3 LOUSY BUCKS

From the famed "Parents are cleaning out the house" collection...

I've been going through my old baseball cards, in an attempt to consolidate the different loads my mom keeps sending me, and narrow them down to one box. Interspersed through this posting I will put images of some of the gem cards I found - none of which looks to be worth more than three dollars right now...and I think that's if they are near mint - I doubt mine are.

I like thinking back to the fact that when I got this card, I had no idea who Chipper Jones was... and never would have guessed how much I would have disliked him.

I was never a huge baseball card collector, but I always enjoyed picking up a pack or two on my walk home from school. I never traded cards (I had a hard time even then settling on fair trades...a bugaboo that followed me into my fantasy team ownership years), so I always had a lot of doubles, sometimes triples and quadruples. I loved the checklists, because it gave me something to fill out - I always liked keeping track of things.

I didn't think about how much these cards might be worth down the road, but I had friends who did, and so I took a little extra care with my cards. So now, they're in decent shape...some have even been kept in plastic...but none are in "mint" condition.

This is a rookie card of Frank Thomas, but I think I have another one somewhere. And I think that one is worth a lot more, because there was some kind of error on it. I think there's a misprint on his jersey or something. I don't remember exactly, but I felt like it was worth keeping in a safe place back then...lots of good that does me now.

I used to like breaking out my cards during games. I don't know if I would have admitted this then, but I think it's OK to say now. I liked taking out my Mets cards, and if the Mets were playing the Cardinals, I'd take out whatever Cardinals I had. Then when the Mets were in the field, I'd put those cards out there, and whichever Cardinal was up. Then, when the Cardinals were in the field, I'd switch it up. I was a lonely kid. Another thing I liked was reuniting Mets teams from the past. For instance, with one set, I had Roger McDowell and Lenny Dykstra as Phillies - I'd gather them together, maybe with my Jesse Orosco Dodgers card, and Ray Knight Orioles card, and recreate the 1986 Mets with as many players as I could.

Two who would eventually wear pinstripes - one who wore them his entire career.

All of these memories came flooding back to me as I was sorting through the cards. Did you have a favorite baseball card? I remembered which card was my all-time favorite, and I found that I had a few of them - the 1988 Topps Gary Carter. I'm not sure what about it is my favorite - maybe it's because it was like having a mini version of the big poster in my room that was the same picture. Regardless, I love it. Here it is:
Well, I hope I didn't bore you with my trip down memory lane. There was just the rush of memories as I was sorting that I had to write about it. I'll leave you with a couple of other shots of some of my cards (my Glavine card doesn't have the autograph)...Justin from NYC should pay close attention to the one all the way on the right - it could be his fantasy team's avatar:

RADIO SHOW: I'm going to shoot for an 11-11:15 regular time, since that seems to be when The Baby takes her nap. Friday I may not be able to do one, but I'll be on the air Thursday at 11. Some people have reported problems with listening live - do your best to tune in if you can, and call with comments, or to talk Mets. You can find the broadcasts/number to call at www.blogtalkradio.com/johnnymets Thanks for your support!