Don't be "Ngervis" when bidding on eBay

A few nights ago, I got a direct message tweet from Marcus over at All The Way To The Backstop. He said that he accidentally bid on (and won) the same card twice, so he was having one shipped to me.

I figured the mystery card had some sort of Padres/Yankees connection. Maybe it was a Chase Headley card? Maybe it had something to do with Ian Kennedy? To my surprise, this showed up:

Very cool! A 2014 Topps Chrome Sepia Refractor of former Yankee and current Padre Yangervis Solarte! It’s the first Solarte card in my collection, and is #’d 27/75. I haven’t seen any of these in person yet, but they are gorgeous cards.

I liked Solarte. He was a nice find for the Yanks as a minor league free agent, and he got off to a scorching start after making the team. It almost hurt him, as he seemed to put too much pressure on himself to sustain his numbers. He slumped and just tried to hit HRs, and eventually lost playing time. He’s a very useful player, as he can play all over the field. And while he’s probably not destined to be a long-term starter, guys like him are super important. He definitely feels like more of a National Leaguer because of his versatility and the late-game moves that occur more frequently in the NL. Plus he's under team control for awhile.

The Yanks dealt Solarte to San Diego for Chase Headley, a player I’ve really grown to like. Headley hasn’t set the world on fire with the Yanks, although he’s had some big hits. His defense at third is phenomenal. I didn’t know he was as good of a defender as he has shown so far. A free agent after this season, I do hope the Yanks bring him back, but not for too ridiculous of a deal. I’d love something in the 2 year/20 mil range or so. Seems fair, but what do I know?

Anyhow, thanks Marcus. This was a great surprise!