Hey Dickey!

As I mentioned in other posts, I am not really sure what "kind" of collector I am.  It seems that I like to complete sets, and I definitely have an affinity for tradional set-building, focusing almost exclusively on Topps flagship.  However, the story of certain players has drawn me to at least consider "player" collecting - and if there was a current player to start with, this MIGHT be my guy. 

Dickey pitched a couple of years ago in Buffalo, the Mets AAA affiliate, and I kept seeing him put up excellent numbers.  However, despite numerous injuries to the Mets staff that season, it seemed that everyone got called up before him.  But when he did get his shot, he pitched beautifully.  He has truly had a second career as a Met, and it's been solid.  He was 11-8 with a stellar 2.84 ERA in 2010, and followed it up with a better-than-it-looked 8-13 with a 3.28 ERA in 2011 (and a 2.87 ERA in the 2nd half of '11).  Although I'm not sure you would say his "first career" was much of anything - he was a true journeyman - and sported an ERA around 5.50 in his pre-Met career.

His card this year is wild.  I hated it at first, but the screaming face and bizarre camera angle is definitely growing on me.