Tag: Babe Ruth

BOOK REVIEW: The Big Fella Is A Home Run

Just when you thought you knew everything there was to know about Babe Ruth, Jean Leavy’s The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created comes along, digging deeply into uncharted territory to capture the making of America’s first celebrity and his substantial influence on sport and culture.

Leavy leaves the actual play on the field for other fine books such as Robert Creamer’s definitive BABE: The Legend Comes To Life (1974) and Leigh Montville’s masterfully written The Big Bam: The Life and Times of Babe Ruth (2006).  Instead, she uses a barnstorming tour headlined by Ruth and Lou Gehrig to frame the story of Ruth’s rise to celebrity.  

On the heels of the New York Yankees sweeping the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1927 World Series, Ruth and Gehrig embarked on the mother of all barnstorming tours, allowing fans from coast to coast to witness the exploits of the baseball’s most transforming players.  Ruth was fresh off a record-setting 60 home run season — breaking his own record of 59 homers established six years earlier — while Gehrig had recently been named the league’s Most Valuable Player.  

The two Yankees sluggers would join opposing local teams across America, which were rebranded for the day as the Bustin’ Babes and Larrupin’ Lous.  Together, they created “the biggest show since Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey,” in the words of the Omaha World Herald. Leavy’s years as a staff reporter for the Washington Post is on full display as she uncovers details of each game in each city from Trenton to Omaha to San Jose.  Within this 21-day odyssey, Leavy explains how the complicated, often sad and lonely life of Babe Ruth was transformed into America’s biggest personality.  

The barnstorming tour was the brainchild of Christy Walsh — agent, attorney, business manager, spin doctor, and perhaps surrogate father to Ruth.  Walsh created the blueprint of modern stardom, using Ruth as the subject. Describing Ruth’s and Gehrig’s three-week cross-country victory tour as the “Symphony of Swat,” Walsh was the director behind Ruth’s many endorsement deals and syndicated newspaper columns, which were ghostwritten by an array of sportswriters who also covered Ruth’s exploits on the field.

Leavy effectively narrates how Walsh was able to enterprise Ruth to reflect the temperament of the country during the Roaring Twenties.  In the aftermath of World War I, attitudes were far more relaxed. People across the land openly defied prohibition and indulged in new styles of dance and dress, while rejecting many traditional pre-war standards.  Who better exemplifies the have-fun-at no-cost attitude than Babe Ruth?  

Tabloid newspapers, which became  more popular and accessible in America following the war, chronicled Ruth’s on-the-field and off-the-field exploits and transgressions with full front and back page photos throughout the country, giving Walsh the means to build baseball’s first legend.  Ruth, more than anyone else, is responsible for making the sports section a key component of everyday life.

As the result of eight years of meticulous research, Leavy also uncovered new information about Ruth’s difficult childhood, which eventually led to indulgence in every aspect of his adult life, which is explored in  great detail throughout the book. Courtesy of more than 250 interviews and a trove of previously untapped documents, Leavy presents a fast, lively account of the legend that became Babe Ruth. Even if you consider yourself an expert on Babe Ruth, The Big Fella offers something new. 

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.

 

Shohei Ohtani Signs with Angels; Aims To Become Next Babe Ruth

Any comparisons to Babe Ruth are subject to hyperbole, but the exploits of 23-year-old Shohei Ohtani give us reason to believe the Japanese — and soon-to-be Los Angeles Angels —  star could be the next great two-way ball player.

The 2016 Most Valuable Player of the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball was the first Japanese professional baseball 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.

Ohtani’s 2016 season was one of the best in Japanese history when he boasted 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 Ohtani slugged 22 home runs while hitting .322 with a whopping 1.004 OPS in 104 games.  With five professional seasons under his belt, Ohtani had a 42-15 record  with a 2.52 ERA in Japan.  He hit .286 with 48 homers and 163 RBI in 403 games, not to mention a.859 OPS.

Japanese baseball isn’t quite the  Major League Baseball, but  it’s step ahead of AAA-ball.  There is no question that Ohtani’s overall skills are off the charts.  Major League Pacific Rim scouts have long marveled at Ohtani’s skills, referring to him as the “modern-day Babe Ruth”.  A top-of-the rotation pitcher and a potentially middle-of-the-order slugger all in one, Ohtani throws a high-90s fastball that has reportedly topped out at 103 mph — the fastest ever thrown by a Japanese player. He uses a  low-90s forkball to keep hitters off balance with a changeup still a work in progress and is viewed as a major-league-ready top of the rotation pitcher.

Ohtani still has some holes to fill in his swing, but has natural power and a keen eye at the plate.  Showing off a powerful uppercut swing, the potential Angels clean up hitter has been compared to . 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.  With additional ankle woes that limited his time on the field last season last season, Ohtani was used exclusively as a DH when not pitching over the last three years.

 

Ohtani yearned to pitch and hit in the majors, to compete against the best in the world as a pitcher and a hitter since he was started

 playing.  The questions ahead for Ohtani, Mike Scioscia and the Angels brain trust are complicated:  How will he deal with the pressures associated with becoming the “modern day Babe Ruth”?  How will the  Angels schedule his workload between and during pitching assignments?  What happens when he hits a wall? It w

ill happen.  Afterall, Ohtani is human … we think.  When his pitching suffers due to the daily grind at the plate, do the Angels put his hitting duties on  the back burner?

otaniScioscia, a former catcher, has proven adept at running a pitching staff and the Angels have never hesitated to thinkout of the box. Based on Ohtani’s past success, the Angels will likely simulate his Japanese work routine as much as possible. This means the Angels will implement a six-man rotation for an entire season. He will likely DH when he’s not pitching and sit the day before pitching.  The chronic ankle injuries will keep Ohtani from playing first base or right field on a regular basis.  Although Ohtani insists on being a two-way player, pitching will be the priority for the Angels.  Ohtani has yet to reach his prime, which means great things are ahead.  The question is: How long will his body allow him to be a two-way player?  Ruth was only able to do it for four and one half years.

 

What the Angels and Ohtani are doing is ground breaking.  Their success — or lack of success — will have significant implications on the  future of baseball.  The mystery surrounding Ohtani’s skills and how they are implemented by the Angels will be the biggest storyline of the 2018 season. You can count Ohtani baseball cards to be the most coveted cards from now through the 2018 season. Ohtani’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 and is selling for $30.  His 2017 Bowman Chrome Refractor World Baseball Classic is selling for $160 and is on the rise.  He and teammate Mike Trout will be among the most collectible players of the year.

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.”

Rookie Phenom Devers Powers Sox

Three weeks into his major league career, Rafael Devers has risen from Red Sox savior to rookie phenom.  National attention has made his early baseball cards must haves for rookie card collectors.  

In desperate need for a power hitting third baseman, the Red Sox turned to Devers instead of acquiring a veteran slugger.  The 20-year-old Dominican Republic native responded by slugging eight home runs and 16 RBI while batting .364 in his first 20 games.  His major league debut came too late in the season to be included in any 2017 baseball card sets, so Devers cards bearing the official “RC” logo will be issued in 2018 base sets.  In the meantime, prospect collectors can choose from over 700 Devers insert, subset, and parallel cards.  

The 2014 Bowman Chrome Draft series is the first to include Devers. As part of the “Top Prospects” subset, he is featured in  full MLB gear — three  years before his debut.  The shiney chrome versions are among the hobby’s most popular cards, selling for $8 with more limited Refractor versions getting $18.  Also featuring early cards of Mookie Betts, Kris Bryant, Aaron Judge, Jose Abreu, and Jacob deGrom among others, 2014 Bowman Chrome is a must for prospect collectors.

 

Devers’ national spotlight grew brighter in mid August when the rising star slugged a game-tying ninth inning home run off Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman before a national television audience.  Devers followed his Yankee Stadium heroics by becoming just the 35th player since 1913 to record a two-homer game before turning 21, joining the likes of Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Mel Ott, Mike Trout, and Carlos Correa.  The light shined even brighter the following night when Devers triggered an around-the-horn triple play before the Fenway crowd, the 31st triple play in Red Sox history.

Increased national attention means increased interest in Devers certified autographed cards.  Although the Devers 2015 Bowman Chrome “Prospects Autograph” isn’t his first autographed card, it is the most coveted.  Complete with MLB markings and logos, the on-card autograph is selling for $200 with Refractor versions commanding as much as $400.  Known as “Home of the Rookie Card”, the Bowman name enhances early autographed cards of baseball’s rising stars.

Devers initially caught the eye of Red Sox scouts at the age of 14.  Considered the top left-handed hitter among international free agents two years later, Devers signed a $1.5 million contract with the Red Sox.  After dominating the Dominican Summer League and making the Gulf Coast League All-Star team, Devers sports his Greenville Drive Red Sox uniform in the 2015 Topps Heritage series.  For minor league and oddball card collectors, this is a great  buy for $3. His 2015 Choice minor league card takes the traditional approach of local distribution.  The card is rather simple in design, but a limited print run makes it highly coveted for $15.  Because of the minimal gloss on the card fronts, minor league cards are ideal for in-person autographs.

Devers has already made a significant impact in Red Sox history.  Earlier in the month major league baseball’s youngest player joined Babe Ruth, Williams, Dalton Jones, and Tony Conigliaro as the only Red Sox in the last 100 years with four or more hits in a single game by age 20.  Linked to Red Sox greats from the last 100 years, Devers has become a favorite of memorabilia collectors.  The 2015 Elite Extra Edition “Future Threads” Silhouette Signatures is a rare memorabilia card issued by Panini.  The unique “Future Threads” card is serial numbered to just 125 and has a jersey swatch layered underneath the player image.  The lower portion of the card displays Devers’ signature.  The card value has doubled in the past month, currently selling for $100.  

If the Red Sox continue winning and advance to the postseason with Devers still slugging his way through the league, his cards will heat up the postseason and offseason.  

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

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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.

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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.

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.

Hank Aaron: The Real Home Run King

On April 8, 1974, Hank Aaron smacked an Al Downing fastball over the leap of Dodgers left fielder Bill Buckner for his 715th home run at Atlanta Stadium, breaking the record held by Babe Ruth for over 50 years. The night of April 8, 1974 still hails as one of the most iconic moments in baseball history. The celebration of Aaron’s accomplishment combined with new-found appreciation for home run hitters from a previous, untainted era has increased interest in Aaron baseball cards.

The 1954 Topps Aaron rookie pictures a raw teenager on the verge of greatness. The card design sports two pictures, a large headshot and a small in-action shot in the lower left-hand corner. Hard to find in mint condition due to wear, dullness, blurry lettering and off-centered photos, near-mint PSA-7 versions sell in the $2,400 range.

Aaron57Topps

The slender 180-lb. outfielder would go on to hit an unblemished 755 home runs over his 23-year career. A right-handed hitter with remarkably powerful wrists and a smoothly crafted swing, Aaron was recognized for home runs, but his legacy included 3,771 hits (third all-time), 2,174 runs (tied for second), 2,297 RBI (first), and a career .305 average. Aaron also displayed outstanding speed and one of the better right-field arms of his time.

Topps, a chewing gum producer new to the trading card business, made a wide array of printing and production gaffes while Aaron was emerging as the game’s top slugger. After just a few years of producing baseball cards, Topps had yet to establish much of a photo library, so pictures were often recycled during the ’50s. The same Aaron head shot was used from 1954-1956.

The 1956 card (#31) also includes an action shot in the lower right-hand corner picturing Willie Mays sliding into home plate wearing a Braves uniform. A Topps artist painted the uniform. The actual photo of Mays appeared in a baseball card publication a year earlier. Near-Mint PSA versions of this hard-to-find relic accidentally picturing two of baseball’s greatest players sells in excess of $2,700.

Topps made an even bigger blunder on Aaron’s card the following year. The production staff accidentally reversed the negative on the 1957 card (#20), which displays baseball’s most prolific right-handed hitter batting left-handed. The card that has no-doubt triggered decades of bar room arguments sells for $100 in excellent condition.

The 1958 Topps “Baseball Thrills” card, picturing Aaron’s classic home run swing, celebrates Aaron’s Game 4 homer that helped propel the Braves over the Yankees to win the 1957 World Series. This Topps set is notorious for being mis-cut and off center. The rare gem is worth up to $125.

The ultra conservative Topps Co. rolled the dice in 1974 by printing “New All-Time Home Run King” on Aaron’s 1974 Topps card (#1) despite Aaron entering the ’74 season one home run shy of tying Ruth’s career mark. Fortunately for Topps, Aaron kept the suspense to a minimum, hitting a homerun on Opening Day. The ’74 Topps card became officially accurate a few days later when Aaron broke the record on a nationally televised Monday Night Baseball game with a homer against the Dodgers.

Aaron has gained popularity with today’s collectors, as baseball card manufacturers continue to combine baseball history with modern day memorabilia cards. His 2014 Topps Tribute “Game-Used Bat” card is a great find for $40.