Hammer of the Gods

I've been holdig a few recent Noah Syndergaard pick-ups in my 'Scans' folder for a couple weeks now.  I suspect now might be a good time to unleash them on the blog.

In case you've been M.I.A. or otherwise out of the loop, the hulking right-hander crushed a pair of home runs at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, accounting for four RBIs in a 4-3 Mets win.  Oh, and he also hurled eight pearly innings to snag win No. 3 of the young campaign.

In other words, Thors-day was in full effect!

Only one other pitcher in Mets history cracked two long balls in one game (Walt Terrell, 1983 at Wrigley) and Thor is the first MLB pitcher to accomplish the feat since 2007.

So, in honor of last night's fireworks, this post features three cards of Syndergaard -- one for each career home run on his resume.

In the lead-off spot is one of those fancy Walmart Marketside oddballs.  I won this one in an eBay auction for just 99-cents, shipped.  No need to buy any fast-food pizza or breadsticks (though I do enjoy both of those things!).

Been chasing this one for a while.  From last year's Topps Update Chrome set.  I somehow won this in a one-bid auction for just a dime (plus $1.40 shipping).  I'll take that all day!

This one arrived today, actually.  Card No. 492 from this year's Heritage set.  In other words, a pesky short print. The seller accepted my Best Offer of $1.50.  Again, all day, every day for that price.  The only depressing part about this one is that I need yet another copy for my Mets collection, as this one goes towards the set build.

Oh, and while we're talkin' Thor, allow me to finally weigh in on the Topps Now 'instant card' gimmick.  Not a huge fan, but this'll mark the first time I partake.  The website announced the creation of a special Syndergaard card for the aforementioned occasion.  I missed the boat on the Bartolo homer card and now they're priced way out of my league on eBay.  So, I don't want to miss the boat on the card commemorating Noah's feat.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not too keen on putting down a 10-spot for a single card -- especially one that's not vintage or doesn't contain an auto -- but sometimes you gotta just bite the bullet.  I'm almost tempted to go in for the 5-for-$29.99 deal and make a profit by selling four of 'em on eBay.  But, I'm much too lazy for that.

MK