Guys Who's Rookie Cards I Thought I Was Lucky To Own V.1

We all know the feeling.You go out of your way to track down the rookie card of that guy who lit It up the year before,and was sure to do it again for years to come.He was going to be the next Koufax, Mantle or Willie Mays and you were going to be the proud owner of that guys rookie card when he's  inducted into the Hall of Fame 20 some odd years later.I'm big on rookie cards.I like how popular they are and It's cool to look at a guys first year card to compare  and see how much older and grizzled he looks now.But I'm also guilty of jumping on a players bandwagon after only a week of  consistent,above par play.Heck,a guy gets called up and goes 5 for 5 In his first big league game and I'm all over eBay,looking for his Bowman prospect cards.In fact I'm pretty sure I over payed for that Matt Duffy I picked over the winter.I'm a total loon.Below are a few examples of guys who's careers started off with a bang and ended with a small thud.Volume 1....

I could have easily went with Jerome Walton here but at the time I was sure that Smith was going to be more of an impact player than the 1989 ROY award winner.He did come In second.He was a sweet hitting lefty who hit .324 In close to 400 AB's In his first year In the bigs. And who could forget his famous singing of the national anthem at Wrigley.Dwight Smith Is gonna be the next Tony Gwynn/ Luther Vandross!

Brandon Inge didn't really heat up until the middle of his career but that was enough for me to place him on a pedestal with the likes of Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammel.He was actually pretty consistent for decent span.Inge probably shouldn't even be on this list but what the hell.

Zito was good but could have been great.I think he got caught up with marijuana at some point and was unable to get back to form.   

What happened to Conor Jackson?Anybody know?

Aley,Aley,Aley,Aley!The 8 game wonder!Great first  outing,shellacked In his next start by the D- Backs,great next couple of starts and then shellacked again by Boston. Aley was shown the exit shortly after. 

Delmon Young was a solid major leaguer ,but never really reached his full potential.He came In second to Dustin Pedroia In the ROY voting .Solid,albeit  controversy/injury filled seasons would follow.Good but not as good as he could have been.He's currently a free agent   and could end up helping out a contender down the stretch.Time will tell. 

My Favorite 9 Right Now - Updated

I know Conforts just got sent down ,but It doesn't take away from the awesomeness of his 91 Topps Archives card.Also,the Canseco Ultra Pro coincidentally knocks out Chipper Jones's actual 91 Topps card.

Nick Markakis

Nick Markakis was a guy I wanted the Mets to pick up a long time ago.He's a disciplined hitter who churns out more doubles than a lady pregnant with twins,twice.I wanted to gobble up all of his rookie cards back in '06 and '07 but at the time ,the price tag on most of his XRC were through the roof.Well,not so much through the roof,maybe like 20 bucks a pop.But still,that's a lot to be paying for a single card I think.Since then,Markakis has suffered from a recent power outage ,failing to reach double digits In home runs In over 650 plate appearances last year ,and has only 2 going into today.He's still a solid hitter and outfielder to boot,but as a result of his more down to earth numbers,his card prices have plummeted. Looks like I'm finally going to be able to pick up that '03 Upper Deck Prospect Premiers after all ;) As of now,these are the only Markakisissiz that I own.

I'm really digging the beard , though.

Heeee's Baaaack!

It's going to get a little bit strange In Citi Field as fans will think they have stepped into a time machine and traveled back to 2,005 when they begin to hear chants of "Jose,Jose,Jose,Jose" again.Earlier today the Mets inked Jose Reyes to a minor league deal ,bringing back what might be arguably the most exciting player In Mets history.I'm not sure how he'll factor Into what I feel Is an already solid infield.I'm hearing that he'll be used as a super sub.who knows what tricks Collins has up his sleeve.It's not a young Reyes that'll be suiting up and hitting the field when the Mets decide to call him up ,but It's Reyes nonetheless.Decent speed,quick bat from both sides of the plate and over the top excitement for the game Is what he'll bring back to Citi Field.

Singles Only

It's been a while since I've done a Singles Only post,mostly because I haven't had any new singles to write about.With the Mets struggling as of late I've fallen into a baseball funk.I usually disassociate myself from anything baseball related when the Mets are scuffling ,not because I'm not a true fan,but because I value my health.I'm such a fan that losses affect me In the worst way.There's a term for that I think  ..oh yeah ... sore looser.So to avoid sleep loss and any and all hypersensitive neurotic behavior I turn to family,toys and video games .I'm especially bummed about Conforts. Man,this guy all but carried the team for about a month and a half  ,but seems to be coming back down to earth these last couple of weeks. It didn't stop me from picking up this  2016 Archives '91 Topps beauty!Please Conforto,catch fire again some time this season. 

I've wanted a Springer rc for a while now.He's got a nice blend of speed and pop and plays the game with intensity.

Remember these Ultra Pro cards?These were cool back in the day because they were all hologrammed out and were limited edition!These cards offered a more intimate look at our baseball heroes depicting them in their civvies ,sometimes holding sporting equipment relevant to some of their off season hobbies.Canseco wasn't much of a golfer and picturing him holding a bag of roids would have been a little straight forward,so they opted to have him hold his baseball bat. Although the back of the card could be Canseco at a clinic. Ya gotta love Jose ;)

Remember all those Fleer subsets of the 80's and 90's? League Leaders,Soaring Stars,Award Winners are  just a few.This ones an 87 Hottest Stars Canseco. 

What Goes Around,Comes Around

I purchased this card from a seller on eBay towards the beginning of April.Noah was In full swing around that time and I really wanted his first Bowman card.After about a week and a half of waiting for the card to arrive ,I dropped the seller a message stating that the Noah card  went MIA.The seller was cool about It and refunded the whopping $2.50 I had payed for the card, back into my Paypal account.Damn,I would have much rather have the card instead :( Well,yesterday ,while checking the mail for some vintage  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle figures I'd been expecting,I find a pwe with my name on It.There was obviously a card inside.I thought "nah,this couldn't be".I hadn't ordered any cards recently.Then I thought "yeah,It has to be!" .Realizing that I had reached my daily -thinking to myself -quota ,I proceeded to open the envelope.Yes!The case of the missing Noah Syndergaard card Is finally solved and sealed,almost 2 months later!I quickly jumped on eBay to let the seller know about It and he got a kick out of It.I also placed the 2.50 back into his Paypal account.All's well that ends well.

The Can Stash !

I figured I'd overload this post with most of my junk wax Cansecos. Starting with his 86 Topps rc. Most of these are from my childhood when pretty much all I collected was Canseco. J.C. was prime time in the late 80's and early 90's.1986 ROY,MVP In 88 when he stole 40 bases and hit 40 HR's. You know that's nothing to sneeze at.The guy was as big as a  a truck but still  managed to steal enough bases to pull off that 40-40.Since then 3 others ( A-Rod,Bonds and Alfonso Soriano) have accomplished the feat.Of the guys playing now I think Trout and a healthy Carlos Gonzalez  might have  a good chance at It.What other modern day players do you feel could pull off 40 home runs and 40 steals in one season?