Players whose cards should be a bigger deal than they seem to be

[jchcollins]

I'm mainly focused on postwar, so here are my choices for most egregiously undervalued in comparison to the top names (Mantle, Aaron, Clemente, Koufax...):

1. Frank Robinson. Only man to win the MVP in both leagues, power numbers with all of the other contemporaries, Triple Crown winner, and after his career as a player went on to break other barriers as first black manager and executive in a number of areas. Besides his 1957 rookie card, all of his other issues are generally wildly affordable. I picked up a nice upper mid-grade '61 Topps recently for I think less than $20. To me, that's insane - had Frank been a New York Yankee his entire career his cards would be ridiculously expensive.

2. Stan Musial. Will agree that at least in comparison to how I was brought up to think about Stan the Man in the 1980's, he's largely unappreciated today. You used to hear about how Ted Williams was the best hitter in the AL and Stan was the best in the NL, but most of that has gone by the wayside with people in more recent decades preferring to think of Williams as the greatest hitter who ever lived. I get it, I guess - but Stan was the real deal. Another whose cards besides the earliest issues are wildly affordable in comparison to someone like Mantle or Clemente.

3. Roy Campanella. Again, someone you just don't hear about that much anymore as compared to when I started collecting cards in the 1980's. Campy (who likely lost more at the beginning of his career due to the prejudice of the day than he did at the end due to the accident...) is still today routinely rated in the top 5 or so catchers who ever lived by polls taken by Sports Illustrated and other places online. But again cards mostly can be had on the cheap besides his RC.

4. Steve Carlton. In the 1980's many considered Lefty the greatest LHP of all-time. 300 game winner, 4x Cy Young winner, pitching triple crown winner, 2nd only to Ryan during his career on the all-time K list. There was accolade after accolade. Today though you can get a nice Carlton rookie for less than $100. I kind of don't get this one at all, it's like he fell totally off the radar once the Nolan Ryan mania set in for good in the early 1990's.

5. Willie McCovey. Let's face it, in SF with that Giants team, McCovey was a God - maybe even moreso than Willie Mays outside of New York. Yet today he's almost considered a 2nd tier HOF'er. Ask pitchers from back in the day who was the one NL slugger they really didn't want to face? Again, makes little sense to me - but ok.

I could keep going, but will stop with my first 5. Good idea for a thread...