Card of the Day: 1993 Stadium Club 1st Day Production Ryan Thompson

I promise I’ll put up another vintage oddball card tomorrow, but today we’re back to 1993 Topps Stadium Club for the card of the day.

Ryan Thompson was one of many Mets outfield prospects who didn’t pan out. He came to the New York as the player to be named later in the 1992 David Cone trade, and that was a mark against him in my book. I may not have been a Conehead, but I was a fan and I hated to see Cone leave the Mets.

Thompson could have won me over if he had hit, but in four seasons he never batted higher than .251. When I went to look at Tompson’s stats, I was surprised to learn he played for quite awhile after leaving the Mets. His final season was 2004, when he played for the New Orleans Zephyrs (then a Houston farm club.)

I loved the old racing-strip uniform that Thompson is wearing on this card. The “S” patch on Thompson’s sleeve honors William A. Shea, who died in 1991. Shea was instrumental in bringing National League baseball back to New York.