2017mfc Record Breaker & Season Highlight cards:>>>> 3 YoBOMBS!

The Mets took it to the Phillies in brutal fashion as they pummeled Citizen Bank Ballpark with a barrage of hits, extra base hits, & home runs! When it was all over New York had hammered out a 14-4 victory and the Phils were totally demoralized.

The Mets launched seven homers and scored 14 runs on 20 hits. Yo had three gophers. The Dude had two. Cabrera, d'Arnaud, one each. Cabrera went 4-for-6, scored three runs and finished only a triple short of the cycle. Duda went 4-for-6, capping his night with a ninth-inning solo shot.

 Cespedes crushed a three-run home run 411 feet to center field in the first inning, smashed a laser 428 feet down the left-field line in the fourth (back-to-back with Asdrubal Cabrera) and smoked a towering shot 382 feet to left in the fifth. Statcast™ listed their exit velocities at 105.2 mph, 109.3 mph and 108.3 mph, respectively. He doubled in the seventh to finish 4-for-6 with five RBIs.

"Can you imagine?" Cespedes said. "I think any baseball player that hit three home runs would be having a lot of fun. It wasn't just fun for me, though. It was really great to see the whole team getting hits out there and having fun."

The Phillies had little luck against Mets right-hander Matt Harvey, who allowed five hits, two runs, one walk and struck out six in 5 2/3 innings, before he left with tightness in his left hamstring. Harvey said after the game that the tightness was nothing serious and he expects to make his next start Sunday in Miami.

 Lucas Duda put the exclamation point on the rout in the sixth, when he hit a home run over the batter's eye in center field. It traveled a projected 448 feet, making it the fourth-longest homer in baseball this season, according to Statcast™. Duda hit a solo shot in the ninth for the Mets' seventh home run.

"It looked like a driving range out there the way he was hitting the ball," Mets manager Terry Collins said.

The Mets have hit seven home runs in a game three times in their history. All three have come against the Phillies, including an eight-homer barrage on Aug. 24, 2015. That game also marked the only other time the Mets have collected 14 or more extra-base hits.

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A Met has hit three home runs in a game 13 times, the last two courtesy of Yoenis Cespedes.

Player                Date            Opponent

Yoenis Cespedes- April 11, 2017 at Philadelphia

Yoenis Cespedes- Aug. 21, 2015 at Colorado
 Lucas Duda- July 29, 2015 vs. San Diego

Kirk Nieuwenhuis- July 12, 2015 vs. Arizona

Ike Davis- July 28, 2012 at Arizona

Carlos Beltran- May 12, 2011 at Colorado

Jose Reyes- Aug. 15, 2006 at Philadelphia

Edgardo Alfonzo- Aug. 30, 1999 at Houston

Gary Carter- Sept. 3, 1985 at San Diego

Darryl Strawberry- Aug. 5, 1985 at Chicago

Claudell Washington- June 22, 1980 at Los Angeles

Dave Kingman- June 4, 1976 at Los Angeles

Jim Hickman- Sept. 3, 1965 at St. Louis

SNYs excellent intro from last nights game:

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Vote for player of the game!
Schaefer Mets Player of the Game
@ The Ultimate Mets Database

2017 Opening Day

The Mets shut out their opponent on Opening Day for the 8th time in franchise history. First time since 2012 (also vs Braves).

Add a win to that tally. 

Since 1970, 36-12 in Opening Day games.

From Edgy @the CPF:

Mets Managers' Opening Day Records

Casey Stengel: 0-4

Wes Westrum: 0-2

Salty Parker: 0-0

Gil Hodges: 2-2

Yogi Berra: 4-0

Roy McMillan: 0-0

Joe Frazier: 2-0

Joe Torre: 3-1

George Bamberger: 2-0

Frank Howard: 0-0

Davey Johnson: 4-3

Bud Harrelson: 1-0

Mike Cubbage: 0-0

Jeff Torborg: 1-1

Dallas Green: 1-2

Bobby Valentine: 4-2

Art Howe: 1-1

Willie Randolph: 3-1

Jerry Manuel: 1-1

Terry Collins: 5-2

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A number of the photos used were taken by J. Conrad Williams Jr.

The Daily News back cover by Howard Simmons.

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I'm always making fun of Flores and his feet/running, but he does seem to have the sliding part down.
From 2015:

2017mfc- Some Current Players.

Lets get some cards for the current Mets squad out there.I love making the oldies but we have a season coming up and we have a team that any Mets fan has to be excited about. If we can stay healthy, always the big IF, we should be in the running. It would be nice to run away with it but one should never expect that. Anythings possible though. It's baseball!

So here's a few players on the 2017 Mets, and lets start getting excited, because before you know it baseball will be starting up again! Lets go Mets!

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Will Steven Matz have a bounce back year? He only pitched in 22 games in 2016 and gave us around 132 innings. He did have some high points. He actually got one Rookie Of The Year vote, which I found surprising.

After compiling a 4-0 win-loss record, a 1.83 ERA, and 31 strikeouts in May, he was named the National League Rookie of the Month. But after that he fell off, not winning a game in all of June and July. And then came the news of the bone spur in his elbow. He put off surgery and did pitch well in August, however, picking up his 9th win (he went 9-8, ,340 ERA). But the Mets shelved him on August 22nd (DL) and on September 27, it was announced that Matz would undergo surgery for the bone spur, therefore ending his season.

We need the full Matz. I'd like 30 starts, 180 innings from this youngster in 2017. From all our starters, really. I won't get any more specific that because you don't reach  those numbers without doing well. Just get your work in and we should be fine. Mets pitching will have to step it up with Bartolo Colon and his massive inning eating stomach currently in Atlanta feeding itself. 

Now it's all up to our our talented young arms..

This is exciting.

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Some players should always be pictured doing what they do best. Lagares tracking down a fly ball. Centerfield should be interesting in 2017. Especially since they have thrown Jose Reyes into the mix.

I have high hopes for Gsellman. This righty went 4-2 in 8 starts and compiled a nice 2.42 ERA.

He pitched in some pressure spots too, so I think this guy can handle pitching in New York.

 I'm going to over compensate for the Lucas Duda/ Eric Campbell Topps error. What a way to start the baseball card season. Ha!
Duda will get one mfc joke card and two regular issue in an effort to balance the scales due to Topps impropriety. The up side is we should see another Duda in this years Topps set (if it is corrected, and it should be this early in), hopefully with his actual photo on it.

Eric Campbell went the free agent route and in December 2016 he signed with the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. He played in 40 games for New York last season, so eventually he will get a '17mfc card.

Lucas is going to have a breakout year (I say this every year, lol). Well, that's if he plays. I hear talk of David Wright moving to first base. Where will that leave Duda? I don't ever want to see him playing the outfield again, that's for sure. I hope Wright is healthy enough to handle third base all season and the Dude gets every opportunity to excel at first base. I really don't expect to see Dom Smith up early unless something has gone wrong. I hope to see a little bit of Smith in September.

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I've already displayed the 2017mfc Cespedes and his card back, but I don't think I showed them together, so here they are.

Last Weekend in Mets Fantasy Cards!

We're dropping the Keep That Train A Rollin' Mets choo choo from the border design. The train served us well but it's time to move on, as in movin' on up. We steamed past the Cardinals and the Giants and then stalled a bit. We rose to the #1 wild card spot but fell back with last nights dismal loss to Fkn Frdy Frmn.

 But the train got us where we needed to be. 

Goodbye MetsTrain-

 *CLANK*

 - hello mfc's newest border addition, the TCOB logo. I was very reticent in regard to using the phrase at all, even though this was made during spring training when the UNFINISHED BUSINESS logo was being put together. Too ballzy. And they won't look so good on the cards if we don't make it to post season. 

But there are a dozen games left in the 2016 season, and I have to say the Mets have been taking care of business! Still more unfinished business though. Quite a bit.

LETS GO METS!

Bartolo Colon: Simply amazin'.

14 wins! Colon made his team-high 30th start and lowered his ERA to 3.14 against the Twins Friday night. He went seven, allowed no runs and only gave up 3 hits while striking out six. 

43 years old. Amazin'.

''If we wouldn't have had him in our rotation, I'm not sure where we would be right now,''

 ~Mets manager Terry Collins.

What a great game this was.

Home run number one.

What a clutch performance from the Grandyman. 

Home run number two.

The  image on the card above is a composite of 2 photographs.

I made the WALKOFF card right after the game as "in game-photos" started popping up on the internet. Both pictures above had elements I enjoyed and wanted to see on the card together, so I merged them. If I had waited until the following day I would have found some awesome shots that would have saved some photoshoppin', but since this one was completed I'll stick with it. 

But look at these great photos.

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If Conforto can get hot and put up a fraction of the numbers that Bruce ain't, we might be able to limp over the finish line..

That must have been a painful hook for Ynoa.

OH! OH! A Rivera insert card!  

T.J.'s 2016 Sterling Mets Player Of The Year commemoration card.

Only fifty-four imagined!

Hey Mets, give this guy a real infielders number please.

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Horrible, horrible news about deGrom. I wish him the best. I hope he has successful surgery and comes back even better. I have to admit, when I heard this news I thought, well, that's it, we can't do it without deGrom. But that Grandy walkoff really pumped me up.

Maybe we can...
And it's not going to come down to just another starter. The bullpen will have to be invincible.

A real bummer. I feel like it was just yesterday I was commemorating his first win of 2016.

Best laid plans........

And these are only three of the many. I could do a whole sub-set.

But, some good news

DUDA'S BACK!

And Lagares as well.

Lags used to give us a few unbelievable catches every year.
So he's due to make a fantastic grab down the stretch.

Let Go Mets!
 Just keep winning!

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May as well.^

Keep it up TJ!
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Photography by

Adam Hunger, Bill Kostroun, John Minchillo

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Today is BALL ON THE WALL DAY!
Thank you to Barry Federovitch for reminding me :)

You can read all about that magical game and more:
>The Most Important Season Series Of 1973.html