Tag Archives: Javier Baez

2021 Mets Debut Autographs

Posted by on 4 August 2021 Comments Off on 2021 Mets Debut Autographs

Playoffs or bust! Probably bust.

So, um, right. The Mets! After falling face-first into the All-Star break somehow still in first place in the NL East, the Mets were looking like their days atop the standings were near an end. Then Noah Syndergaard had a setback, Jacob deGrom and Francisco Lindor hit the IL, and the team lost games in the worst ways. All while remaining in first place. And they did it with the help of, let’s see… Billy McKinney, Jerad Eickhoff, Tylor Megill, Robert Stock, Jerad Eickhoff, Anthony Banda, Jerad Eickhoff… Pitchers were landing on the 60-day IL or getting claimed/traded faster than the Mets could re-sign Jerad Eickhoff. Because that’s what first-place teams do. Wha?

With the trade deadline fast approaching, help was sure to be on the way. New owner Steve Cohen gave the green light to push past the luxury tax threshold and the Mets had loads of holes to fill, including one shaped exactly like Kris Bryant. With the Cubs (and the notoriously cheap Ricketts family) in “Everything must go!” mode, the Mets got, um, Javier Báez. For 2020 1st round pick Pete Crow-Armstrong. But the Cubs also threw in 5th starter candidate (and soon-to-be Syracuse resident) Trevor Williams and enough cash to bring their salaries down to the league minimum. Woo.

On the pitching front, the Mets had a clear need for someone better than Rich Hill, acquired earlier that week. The big prize was José Berríos, but the Mets front office was not thrilled with the Twins’ asking price, reportedly something in the vicinity of Ronny Mauricio and Dominic Smith. Clearly, the Twins weren’t getting anything close to that, until the Blue Jays offered up Austin Martin, the star of 2021 Bowman, and former Mets prospect Simeon Woods Richardson. Whoops.

At least we could look forward to Jacob deGrom returning soon. Until the Mets announced, just after the trade deadline, that deGrom was being shut down for another two weeks and would be back in September. At the earliest. Carlos Carrasco made his first start for the Mets that night with the much anticipated/dreaded return of the black jerseys and Báez hit a home run in his first game with the Mets the next day, but it was taking all this team had left to pull off a few one-run victories between crushing defeats. Oof.

And yet, they still sat in first place at the start of August, though with the replenished Phillies and Braves on the hunt for a winning record. At least nothing else could go wrong…

Well, other than not signing their first round draft pick over nebulous health concerns. The Mets!

Kevin Pillar Francisco Lindor James McCann Trevor May
5 April 2021 5 April 2021 5 April 2021 5 April 2021
Aaron Loup Jonathan Villar Albert Almora Jr. Jacob Barnes
5 April 2021 5 April 2021 6 April 2021 7 April 2021
 
Joey Lucchesi Taijuan Walker Trevor Hildenberger Sean Reid-Foley
7 April 2021 8 April 2021 17 April 2021 22 April 2021
Stephen Tarpley Jose Peraza Patrick Mazeika* Jordan Yamamoto
24 April 2021 2 May 2021 5 May 2021 5 May 2021
 
Tommy Hunter Jake Hager* Johneshwy Fargas* Khalil Lee*
7 May 2021 15 May 2021 17 May 2021 17 May 2021
 
Cameron Maybin Brandon Drury Yennsy Diaz Billy McKinney
19 May 2021 21 May 2021 23 May 2021 27 May 2021
   
Mason Williams Travis Blankenhorn Jerad Eickhoff Tylor Megill*
31 May 2021 2 June 2021 21 June 2021 23 June 2021
Thomas Szapucki* Robert Stock Nick Tropeano Anthony Banda
30 June 2021 7 July 2021 9 July 2021 19 July 2021
 
Geoff Hartlieb Rich Hill Akeem Bostick* Carlos Carrasco
20 July 2021 25 July 2021 29 July 2021 30 July 2021
Javier Báez
31 July 2021

*MLB Debut

Read more »

Cashing in on Hot Rookies

Posted by on 17 November 2016 Comments Off on Cashing in on Hot Rookies

To sell or not to sell?

For those of us in the aging collector demographic, our childhoods were spent dreaming of the vast fortunes that awaited us in adulthood as our cards grew in value like those from generations past. The reality turned out to be quite the opposite though, as our massive cardboard reserves are now barely worth the paper they’re printed on. Ever since that harsh reality set in, collectors have struggled with the decision of what to do with hot cards they pull from packs. Sell for the quick cash? Wait and see for a little while and dump at the first sign of a downturn? Or hold on for the long haul and hope for a big return in the far future? My take is that you shouldn’t worry about it much, just keep what you like and sell off anything else that has value. Live in the now and let someone else take on the risk. But how has that worked out for me over the last 15+ years?

Read more »

2015 Biggest Pulls

Posted by on 24 December 2015 Comments Off on 2015 Biggest Pulls

A Case of Redemption

After a dismal 2014, I’d had enough. This just wasn’t fun anymore. My plan was to back off of hobby boxes and go with breaks whenever that made more sense. As plans go, it wasn’t necessarily a bad one. It lasted 8 months. Despite a strong start to 2015, I stuck with my plans to cut back, limiting myself to whatever retail I could find and an occasional hobby box for a select few products. Team and player breaks filled in the gaps, along with the usual purchases on the secondary market. And then this happened.

Read more »