Mantle or Others?

[Tomi]

Originally Posted by rats60

Go look at Ted Williams. He missed 5 years in the military, yet Black Ink Williams 122, Mantle 62. Williams used to be more than both Mantle and Robinson and now he is less. No one is saying that Mantles are going to drop, but Jackie catching him is definitely realistic.

He missed three years to military not five but still played a year longer than Mantle (19 yrs. to 18 yrs.)He would be treated differently if he won titles and had a long and successful post season career, but never won anything. You could also put Stan Musial on the list also, very little respect for his accomplishments compared to others.

[rats60]

Originally Posted by Tomi

He missed three years to military not five but still played a year longer than Mantle (19 yrs. to 18 yrs.)He would be treated differently if he won titles and had a long and successful post season career, but never won anything. You could also put Stan Musial on the list also, very little respect for his accomplishments compared to others.

Williams spent most of 1952-53 in the Korean War. He only played 43 games total those 2 seasons and those 5 seasons were in his prime. Williams won the Triple Crown in 42 and 47 on both sides of his 3 years in WW2 as well as AL MVP in 46. He led the AL in OBP/SLG/OPS+ in 1951 and 1954 on both sides of his Korean War service. Mantle played over 100 more games in his career because of Williams 5 years in the military.

Ty Cobb never won a championship and didn’t perform up to his standards in the postseason. That hasn’t hurt his card prices. Williams went to a down franchise that hadn’t won anything in 20 years. The one year they did make the series, Williams hurt his elbow and played injured in the Series. It is hard to hold that against him, it is a team sport. Also, lack of postseason success isn’t hurting Mike Trout Card values either.

On the other hand, Mantle ended up on a franchise that was in the middle of 5 WS Championships in a row and had won 13 in 28 years when he joined them. Then, before the 1955 season, Arnold Johnson, one of the owners of Yankee Stadium, bought the A’s with the help of the Yankees ownership and turned them into a Yankees farm team. The Yankees proceeded to win 9 AL pennants in 10 years. The 1961 Yankees considered one of the best teams of all time had 10 players Johnson had “traded” to the Yankees. Mantle’s rings mean a lot to Yankees fans of 51-62, but in the long run they won’t to those not alive during that time.

Stan Musial has 3 rings, 3 MVPs and better numbers than Mantle, but his cards are even cheaper. When I started collecting in the 60s, Williams and Musial were the guys everyone wanted most, now not so much. It can happen to Mantle also.

[MattyC]

Hi Tomi,

I did just what you proposed. Spent 34k on a dead centered 52T. It has more than doubled since that day.

An SGC 4 dead centered on eBay just closed at 58k before any sales tax, as a latest reference.

Can't go wrong with any great, "blue chip" iconic player you love, and most of them have "that" key card which other collectors/investors in that player will want.

For my money, I love baseball and so I collect lots of the greats. But all the guys I know in their 30s today grew up like I did (I'm 43) revering that 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle image.

And we will be buying for several decades to come.

Edit to add: the 49 Bowman Jackie is also a very cool early Jackie card and for many one of his "must haves." Might be able to get a nice PSA 1 Mick and a nice 49 Bowman Jackie!

Warmest Regards,

Matt