Happy St. Paddy's Day.

     While the Reds were the first team to wear the green on St. Patrick's Day in the 1970s, it was that 1990 Classic card with Mike Schmidt in the middle there that showed collectors the uniform possibilities of the 17th of March.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over the years, it has become a tradition for teams to wear green today (except for the A's who almost always wear it no matter what city they are in). And hey, even I am wearing my green shamrock-clad David Wright shirtsy today, lest I chance getting pinched. 

Trade with Capewood's Collections.

       Seems some bloggers are getting their spring cleaning done a little late this year.  But hell, I don't mind if there is stuff in it for me.  Cliff over at the esteemed Capewood's Collections has been having a Summer Clearance Trade extravaganza.  He has been listing team lots (and some of the goodies therein) as up for grabs with the rejoinder that you send him some of his favorite teams in return: the Phillies and Astros.  This is a rather simple and elegant way of getting rid of cards you don't want and getting your hands on the ones that you do.  So I waited patiently for my Mets to come up and wouldn't you know it, when they did I pounced on them and got my boys in blue and orange.  Let's see what I got:

There was some of this year's stuff, which is always nice since I am not buying much new product (my post-birthday trip to Target not withstanding).  There were a bunch of cool David Wright cards that I didn't have. That Upper Deck X die cut is pretty sweet; those UDX die cut cards work as well as the base cards don't.  Plus there was a nice smattering of some vague old nineties stuff and even, impressively, a 1989 Upper Deck card that has somehow not made its way into my collection.  Actually, I think there are still two or three missing from that team set.  *sigh* This is yet another gap in my Mets stuff I should write down and put up on the wantlist.  Anyway, there was about 100 or so cards here and they were all appreciated...even the Jason Bay, though as I have stated before, he is dead to me. 

I saw a few days later that Cliff had previously listed the Expos and Nats as a combo lot and that there had been no takers.  I emailed him that I would double up my Phillies and Astros for him if that lot could make its way to me as well.  He happily agreed (and even threw in a couple more Mets he had laying around to boot):

I don't know where my soft spot for the Expos comes from. Maybe because they were never much of a threat to the Mets in their day. Maybe because that team was unreasonably ripped out of Montreal. Maybe because I just like old defunct teams in general. Maybe because they had sweet uniforms.  I am only speculating.  But between this lot and a previous one from Jaybarkerfan, I now have a shitload (it's an industry term) of excess Expos.  And such sweet cards they are.  I really do dig those handsome powder blue unis they wore.  I really do hope the Hall of Fame can see past their own stupidity and puts Tim Raines onto their hallowed walls.  Good stuff all around.  All that said, I am growing worried about their successors, the Nationals.  They have a strong young nucleus and will no doubt be a thorn in the side of the whole damn NL East for years to come.  That's not good for my Mets nor Cliff's Phillies (who can't seem to get out of their own way this year).  Anyway, I hope the cards I sent to Cliff were as entertaining as his lots were to me.  Thanks Cliff!

Life, The Universe, and Everything.

       I was going to call this post "The Answer" but I didn't want you to think it was about Allen Iverson (an athlete I have a lot of opinions about, but that will be a whole different post).  If you are the nerd that I am, you already know the answer to life, the universe, and everything: 42.  I will let google field the queries for the uninformed on that one, but beyond its literary connotations, the number 42 has a very important meaning in baseball.

In 1997, baseball took the unprecedented step of retiring the #42 throughout Major League Baseball in honor of Jackie Robinson (something that subsequently hockey did to the #99 for Wayne Gretzky and football did for the #32 for OJ Simpson - wait, I might be wrong on that second one).  Now, I am all for the love and adoration that Jackie Robinson gets as a man.  If I have to tell you what he did and what he went through, I have to question your reading of a baseball blog.  What gets lost in all of his humanitarian accolades is the fact that he was one hell of a ball player.  In a beautiful imaginary world where Cap Anson didn't conspire to ban Fleetwood Walker and blacks always played in MLB, Jackie Robinson would be remembered as one of the great smooth roughhouse ballplayers of all time.  From everything I have read and seen, he was a thing to behold.  He ran without fear, hit the ball hard to all fields, and fielded his position like a dancer.  Just remember during all the hullabaloo this weekend that Jackie Robinson was not only a great human being, he was one of the all time greats between the lines.

       After baseball retired the #42, any player wearing it was "grandfathered" in and allowed to wear it until they retired.  As players wearing it slowly disappeared, only Mariano Rivera was left.  Then a few years ago, some players started wearing it on Jackie Robinson Day as a tribute.  Then, baseball let all of the players wear it.  While some have bemoaned the recent fetishism of all the players wearing #42 on Jackie Robinson Day, this year, it has personally worked to my advantage.  My brother's birthday is at the end of March and my usual birthday present to him is to get him tickets to a baseball game.  These tickets almost always involve our team, the Mets...and we don't only go to Mets games in Queens, we have been up and down the eastern seaboard.  When I lived in Boston, we went to Fenway.  We went to the Bronx and saw the second Mets/Yanks game ever.  We went to Baltimore and Camden Yards - twice! - and last year we went to Washington.  This year, we will go to Philly and see their ballpark and those (now very hated) Phillies.  Also this year, I specifically chose Jackie Robinson Day.  First off, because I have never been to Jackie Robinson Day.  But secondly and far more importantly, this year my brother turned 42.  That's right, this year, my gift to my brother is not only seats to a Major League Baseball game, but I "arranged" it so all the players would wear his age on his back.  Happy Birthday Bro!