Category: Vintage Baseball

On This Day 73 Years Ago … Lou Boudreau Introduces Ted Williams Shift

Desperate times call for desperate measures.  

Managers, coaches, pitchers, and fielders tried to neutralize Ted Williams over the years, but few succeeded.  Williams was an offensive menace in 1946, hitting .342 while taking American League MVP honors despite missing the three previous seasons to serve in World War II.

On July 14 of that season, Williams slugged three homers and drove in 8 runs to lead the Red Sox to a 11-10 victory over the Cleveland Indians in the first game of a doubleheader at Fenway Park.  In between games, Indians manager/shortstop Lou Boudreau gave his team a crash course in what became known as the “Ted Williams Shift.”  

Boudreau, knowing that Williams was an extreme pull hitter, simply played the percentages by deploying all four infielders between first base and second base.  Left fielder George Case, standing 20 feet behind where a shortstop would typically play, was the only defender of the left side of the field. Boudreau, a seven-time All-Star considered one of the more cerebral players of his time, may have been inspired personally as well as tactically to limit Williams’s success.  His biographer believed Boudreau, a less-recognized player, resented the fame and attention that constantly went Williams’s way. In his first at bat against the shift Williams hit a line drive directly at Boudreau, who was positioned between first base and second base. Williams later doubled and drew two walks. 

In 1959, Fleer entered the baseball card business with a set commemorating the life and times of Hall of Famer Ted Williams.  Each of the 80 cards displays full-color images with a small title along the bottom white border. The back side of each card features a continuing biography of Williams from his childhood through the 1958 season.  Card #28, titled the “Williams Shift,” illustrates where Bourdeau had each player positioned and is one of the few cards from the time period that does not include a player image. The card back explains how the shift created  “a huge vacant area at third base and all the way to the left field fence.” The unique Fleer card also asks, “How would Ted bat against it?”

The answer is found in card #30 titled “1946 — Beating the Shift.” The upright, colorful card design displays Williams crossing home plate after what appears to be one of his 521 career homers.  Fleer asks on the card back, “Will he settle for cheap hits or will he continue to aim for the right field fences?” And answers, “He hit more Home Runs (38) that season than any year before.”

Williams faced shifts in some form for the remainder of his career.  The Splendid Splinter chose not to sacrifice power for a handful of extra base hits to the opposite field, nor did he want to alter the swing that made him baseball’s most feared hitter.  Despite facing special alignments to limit his prowess at the plate, Williams finished second to only Babe Ruth in career slugging percentage and his .482 lifetime on-base percentage still ranks No. 1 all time.

As noted on each card from the 1959 Fleer Ted Williams Set, “all card data by E. Mifflin.”  The source is Edward Mifflin, who covered baseball for The Sporting News in the 1950s and became good friends with Williams.  In 1954, the Saturday Evening Post published an article announcing the retirement of Ted Williams.  According to baseball lore, Mifflin ran into Williams in Baltimore and told him that retirement would jeopardize his baseball legacy and likely cost him Hall of Fame enshrinement, noting that Williams was still shy of 400 home runs, 1,500 RBI, and 2,000 hits.

Williams, perhaps influenced by Mifflin’s advice, would play six more seasons and slug 155 more home runs while adding over 700 hits to his resume.  He retired after the 1960 season, widely considered “the greatest hitter who ever lived” and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966.

Ted Williams Beating The Shift

        1952 Topps Mickey Mantle … Why All the Fuss?

        The most recognizable and coveted baseball card ever produced is the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card.  A rare version graded Mint-9 by Professional Sports Authenticated (PSA) on a scale of 1-10 recently sold for a whopping $2.88 million.  That’s the second-highest price ever paid for a baseball card, falling short of the $3.12 million a collector paid for the 1909 T206 Honus Wagner card two years ago.

        Why all the fuss?  We’re not talking about just an ordinary ballplayer featured on a run-of-the-mill baseball card.  We’re talking about Mickey Mantle, who became a national sports icon at the same time the ‘52 Topps set was becoming the most prominent sports card set ever produced.

        When the acclaimed ‘52  card was issued, Mantle was already sporting his first of seven World Series rings and by season’s end he would have his second.  Mantle finished the 1952 season batting .311-23-87 and a league-leading .924 OPS while patrolling center field at Yankee Stadium.

        The first ever Topps Mantle baseball card was released in September.  It was the first card of the elusive ‘52 Topps Series Four. By that time, collectors were more interested in football cards.  Store owners had trouble selling the first three series, so many never bothered to order the fourth, leaving much of the product in the Topps warehouse.

        In 1960, Topps vice president Sy Berger was looking for a way to rid himself of the extra ‘52 Topps cards that were cluttering up the company’s warehouse.  He had little success selling them to a carnival at the rate of 10 cards for a penny, so he arranged for a disposal company to drop them in the ocean. Somewhere off the New Jersey coast, thousands of ‘52 Topps cards — including Mantle cards — were released to the bottom of the sea.  Topps never revealed the number of Series 4 cards that were destroyed, but a limited number exists today.

        In the late ‘60s and  early ‘70s, when card collecting was starting to become a business for many people, the ‘52 Mantle became the hobby’s most sought-after card.  And why not? Mantle was one of the most prolific sluggers of the modern era. He was hitting long-distance home runs and appearing coast to coast on television and in magazines.  Mantle quickly became the most recognizable sports figure since Babe Ruth.

        As the legend of Mickey Mantle grew, so did the demand and value for his baseball cards.  The young, naive ballplayer from Commerce Oklahoma grew up to become one of the most accomplished players in baseball history, earning American League MVP honors three times, winning the Triple Crown in 1956 and dueling teammate Roger Maris for Babe Ruth’s single-season home run crown during the summer of 1961.

        There was a curious flurry of activity surrounding the ‘52 Mantle card in 1986 stemming from a find that traces back to Massachusetts.  Nationally known baseball card dealer Alan “Mr. Mint” Rosen was invited to a man’s home in Lowell to examine an old baseball card collection.  Rosen was shocked to find a silver tray containing hundreds of ‘52 Topps cards, including a stack of three dozen Mantle cards. During the ‘50s, the homeowner’s father had worked at a toy company that used the cards as prizes.  The leftovers were saved for the family in its original case, preserving the near-mint condition. Rosen reportedly paid $900,000 for the entire trove before selling the highly graded cards individually.

        The rise of the Mantle card has been amazing.  In 1988, a similarly priced card could be had for $3,300.  By 2007, PSA Mint-9 version sold for $240,000. The previous record for the card was for a PSA Mint-8.5, which sold for $1.13 million in 2016.

        For those of us with a more limited baseball card allowance, Topps 1996 Series I features reprints of the 19 Topps and Bowman Mantle cards produced from 1951-1969.  Later that year, Topps retired #7 (Mantle’s uniform number), never using it again for its annual Topps baseball sets.

        Celebrating Red Sox Great Bobby Doerr

        Bobby Doerr graced the field with all-around excellence and carried himself with supreme dignity on and off the field.  The Red Sox great and long-time fan favorite died at the age of 99 last November. At the time of hs death, Doerr was the oldest living Hall of Famer.

        Doerr played his entire 14-year Major League career with the Red Sox from 1937-1951, missing the 1945 season to military service during World War II. Pulitzer Prize winner David Halberstam chronicled the longtime friendship between Doerr and fellow Red Sox legends Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, and Dominic DiMaggio in his well-received 2003 book Teammates.  The tight bond between Doerr and Williams started in 1936 as teammates for San Diego of the Pacific Coast League, where both were discovered during the same scouting trip by Hall of Famer Eddie Collins. A year later, Doerr began his big league career at the age of 19.

        There is a bit of a mystery surrounding Doerr’s first baseball card.  Most collectors and baseball historians refer to Doerr’s rookie card as the 1936 Goudey Premium, but the sturdy second baseman did not play his first major league game until 1937.  Although there is no specific date on the card back, the 1936 Goudey series, originally distributed in Canada, was most likely issued in 1937, possibly 1938. No matter the year issued, decent graded versions of the Doerr Goudey Premium rookie sells for $750.

        By 1940, Doerr was a key member of a potent Red Sox lineup that included Williams, Jimmie Foxx, and Joe Cronin.  The man Williams called “the silent leader” hit a robust .291 with 22 homers and 105 RBI — impressive numbers for a second baseman of any time period.  Doerr’s 1940 Play Ball baseball card is a favorite among vintage Red Sox collectors, selling in excess of $100 in decent condition. Baseball cards issued more than 75 years ago lack the glitz and glitter of modern day cards, but the Play Ball series is renowned for its picturesque and simplistic settings.

        Back woes forced Doerr from the game following the 1951 season.  A nine-time All-Star, Doerr smacked 223 home runs for his career, the third highest total for a second baseman at the time of his retirement.  He also accumulated 1,247 RBI while producing batting .288 and slugging .461 for his career. He also ranks in the top 10 among Red Sox players all-time in many offensive categories, including game, runs, singles, doubles, triples, home runs, RBI, extra base hits, and total bases.

        Defensively, Doerr was one of the top fielding second baseman of his time, leading American League second baseman in fielding percentage six times and in double plays five times.  He once held the AL record for most consecutive chances at second base without an error.

        In addition to being a great ballplayer, Doerr also an avid baseball memorabilia and autograph collector.  His most prized possessions — Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and Williams autographed bats — were gathered as a player.  After his playing days, Doerr accumulated autographed photos, balls, and bats from all-time greats such as Joe DiMaggio, Bob Feller, Moe Berg, and Foxx at baseball functions and Hall of Fame ceremonies in Cooperstown.  

        Doerr was also a gracious autograph signer during and after his baseball career.  He would even respond to autograph requests through old fashioned mail correspondence.  Most Red Sox memorabilia collectors have a Doerr autograph or two tucked away for safekeeping.  For me, the non-glossy, smudge-free 1986 Donruss Highlights card celebrating Doerr’s Hall of Fame enshrinement was the perfect card to send through the mail for an autograph.

        Doerr was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1986 by the HOF Veterans Committee that included Williams.  Two years later, Doerr saw his No.1 jersey retired by the Red Sox, which is now displayed on the Fenway Park right field facade alongside the numbers of Williams, Pesky, and other Red Sox greats.

         

        Dwight Evans Belongs in Hall of Fame Alongside Roberto Clemente

        Baseball’s greatest right fielders have the most powerful and accurate arms.  They play shallow and charge the ball with aggression, preventing runners from taking an extra base.  A great right fielder is an intimidator, able to change the complexion of a game with aggressive play.  Offensively, the great ones typically anchor a lineup with power and production.  The all-time greatest was Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente.  The unquestionable best Red Sox right fielder is Dwight Evans, who should have a plaque in Cooperstown.

        roberto_clemente_rc

        In addition to winning four batting titles, an MVP award and two World Series championships with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Clemente established the modern day standard for right fielders, earning Gold Glove awards every year from 1961-1971 while patrolling Pittsburgh’s spacious Forbes Field.  His 12 career Gold Glove awards ties Willie Mays for the most in baseball history.  

        Clemente led outfielders in assists five times thanks to one of the best arms baseball has ever seen. Just months before perishing in a plane crash while leading humanitarian efforts for earthquake ravage Nicaragua, Clemente became the 11th player to record 3,000 career hits. If not for his tragic death at the young age of 38, the Clemente name would figure even more prominently in the baseball record book.

        You can make a strong case for Evans being considered the best outfielder in Red Sox history. He was the top right fielder of his era, earning eight Gold Gloves.  He played with outstanding instincts, carefully navigating the spacious, tight-cornered, wide-angled Fenway right field while displaying a canon of an arm.  

        Evans made one of the greatest catches in World Series history in Game Six of the 1975 World Series.  In the 11th inning of a 6-6 ball game with one out and fleet-footed Ken Griffey Sr. on first, Cincinnati All-Star second baseman Joe Morgan slashed a sinking liner toward the right  field field pole. The  ball seemed destined to drop into the corner for an extra base hit that would have scored Griffey.  With an instinctive over-the-head stab of the  glove, Evans plucked the ball out of the Boston night.  He stumbled backward, regained his balance and threw to the infield to double up Griffey at first base.  Carlton Fisk secured arguably the most memorable game in Red Sox and World Series history with a dramatic 12th inning home run.

        Somehow, Evans lasted only three years on the Hall of Fame ballot, never getting more than 10.4 percent of the vote.  Perhaps Evans was overshadowed by Hall of Fame teammates Fisk, Carl Yastrzemski, and Jim Rice.  Evans may have been prematurely labeled “a good hitter,” but not a “great hitter ”because his offensive prowess occurred in the latter half of his career,   Perhaps his steady production and contributions were just overlooked.  There was little fanfare to his game — he consistently produced offensively and defensively, but often in the shadows of more popular teammates.

        Defensively, Evans compared favorably to Clemente, winning eight gold gloves while leading the league in assists three times.  The assist totals were kept down over the years as few runners dared to test the Evans’s powerful and accurate arm.  The only outfielders to earn more Gold Gloves are Clemente, Willie Mays, Al Kaline, and Ken Griffey Jr. — all Hall of Famers.

        Offensively, Evans is not as far from elite as non-believers might think.  In fact, looking at his numbers over an extended period of time, Evans is indeed elite.  He was one of the best offensive players of his era.  During the decade of the ‘80s (1980-1989), Evans had more home runs and extra base hits than any other player in the American League.  At one time or another, he led the league in on-base percentage, OPS, runs, runs created, total bases, home runs, extra base hits, base on balls, and times reaching base.  

        Ironically, his best season may be what’s keeping him out of the Hall of Fame.  During the strike-shortened 1981 season, Evans slashed .296/.415.522 while playing every game and leading the league in homers, total bases, walks, and OPS.  This was also one of his Gold Glove seasons.  The Dwight Evans legacy may have been different had Major League Baseball completed the season and Evans continued his MVP ways.  If Evans had hit 15 more homers in the 54 games missed, he would have finished his career with 400 home runs — and unofficial benchmark for HOF enshrinement.

        By definition — at least my definition — the best players of any era are considered baseball’s elite and therefore belong in the Hall of Fame.  Evans was inexplicably kept off the HOF’s Modern Era final list earlier this month.  The committee will convene again over the next few years, hopefully with an open-minded look at forgotten players from the ‘70s and ‘80s such as Evans.

        The Evans rookie card, also featuring Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians fan-favorites Al Bumbry and Charlie Spikes, can be found in the 1973 Topps set.  In 1955, Topps issued the first Clemente baseball card, which features spectacular portrait and action photos across a horizontal design.

         

        Celebrating Joe DiMaggio and “The Hit Streak”

        During the summer of 1941, Joe DiMaggio established the benchmark for hitting streaks when he achieved the most treasured – and, arguably, unreachable – record in baseball history.  The same year that Ted Williams hit .406 for the Red Sox, DiMaggio compiled a 56-game hitting streak for the Yankees, shattering Wee Willie Keeler’s record of 44 games in 1897.  DiMaggio became a national hero, the successor to Babe Ruth in  the minds of Yankee fans.

        From May 15 – July 17, DiMaggio batted .408, blasted 15 homers and drove in 55 runs.  On July 19, the day after Indians pitchers Al Smith and Jim Bagby Jr. held DiMaggio hitless, the Yankee Clipper started a 16-game hitting streak.  All told, DiMaggio hit safely in an unfathomable 72 of 73 games.

        How remarkable was DiMaggio’s hitting prowess? In the past 70 years, only three players – Pete Rose (44 games), Paul Molitor (39) and Jimmy Rollins (38) – have come within 20 games of DiMaggio’s seemingly untouchable record.  There isn’t an active player in baseball whose two longest streaks, over an entire career, add up to 56 games

        DiMaggio’s reputation and hitting exploits were established well before the magical 1941 season.   In 1933, the 19-year-old DiMaggio, in his first season with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific League, established the minor league record with a 61-game hitting streak, shattering the previous mark of 49 set by Jack Ness in 1914.  DiMaggio  finished his first professional season with the  Seals batting .340 with 28 homers and a staggering 169 RBI.  DiMaggio’s older brother Vice and younger brother Dominic also played for the Seals.

        Like his hitting streaks, DiMaggio’s baseball cards are in a class of their own.  The first set to feature DiMaggio as a professional was the 1933-36 Zeenut Baseball Series.  Short on fact checkers and editors, the candy manufactures spelled the DiMaggio brothers surname as “De Maggio”  as did most West Coast newspapers chronicling Joe’s teenage exploits.

        JD

        The Zeenut Series sports two DiMaggio action photos, one batting and the other throwing.  The originals measure just 1 ¾” x 3 ½” with perforated coupons at the bottom.  The expiration dated on the coupons help determine the approximate year the series was released since no information was included on the cards.  Cards with the coupon are extremely rare.  A fully intact Dimaggio 1933-1936 Zeenut Baseball card graded PSA EX-5 has sold in excess of $33,000.

        Another rare and highly coveted DiMaggio card is the 1937 V300 O-Pee-Chee, the key card from an extremely limited Canadian set distributed only in Canada. With our neighbors north of the border focused on hockey, few collectors or sports fans bothered to preserve the DiMaggio card and other cards from the series.  The black and white photo card is one of a few featuring DiMaggio’s early seasons with the Yankees.

        High-graded cards from this set are extremely difficult to find.  Only three examples have been graded EX-MT 6 by PSA, the last one selling for over $5,200.  PSA NM-MT 8 versions have sold for as much as $15,000.  The O-Pee-Chee card is designed with a die-cut background that can be punched out and folded back, allowing each card to stand up.  Because of this unique design, most V300 cards are found in poor condition, often with the die-cut backgrounds entirely missing.

        Printed in both English and French, the card back – boasting sharp, bold legible text – informs baseball fans that DiMaggio “will make up for some of the color lost when Babe Ruth retired.”

        Underappreciated Baseball Great Tris Speaker

        Tris Speaker was one of the most prolific and underappreciated players in Red Sox history.  Playing in the shadows of Ty Cobb during baseball’s “Dead Ball Era”, Speaker led the Red Sox to World Series championships in 1912 and 1915 and the Indians in 1920 as a player/manager.  The “Grey Eagle” hit for high average, power, and production while establishing the standard for center field defense.   

        From deep in the batter’s box, the crouching Speaker held the bat at the hip to ensure greater contact.  He struck out just 220 times during his 22-year career that included 3,514 career hits.  Speaker displayed the strength to hit line drives into the gaps and down both lines, accounting for his still-standing major league record of 792 career doubles.  Speaker batted higher than .350 nine times and higher than .380 five times en route to a .345 career batting average.

        Despite the lofty batting statistics, Speaker won just one batting title courtesy of playing in the same era as Cobb, who won 12 batting titles and compiled a .366 career batting average.  Like his career accomplishments, Speaker’s baseball cards pale in comparison to Cobb’s, but are quite impressive in their own right.  Most baseball historians and vintage card collectors consider the 1909-1911 T206 card to be Speaker’s rookie.  The card displays Speaker on the verge of making contact from his unique batting stance.  Decent graded versions sell for as much as $7,500.

        The original T206 baseball cards were issued in cigarette and loose tobacco packs through 16 different brands owned by the American Tobacco Co., including the “Ty Cobb” brand.  The set includes the T206 Honus Wagner card, the most valuable and coveted card ever produced.  One of the largest pre-World War I sets ever produced, the series also includes Hall of Famers Speaker, Cobb, Nap Lajoie, Cy Young, Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson.

        Speed and defense also contributed to Speaker’s Hall of Fame career.  He stole 436 bases and hit 222 triples (fifth on the all-time list) during his career.  Speaker is considered the best center fielder of his time and one of the best ever.  Playing in an era when long drives were rare, Speaker played extremely shallow — practically positioned as a fifth infielder — to cut down would be singles and bloop hits.  His trademark play was racing to second base behind a confused or unsuspecting runner for a pick off play.  Speaker is still the all-time leader in putouts and double plays for his position.  He also recorded a record-tying 35 assists for the Red Sox in 1909 and 1912.

        The majority of Speaker baseball cards display portrait or batting stance photos.  However, the 1927 Exhibits card is one of the few that feature Speaker in action defensively.  The photo shows Speaker as he awaits a throw, perhaps playing first base.  The 63-card 1927 Exhibit Baseball Set featured a green hue of the black and white images on each card front — a relatively new and unique printing method for the time.  Ungraded versions sell in the $125-$175 range.

        Speaker’s unconventional path to centerfield started at a young age. After suffering two broken arms as a teenager, he taught himself to throw right handed.  Despite throwing with his non-dominant arm, Speaker tried to break into professional baseball as a  pitcher.  After being turned down by New York Giants manager John McGraw for a tryout as a pitcher, Speaker went to the Texas League to learn centerfield with the Cleburne Railroaders in his native Texas.

        A year later, he was purchased by the Boston Americans (later Red Sox) and became the regular centerfielder, playing alongside Hall of Famer Harry Hooper and defensive whiz Duffy Lewis to form the “Golden Outfield,” which was widely considered one of the best outfields in baseball history.

        One of Speaker’s earliest cards with the Red Sox is from the 1910-1911 M116 Sporting Life series.  A four cent investment would get readers of the Sporting Life newspaper a dozen sports cards.  Speaker’s card features a colorized portrait displaying his Red Sox baseball jersey.  Highly graded versions sell in excess of $5,900.

         

         

        Celebrating Babe Ruth

        The discussion of two-way baseball players starts and ends with Babe Ruth.   In the years before the infamous sale that sent Ruth from Boston to New York, the man known as the “Sultan of Swat” was baseball’s premier left-handed pitcher. Ruth would later become the most prolific hitter in baseball history.

        Before his powerful uppercut swing made home runs relevant and transformed baseball into an offensive game, the full-time pitching ace and part-time slugger led the Red Sox to three

        baberuth1914frederickfoto
        Babe Ruth 1914 Frederick Foto baseball card.

        World Series Championships. Ruth put together a 94-46 career record with nearly all of his pitching appearances coming in a Red Sox uniform. His 2.28 ERA is 17th lowest in baseball history.

        The Babe found his place on the pitcher’s mound at the St. Mary’s Industrial School, a boys’ reformatory school.  He developed his craft with the Baltimore Orioles of the International League under owner and manager Jack Dunn, who signed the 19-year-old southpaw to his first professional contract in 1914.  The first Ruth baseball card was included in the 1914 Baltimore News series.  Issued with red or blue fronts and black variation backs, the card displays a gangly teenager yet to make his major league debut.  A red PSA-1 version of the Ruth rookie sold at auction for $450,300 last year.

        Struck with financial hardship due to the emergence of the Baltimore Terrapins of the short-lived Federal League, the Orioles unloaded Ruth, Ernie Shore and Ben Egan to the Red Sox for $16,000 later that year.  Pitching behind established hurlers Smokey Joe Wood and Dutch Leonard among others, Ruth was used sparingly.  But in 1915, he went 18-8 as the team’s third starter and helped the Red Sox to the AL Pennant.

        In 1916, Ruth emerged as a dominant pitcher, winning 21 games while tossing nine shutouts and posting a league-best 1.75 ERA.  Helping the Red Sox to back-to-back World Series championships, Ruth pitched 14 innings for a 2-1 Game 2 victory over the Brooklyn Robins.

        baberuth1914baltnews
        Babe Ruth 1914 Baltimore News baseball card.

        Still considered a top-notch pitcher, Ruth returned in 1917 with a 24-13 record and 2.01 ERA.  He finished 35 of the 38 games he started.  At the same time, Ruth’s offensive prowess was taking shape.  He finished the season batting .325, triggering an eight-year streak of hitting .300 or better.

        Already an established pitching ace, Ruth’s transformation to iconic slugger hit full stride in 1918.  Primarily an outfielder, Ruth led the league in homers with 11, earning his first of 12 home run titles.  Appearing in 20 games as a pitcher, he went 13-7 with a 2.22 ERA.   The Babe pitched a 1-0 shutout in Game 1 of the World Series and won Game 4, as he established a 29 ⅓ scoreless innings streak, eclipsed by Whitey Ford decades later.

        The Babe made 17 appearances on the mound in 1919, going 9-5 with a 2.97 ERA, but by this time pitching was merely a diversion for the future Hall of Fame slugger-to-be.  Ruth led the league in home runs (29), RBI (114) and runs (103).  Following the 1919 season, the Yankees purchased Babe Ruth the slugger, not the ace pitcher from financially-strapped Red Sox owner Harry Frazee for $100,000.

        Ruth’s Red Sox-Yankees overlap is highlighted in his 1914 Frederick Foto card.  The unique card displaying a photo-quality image, pictures the Babe in a red Sox uniform, but reads “Babe Ruth N.Y.” in the upper left-hand corner.

        In his first season with the Yankees Ruth set a new standard with 54 home runs, effectively introducing America to a new brand of baseball emphasizing power and brawn over speed and savvy.  Putting Ruth’s 1920 season in perspective: No other player hit more than 19 home runs and only one team hit more homers than Ruth did individually.

        Laying the groundwork for what would become the Yankee Dynasty, Ruth’s 1921 season may have been the greatest in MLB history. The 26-year-old Ruth batted .376 while bashing 59 homers, driving in 171 runs, scoring 177 runs, and slugging a then-unthinkable .846. Riding Ruth’s prowess as a slugger, the Yankees became baseball’s most recognizable — not to mention most dominant — team, establishing new attendance records almost annually.

        He eventually raised the bar to 60 round-trippers in 1927, a record that would stand for 34 years.  The Babe’s contribution to baseball was almost as significant as his contribution to the New York Yankees.  The new stadium built to house a growing fan base was quickly dubbed “The House That Ruth Built.”

        Prior to Ruth wearing pinstripes, the Yankees never won a title of any sort.  In his 15 years in New York, the Yankees captured seven AL Pennants and four World Series titles.  Most baseball historians consider the 1927 Yankees to be the best team in baseball history.

        Ruth returned to Boston in 1935 to play his final season with the Braves, hitting six homers to bump his career total to 714.  The Bambino held an amazing 56 major league records at the time of his retirement — including most career home runs.  In 1936 the newly formed Baseball Hall of Fame elected Babe Ruth as one of its five original inductees.  More than 75 years after his retirement, Ruth remains one of baseball’s first and America’s greatest icons.

        The complete history of the Babe can be found in the 1962 “Babe Ruth Special” subset, which captures significant moments from his life and career, beginning with “Babe as a Boy” (#135) and ending with “Babe’s Farewell Speech”.  The special 10-card subset was issued one year after Roger Maris eclipsed the Babe’s single-season home run record.  Most of the cards can be found in good – very good condition for $8-$15.

        Roberto Clemente: Hall of Fame Player, Great Person

        On New Year’s Eve 1972, the world lost a Hall of Fame baseball player and a great humanitarian.  Thirty-eight-year-old Roberto Clemente, revered as a national hero in Puerto Rico, was leading a relief aid team flying supplies to earthquake-ravaged Nicaragua when the small aircraft exploded and crashed into the ocean shortly after takeoff.  

        Clemente’s untimely death occurred just a few months after he recorded his 3,000th career hit and prompted a special election that made the Pittsburgh Pirates great baseball’s first Hispanic Hall of Famer.  At the time, Clemente was just the 11th man in baseball history to achieve 3,000 hits and his lifetime batting average of .317 was the highest among active players.

        Clemente used a unique inside-out swing to produce four batting titles, a 1966 National League MVP, and 15 All-Star invitations.  Quick, powerful — almost Hank Aaron-like — wrists allowed Clemente to stand away from the plate and drive the ball with ferocity to all fields.  He also lead t
        he Pirates to World Series Championships in 1960 and 1971, when he was named the Series MVP.

        He got the most from his 5’-11”, 180-pound frame offensively and defensively.  Most baseball experts and historians still regard Clemente as the best right fielder in baseball history.  He patrolled Pittsburgh’s spacious Forbes Field for most of his career with speed and grace, earning 12 Gold Gloves and comparisons to Willie Mays as a defensive player.  A strong and remarkably accurate arm kept base runners at bay.

        roberto_clemente_1972

        Clemente was recruited by relief organizations to organize relief efforts from Puerto Rico.  He not only organized the efforts, but played a large role in gathering the goods and loading the plane.  He was on aboard the plane because many people thought the relief supplies were falling in the hands of profiteers.  Clemente wanted to ensure that people in need were receiving the goods.  The plane carrying a crew of three and Clemente crashed in heavy seas just under two miles from shore.

        Clemente’s professional career started on the West Coast and if the Brooklyn Dodgers weren’t so careless, history may have been different.  The Dodgers originally signed Clemente out of high school with a deal that included a $10,000 bonus.  In 1954, his first season as a professional baseball player, Clemente played for the Dodgers’ minor league affiliate in Montreal.

        Per rule of professional baseball at the time, all players signed for more than $4,000 had to be placed on the major league roster after one year of minor league service.  Any player not added to the roster could be signed by any other club for $4,000.  Instead of adding him to the roster, the Dodgers tried to hide Clemente in Montreal by not playing him.  Obviously, a player of Clemente’s talent could not be hidden.  He was scooped up by the Pirates for $4,000, making him one of the best bargains in baseball history.

        In 1955, Topps issued the first Roberto Clemente baseball card. The colorful horizontal cards featuring portrait and action photos along with the team logo in the upper right-hand corner are considered one of the best-looking  sets ever produced.  Kudos to Topps for producing a card of a top prospect with no major league experience — a rarity in those days.  The final card featuring Clemente as a player, was featured in the colorful 1972 Topps set.

        Japan’s Shohei Otani, The Next Babe Ruth?

        Any comparisons to Babe Ruth are subject to hyperbole, but the recent exploits of 22-year-old Shohei Otani give us reason to believe the Japanese star could be the Major League’s next great two-way ball player.

        The recently-named Most Valuable Player of the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball became the first professional league Japanese player to hit 10 or more homers and win 10 or more games as a pitcher in the same season.  The only player in major league history  to score a double-double was Ruth, who stroked 11 home runs and won 13 games for the 1918 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox.

        Otani is coming off one of the greatest seasons in Japanese history, boasting a 10-4 record with a 1.86 ERA.  The right-handed flamethrower posted a 0.95 WHIP while averaging 11.2 strikeouts and 2.9 walks per nine innings.  Moonlighting as a left-handed-hitting DH, the 6-foot-4 Otani slugged 22 home runs while hitting .322 with a whopping 1.004 OPS in 104 games.  After four professional season, Otani is 39-13-2.49 as a pitcher while batting .275 with 40 homers and an .838 OPS.

        Pacific Rim scouts have referred to Otani as the “modern-day Babe Ruth”.  A top-of-the rotation pitcher and a middle-of-the-order slugger all in one.  Otani throws a high-90s fastball that has reportedly topped out at 103 mph. He uses a  low-90s forkball to keep hitters off balance. His changeup, which he hasn’t needed to this point, still a work in progress.  

        With natural power and a keen eye at the plate, Otani projects to be a legitimate major league hitter.  Otani played 62 games as a corner outfielder his first two years as a professional.  A sprained ankle early in the 2014 season quickly put an end to Otani’s outfield duties.  He has been used exclusively as a DH when not pitching over the last two years.

        Otani yearns to pitch and hit in the majors, to compete against the best in the world as a pitcher and a hitter.  The questions ahead are complicated:  How does he walk away from Japan and gain entrance to the majors at such a young age?  Is there a major league team that will break the bank to sign Otani and allow him to hit between pitching assignments?

        Otani cannot test the free agent waters until accumulating nine seasons in the Nippon Professional
        League.  However, the Nippon Ham Fighters can — and reportedly will — allow Otani entrance into the majors via the posing system at the conclusion of the 2017 season.  The Fighters will surely receive the maximum $20 million posting fee from the major league team that would sign Otani.  With revenues on the rise for MLB and free agent contracts spiraling upward — not to mention the mystery surrounding the next potential international star — could mean a long-term contract breaking $200 million for Otani, according to published reports.

        Several Major League teams — including the Red Sox, Yankees, and Rangers — expressed interest in Otani four years ago. As a high school two-way player, Otani led his team to the Koshien Championshipship.  The Fighters were able to convince Otani that his only chance to excel as a two way player would be in Japan.  

        A year from now several teams will be will likely be willing to empty the vault for his services.  His decision may hinge on which team allows him to pitch and hit on a regular basis.  Will an American League team allow Otani to DH or play the outfield two or three times a week?  Is he better suited to pitch — and hit for himself — in the National League?  Will batting just every fifth day satisfy his appetite?  Will pitching every fifth day opposed to every sixth day (as he does in Japan) affect his workload as a pitcher or hitter?  Questions that possible suitors and Otani need to answer in what looks to be a fascinating 2017 off season.

        Otani is expected to display his baseball skills globally in the World Baseball Classic next spring. Japan manager Hiroki Kokubo is planning to use him as a pitcher, DH, and pinch hitter.

        Otani’s first baseball card was an insert in Japan’s Sports Card Magazine #97 released in January 2013. It was a promo card for the 2013 BBM Rookie Edition set.  Expect this card and other Otani rookies to gain significant interest during the WBC.

        David Oritz Makes Us Remember Legendary Slugger Jimmie Foxx

        As David Ortiz climbs the charts among baseball’s all-time great sluggers, we see the name Jimmie Foxx appear in the record books over and over again, but for some reason Ole Double-X is seldom discussed. Dubbed “The Beast” because of his powerful right-handed swings, Foxx was one of the most underappreciated players in baseball and sports collectibles history.

        Hall of Fame pitcher Lefty Gomez once proclaimed, “When Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon, he and his space scientists were puzzled by an unidentifiable white object. I immediately knew what it was. That was the home run ball hit off me in 1937 by Jimmie Foxx.”

        Foxx equaled or surpassed the production of nearly every slugger not named Babe Ruth, but he his rarely mentioned among baseball immortals such as Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle et al — and the demand for his baseball cards lag considerably behind baseball’s most revered sluggers.

        Foxx hit at least 30 home runs and tallied 100 or more RBI from 1929 with the Philadelphia Athletics to 1940, his fifth season with the Red Sox. His 20-year total of 534 home runs ranked second to Ruth for many years. His 58 home runs in 1932 fell just two short of Ruth’s single-season record. Interestingly, two home runs were taken away from Foxx because of rain and 10 more were lost because of newly constructed outfield screens in Cleveland, St. Louis, and Philadelphia that were not erected until after Ruth hit 60. So if the baseball stars were properly aligned in 1932, Barry Bonds would have eclipsed the magical number of 70 set by Foxx.

        While serving as the Red Sox first baseman, Foxx quickly learned to take advantage of the cozy confines in front of Fenway Park’s famed Green Monster. In his first three seasons with the Red Sox, he hit 41, 36, and 50 homers respectively.

        Yankee Hall of Fame catcher Bill Dickey said of Foxx’s ridiculous power, “If I were catching blindfolded, I would always know it was Foxx who connected. He hit the ball harder than anyone else.”

        The toughest Foxx baseball card to find in reasonable condition is the 1934 Goudey (#1). First cards of vintage sets received the brunt of the rubber band damage that decimated so many ’50s and ’60s baseball cards. A handful of PSA-8 versions exist, selling for $8,200, a remarkable buy considering ’34 Goudey PSA-8 Gehrig cards command as much as $15,000.

        Foxx, provided Boston with their first bona-fide star since Ruth was sold to the Yankees in 1919. Double XX set Red Sox records for home runs (50) and RBI (175) during his 1938 MVP season. More than just a slugger, Foxx won the Triple Crown in 1933 and excelled defensively, primarily as a first baseman, but also as a catcher, third baseman, and outfielder.

        Foxx was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951, but strangely there has been little or no protest over the Red Sox failure to retire his number. Surely someone who is mentioned in the same breathe as Ruth and Gehrig deserves the same elite status as Joe Cronin, Bobby Doerr, Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Johnny Pesky, Carlton Fisk and Wade Boggs in Red Sox annals.

        Playing his only season with the Red Sox in 2006, infielder Mark Loretta told the Boston Herald that “Foxx never received the credit he deserved for being one of the game’s all-time great sluggers.” Loretta honored Foxx by wearing number 3. Foxx, who played 20 seasons for the Philadelphia Athletics (1925-35), Red Sox (1936-42), Chicago Cubs (1942 and 1944) and Philadelphia Phillies (1945), is arguably the best slugger not to have his uniform retired by any team.

        Modern day cards of Foxx are somewhat limited, but affordable. His 2005 Upper Deck Trilogy Bat displays a vintage photo of Foxx in his Philadelphia Athletics uniform with a piece of an actual Foxx baseball bat embedded into the card can be had for under $45 — a great buy for limited card serial numbered to just 99.