was there both times. Also spotted Don Zimmer, Joe Torre and Reggie Jackson.

The itinerary:

Eight days/Nine Games. I saw the NY Mets Five times. (4 Home/1 Away). The Devil Rays three times. The Yankees twice. The Braves twice, Astros twice. I also saw the Blue Jays, the Reds and the Orioles. I also drove to the Phillies minor league complex for a few hours. 

Here's the pix from that year's trip

1975 (a look way back/old stuff from my .mac website)

Spring Training 1975. I was 7.  My dad took me to see a baseball game at Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg, FL. At that time Al Lang was the Spring Training home of the NY Mets and St. Louis Cardinals. It was picture perfect day. A kid could go on the field and have his picture taken with their favorite NY Met. I was so shy I wouldn’t ask. My dad got pictures of Rusty and Yogi. Twenty-one years later my dad and I went to a Spring Training game at Progress Energy Park, home of AL Lang Field. Yogi was there.

Here are the pix from 1975.