Tag: Ted Williams

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.

 

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.”

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.

Happy Birthday Carl Yastrzemski

Happy birthday to Red Sox great Carl Yastrzemski, who turns 77 today. A leader in virtually every major offensive category in Red Sox history, the man they call Yaz is still one of the franchise’s most popular players.

Revered for playing the lead role in the “1967 Impossible Dream” season, Yaz became baseball’s 14th Triple Crown winner, while leading the Red Sox to the American League Pennant. Powering the Red Sox from last place in 1966, Yaz hit .326 for his second batting title, tied Harmon Killebrew with 44 homers and drove in 121 runs. Yaz capped the season off with 10 hits in 13 at bats.

Upper Deck commemorated the historic feat with the 2007 UD Premier Stitchings “Triple Crown Commemorative Patch”. The card back salutes Yastrzemski’s three AL batting titles, six gold gloves, 18 All-Star Games and his 1989 Hall of Fame enshrinement. Limited to a production run of 50, this popular Yaz item is a great buy for $20.

In one of the greatest seasons ever for a Red Sox player, Yaz led the team to the World Series and bolstered his Triple Crown numbers by pacing the AL in runs, hits and total bases. Over his 23-year-career, Yaz collected 3,419 his, 1,844 RBI, 452 homers — at a time when 400 homers was an accurate benchmark for a top slugger — and seven gold gloves. The 18-time All-Star was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989 on the first ballot.

Yastrzemski’s 1960 Topps rookie card, part of the Sport Magazine “Rookie Star Subset”, sells in the $160- $180 range. Print marks on some copies — a problem throughout the 1960 Topps series — limits the number of truly mint Yaz rookies. The only other major rookie card of the set belongs to Willie McCovey. Finding a well-centered Yaz or McCovey rookie is a daunting task. The popular 1967 Yaz card is a great buy for $18 in excellent condition.

With each passing season the legend of Yastrzemski’s accomplishment grows. Only 15 players have had Triple Crown seasons — Miguel Cabrera joined the select group in 2012 — with Rogers Hornsby and Ted Williams each achieving it twice. Former Red Sox Slugger Jimmie Foxx slugged for the Triple Crown in 1933 while playing for the Philadelphia Athletics.  Baseball immortals such as Hank Aaron and Willie Mays didn’t do it. Babe Ruth came close in 1924, leading the AL in batting and homes, but losing the RBI title to Goose Goslin.

Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds have led their respective leagues in all three categories, but never in the same season. In 2006 David Ortiz was first in the AL in homers and RBI, but hit just .287. With more and more batters specializing in either hitting for batting average or power, a Triple Crown winner in the near future is becoming less and less likely.

Happy Birthday To The Great Satchel Paige

Baseball legend Satchel Paige was born on this day in 1906. Forty-five years ago this month, Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn announced that former Negro League players will have a separate wing in the Hall of Fame. Not surprisingly, Kuhn’s separate, but equal Hall of Fame policy did not set well with the American public, particularly baseball players from the pre-segregation era.

Paige and Ted Williams were among the most vocal former players. Paige was famously quoted: “I was just as good as the white boys. I ain’t going in the back door of the Hall of Fame.”

Williams, in his 1966 HOF acceptance speech, urged Major League Baseball and the Hall to open the doors to Negro League stars, referencing Paige, Willie Mays and Josh Gibson among others.

On July 6, 1971 — five months after Kuhn’s backward-thinking-policy was announced — MLB and the HOF succumbed to public pressure and opened the doors to Paige with full HOF membership, which cleared the way other Negro League stars in the years to follow.

Paige’s 2004 Leaf Certified Materials Game Used Jersey cards are some of the most overlooked memorabilia cards ever produced.  He spent 22 seasons dominating the Negro Leagues and six years in the majors before being enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1971. There were several versions of Paige’s first memorabilia cards issued in Leaf Certified’s “Mirror Materials” parallel set and the tiered “Fabric of the Game” insert set — all limited to a production run of 100 and selling for over $100.

Paige threw a remarkable 55 no-hitters during his Negro League career, becoming the league’s most popular and recognizable player, not to mention its largest gate attraction. He joined the major leagues in 1948, helping the Cleveland Indians win the World Series as a “rookie.”

In 1965, at the age of 59, nearly 12 years since he last pitched in the majors, Paige pitched one game for the Kansas City A’s, pitching three shutout innings. Three years later, he was a coach for the Atlanta Braves, where he wore the jersey Donruss officials used to incorporate into 2004 Leaf Certified Materials.

Known for longevity and age as a major leaguer, Paige was a Negro League legend in his younger days. At a time when African-Americans were barred from the majors, Paige drew huge crowds of black and white baseball fans. He led the Pittsburgh Crawfords to top billing in the Negro Leagues as a fireballer in the early ’30s and did the same for the Kansas City Monarchs in the early ’40s as finesse pitcher.

Barred from the majors, Paige was often tempted to jump from team to team to earn a decent wage. In 1937, he joined a large group of Negro Leaguers traveling to the Dominican Republic to play for a team owned by Dominican president Rafael L. Trujillo. The following season, Paige hurt his arm pitching in the Mexican League, but quickly transformed from a “thrower“ to a “pitcher.” He returned to the states using guile and control in leading the Monarchs to four consecutive pennants before entering the majors.

The first of just a few Paige baseball cards was issued by Topps in 1953 (#220). A headshot captured the 47-year-old reliever in his St. Louis Browns uniform. Unfortunately, the Topps spelling of “Satchell” was incorrect and never corrected. The card was issued following a 12-10 season with a 3.07 ERA. Paige’s ’53 Topps card is selling for $350 online in decent condition.

Varitek & Wakefield Inducted Into Red Sox Hall of Fame

Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield, two of the most popular players in Red Sox history, were rightfully inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame last night. The two Red Sox icons announced their retirement and simultaneously tossed out the ceremonial first pitches in the home opener four years ago.

Although Red Sox fans were well aware of Varitek’s significance since his 1998 debut, his rookie baseball card — the 1992 Topps Traded (#123T) — did not receive national acclaim until the Captain’s infamous tussle with Alex Rodriguez that sparked the team’s World Series drive. At the time, this true rookie card sporting the former Georgia Tech star in his Olympic Baseball uniform was selling for $15. Today the same card is a great addition to any Red Sox collection for $5.

On July 31, 1997, the foundation for the the 2004 and 2007 Red Sox World Series teams was put in place. That was the day the Red Sox GM Dan Duquette flee
ced the Seattle Mariners, Heathcliff Slocumb for Varitek and pitching prospect Derek Lowe. Managers, coaches and teammates all confirm that Varitek set the tone for those championship teams.

A catcher with questionable skills in the minor leagues, Varitek became an expert handler of pitchers over his 15-year-career with the Red Sox. He quickly became a fan favorite for his determination and unselfish commitment to winning. As much as anyone, Varitek was responsible for the Red Sox World Series drought ending at 86 years.

So where does Jason Varitek stand in Red Sox history? He caught a major league record four no-hitters, steering Hideo Nomo (2001), Lowe (2002), Clay Buchholz (2007), and Jon Lester (2008) into history. He is the only player in history to have played in the Little League World Series, College World Series, Olympics, Major League World Series and the World Baseball Classic.

The 2007 Upper Deck Goudey “Big League” throwback card (#54) captures one of Varitek’s many unique accomplishments. The card back highlights Varitek becoming the fourth consecutive Red Sox player to hit a home run in an April 2007 game against the Yankees as the Red Sox became just the fifth major league team to smack four straight homers.

The Red Sox Captain has two World Series rings, hit 11 home runs in 63 career postseason games and made three All-Star appearances. His career does not scream Hall of Fame, but he was one of the most significant players to ever wear a Red Sox uniform.

Wakefield also made his mark in Red Sox history. The knuckleballer had 200 career victories, including 186 with the Red Sox, just six shy of the team record shared by Cy Young and Roger Clemens. Wake’s 17 years of service with the Sox is exceeded only by Carl Yastrzemski, Ted Williams and Dwight Evans. He’s featured prominently on the team’s all-time list: first in appearances (590), starts (430) and innings pitched (3,006); second in strikeouts (2,046).

Not bad for a minor league first baseman turned knuckleballer claimed off the scrap heap nearly two decades ago. Wakefield’s limited 1988 Watertown Pirates minor league card is a great buy for $10.

Joe DiMaggio’s Unbreakable Hitting Streak

The first of a semi-regular series on “Baseball’s Most Unbreakable Records”.

During the summer of 1941, Joe DiMaggio established the measuring stick 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.

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.

JD
Joe DiMaggio’s extremely rare 1937 V300 O-Pee-Chee baseball card.

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.

Like his hitting streaks, DiMaggio’s baseball cards are in a class of their own. One of the rarest and most coveted  DiMaggio cards 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.”