Quote:
Originally Posted by the 'stache
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1963Topps Set View Post
I feel Jackie Robinson is the most important player in the "hobby" and in baseball.
Mickey Mantle can go down as the player with the most potential who didn't really live up to it.
You can feel whatever you want as far as who you feel is the most important player in the hobby. Jackie Robinson was a tremendous player, and man. I don't think he's the most important, or popular player in the hobby, though.
And missed potential? Mickey Mantle?
Since 1901, 169 players have amassed a WAR (Wins Above Replacement) metric of over 50. Mickey Mantle has the 16th highest WAR of all players in the last 113 years.
I'm not sure how he missed his potential. He had 15 broken bones during his career. He tore up his knee as a rookie (and this was in 1951, long before they had the kind of minimally invasive procedures they can do today). Well, I've torn up my left knee. I've had about 30 broken bones. And I can't get out of bed some days. Mantle not only got out of bed, he hit balls onto the roof of old Yankee Stadium. He won a Triple Crown, and three MVPs. He hit 18 home runs in the World Series, still a record.
The guy didn't miss any of his potential. Could he have 600 home runs if he'd taken a little better care of himself? Maybe. But to say he's the player with the most potential that didn't live up to it is just wrong. I'm sorry. Three MVPs. Three MVP second place finishes. A third place finish. Two fifth place finishes. He played 18 seasons, two of which he played fewer than 100 games. Of those remaining sixteen seasons, nine of them he placed no lower than fifth place in the MVP. He had a .994 OPS for the decade of the 50s. The guy was a megastar.
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I just want to add that I never liked Mantle growing up, I wasn't old enough to see his prime, just his last 5 years or so and I thought he was overrated. Looking back, I really think his place in the hobby is deserved. From 1955-64, he should have won 8 MVPs in my opinion. He was the best player in the AL over that period and the Yankees won the pennant every year except 59. Those 10 years stack up against any player in baseball history. Injuries cut his career short by a few years, so his counting stats are lower than they could have been.
As far as Jackie Robinson, I think he (and Aaron) are vastly overrated in regards to baseball and the hobby. Jackie Robinson is one of the most important people in American history for what he did to integrate the game and for civil rights. However, there are only ~8% of players that are black compared to ~28% latin, so to me Roberto Clemente was more important to the game, enduring "double racism."
As far as overrated cards, to me no cards from T206, 33 Goudey or 52 Topps are overrated. Those are the 3 iconic sets in the hobby that any serious collector should collect. As the backbone of the hobby, the demand for those cards justifies the prices.