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boxingcardmanThere are lots of things that go into card values.
There is the "wow" factor. I bet most posters here could list a dozen cards rarer than the T206 Wagner, but that card has the cachet and therefore commands ungodly bucks. And that spills over to his other cards, especially the ones that share the same Horner photo as the T206. He was one of the greatest ever (I'll take him at short over anyone else) but that greatness alone doesn't explain the prices of his cards as compared to, say, Nap Lajoie, Rogers Hornsby or Eddie Collins.
Career stats are not the best indicator of a player's value because they reward longevity. Milt Pappas and Don Drysdale have virtually identical won-lost records; no one is confusing them. Sandy Koufax won about half as many games as Don Sutton, but if you had one game to pitch to save your life you are a moron if you put Sutton out there instead of Koufax.
I recall reading a comparison of the performances of the 3 NY centerfielders while they were head to head. Snider had the best overall performances during those years. Does that make him the best of the three? No, because he was in his peak performance years while the other two were just getting started. If you compare Mantle and Mays head to head using their best three seasons, Mantle is the better player. The more seasons you add, however, the better Mays looks. Mantle had higher peaks but fewer of them.
Card values are driven by post-playing days events, especially how these guys perform in front of us. Mantle was a usually cooperative and relatively gracious autograph guest who seemed to treat patrons with anything from courtesy to respect. He died under circumstances that brought him an outpouring of emotional support and he bore it with humility and dignity. Mays is a prick. He treats patrons with indifference on his good days, with outright rudeness and vindictiveness on his worst days. After seeing Mantle at autograph shows my respect for him remained about the same (he was before my time as a fan so I really haven't ever had the warm feelings about him that the baby boomer generation did). I was actually a bigger Willie Mays fan because I was 8 when he returned to NYC, got to see him at Shea Stadium in my first Mets game, and was definitely a fan. I collected every card of his, the full Topps run. When I finally got to meet him and he would not even say hello I was so turned off as a fan that I sold off the entire collection and now have only a few of his cards.
The only hero of my youth who has consistently maintained his grace and stature in my mind is Hank Aaron. Now there is a true gentleman and class act.
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