Quote:
Originally Posted by Exhibitman
We may all be jaded by Feller's ubiquitous hobby life. The guy literally worked the show circuit for decades and was not bashful about touting his own greatness when he did. Familiarity breeds contempt. We'd all roll eyes when he was announced as a guest and I think that carries over.
I've always thought of three pitchers in the 1930s-1941: Grove, Feller and Hubbell. I'll take those three and another good starter over any other 1-2-3 I can think of in that era.
Oh, card:
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You may have a point. What's the old joke, "The rarest Bob Feller card is the one he didn't sign.". However, he was definitely a great ambassador for the game, and had absolutely no problem interacting and meeting with fans, and especially kids. He would talk with and sign for pretty much anyone and everyone. He didn't charge an arm and a leg to sign, and if I remember, would often just ask for small donations to his museum in return for autographs.
As for touting his own greatness, what's another old saying? "It ain't bragging if you can back it up!". And if that's the worst thing you can think to say about him, I'd say that's pretty darn good for him. Always wondered why he didn't seem to get a similar level of respect at being such an ambassador for the game as say Buck O'Neil. For the longest time he seemed to be a fixture on the hobby circuit almost as much as Feller.
In the end though, I think those lost WWII years cost him more than almost anyone else in baseball. Without those missing years, he probably easily reaches the 300 wins - 3,000 strikeout milestone plateaus for pitchers, and gets the recognition he likely wasn't getting otherwise. Plus, playing his whole career in Cleveland, instead of say New York or Chicago, didn't help his overall popularity either.
And I said earlier, I'd put him in the top 2-3 pitchers for his era, so alongside Hubbell and Grove, I'm with you.