When did Topps become the Nostradmus Trading Card Co.?

Fellow blogger Dave Mackey, who kicked off his Mets no-hitters count years before this site jumped into the fray, found an interesting blog entry about a 2008 Topps baseball card that suggests that the Mets will end their near 47-year no-hitter streak on Sunday.

According to bdj610’s Topps Baseball Card Blog, the Topps Trading Card Co. company short-printed a 671st card in its Series 2 set (which is supposed to end at 670) showing Johan Santana in action with the caption “SANTANA TOSSES METS 1st NO-NO.”

On the back it provides the following details: On Sept. 28, 2008 against the Marlins, Santana apparently struck out 15 and walked one in a 1-0 win that ended in the bottom of the ninth with four consecutive walks. One of these cards apparently sold on eBay for quite a hefty sum.

I’ve bought some Series 2 packs for my kids and have never stumbled upon this one, leading me to believe it’s either a very, very short print or some kind of a Photoshop hoax.

I did some cursory research and couldn’t find too much additional information about the Santana no-no card, so I decided to see if I, too, could use Photoshop to alter Mets history and end this drought back in 1969 and 1975.

Yep, the Mets indeed have thrown no-hitters before. Need proof? Check out this 1970 Topps card celebrating Jerry Koosman’s no-hitter in Game 5 of the 1969 World Series, giving the Mets their first World Championship AND breaking the team’s seven-plus year streak of having never thrown a no-no.

And here’s a 1976 Topps highlights card celebrating Met pitcher Tom Seaver’s 1975 accomplishment of becoming the first Major League pitcher to hurl three no-hitters in the same season. And you thought he got his first no-hitter as a member of the Cincinnati Reds. Silly.

But, fun aside, I’m all for ending our no-hitter drought on Sunday, the final regular-season game at Shea Stadium. It would be a great way to say goodbye to the Mets’ old home.

But, if I had to choose between a final-game no-hitter and watching the Brewers and Phillies in the NLDS series or a final-game six-hitter that puts the Mets into the postseason, clearly I’d choose the latter.