[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by btcarfagno

Magee may not be famous but he does deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. If that injustice were ever corrected it would actually make the card underrated.

Tom C

I agree he should be in.

Originally Posted by 1963Topps Set

I have to agree the Wagner card.. Especially since a lot of it's notariety is based on a fraud.. Mastro!

No, the Gretzky Wagner's notoriety is based off of fraud. The demand, and the price the T206 Wagner commands, is based off of rarity, lore, and the fact that the toughest card to acquire from maybe the most famous set ever made is one of the very greatest players to ever step on a baseball field.

Originally Posted by 1963Topps Set

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.