I got a box of about 500-600 recent New York Mets baseball cards as a birthday present last week. This 2006 David Wright card stood out for a couple of reasons:
- David Wright has the Shea Stadium anniversary patch and Tug McGraw‘s signature phrase, “You Gotta Believe,” embroidered on his right uniform sleeve, so the photo is from 2004 – ten years ago.
- I have no recollection of this set.
I still remember watching Wright bat seventh in his major league debut against the Montreal Expos – a team that doesn’t even exist anymore. It doesn’t really seem like that long ago, but of the 14 players who appeared in that game for the Mets, I think only Wright, Jose Reyes and Ty Wigginton are still active major leaguers.
Some quick internet research tells me that Upper Deck didn’t release the 2006 Future Stars set until January 2007. Cards 1-75 follow an attractive “stars” theme and look like Wright’s, while cards 76-159 follow the “Clear Path to Greatness” theme and are some of the ugliest certified autograph baseball cards ever produced. Hobby boxes included 24 packs with four cards each, and guaranteed five autograph cards.
I’m beginning to understand why I don’t remember Upper Deck Future Stars – it’s not the kind of set that would appeal to me to collect if I ever even noticed it. Not enough players, no chance of completing the full set without going broke, and the big draw – the autograph cards – have an unattractive design.
The Mets team set would include six cards:
- 46 Pedro Martinez
- 47 David Wright
- 48 Carlos Beltran
- 77 Anderson Hernandez
- 84 Brian Bannister
- 152 Alay Soler
I know I’ve got at least two of the six… I may have them all if I look around long enough to find them.
Have you ever run across a recent mainstream baseball card from a set that you don’t remember?
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