Wilmer Flores (and other shiny Bowman baseball cards)

Until this month, I had more or less been ready to write Wilmer Flores off. But in September, he’s beginning to look like a player who should be part of the Mets’ plans for the future.

Last night, the 23-year-old had the best game of his young career – a three-for-four performance at the plate, with two home runs, three runs scored and six RBI.

So it seems fitting to show off the sparkly “1989 Bowman Is Back” insert card I got this week as part of a lot I won on Listia. As I mentioned back in June, I think this insert series is one of the best parts of the 2014 Bowman set – they bring back good memories from the summer of 1989.

I’ve also gotten a few other 2014 Bowman cards via Listia.

Matt Harvey, seen here in his “Los Mets” Hispanic Heritage Night jersey, has an awful lot of 2014 baseball cards for a player who wasn’t able to throw a pitch in a game this season. Hopefully he will be back and able to contribute to the Mets’ rotation next year.

Chris Flexen, the Mets’ 14th-round pick in the 2012 draft, had his season cut short by Tommy John surgery. (This should probably be a new stat added to the back of future baseball cards.) In 13 games with Single-A Savannah, Flexen went 3-5 with a 4.83 ERA, striking out 46 and walking 37 in 69 innings.

John Gant, the Mets’ 21st-round pick in the 2011 draft, also pitched at Single-A Savannah in 2014. He had a much better year – 11-5 with a 2.56 ERA and 114 strikeouts in 123 innings.

Even with these latest pickups, I’m still a long way from finishing my 2014 Bowman Mets team set. If you have any of the cards I’m missing lying around, I’ll be happy to send you some cards from your favorite team or players in exchange for them.