P-Town's Kinda, Sorta All-Stars

A couple weeks ago, P-Town Tom posted about a recent retail purchase he made, and I was fortunate enough to jump into the fray and claim the unwanted Mets!

As Tom rightly pointed out in his post, the special Topps All-Star factory sets for either league are no longer touted as "All-Stars" but, instead, "League Standouts."  Which, is certainly more accurate, I suppose, since a number of the players chosen for these sets weren't even All-Stars.  I never noticed nor cared, really.  But, good on Topps.

Case in point, is the lead-off card in this post, which is one of the three Mets included in the 2016 NL League Standouts set.  Jeurys Familia was one of the best closers in the league last year--and he paces the loop with 26 saves this season--but he wasn't chosen an All-Star in 2015.

See?  Standout, not All-Star.

Matt Harvey started the 2013 All-Star Game at Citi Field, but he wasn't selected to last year's Midsummer's Classic.  Still, Harvey logged a fine '15 season with 13 wins and a 2.71 ERA for the NL Champs.

At last; an All-Star!  Jacob deGrom was New York's lone NL All-Star rep in Cincy and he made a memorable impression in the contest.  The lanky right-hander worked a single inning, using just 10 pitches to strike out the side.

Listen, I don't care what you call these cards.  All-Stars, Standouts or Players Who Rock...these are Mets cards and they are great additions to my collection!

Along with this star-studded trio, Tom also included a smattering of other Mets to make my day...

For someone who spent just a few months as a Met, Hideo Nomo sure does have his share of cards in blue and orange (and, yes, black).  No complaints here, as I've always been a Nomo fan.

The base version of this one is probably my favorite card of the colorful Bell.  Just one season as a Met, but he played with flair and was a fun guy to watch.  I was giddy to find this Gold Medallion parallel mixed into the package from Tom.

Finishing up with a card of the HOF-bound Mike Piazza is always a good idea.  If only Topps could make fun and inspired inserts like this for us today.

Thanks a lot for hooking me up with these fantastic cards, Tom!  I've got a return package of goodies to send your way this week.

MK