

1977 Topps Bob Apodaca
Too bad he had arm problems... The one thing I remember about Bob Apodaca is the low ERA on the back of his baseball card. In 1975, he had a 1.49 ERA which was pretty impressive. Then, he just disappeared. Back in those days, there was no internet or any way for a 10 year-old to find out what happened to players from other teams. But in 1979, my new family doctor was a Mets fan. The first thing I asked him was, "do you know what happened to Bob Apodaca?" He told me arm proble


1984 Topps Brian Giles
Not to be confused with the other Brian Giiles. Not to be confused with the White Brian Giles, this is the Black Brian Giles, who was a nothing special player for the early 1980s Mets. He then vanished for years only to re-appear in the late 1990s playing for the Atlantic City Surf in the Independent League. I swear, when I saw him out there, I couldn't help but laugh. He was out of the majors for more than a decade and then he surfaces at the Jersey shore? What are the odds?


1979 Topps Willie Montanez
The Ultimate Showboat Willie was far from his prime by the time he put on a Mets uniform. He came over in a complicated four team deal with names like Bert Blyleven, John Milner and Jon Matlack involved. You need an advanced degree in something to figure out who traded whom. Willie didn't do much nor last long for the Mets. But he was traded for a pitcher who would make an impact for them, albeit briefly, Ed Lynch, the man who made more money in arbitration one year than Ron