1969 Mets Team Leaders / 1970 Fantazy Cards

This was a tough year to pick leaders for. It shouldn't be. There should be solid qualifications. But certain contributions deserve to be recognized.

For instance, both Boswell and Shamsky were important ingredients in the awesome sauce that Gil Hodges was cooking up. But they both played in just only over 100 games, at 100 (Art with 303 at bats) & 102 (Ken with 362 at bats) in 1969.

I initially thought only Agee & Jones should be on the card. But then I had a little debate with myself as to why Bozz and Art should be included.

Great thing about this hobby is I really don't have to agonize over such things. I'll make em' both. You decide.

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Tommie with 26 whack-a-molies. Thats respectable. Shamsky, regardless of games played, would have to make this card since he was 2nd on the team in HRs (this is what started the BATTING LEADERS debate). So in a way, Art speaks for himself gets Boswell and himself just due on the batting leaders card.

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Pitching, again a tough gig. We have Seaver & Koosman, no problem. Gentry belongs there. He was erratic but pitched great down the stretch in some big games, including the clincher. After that it gets difficult. But look at what Tugger did in '69. Tack on 12 saves and 4 starts among 42 appearances.

There are only 3 players on the pitching leader cards so I give that third spot to Tug, one of my all-time favorite Mets. Wish there were room for more...

WOOT!_____________________________________

The card above is an actual Topps AL Pitching Leaders card. I collected cards this year. I have seen soooo many baseball cards over the years while attending card shows and then on-line. I had never seen this card before! Not until I was working on this post. I love when that happens! Very kool card.

When I first saw it as a search result I thought: oh, nice, which of us card-makers out there made this one?- because I figured right off the bat that this was not a real card. But it is! Topps did do that in '70. This layout is more appropriate for the 1969 Mets Team Pitching leaders so threw one together last minute.

Still, a tough card to do up right.
There's 79 of the '69 Mets 100 wins right there^.
Nolan Ryans inclusion is debatable. A few of New York's other pitchers contributed as much if not more than Ryan.

Don Cardwell should be up there. He ate up a lot of innings and every win added up to Koosman in Grotes arms. But he had a losing record at 8-10. Jim McAndrew, 6-7. Cal Koonce (6-3) was big in spots.

As a card collector I have to consider the fact that if Ryans on the card, it's worth more. Yep, that even applies in my fantazees.

Ryan doesn't look too happy about making the cut.
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R.I.P. Jim Fregosi. There will be more about Fregosi, the ex Met third baseman, when we get to the 1972 Mets Fantazy Cards.

               My sympathies go out to his family and friends.
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1967 Mets Team Leaders / 1968 Fantazy Cards

WHATS THIS!? A batting average over .300?

*grabs chest*

Tommy Davis, an ex- N.L. batting leader twice over (1962,'63), joins Richie Ashburn (.306 in 1962) & Ron Hunt (.303 in 1964) as the only .300+ batters in the teams history up to now.

Tommy had a good season in his one year as a New York Metropolitan. He led the team in games (154), at bats (577), hits (174), runs scored (72) HR and batting average. Davis's slugging % (.440), OBP (.342), and OPS (.782) all led the team. He smashed 32 doubles and drove in 73 runs. His totals in at bats, hits and double all established new Mets team records.

Ed Kranepool is in the middle of all these team leader cards in the mid 60's and I'm lovin' it. I knew Ed was a lifelong fan favorite Met but I thought that was just through longevity, at which he excelled. But he put up some numbers, albeit numbers only a Met fan could love.

Jerry Buchek! You go Jerry.

Rocky Ron trying to act like he isn't hanging out at the Sadecki Spot.

Tom Seaver was great and would have been considered great on any team he debuted on (it almost wasn't the Mets). But can you imagine how he must have looked to a Met fan in 1967? After years of pitching ineptitude suddenly we had a real top knotch pitcher who was just starting his career. It must have been so exciting, like in 1984 when we saw Dwight Gooden and thought WOW, we got a stallion of a pitcher here.

Tom once told fellow pitcher Chuck Estrada: " Chuck, I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd be this good. I knew I could play, but I never thought I was going to get to this level."

And Mets fans were in for a treat as they had the priveledge of witnessing as Seaver rose through the ranks to become one of the best pitchers in baseball history.