In the 2017 Mets Season Set there will be a number of "Metropolitan History" cards. These will be a lot of fun to make because we have such storied team tales. There was so much to the game in which the Mets first grand slam was hit I felt I had to get it all on the back of the card. It took two backs, hence two cards for this one. Another notable occurrence in the game, Gil Hodges last career home run, and Gil will get a nod on the first card front.
mfc Metropolitan History Card 10-MH1a
Gil Hodges will have a few more Mets history cards since he hit the teams first HR
and also the first inside the park four bagger. All Mets firsts will be covered.
If anyone one knows of a Mets first, "Metropolitan Magical Moments" (see bottom of post), or anything pertaining to "Metropolitan History" that they feel deserves a card, please just leave word in the comments. When you think about it, a set of cards like these could end up running at least a few dozen. WOOHOO, more fun. I have to say making card backs are a bitch though. Hopefully over time I'll pick up the pace on those.
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| The color work. That's Gil and the actual 370th home run ball. |
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mfc Metropolitan History Card 10-MH1b
For these I decided to go with a 1977 Topps card design because it afforded so much needed space for the text. Baseball cards have their own little fashion of laying things out on their cardboard backs. Short spurts of info, directly to the point, keeping it compact yet still successfully painting a picture of the action. There is an art to card back text. A style. I can't say I have it completely down.
Truth is I feel there could be more info included. Like, exactly why did Casey pinch hit for Frank Thomas in that situation? Frank had struck out twice in the game but he also had a single. He led the team in long balls with 15 on the day of that game. Was Stengel's move just one of those "gut" things? A better match-up pitching wise? Maybe someone out there knows. I'd like to add those details but as you can see things are already a bit cramped.
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| Real 1977 Topps card back. |
All us students of baseball cards know that there is a certain "card back lingo", and deciphering that as you go along, translating the action into these small baseball cliches really is an enjoyable exercise in baseball card nostalgia.
So do they make the cut?
Did I misspell anything? I took some liberties because, for instance, I didn't know where the HR landed. So a little imaginative dramatic license has it zipping down the left field line into the short porch. Is that accurate? I dunno but it sounds good. But maybe someone out there does.
The beauty of this project is that I can run this by viewing Mets fans and baseball card aficionados and you can give me input and these things can evolve as they go along. A living, breathing, Mets baseball card set brought to life by baseball card fans. And that's what I'd like my Mets Fantasy Cards to be all about. :)
That tells you all you need to know about the New York Metropolitans. People in The Big Apple were so happy to have National League baseball back that it didn't really matter what the team did, as long as they played, and as long as we could root for them against those N.L. teams N.Y. fans were so familiar with from the days the Giants and Dodgers once played here. And the early Mets were so bad it was funny. Yet fans still filled the Polo Grounds and rooted for the team to turn the formidable tide they seemed to have against them. The Mets were the ultimate baseball underdogs from 1962 to around 1967/68, when Tom Seaver came aboard and Gil Hodges returned to manage the team.
For Mets fans who took the compete ride from 1962 to 1969, I envy you (my first Mets game was in 1967 or 68). That must have been some kind of build up and payoff to experience.
I know there are some fans out there still with us who experienced this rise. Feel free to write of it in the comments section and don't be surprised if I make a card from your shared memories.
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| ^Courtesy of Ultimate Mets Database |
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| ^Courtesy of Ultimate Mets Database |
These images of the box score and scorecard are from
The Ultimate Mets Database, my ultimate stop when I want to look up Mets info. When I was a kid I had to go to the library and buy all those Mets Yearbooks/ Baseball Digests (not to mention baseball cards, my #1 source) to consume Mets player stats. But now thanks to the wonders of the internet we have the Ultimate Mets (library &) Database, the best team website known to man and the universe. That's fitting because our team logo also owns the same distinction.
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HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYBODY!
This is going to be a most interesting year, and I expect the Mets to contend and I pray that they stay healthy. That's always the big question mark, when you have a team that you believe has all the pieces needed to make the post season. Just stay healthy. And some breaks from the Baseball Gods wouldn't be a bad thing either.
The '17 Met are ready and New York means to bring the world championship back to Queens!
That's the best rally call I could come up with. Kinda weak but it don't suck. Too many syllables.
^Mets Happy New Years Gif, suitable for giffing webwide.
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We Mets fans have seen many magical moments over the teams fifty-five year existence. So expect some Mets Magical Moments cards like in 2015 & 2016.
As I said earlier, if you feel so inclined, please note your personal magical moment, not just of 2016, but of Metropolitan history. Cripes, we're are gonna have another two dozen special series subset cards! But these are more fun to make than the regular player cards, so I'm looking forward to this part of the project.
This years design will look exactly like this:
More post season cards in '17? Who knows, it's baseball, but I feel pretty confident. I also wanted to re-post this card cause I think it's the koolest Thor card I've come up with more recently. Who's the best of our young guns? Thor, deGrom, Wheeler, Harvey, Matz? This is the year we find out, and good fortune to all of 'em.
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A brief biography of Rod Kanehl
From Wikipedia :
Roderick Edwin Kanehl (April 1, 1934 – December 14, 2004) was an American second baseman and outfielder in Major League Baseball who played his entire career with the New York Mets (1962–1964). Beloved by Mets fans, his attitude was exemplary for a team that lost a modern-era record 120 games in its inaugural season. Kanehl hit the first grand slam in Mets history on July 6, 1962 at the Polo Grounds.
Before making the major leagues, Kanehl played for eight seasons in the New York Yankees' and Cincinnati Reds' minor league systems. In 1962, at age 28, he was given an opportunity to try out for the Mets' opening season. Through spring training, he worked tirelessly for a spot on the roster. He leaped over an outfield wall in pursuit of a ball and he scored from second on a wild pitch. His attitude and all-out play earned him the nickname ′′Hot Rod′′.
Despite the objections and criticisms of the Mets' general manager George Weiss, manager Casey Stengel stuck with Kanehl. Stengel liked Kanehl's hustle and determination to play the game.
In a three-year career spanning 340 games, Kanehl batted .241 and accrued six home runs, 47 RBI, 103 runs, 23 doubles and 17 stolen bases. A highly versatile utilityman, he played every position except pitcher and catcher.
Kanehl played his final major-league season when Shea Stadium opened its doors in 1964. After the 1964 season, the Mets did not invite Kanehl to spring training, but also prevented him from taking a minor league coaching job he had been offered by the Yankee organization. He worked in construction, sold insurance, and later owned a restaurant. When Stengel died in 1975, Kanehl was the only former Mets player who was present at the funeral.(<question from me: is that a fact?)
After suffering a heart attack, Kanehl died at a hospital in Palm Springs, California at age 70.
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