Card of the Week: Glavine 300 Win Patch Card

2008 Upper Deck Premier Stitchings
Tom Glavine
Materials: Card Stock and Thread/Patch

The Player:
Yes, I am a Met fan posting a Tom Glavine card. I do not hate Glavine for the final game of the Mets' regular season in 2007. While I rationally understand his comments subsequent to the game as being true, I do think they were in bad taste. I also think that a HOF pitcher needs to do better than Glavine did on that infamous day in Mets history. Nevertheless, I respect Glavine as the HOF pitcher that he is and simply do not consider him a Met. This is of note because though Pedro will always be known as a Red Sox player I still consider him a Met. Pedro may be the Red Sox fans' first, but the Mets fans have a certain claim on him too. The Braves can have Glavine in his entirety as far as I'm concerned as a result of that game (I am happy, though, that it was not Glavine's final game).

The Card:
Ah yes, the manufactured patch card perhaps the most debated: is it overpriced filler, interesting innovation, or ambivalent insert? I tend to like manufactured patch cards outside the letterman stuff. However, I do actively dislike the letterman patches which are single letters from the team or player's name. Additionally, some patches are boring like the simple team logos. Yet, I REALLY like some of the patches from Upper Deck's Premier Stitchings Set. This, along with the others commemorating specific events are probably my favorites. I scored this beauty at a card show for $3 and I was genuinely surprised at the low price (it probably did not hurt that the market for Glavine cards in suburban IL is probably not what it is in Atlanta). Out of the many manufactured patch cards I have seen, this has got to be up there as one of my favorites. It has the team colors, a player image, and an indication of the event to be commemorated and, for me, these are the key ingredients of a very cool manufactured patch card.

The Materials:
I like to think that textiles in baseball cards gained popularity as a return to more traditional materials after the use/experimentation with more modern materials like acetate during the 90s. Acetate and other plastic cards remain relatively rare in the hobby while more traditional materials such as patches, silk, and even game used jerseys have become familiar staples. How true this whole assessment is I am not sure, but one could write an interesting sociological/anthropological commentary on the whole issue were it true.

One of the things I like about the manufactured patch cards is how different the process of creating them must be compared to creating a normal or even plastic baseball card. I imagine it to be like one of those machines that customizes hats at Lids, and for some reason find the thought of these particular patches being created in that way especially interesting. Maybe it is just me...

Anyway, if you have any interesting manufactured patch cards up for trade drop me an email, whether or not they are Mets (as long as they aren't yankees).

First Completed Trade

Courtesy of BA Benny I got my first package of trade material in the mail today. He was very generous with me, especially considering the fact that we are both Met fans. I got some great game used cards and other Mets singles in return for the vast majority of my yankee collection including the one game-used card I have ever pulled (of course it would be a Bernie Williams card) and all my Jeters and Posadas. Thank you for taking them off my hands and sending me back some NL New York cards! I even got an Edgardo Alfonzo card that I did not already have.

First, my favorite game used from the bunch, a Turkey Red Pedro Jersey card. Yes, I am posting back-to-back Pedro game used cards, but I have always enjoyed Turkey Red and I love the texture on this card (which you can see from the scan) in addition to a black uniform piece that will compliment the white ones from the last post. I was looking at the statistics from Pedro's first season with the Mets, on the back of a Topps Opening Day card from the trade, and I had forgotten how good Pedro was that year: a 0.95 WHIP and almost 9K/9. That was one of the best years in Pedro's career.

My favorite completely cardboard card was the David Wright on the right. I like the return to classic card designs that the industry decided on several years ago. The bright colors on this card are awesome and contrast nicely with the black and white photo.

So thanks again BA Benny! I will let you know when I get some more Yankee cards worth trading.

I should be getting several other packages in the mail this week from trades and ebay, so I have some fun stuff to look forward to.

Tuesday Visit to the Card Shop

So I stopped by my local card store today and picked up some nice game used cards. I grabbed a Matt Cain, Adam Dunn, Johan Santana in a Twins uniform, and this Pedro (all but the Pedro would be available for the right offer).

I am a big fan of this card as I have been fortunate enough to see him in person at Fenway in his prime and at Shea (once each when it was his first home start of the season). Even after he was clearly past his prime with the Mets it was always an event to see him pitch.

As for the card itself, it is my first dual jersey. Jersey cards clearly are more than just cardboard, and I do not think that it is merely coincidence that game used cards started becoming more common at about the same time that card companies began experimenting with different card stocks.

While I am a huge fan of this card for sentimental personal experience reasons, I do wish that the two uniforms had been different colors. Why not one home and one away? The way it is makes it very easy for me to imagine that both pieces are from the same uniform, which would defeat the purpose of the card. And why do neither of the Pedro pictures show him in a white uniform when the two pieces of uniform are white?

Those are the kind of details that separate a good card like this one from a great card. On the bright side at least he has the jerry curls in one photo and not the other! Oh Pedro, I was rooting for you even when you pitched for the Phillies this past season. I wonder where you will end up this year.

PS: There is a seem in the top jersey piece, though that is not as exciting as a pinstripe.