It doesn't take much from me to figure out that I do not like the Yankees. I'm not sure where this dislike comes from. Maybe it's because they kept knocking the Rangers out of the playoffs early on. Maybe it's because they were always winning and they weren't my team. Maybe it's because one of my best friends was a Yankee fan and was always rubbing it in my face when they won.
Whatever it was, it worked...I'm definitely not a Yankees fan.
However, being a baseball fan there's no way you can leave out the Yankees from your collection. So, I decided to start my "Favorite players I don't collect" collection with the Yankees.
My goal is to get one card of my favorite players that I don't collect on a regular basis. I want it to be a playing days card, but it some cases that just won't be fiscally possible. In that situation I'll find a reprint or one of these modern cards that have become pretty popular showing these old school guys.
I'm going to do the Yankees in two posts. I will probably do teams that have several players in two posts.
My first Yankee that I don't collect but want at least one card from their playing days is Mickey Mantle. Mickey Mantle has always been larger than life for me. He's definitely the guy that I ignore the fact he was a Yankee. He moved to the Dallas area and that is probably why he first came on my radar when I was a kid before I became a baseball nut.
I'm having a hard time trying to figure out what card of Mickey's I want to have. It changes quite often.
Right now, I've narrowed it down to these four cards for my Mantle card.
My guess is that when I find the one that I like that meets my budget will be the card that I settle on.
My next favorite Yankee (Man, that's hard to type "favorite Yankee"!) has to be Yogi Berra. Yogi is most famously known for his Yogi-isms like "He hits from both sides of the plate. He's amphibious" or "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical". I think those are my two favorites.
What most forget is he was pretty good at baseball too. A 3 time MVP, 18 time All-Star and 10 World Series winner. A career .285 hitter. Yep, pretty good at baseball. I think the Yogi Berra card that I want would be the '54 Topps.
I really like the '54 card because it features him as a catcher and I love the background shot of him swinging. The more I look through the '54 Topps cards, the more I like them. Like Yogi said, "You can observe a lot just by watching". I don't think I'll ever go after a set like that but I do think I'll own a few one day.
Next on the list is The Sultan of Swat, the Colossus of Clout, the Great Bambino, Babe Ruth. Now, I'm sure that I'm going to upset some baseball purists, but I don't have The Babe as the greatest of all-time. That title, for me, goes to the Great Willie Mays. That's a whole other post and discussion.
There is no doubt that Babe Ruth is one of the absolute greatest. His feats during his playing days helped build the game to greatness and what it is today. For that reason, he's one of my favorites. If I had the opportunity I'd choose the '33 Goudey or the '48-'49 Leaf for my Ruth card.
Maybe someday. More realistic for me, my Ruth card of choice is the '61 Topps #401
Such a cool card. So far, I don't own any Ruth cards other than those in a Stadium Club set or some insert, but to me, those don't really count. The '61 card is pushing it, but at least it's 60+ years old.
Lou Gehrig is next on my favorites from the Yankees. I think his playing story of taking over for Wally Pipp is one of my favorites. I love the fact that he didn't take a day off for 2,130 games. You know as well as I do that he had those days of being sore, tired and just not feeling well, and played anyway. As a coach, that's something that I wished this generation of ballplayers had just a little bit of. Probably why I'm such a Marcus Semien fan.
My Gehrig card, of course it's way out of my price range, would be the '34 Goudey.
I love this card. Simple. The smile. Just a great card. The only way this happens for me is if I fall into a attic find somewhere. I'm probably going to find a reprint of this card (might just do the same with the Ruth too!) for my collection.
The last player for Part 1 of my favorite Yankees (there's that funny taste in my mouth again!) is Joltin' Joe DiMaggio. He was a .325 hitter, 2,000 hit club, 361 home runs and of course, the 56 game hit streak. How crazy is that? You'd figure in 56 straight games there'd be one 0 for 4, or an 0 for 2 with walks, something! I know if I was pitching during that streak, I'd pitch around him. Way far away around him. Just like I'd never throw Barry Bonds a strike either.
I'm struggling with what card to do for the Yankee Clipper. Obviously the '41 Play Ball is out of my price range. Maybe a reprint though?
Maybe the '83 TCMA #10.
I like this card. He looks relaxed and I love the ballfield in the background. Yep, I think this is my choice for my DiMaggio.
Looks like I've got some cards to put on my want list.
That's it for Part 1 of the Yankees. Part 2 to follow soon!
Peace,
Michael
Yeah, I'm not Yankees fan either (they should lose always), but I do however collect MANY of the players. Same can be said for the Dodgers too.
ReplyDeleteNo Yankees fan, and if I was picking favorites, I'd probably go with someone like Roy White, whose cards are nice and cheap!
ReplyDeleteThe New York Yankees are my least favorite MLB franchise, but I have no problem collecting their cardboard. The bottom line is I'm a baseball fan who has a deep appreciation for the history of the game... and the Yankees are a huge part of it. So even though I don't usually go out of my way to track down Yankees cards... sometimes I will. That 1958 Topps Sport All-Star Mantle was one of the ones I dreamed of owning.
ReplyDelete