WILMER FLORES CUSTOM BALL

Artist Richard Righter has captured some of the great stars of baseball and created a tribute to the game using part of the game. Each baseball is collected from local ballparks, antique stores or other sources, meticulously cleaned, conditioned, dried and prepped; then the portrait is drawn with black ink for a unique, vintage appearance. The idea for these art-balls came while collecting used baseballs and a desire to better preserve their inherent character and enhance "displayability." Start your collection with Mets shortstop and second baseman, Wilmer Flores, who has become a star player for the Mets in their run for the post season. His is one of the truly great stories in baseball, where a movie script could not be more dramatically ideal than how reality played out. Wilmer Flores, "traded" a couple days earlier, became the iconic victim of rampant social media gossip gone awry as he played out a hopeless game with an aura of Twilight Zone absurdity. Touched by the stadium's applause at a ground out as a farewell and appreciation for his valiant contributions this season, Flores reached a national audience when the cameras caught his emotional response. Then the deal fell through and with the Mets he remained. Endeared by his sincerity and allegiance to the team, Wilmer Flores rose to folk hero status with frustrated but faithful fans. Two nights later when he started at shortstop , a position where earlier in the season he was the brunt of New York's harshest criticism, he was greeted with standing ovations. Flores rose to the occasion with inspired play in the field, highlighted by a diving stab to snag and rob a base hit from the division rival Nationals, and hitting an early game RBI - the Mets' only RBI in regulation 9. The ultimate finale came when Flores stepped to the plate in the bottom of the 12th inning and ripped a game winning home run. It was too perfect to have imagined any better. Harvey had pitched a gem, only to lose the lead with his final, two strike pitch. Four innings of deflating frustration followed as Mets relievers battled beautifully, but the offense failed to support. The universal sentiment - yet another Mets collapse in the big game? Still, when most viewers had succumbed to the tedium and mind numbing madness of 12 long innings, the Citi Field crowd rallied electrically when Flores came to bat. Amidst the thunderous roar of the chanting, cheering, praying fans, Ron Darling commented to the TV audience, "All you gotta do, Wilmer, is hit it out of the park!" And he did. This baseball is ideally worn and aged for vintage appeal, providing an appropriately timeless, classic element to this modern star collectible artwork. Makes a great gift for collectors and baseball fans. On the front panel is Wilmer's detailed portrait, and on the left side panel an additional sketch of him in action fielding. On right panel is his name and Mets logo. Artwork is designed to stand alone as is, however for those who desire a truly unique piece for autograph, sweet spot remains open. See photos for details. I really don't think it looks anything like Flores, but what do I know.