Dick Selma joined the Mets on May 28th, 1963 as an amateur free agent. He threw the baseball so hard that a young Nolan Ryan was once said to "throw as hard as Dick Selma" Selma spent four seasons with the Mets and was dominant at times. In '67 he posted a 2.77 ERA over 81.1 innings. In '68 he posted an even lower ERA of 2.75, doubling his inning total with 170.1. In 1969, the Mets left Selma unprotected in the expansion draft and he was selected by the Padres with the 5th overall pick. Soon after, he found a place in the record books by throwing out the very first pitch in Padres history. Dick had three more productive seasons in the majors, but arm troubles limited his effectiveness at the end. His major league career ended in 1974, and he retired after two seasons in the minors in 1976. Selma passed away on August 29th, 2001 after developing liver cancer.
Dick Selma is one of the more difficult signed Mets baseballs to find and when you do it's often pricy. Combining the fact that he died almost 20 years ago, plus his role in Padres history keeps him in demand. The top nicer ball was purchased from a private collector. I found the second ball hidden in a group of balls on eBay. At some point I will likely sell or trade the second ball.
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