I love this card, which I got at a show in 2012; I’ll bet even the kids in 1971 who didn’t like the Mets wanted this action shot. I tried to figure out which game it’s from, but Ray Sadecki pitching to Duffy Dyer at Shea Stadium isn’t anywhere near enough to go on.
When I started following the Mets in 1974, Ray Sadecki was a pretty good swingman who’d been with the team for a few seasons… so I tend to forget that he had an entire career before he was a Met. He started out in 1960 as a 19-year-old with the Cardinals. In 1964 he won 20 games and won game #1 of the World Series against the Yankees. He later got traded to the Giants for Orlando Cepeda.
When the Mets got him before the 1970 season, he was 29 and entering his 11th season. He was a good pitcher for 5 seasons with the Mets, and got a save in the 1973 World Series. After the 1974 season, he and minor league pitcher Tommy Moore were traded to the Cardinals for Joe Torre. Over the rest of his career, he’d pitch for the Braves, Brewers and Royals before pitching a short stint with the Mets at the end of his career.
I have wanted to put together the 1971 set for a long time now. Its my birth year and I think it would be pretty awesome if I can somehow complete it. I think what’s holding me back from doing so is there are some expensive cards in this set like the Munson rookie and any card with Clemente, Aaron, Mays, etc should go for a pretty penny.
I think ill start looking into it and see what I can do to get started.
It would be an awesome set to complete. Maybe you can just buy cards as you come across them and hope you run across some bargains on the big guns. If nothing else, you’ll have a really cool near set.
I’ve been doing inventory on my 1970, 1971 and 1972 sets, and although I’d never really meant to build the sets, I’ve realized that I’ve accumulated enough cards that I look at my wantlists and say “Hmmmm, maybe it’s not out of the question…”