Tag Archives: David Wright

2019 Mets Card Spring Preview

Posted by on 11 March 2019 Comments Off on 2019 Mets Card Spring Preview

Where do we go from here?

So, yeah, not much going on here these days. After a monster 2017, I took a step back in 2018 and have continued that in 2019. Keeping up with the current releases just isn’t as much of a priority for me because there’s just too damn much out there and most of it isn’t particularly interesting. After seeing what Topps did with 2019 Series 1 Jumbo, I’m not hopeful for a whole lot of value in their products this year. And with rising overhead costs on the secondary market, it’s getting harder to track down hidden gems on the low end. On the plus side, I’ve got tons of great stuff that has yet to be scanned, so I’m buried in work if I ever come up with something to put together. Not much of a plus side, but there it is.

2019 is a transition year for the Mets as the Captain has left the field and the front office had significant turnover. That translated into a flurry of offseason moves, but whether that turns into success has yet to be determined. Last year had to have been rock bottom (just look at how many cast-offs were on the roster), but there were still a few glimmers of hope (Cy deGrom) tinged with despair (deGrom’s extension talks). Basically, same old Mets.
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2018 Mets Card Spring Preview

Posted by on 1 March 2018 Comments Off on 2018 Mets Card Spring Preview

Low expectations all around

The Super Bowl is a distant memory, the Olympics are over, and the snow is melting (tomorrow’s bomb cyclone notwithstanding). Baseball’s back! Down south at least. There’s still another month until games that count, but Topps already has two 2018 releases out the door and we more or less know who will be on the Mets to start the season. As to how the team will do this year… They’ll have some cards, so let’s just see what to expect on that front.

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2016 Biggest Pulls

Posted by on 15 July 2017 Comments Off on 2016 Biggest Pulls

End of the Line?

2016 will go down as they year when I just couldn’t take it anymore. Ever-diminishing returns (even with the annual Kris Bryant autograph) already had me cutting back on hobby boxes. The proliferation of the same things in every product and the lack of anything new (Michael Conforto, Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, and Steven Matz autographs in everything and no new prospect autographs until December) certainly gave me plenty of reasons to pass even on old favorites. And with the focus on the high end more than ever ($22,000 for one box?), nothing new was drawing my interest. And that’s just on the input side of the equation.

On the output side, rising postage rates and eBay fees (and new requirements pushing Top Rated Seller status beyond the reach of most mere mortals) made the prospect of selling unwanted cards something to dread. Why pay for a box that guarantees a hit when the hit will either be worthless or require dealing with eBay? I listed 12 items in 2016. 6 sold. And one of those got sent back, despite my listings clearly stating that returns are not accepted. That was the last straw.

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2017 Mets Card Spring Preview

Posted by on 10 March 2017 1 comment

Bouncing back from a year that fell short

The Mets made the postseason for the second consecutive season last year, but not even a superb outing from Noah Syndergaard could get the Mets past the Giants in the Wild Card game, so it’s been a long offseason. Speaking of Noah Syndergaard, this happened:

We saw lots of Syndergaard in cardboard last year and will likely see a lot more this year. Beyond him though, the cardboard Mets didn’t have a whole lot of depth in 2016 and there could be less in store for 2017. The Mets have two stars shining brightly in Syndergaard and Yoenis Cespedes, which could make everyone else hard to see. Or maybe they’ll be a rising tide that lifts everyone else into prominence. Honestly, I have no clue what Topps (and especially Panini) is doing and I get the feeling that they don’t either.

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2016 Mets Card Spring Preview

Posted by on 12 March 2016 Comments Off on 2016 Mets Card Spring Preview

Unfinished business (scanning last year’s cards…)

Well, it’s that time of year again… Florida is relevant for baseball, prospect lists are coming out left and right, and I’m still digging through a backlog of 2015 cards to scan in the hopes of closing out 2015 before Opening Day (probably not happening…). But the card releases don’t stop, so I have to let you know what to expect in 2016. One thing’s for sure – there’s going to be a lot for Mets fans to chase in 2016.

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Product Spotlight: 2015 Topps Heritage ’51 Collection

Posted by on 15 December 2015 Comments Off on Product Spotlight: 2015 Topps Heritage ’51 Collection

Old hobby formats die hard

If you look at the biggest failures of the last few years for Topps, two factors are recurring themes: mini cards and novelty factory sets.  Topps Mini was a no-show at this year’s national convention after last year’s version hit 75% off at the Topps web site.  Bowman Chrome Mini has been a tough sell even at 50% off the wholesale price (and shows no signs of coming back for 2015).  Topps Heritage High Number ditched the factory set format after two years of dismal sales and turned into one of the best products of the year.  2015 was the year of Topps learning its lessons, apparently.

But old habits die hard.  Unable to resist temptation, Topps dipped back into the well of failure twice in late 2015.  Topps Mini returned in factory set form, embodying the worst of both worlds and trying to make work what even Bowman Chrome couldn’t succeed at.  And Topps Heritage ’51 Collection came seemingly out of nowhere, adding a fourth 2015 Topps baseball product to the Heritage lineup.  The only one in factory set form.  And with lots of minis!  This is not the product the hobby needed or wanted, though it isn’t without redeeming value.  Not entirely.

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