George Stone Relaxes by Swimming: Topps and the Mets

While rummaging through my old baseball card collection (yes, I am an adult with a wife and child), I dug up some old Topps cards from the early 1970s. On the back of some of these old cards there is a comic-like drawing with a little tidbit on what the player did during the winter or maybe a hobby he enjoys. The Mets players I came across included pitcher Cal Koonce, whose 1970 card says, "Cal is a stock-broker in the off-season." Met legend Ed Kranepool's '70 card states, "Ed and Ron Swoboda own a restaurant in New York." Obscure infielder Bobby Pfeil's card reads, "Bobby works in a movie studio in the off-season." And George Stone's '73 card tells us, "George relaxes by swimming." Accompanying it is a drawing of a pitcher winding up while wearing a bathing suit. Topps still throws these little nuggets on their cards to this day, and I was able to get ahold of some anecdotes that didn't quite make it onto this year's Mets cards. Ramon Castro: "In the off-season, Ramon travels around his homeland trying to find someone who has a bigger head than he has." Aaron Heilman: "When not giving up home runs, Aaron practices scowling in the mirror." Moises Alou: "Moises often has trouble remembering which Alou brother?Felipe, Matty or Jesus?is his father and which are his uncles." Johan Santana: "Johan loves baseball so much that he'd play for free, but decided to take the $150 million the Mets were willing to give him anyway." Joe Smith: "Joe once ate 400 marshmallows in 10 minutes down in the bullpen just to see if he could, and when he finished he threw up all over Scott Schoeneweis." Carlos Beltran: "During his down time, Carlos likes to relax by cultivating the giant mole on his ear." Jose Reyes: "Jose doesn't like having Lenny Dykstra's old locker because of all the old tobacco juice stains that are still there." Ryan Church: "Ryan spent the fall of 2006 walking across America with Simon Cowell doing odd jobs and getting into adventures." Pedro Feliciano: "Pedro likes to wear his uniform out in public because he's proud to be a big leaguer." Mike Pelfrey: "Mike once robbed a liquor store and shot the owner in the leg, but now laughs it off as 'something everybody does while they're in college.'" John Maine: "John settles himself down out on the mound by pretending he's Andy Griffith." David Wright: "During the winter, David lives with his parents and spends his time as a wedding crasher ('Ma! The meatloaf!')." Endy Chavez: "Endy dresses up as Rafael Santana every year for Halloween." Brian Schneider: "Brian enjoyed his time in Washington, DC, so much that he's thinking of running for president some day!" Luis Castillo: "During the off-season, Luis only communicates through whistles and clicks." Billy Wagner: "Billy admires actor Alan Thicke." Carlos Delgado: "Carlos likes to unwind with a hot bubble bath, a good cup of tea and then settle in with a nice long Mama's Family marathon." Pedro Martinez: "Every time Pedro cashes one of his checks from the Mets, he just laughs and shakes his head."