Hall of Fame “set” collectors.. what are your suggestions for modern players?
 

Bit 100% sure if this belongs here or elsewhere, but since it’s related to all HOFers, maybe here?

I believe there are quite a number of other members here whose collection focus is to acquire at least one card from every player in the Hall of Fame from there playing days. I’m guessing I’m not the only one who finds chasing down older cards, making a decent size investment, and finally pulling the trigger to be quite a bit more interesting and fun than deciding on the modern Hall of Fame cards!

I’m thinking of taking a bit of a detour from my collection to knock off these 13 modern Hall of Fame players that I need to decide a worthy of my display!

I don’t necessarily need to have rookie cards, but I do want the cards to look great and have the player in the uniform of the team that they are most associated with (ie, Guerrero with Expos, Thome with Indians, etc)

I’d love to see your nominations for these 13 players:

Chipper Jones
Larry Walker
Edgar Martinez
Ivan Rodriguez
Jeff Bagwell
Jim Thome
John Smoltz
Mariano Rivera
Mike Mussina
Mike Piazza
Roy Halladay
Trevor Hoffman
Vlad Guerrero

I’m not looking to break the bank so the ultra modern rare cards, like the 1991 desert shield cards, probably are not in play for me. I’d like to save the big dollars for the big dogs from the past!

Even if you only have a strong recommendation for one of these 13, would love to hear from you!

Thanks all

Jeff

Get rookie cards, none will be that pricey.

Probably not on the front page of a vintage baseball card chat board but a worthy subject nonetheless. Good luck.

I am eventually going to tackle the 1 card per HoF project. When I get to the guys from the 1990s/2000s, my plan is to grab one of their Topps flagship rookies, and then a cool insert/oddball card from their playing days.

From your list, for example, when I get to Jim Thome I would grab his 1992 Topps, and then maybe this one:

https://img.comc.com/ebay-both/cabcd...3d33db11b3.jpg

Not all the HoFs were in the elite insert sets (hot gloves, to name one) so I'll be more creative there with what I pick up. Another angle I've considered when I eventually get to this project is to try and grab one card from each team the player played for, obviously with him in that jersey. For some guys that will be easier than others...

Sorry, can you tell me how to move it? Maybe to the water cooler section?

I’m not too familiar with rookie cards of most of those guys, but if any of them have the ‘cliche’ rookie designs of that time frame, I would go with those. By that I mean Donruss ‘Rated Rookie’, Topps ‘Future Star’ or gold rookie cup, Upper Deck ‘Star Rookie’, etc.

Great topic and one that is close to my current project of obtaining all 40 Topps era HOF pitchers. Each will represent a different base year/design with no omissions from 1952-81 and no rookies.

The vast majority of folks will rightfully endorse the RC. Rookies are king, that can’t be denied. But there are so many other ways to celebrate these players in card form beyond just their (likely) most valuable mainstream card.

Personally, I would suggest a different year/product for each player (non-RC). Totally agree with your preference to have them represent the team they are most closely associated with. Would also recommend a great action shot or from a memorable/award winning season. A snapsot of them in top form to help you tell a story.

For example, I chose the following Topps cards for the pitchers on your list for my project:

1991 Smoltz (great action shot on the 40th anniversary design, an emerging star and eventual HOFer on that 1st Braves juggernaut season (14 division titles in 15 years)

1992 Mussina (inaugural Topps card from his superb sophomore season in which he was a 1st time All Star and placed 4th in the Cy Young voting, an early look at what would become a deserving HOF career)

1997 Rivera (first solo Topps card, the last great 42 proudly on display, and the year he began his role as only the greatest closer of all-time)

1994 Hoffman (2nd Topps card, but his first as a Padre where he would spend the next 16 years entrenched as their iconic closer and the 2nd greatest Padre ever after Gwynn)

2001 Halladay (seemingly innocuous 4th year Topps card, but important for a couple reasons; bounce back year after that all-time horrid 2000 season, classic 50th anniversary Topps design, and one year away from his breakout season when he became Roy Halladay)

Anyway, I found that building little recaps like these was not only fun, but helped showcase the young player at the time and who he would eventually become.

The Trading Card Database is an excellent resource to compare designs/years from all brands if you haven’t already checked it out.

https://www.tcdb.com/

Best of luck!

Chris

I'd pick based off aesthetics among options that meet your criteria for being on the primary team. Any hard and fast rule leads to examples you won't like as much.

Good advice… I like this approach. These players start to drift into all the post 1991 shiny, over the top looking (in my opinion) cards that just don’t look like baseball cards to me.

Thx for the suggestion

I'm one of the "one of each HOFer" guys, and for the newer players in my collection, it's just aesthetics. Rookie cards of these guys aren't special; plenty of them can be had for a buck. There are millions of cards of these guys, always available, at little cost. Just get whichever one you like the best.