Who's the face of the team-National League East

 I was watching some YouTube videos and ran across one that was talking about the face of the team for each MLB team. They did the all-time face of the team and the current face of the team. 

How do you determine who is the face of the team? Is it the guy who shows up in all the advertising? The star player, probably a Hall of Famer, or just the fan favorite player? My thought on who is considered the face of a team is the one player who first comes to mind when talking about a specific team. 

Some of those players that first pop in your mind when talking about a team seem to be pretty obvious for most people, while others may not be so apparent. While listening to the guys on YouTube, a few of players that they came up with were no-brainers, while others made me shake my head and wonder what were they thinking. I decided at that point I'd do my own list and post my favorite card of each player. 

One other thing, I'm sure there will be quite a few of you who disagree with my choices. Just like I disagreed with the guys on the YouTube video. If you have another player that comes to mind when you hear of a team, tell me who it is in the comments. 

NL EAST

Atlanta Braves

When it comes to the Braves, my first thought is Hank Aaron. I used to listen to Braves games with my granddad sitting under the carport in Rome, Ga. My second thought always seems to go to Greg Maddux, but he doesn't pass Hammerin' Hank. The new face of the team is hands down Ronald Acuna Jr. What a fun guy to watch play.

     

I am a huge fan of '57 Topps and this is my favorite Hank Aaron card. I have Acuna's rookie card but I don't have this short print. 

Miami Marlins

This one was kind of hard for me simply because I don't know much about the Marlins other than their World Series wins in 1997 and 2003. The Marlins haven't been around long enough to have a deep history of great players, but they've had some really good teams. The one guy that comes to mind for me is Jeff Conine. There have been several big name guys who went through the Marlins during their careers, but none seem to connect to the team for me more than Conine. The current face of the team for me is Luis Arraez. 

     

I'm not a huge fan of the '97 Topps but I do like this pic. Only Arraez card I could find in a Marlins uniform. 

New York Mets

When someone mentions the Mets to me there are two players that come to mind, first is Tom Seaver. Second is Mike Piazza. Given those two choices I have to go with Tom Terrific. The current face of the team has to be Pete Alonso. I could have gone with David Wright, but he retired and to me, he can't quite replace Tom and since he's no longer a part of the team...

     

The more I look at the '69 cards, the more I like them. This card of Seaver is just how I picture him with the Mets. I just really like the picture of Alonso in the '23 Topps. 

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies have a storied history that has so many great players. Roberts, Ashburn, Allen, and Carlton to name a few. For me, the first player that comes to mind when talking about the Phillies is Mike Schmidt. Widely remembered for his home runs, but was a 10 time gold glove winner too. His '73 rookie card was the first "big" card I ever got. Is it even a question who the current face of the team is? It's got to be Bryce Harper.

     

The Schmidt '76 Topps is one of my favorites because of the action shot. Most of his cards are posed head shots. The '20 Topps is absolutely my favorite Bryce Harper card because it shows his competitive personality. 

Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals is another hard one for me. Actually, the all-time face of the team was pretty easy for me. Every time I do the Immaculate grid and there's a hitting question for the Nats, my first instinct is Ryan Zimmerman. I know I could have put some other players there, but Zimmerman always seems to be my first thought. I'll be honest, I actually had to look up and see who was currently playing for the Nationals. Not being on the East coast and not really following them, I went with CJ Abrams. I figure this will definitely be one of the players that I get challenged on.

     

As I was working on completing my 2015 Topps set and was putting it in a binder, I became a fan of all of the colors in the set. This Zimmerman is one of my favorite cards of the set. I like the action shot and that you can see the ball as it leaves his hand. What a cool pic. I went with CJ Abrams '22 Topps update rookie card. Once again, I'm a sucker for the action shot. I like it that you can see his eyes tracking the ball. 

Well, that's it for National League East. Those are the guys that I first think of when someone brings up those teams to me. I did gain something from all of this. I'm going to start paying a little more attention to the Marlins and Nationals. Especially, those new faces of the teams and see how they pan out. 

Let me know in the comments what you think about my choices. I'm open to other opinions. 

Peace,

Michael

Isaiah 40:31