Tom Seaver – PaulHadsall.com

Mike Piazza acknowledges the cheering crowd on Sept. 29, 2013 (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)

Our second Met in Cooperstown

Posted on January 7, 2016 by Paul

Last night, the Baseball Hall of Fame announced that Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza would be inducted this summer as the Class of 2016.

Griffey set a new record, appearing on 437 of the 440 ballots cast. (The old record was held by Tom Seaver – our first Mets representative in Cooperstown – who received 98.84 percent of the vote in 1992.)

It took four years, but Piazza finally crossed the 75 percent threshold in this year’s election. And while I can’t figure out how a man who’s been retired from baseball since 2007 managed to do anything that “made him a Hall of Famer” since the last election, I’d rather celebrate the voters getting something right.

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Auction Watch

You could own Tom Seaver's 1969 World Series cap

Posted on September 28, 2015 by Paul

Tom Seaver's game-worn Mets cap from the 1969 World Series (Image credit: Press Pass Collectibles via eBay) — Tom Seaver’s game-worn Mets cap from the 1969 World Series (Image credit: Press Pass Collectibles via eBay)

The matchups haven’t all been set yet, but we’re about to begin another season of playoff baseball. And for the first time in 9 years, I have a real rooting interest.

But while we’re waiting, let’s take a look at a piece of memorabilia from the Mets’ first World Series appearance.

If you’ve got $9,999.99 burning a hole in your pocket, you could own the cap Tom Seaver wore in 1969. Press Pass Collectibles is selling the cap, which had previously been owned by a family member of a former Shea Stadium security officer.

(If you’d like something to remind you of the Mets’ last World Series appearance, you could pick up a 2000 National League Championship ring that belonged to minor league coach Roger La Francois or one that belonged to a team trainer for a bit less.)

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Four random Mets baseball cards

Posted on March 9, 2015 by Paul

C-3PO is helping me show off a few baseball cards that arrived in my mailbox this Saturday. I finally wrapped up my 2015 Topps Series 1 Mets team set thanks to some help from Lonestarr, Phungo and a birthday gift from my friend Greg… now I just have to decide how much energy to put into chasing down the inserts for it.

I like the concept of the “This Date In History” cards, whatever their official name happens to be. And how can you go wrong with a Tom Seaver card?

Well, you can stick him on the front of a card commemorating a game that he didn’t pitch in, I guess. July 20th, 1969 is significant because it’s the day Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to land on the moon, and the Mets won the second game of a double header against the Montreal Expos on utility man Bobby Pfeil‘s bunt single. Don Cardwell started for the Mets, Jack DiLauro got credit for the victory, and Tug McGraw, Cal Koonce and Ron Taylor also pitched in relief… Seaver presumably watched from the dugout.

But it’s still a cool card, AJ, – it will get added to my Mets team set.

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2014 Topps Update Mets inserts

Posted on November 4, 2014 by Paul

Yesterday we looked at the Mets cards in the 2014 Topps Update base set. Today it’s time to focus on the inserts.

All-Star Stitches is my favorite long-standing insert found in Topps Update because it’s the last relic card that actually makes any kind of claim about what game or event that the relic it contains is from. The Mets had one All-Star representative this year, and it was Daniel Murphy. There are versions of his card with red and blue jersey material swatches… since they were relatively inexpensive, I picked up one of each.

There are also a few more limited All-Star Stitches cards featuring Murphy: a gold parallel serial numbered to 50, a unique platinum parallel, a jumbo patch card serial numbered to 6, and a combo card featuring jersey swatches from both Murphy and Derek Jeter serial numbered to 25.

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1997 Upper Deck UD3 Todd Hundley baseball card

Baseball, Uncategorized

Random thoughts inspired by 9 Mets baseball cards

Posted on August 29, 2014 by Paul

Geof surprised me with a couple of envelopes filled with Mets baseball cards this week. Here are a few of my favorites and some that just caught my eye.

2002 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Tom Seaver insert card

I had just gotten back into baseball card collecting in 2002, so I really don’t remember whether “Heroes of Baseball” was a full set released by Upper Deck that year or just the name of this insert series. This card, #HTS3, commemorates the April 22, 1970 game when he struck out the last 10 batters en route to a 19-strikeout performance.

Mets fans of a certain age undoubtedly remember that game. Younger fans might remember hearing about it during a Mets broadcast – particularly during the era that Seaver was a TV analyst for the Mets, it seemed to come up quite often.

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