Top 5 Cards; Jacob deGrom

A couple of hours, New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom captured the 2019 NL Cy Young award, giving him back-to-back award wins for the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

Last year, when the right-hander posted a historic 1.70 ERA and struck out 269 batters, deGrom was a lock for his first-ever Cy Young award. Though he was, once again, fabulous in 2019 (2.43 ERA with 255 K's) he wasn't quite as dominant as the year before.

He also faced some tough competition from division rival Max Scherzer and Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu, but the results, more or less, remained the same. Once again, deGrom received 29/30 first-place votes, catapulting him to his 2nd straight award win.

I'll be intrigued to see what rookie manager Carlos Beltran does with a Mets pitching staff in 2020 that'll consist of deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz, and Marcus Stroman.

This rotation, barring any injuries or declines in performance, should be among the best in baseball, and they'll have an excellent ace at the helm.

I haven't been player collecting Jacob deGrom for all that long, but I've amassed 61 total cards of the 31-year old. This total puts him at #100 on my list of player collections, organized from largest to smallest.

Though the countdown may not feature as wide of a variety of cards as some of the other players that I collect, I'm quite pleased with how the top 5 turned out.

#5 2018 Topps Chrome Negative Refractor

When deciding which cards should make the top 5 and what the order should be, I try not to include a card solely because I like the set design/parallel. I did, however, feel obligated to make a small exception for deGrom's negative refractor from 2018 Topps Chrome.

Unlike paper parallels or even, say, other refractors from Topps Chrome, the negative encompasses the entire card, so one's feelings towards this type of refractor will dictate their thoughts on the card itself.

Because I love the look of negative refractors, this card was a no-brainer to make the top 5.

#4 2016 Panini Donruss 1982 Design

If this 1982 Donruss insert from the 2016 set had the MLB license, it could've made the top 2 on this countdown. The fact is, however, that deGrom's helmet looks incomplete without the New York Mets logo as does his home uniform.

That's not to take away from how creative Panini was with this insert card by showing a picture of deGrom at the plate rather than on the mound. He's actually one of the better hitting pitchers in the NL after launching 2 home runs in 2019.

The lack of logos may have caused this card to miss out on making it higher up on the list, but I still appreciate the little nuances that make this insert so unique.

#3 2017 Topps High Tek Blackout Parallel Pattern 1

One of the benefits of player collecting 250+ guys, both active and retired, is that it exposes me to a plethora of products that I'd otherwise be widely unfamiliar with. I can think of no better example than Topps High Tek, a set I'll likely never buy a box of in my life.

The veteran base cards, however, routinely end up in the dime bins, even serial numbered cards and parallels, like the blackout one above. I particularly like the sleek design, for the back of the card is a light shade of grey and creates a contrast from the front.

#2 2019 Topps Inception Green Parallel

I don't know if I paid a dime for the green parallel above like I did for the blackout card from High Tek, but I'm certain that I haven't opened a box of Topps Inception in my life. As a result, we have yet another instance of my collecting a surplus of players and, thus, being exposed to a ton of different products.

A lot is going on with this card, to say the least. There's the green parallel along with the purple/blue background, making for an extremely modern design.

From the handful of Topps Inception singles that I have purchased, I love the base design and wish they'd release something like this set in a more affordable format.

#1 2017 Topps Bunt Infinite

It's not as flashy as any of the parallels on this list nor as creative as the Panini Donruss insert, but the simplicity and, honestly, the overall awesome design of this 2017 Topps Bunt insert helped catapult this card to the #1 spot on the countdown.

I love the contrast between the slightly-faded picture of deGrom and the outside of Citi Field, and while that's pretty much all this card has to offer, there's something to be said about its simplicity.

Some days, I'll go for a negative refractor or a blackout parallel to capture the #1 spot on a top 5 cards list. Other times, however, I prefer something simple yet stunning, and that's exactly what the Topps Bunt Infinite card does.