Mets Card of the Week: 2011 Ike Davis

2011 TOPPS CHROME IKE DAVIS

I took down the holiday decorations this past weekend, along with some signage left over from my son’s birthday celebration.

And tonight I stepped out of my car and was pelted by sloppy wet papier-mache snowflakes.

I tell you, mid-January was just made for thumbing through boxes of old baseball cards…

I’m on the couch now looking through some 2011 cards from various sets, and there’s a general paucity of Mets. A David Wright here, a Pedro Beato there.

And this Topps Chrome Ike Davis.

It should be noted that these Chrome cards stink. Literally. The shiny gloss smells like a combination of paint thinner and 1978 New Jersey.

And the chemical composition of that coating makes the cardboard warp and bow something fierce. When you lay one on a table it looks like a Shrinky Dink halfway done in the oven…

But still I sit here and stare at this shot of Ike taking a cautious lead, and I close my eyes and see that loping left-handed swing, like Dave Magadan with pop. And I think about Ike and I hope he’s healthy and ready for 2012.

And I feel the snow melting that has not yet even fallen.

And my heart skips right to spring and just keeps on going…