Help! - Best players for 1958-1980 baseball card display

[brian1961]

So glad you're having a lot of fun, Jason.

There's guys you left off in the end that I would have had to have included. But then, I began in 1961, so it's only natural Minnie Minoso and Richie Ashburn would have been spared, and guys like Dave Parker and Fred Lynn would have drawn a big blank from me. Same with Don Sutton. Also, I favor a guy for any number of reasons, but longevity is almost always not one of them, which means I will favor the guy who was on fire for a few seasons---like Gary Peters, Dean Chance, Mel Stottlemyre, Thurman Munson, etc. Which is neither here nor there, because this is all about your tastes and what moves you. ----Brian Powell

[skelly]

Not really understanding the Dave Parker snub. He was a "show stopper" when he first came up in the 70's. I'll admit that he faded after 8 or 9 years, but when he first came up, a person might go to a game to see Parker. He was a physical specimen. You didn't want to be on line getting food or drinks if he was up.

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by skelly

Not really understanding the Dave Parker snub. He was a "show stopper" when he first came up in the 70's. I'll admit that he faded after 8 or 9 years, but when he first came up, a person might go to a game to see Parker. He was a physical specimen. You didn't want to be on line getting food or drinks if he was up.

Please, please, absolutely no offense meant on the snub of Dave Parker, nor anyone I mentioned that I would leave out.

I had pretty much lost all interest in current baseball by about the end of 1972. The burgeoning adult card collecting hobby was taking off, and I was consumed with baseball history from the 1930s through the 1960s, and collecting cards from those eras. I did enjoy some current baseball thereafter, but it was only sporadic. I am sure you know what you're talking about regarding Mr. Parker.

My time was getting limited back then, and I guess I simply directed it to what I found interesting----Ted Williams' autobiography, MY TURN AT BAT, the book, THE BOYS OF SUMMER, a book on the 1927 New York Yankees, Robert Creamer's biog of Babe Ruth, and so on.

With Fred Lynn, he had a terrific rookie year, and the Red Sox had a super year, making the Big Red Machine grind out seven long games to beat the Sox, including perhaps the greatest game EVER played, when Fisk won it with his tremendous home run! After his rookie year, Freddie just never seemed to improve.

We all probably have teams, eras, and specific players we really enjoy. As I said, I have liked a lot of guys through the ages whose peak was perhaps all too short, but still had a few seasons, or maybe even just one, that caught a lot of fans attention, and my attention and admiration. Ed Walsh in 1908. Joe Wood in 1912. Rube Marquard the year he won 19 straight. Hack Wilson in 1930. Dean Chance in 1964. Minnie Minoso in his first stretch with the White Sox. Billy Pierce with the Giants in '62; did you ever study what he achieved when he pitched at Candlestick Park---he was close to unbeatable. Lefty Grove is fascinating. Until he had to develop a curve after he lost his fastball, 'ol Robert Moses just reared back and threw it in as hard as he could---just challenging the hitters to try to hit him. The banner years of Joe Jackson with Cleveland---Wowwwwwwwwwwwww.

Then there's someone like Harmon Killebrew. It was always a treat to pull The Killer. I love Roger Maris. I began collecting in 1961............. .

Ernie Banks, Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, and of course, Mickey Mantle.

Our favorites are all over the place. I really admire the 1956s---Herb Score, Don Newcombe, and the aforementioned Minnie Minoso. The best card in the set is Mickey Mantle, and I dearly wish I still had that one.

Just rambling, my friend. You could probably talk about Dave Parker for 15 minutes and more, just telling stories of games you saw on TV and favorite Parkers you pulled--where you were, how you felt about it, and which poses were his best to you.

It's a colder, increasingly tougher world out there. Baseball cards don't soothe the deepest issues of life and death, but enjoying our old baseball cards, and even some of the modern post career cards of the players we love, do help bring a little sunshine and serenity amidst all the chaos.

It's all good, bros. Let's keep having fun. We need it.

Cheers.

Moreover, L'Chaim.

---Brian Powell

[KingFisk]

Originally Posted by brian1961

So glad you're having a lot of fun, Jason.

There's guys you left off in the end that I would have had to have included. But then, I began in 1961, so it's only natural Minnie Minoso and Richie Ashburn would have been spared, and guys like Dave Parker and Fred Lynn would have drawn a big blank from me. Same with Don Sutton. Also, I favor a guy for any number of reasons, but longevity is almost always not one of them, which means I will favor the guy who was on fire for a few seasons---like Gary Peters, Dean Chance, Mel Stottlemyre, Thurman Munson, etc. Which is neither here nor there, because this is all about your tastes and what moves you. ----Brian Powell

+1

This is a really cool project, Jason. You've got your no doubt about it guys and then the fellows on the margins which is where half of the fun and angst lies.. As a suggestion, why not go ahead and get all of the guys, your JR Richards and Fred Lynns, and keep them in an Honorable Mention Wing in your Mancave Museum?

I am doing a project without any subjectivity (aside from which actual manufacturer to get) - the rookie cards of every MVP winner from 1950 on, and every Cy Young winner. It's been a lot of of fun collecting the obvious guys like Maddux, Koufax, etc but it's been really cool learning more about the less obvious guys like Bob Turley, Mike McCormick, etc. These pieces of cardboard are still a tremendous gateway back through history.