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Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth
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I agree. I value my 1941 Play Ball set with Williams and DiMaggio as much as my t206 and 1933 Goudey sets.
I think DiMaggio is hurt more than Williams by missing the 3 seasons due to WWII. Williams gets credit for the time he missed because he played longer than DiMaggio (17 seasons + 2 partial seasons to Joe's 13) and came close to milestones (521 HRs, 2654 hits, 1798 runs, 1839 RBIs). However, what is Joe's legacy if he plays those season and ends up with 11 Championships (most all time) and 4 or 5 MVPs? Joe was considered to better player at the time because he excelled in all phases of the game while Ted was clearly the better hitter. Today it seems like Joe is forgotten by a lot of people.
DiMaggio is also treated poorly by advanced metrics. DiMaggio hit . 325/.398/.579/.977 vs Mantle . 298/.421/.557/.977. You would think that the guy who hit for more power with a higher average would be more valued, but Mantle is credited with an OPS+ of 172 while DiMaggio only 155. So while Mantle took advantage of the short porch in RF at Yankee Stadium, DiMaggio lost hits and HRs in Yankee Stadium's spacious LF. That is ignored by OPS+ and WAR.