Adam Ottavino officially back in the fold, and a potential DH target goes elsewhere...

Justin Turner goes to the Blue Jays, and a former Met aint a fan...

What’s Up with the Mets? 🍎

• The Mets officially announced their one-year deal with Adam Ottavino, and designed Tyler Heinemen for assignment to make room for Ottavino on the roster (release)

• Former Met and potential off-season target Justin Turner agreed to a one-year, $13.5 million deal with the Blue Jays

• Travis d’Arnaud is not currently a fan of his former team (Bally Sports)

---

---

Messages in a bottle… ✍️

If you’re a regular Met game watcher like I am, you’ve witnessed that occasional blowout to a point the Mets broadcast literally runs out of things to say.

It is that point in the game Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling breakout the SNY Baseball Card Segment, a ritual which could include the ripping of packs, or just the old fashioned table read of the back of random baseball cards by each broadcaster.

Either way, its probably one of the things I look forward to in the baseball season the most, even if it usually means the Mets are getting destroyed in a game.

Now, I don’t mean this in a negative way but we are at the point in the off-season where I am out of regurgitations, out of player profiles to discuss, out of potential ideas for the Mets roster, out of things we are hearing in general about what the Mets might or not do.

So, the Just Mets’ baseball card segment is coming up. Seriously - I am going to write about baseball cards today. I hope you decide to stick around.

As many of you know by some of my infrequent posts on Twitter and Facebook on this subject, I am and always have been an avid baseball card collector. The first set that identified with me was the 1986 Topps Baseball set. Those were the first packs I can remember opening. From that point forward I began amassing what still remains an endless collection of boxes, books, and individual cards.

1986 Topps Gary Carter

In fact, my wife yesterday reminded me about our closet in our loft, which has loose cards and random boxes littering the area, needs to be cleaned up fives years ago. I promise - its going to happen.

Anyway, I’ve managed to achieve a number of collecting goals even in the midst of what has been one of the greatest booms in the history of the industry. I am a collector of most anything baseball vintage and modern rookies, I buy a complete set of Topps Baseball every year, and look on eBay, Goldin and Heritage pretty much everyday simply for the joy of looking. I also subscribe to the Baseball Cards Daily Newsletter which I strongly recommend as they write stories about players on cards. It’s one of the few genuine and nostalgic newsletters about baseball I genuinely look forward to everyday.

Anyway, my cards today serve as a time capsule now or a message in a bottle. When I look at them, it reminds me of my youth. I keep a running album on my phone of pictures of my favorites, and I love scrolling that album at times to de-stress.

I remember buying some of the individual cards over time, I remember my parents gifting me with them as birthday presents, specifically my 1967 Topps Tom Seaver Rookie Card and my 1968 Topps Mickey Mantle, both of which are in fantastic condition.

The Seaver is my crown jewel, the one that matters the most to me. It’s a high grade, and something I wish I could keep in my house but I know that would be a recipe for disaster:

1967 Topps Tom Seaver

I also remember purchasing my 1968 Topps Jerry Koosman/Nolan Ryan rookie card as a high school graduation gift to myself in 1998:

1968 Topps Jerry Koosman/Nolan Ryan

My most recent vintage purchases have been a bit more modest. Upon learning about Bud Harrelson’s death I decided to purchase some of his early Met cards. I got my hands on a good conditioned 1967 Topps Buddy, which interestingly enough is a picture of him from 1964, evidenced by the patch on his left sleeve:

1967 Topps Bud Harrelson

There’s also an example I procured from the 1969 Topps set, which is probably one of my favorite and what I consider to be the best looking set Topps ever produced:

1969 Topps Bud Harrelson

A couple of years ago, I purchased a 1971 Topps Bud Harrelson, not so much for it being Harrelson’s card but all of the detail contained in the picture:

1971 Topps Bud Harrelson

It’s an action shot of Harrelson tagging a runner out at second. He was obviously out because you can see Nolan Ryan on the right side giving him a fist pump.

Its a card of a play very few, if anyone, might remember but it captures a moment in time of a Gold Glove shortstop making a good play being recognized by who would later become one of the greatest pitchers in the history of baseball.

Something cool to me.

So those are the kinds of cards I consider to be time capsules. It’s funny sometimes to read the bios on the backs of those old cards and to then think about what those players ultimately became, for better or for worse. Between that and remembering the moments I remembered purchasing many of these is my Back to the Future Delorean, if you will.

But then there are my messages in a bottle, which in a way are the same thing. I’ve become less of a pack buyer (see my loft closet upstairs for why) and more of an individual card buyer. I’d rather spend $100 or whatever on the modern cards I want these days (whether they’re worth it or not) than buy a box, potentially for a lot more, and hope I get the cards I am looking for, if that makes sense.

For instance, I have become a regular collector of Bowman Chrome Draft, a set which comes out every year at the beginning of December which highlights that year’s draft class. Not all players get a contract with Topps so not all draftees get their first Bowman card in this set. If you’re a pack buyer of this set, you know how expensive they are as everyone dreams of landing a 1/1 superfractor or whatever they’ve got going on in these boxes.

I’m turning 44, the thrill of the chase is long gone for me. I’d rather just throw down a few bucks and get what I want now. It limits the mess of junk cards, and it’s also cheaper.

I’ve had a few hits over the years, mostly misses because as we all know, most players don’t make it to the big leagues, let alone become stars.

Here’s a hit:

2016 Bowman Chrome Draft Pete Alonso

This was another hit:

2014 Bowman Chrome Jacob deGrom

And, not so much:

There are plenty more misses in my box, but also a lot of hits. Time will certainly tell about this year’s draft class, from which I’ve collected their top four picks already (two autographs, the others refractors).

Anyway, I hope that gave you a glimpse into what I consider the purest form of my fandom. It’s the part that makes me feel like a kid, and remember what it was like to be a kid, even if its just a smidge more expensive to collect today.

---

Hot Stove 🔥

• The Angelos family has agreed to sell the Orioles to a group which includes Cal Ripken Jr. for $1.7 billion (sportico)

• Corey Seager underwent sports hernia surgery on Tuesday - his status for Opening Day is unclear (Rangers Today)

• The Padres are among the clubs interested in Michael Lorenzen (MLB Network)