#314) WES GARDNER

Wes Gardner was selected by the New York Mets in the 22nd round of the 1982 amateur draft. He made his major league debut on July 29, 1984. Throwing a perfect ninth inning in a 5-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Shea Stadium. While bouncing back-and-forth between Triple-A Tidewater and the major-leagues, Gardner lead the International League in saves during the 1984 and 1985 campaigns.

The right-hander was considered the top reliever in the Mets' farm system when he was traded to the Boston Red Sox. Sent along with John Christensen, Calvin Shiraldi, and La Schelle Tarver in exchange for Bob Ojeda, Tom McCarthy, John Mitchell and Chris Bayer on November 13, 1985. He appeared in 30 games for the Mets during parts of two major league seasons.

Gardner became the coach of his hometown American Legion baseball team following his active pitching career. He owned and operated a farm in the Benton, Arkansas area.

Wes was inducted with the inaugural class of the University of Central Arkansas Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001.

I created Wes Gardner's card from a signed index card given to me by my friend Wally on February 7, 2010.

#303) RON DARLING

Ron Darling joined the New York Mets when he was traded from the Texas Rangers along with Walt Terrell in exchange for Lee Mazzilli on April 1, 1982. A tremendous trade for the Mets that was orchestrated by General Manager, Joe McIlvaine. "We made the trade late in the day," Joe said, "And when we announced it, I was at a high school game in Tampa. And when I got there, I saw Joe Klein. He was the head of player development for the Rangers then. He was—I don't know, 150 feet away—and he starts running toward me. And I mean running. And he starts yelling, 'What did you do to me? What did you do?'" To top it off the young high school pitcher being scouted that day was none other than Dwight Gooden.

Darling pitched two seasons with Triple-A Tidewater before earning a late season promotion when rosters expanded. He made his major-league debut in a Mets' uniform at Shea Stadium facing the Philadelphia Phillies on September 6, 1983. The first three hitters that Darling faced were Joe Morgan, Pete Rose, and Mike Schmidt. The right-handed rookie would strike out both Morgan and Rose before retiring Schmidt on a groundout. "That's why I hope Pete makes it to the Hall of Fame someday," Ron said. "I don't think anyone has faced three hitters like that to begin their career."

It was only the start of what was to follow. Darling would earn the National League Pitcher of the Month Award in June of 1984. He represented the Mets in the Major League All-Star Game in 1985. A excellent fielder, Ron earned a National League Gold Glove Award in 1989.

He played a major role in bringing New York a World Series Championship in 1986. A part of the tremendously talented starting pitching staff that year, Darling won Game Four of the World Series, and was one of a three-man rotation used against Boston during the seven game victory. After the road team had been victorious in the first four games of the series, he famously was quoted, "It just goes to show you that baseball makes no sense at all."

After a nine-year career with the Mets where he had 99 wins and a 3.50 ERA, the former Yale standout was traded to the Montreal Expos with Mike Thomas in exchange for Tim Burke on July 15, 1991. New York had decided that he was going to be dropped from the starting rotation in favor of Sid Fernandez, "It's better for me to have a chance to pitch every fifth day rather than not pitch and mop up." Darling said.

Ron made his major motion picture acting debut in 2001. Appearing in the film Shallow Hal with Gwyneth Paltrow, on the advice of his son, Tyler. "You have to do it Dad," the younger Darling explained, "She's the bomb." The former pitcher followed that with the roles of a news anchor in The Day After Tomorrow and an announcer in the television movie, Clubhouse.

In 2009, Darling published his book, The Complete Game: Reflections on Baseball, Pitching and Life on the Mound. It serves as a terrific insight into the pitcher's thought process. An excerpt reads: "A major league pitching mound can be the loneliest place in all of team sports, and it can be the loftiest. It's up to each pitcher to claim that small piece of real estate and make it his own—no matter the inning, no matter the situation, no matter what." -Ron Darling

As a member of the SNY Television announcing team, Ron began covering the New York Mets broadcasts in 2006. He has been described as one of the most articulate commentators in baseball. Confirmed when Darling won an Emmy Award for best "Sports Analyst" in 2006. He has also appeared on Turner Sports as an analyst for their game broadcasts.

Ron Darling signed his card in the set for my good friend, Jessie through the legendary Jack Berke on

June 5, 2010. Jack's website can be found here.

#396) CHRIS DONNELS

Chris Donnels was selected by the New York Mets organization in the first round (24th overall pick) of the free agent draft on June 2, 1987. The team was playing the Dodgers in Los Angeles a few days later, and took advantage of that to introduce the Loyola Marymouth University product to the media. "This is very exciting. I've been jumping around since I heard," Donnels said. "It's exciting to meet all the guys. I'm really interested in getting out and playing. I'm not really used to a layoff."

Chris made his major-league debut as a New York Met on May 7, 1991. He was the starting third baseman in the victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Shea Stadium that day. A crowd of 44,744 were on hand to see it. "It's nice to have all these people come out to see me," Donnels joked. More likely the draw was seeing Darryl Strawberry appear in New York wearing a Dodgers uniform for the first time. Chris singled in a run during his first at-bat and received a loud ovation. Following a bare-handed grab of a bunt the rookie was given a standing ovation by the hometown crowd. "That gave me a thrill," Donnels said. "It was great enough to make the play, then the crowd appreciated it."

Splitting time between New York and Triple-A Tidewater he would appear in 82 total games for the Mets. Dave Magadan's broken wrist created the best opportunity for Donnels to play in 1992. Chris was unable to consistently hit and finished with a disappointing .195 batting average. He was selected by the newly formed Florida Marlins as the 67th pick in the expansion draft on November 17, 1992.

After his baseball career, Donnels became a scout working for iScouts, Inc., an independent organization owned by former major-leaguer Mike Pagliarulo.

Chris Donnels signed his card in the set from an autograph request sent to his home on March 6, 2009.

#527) SHAWN GILBERT

Shawn Gilbert was signed by the New York Mets as a free agent on January 30, 1996. He had been drafted by the Dodgers, Reds, and Twins and played in the White Sox and Phillies organizations before coming to New York. Shawn became the oldest rookie in Mets' history when he made his major-league debut on June 2, 1997 at the age of 32. A wait of 11 seasons and 1,284 minor-league games. "I persevered long enough to fulfill a dream," Gilbert said following his first game. "How long it lasts, I don't know, but it's official now. I'm in the (Baseball) Encyclopedia."

Shawn came to the plate as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning. Drilling a single to left and later called home to Fresno, California, to tell his wife Diana. "You're batting 1.000." she told him.

Shawn was always described as a "blue-collar guy" and a "good clubhouse presence" on each team he played. The versatile player was promoted at three different times during the 1997 season. Unfortunately he was only able to muster a .136 batting average in the 22 at-bats he received. So most of his time was spent with Triple-A Tidewater.

The Mets brought Gilbert back to New York for only three games the next season. On May 12, 1998 he was designated for assignment when the team was short of catchers and added Rick Wilkins to the roster. When starting shortstop, Rey Ordoñez broke his hand on June 1st, the team declared Shawn his replacement. However, before Gilbert could make his first start he was diagnosed with a staph infection in his right knee. Once recovered, Shawn was shipped to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Wayne Kirby on June 10th.

"I've had limited opportunities up there, but as small as those opportunities are, I really haven't made the most of them," Gilbert reflected. "So I would say a lot of the blame falls on me. Your window of opportunity is not big sometimes. Sometimes you just have to make the most of that opportunity."

After his active playing career, Shawn became an assistant baseball coach at Fresno Pacific University and an instructor at The Diamond Athlete Academy in Fresno.

Shawn Gilbert signed his card in the set from an autograph request sent to his home on February 3, 2010.

#2) GEORGE ALTMAN

George Altman was traded along with Bill Wakefield by the St. Louis Cardinals to the the New York Mets in exchange for Roger Craig on November 4, 1963. The timing of the trade placed Altman on the team during the first season at Shea Stadium and his second spot in the batting order on Opening Day 1964 made him number two in the autograph project.

The former two-time National League All-Star with the Chicago Cubs was brought in to provide a left-handed power bat in a line-up that sorely needed one. George would hit the second Mets' home run in the new ballpark's history on May 6, 1964. It was surprisingly one of only nine home runs that George would deliver for New York in his 124 games that season. His 47 RBIs spoke more to the overall poor offense of the club.

Altman was traded back to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Billy Cowan on January 15, 1965. The left-fielder remained with the Cubs until taking his baseball career to Japan in 1968. There he played for both the Lotte Orions and Hashin Tigers teams during a seven-year stint. "I had a lot of injury problems with the Cubs," Altman said. "When I went to Japan I got in better shape than most of my teammates. I worked out a little harder than most. They used to get on me a little bit for trying to show them up." The slugger earned All-Star honors five times before retiring in 1975. He hit more than 200 home runs during that time.

George had been a member of the Negro League team, the Kansas City Monarchs before reaching the major-leagues. The manager of the Monarchs was Hall of Famer, Buck O'Neil and Altman was also privileged to have a very famous teammate. "To be on the same team as the legendary Satchel Paige, and to sit around listening to him tell stories, was something." recalled George. "He used to brag about how he could hit. He could hit a little bit too."

After his baseball career, George returned to Chicago where he worked for the Board of Trade. Following that Altman has run a pre-paid legal services business and traded commodities out of his home near St. Louis, Missouri. All while volunteering with the Boys Foundation and mentoring youth within the community.

George Altman signed his card in the set from an autograph request sent to his home on November 14, 2008.

#304) CLINT HURDLE

Clint Hurdle first signed with the New York Mets as a free agent on April 7, 1983. He would play that season with the Triple-A Tidewater team until the major league rosters expanded at the end of the year. Clint made his New York Mets' debut on September 12, 1983. Coming into that game as a pinch-hitter facing the Phillies in Philadelphia. In total he would appear in 13 games, but only manage a .182 batting average during them.

The man who had been touted, "This Year's Phenom" on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine as a rookie in 1978 was back in the minor leagues for the 1984 season. Playing the year again with the Tidewater Tides where he seemed to have become insurance for the major league team. Hurdle was recalled again to New York for 43 games in 1985, but left the Mets when selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the Rule V Draft on December 10, 1985.

On February 9, 1987, the Mets resigned Clint as a free agent. He would once again become a member of the Tides, but appear in three more games for New York. His last game as a major leaguer came with a pinch-hit appearance for the Mets on June 26, 1987.

Hurdle remained with the Mets' organization after his playing career. Becoming the manager at Single-A St. Lucie in 1988. Then spending the next five seasons continuing to move up the minor-league system. Clint's final year in the organization was serving as the manager in Triple-A Norfolk where he had spent much time as a player.

An odd misunderstanding brought Hurdle back into the New York newspaper headlines in 1992. The Tides' manager was arrested for shoplifting $1.79 worth of Valentine's Day items from a grocery store in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It was reported that he was more embarrassed than anything else and paid the fine.

Hurdle has enjoyed much success in coaching at the major-league level. Including a World Series run with the Colorado Rockies in 2007. The next summer he was the manager of the National League in the 79th Major League All-Star team. "It's chilling," Clint said at the time. "If somebody had told me back in '87 when I was a backup catcher with the Mets that I would be back at Yankee Stadium managing the National League all-star team, I probably would have begged to differ."

I created Clint Hurdle's card in the set from an autographed index card I purchased from Jack Smalling in January 2009. Jack's website is www.baseballaddresses.com

#349) KEITH MILLER

Keith Miller was signed by the New York Mets as a free agent on September 6, 1984. He had been first signed as a second round draft choice by the New York Yankees, but they chose to void the contract citing a knee injury. Miller served the Mets organization as a very versatile player that could play both infield and outfield positions. A player who worked hard and won the respect of his managers along the way.

He made his major league debut on June 16, 1987. Keith made an immediate impression that game. Miller collected two hits in his four at-bats facing the Expos in Montreal. He attempted to stretch the second single into a double. The hustling infielder was cut down by the Expos' center fielder, and dislocated his finger during the head-first slide. Keith rose to his feet and reset the finger himself to remain in the game. When the injury later proved too prohibitive he was placed on the disabled list on June 29th. The Mets reactivated him on September 1st, but he was limited to pinch-running duty. Post-season surgery was performed on October 7th to repair ligament and tendon damage.

Miller was the first Mets' player to report to spring training the next year with good reason. "There are no jobs on the club," He was quoted. "Nothing. They're solid everywhere. But I can play second, third and center. And I was always driven—I guess 'determined' is a better word—to succeed. Ever since I was a little kid." The man often described as a "gamer" found a way to help a very talented team in 1988. He appeared in 40 games, but spent most of the season shuttling between the rosters of New York and Triple-A Tidewater. A pattern that would continue during most of his Mets' career.

Keith was established as the starting center fielder on Opening Day 1990. The move was made more as a way to get him into the lineup every day. Concern over his lack of experience at the position (he had only played seven games in the major leagues there) was lost on the 25 year-old, "I'm not used to center, but I feel fine out there, and I'm not afraid." Miller struggled defensively as the everyday option. He was returned to his more accustomed, and valuable role of "super-sub". Keith would excel in 1991 and post his best season in New York with a .280 batting average over 98 games.

The New York Mets traded Miller along with Kevin McReynolds and Gregg Jeffries in exchange for Bret Saberhagen and Bill Pecota on December 6, 1991.

After his playing career he has become a sports agent working for the ACES agency run by Seth and Sam Levinson. "I loved playing the game so much that to me it was the best job in the world," he explained. "But I look at what I'm doing now as the second-best job in the world." One of Keith's most notable clients is David Wright.

Miller was inducted into the Oral Roberts University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008.

Keith Miller signed his card in the set for my friend, Lou while he was attending the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets game at Citi Field on May 25, 2010.