[ls7plus]

Hi, Steve. My feeling has been that day in and day out, e-bay still doesn't reach as many dedicated collectors as the major auction houses do with their catalogues; hence, while I know many here may disagree with me, e-bay still often reflects prices nearer wholesale than what I would define as full market value.

Oh, and by the way, Gehrig is right up there, but Williams is still the greatest hitter of all time, based on Bill James' calculations of runs produced per 27 outs as compared to the league average player's runs produced per 27 outs, which most easily can be reflected by division as a percentage. The last time I did the calculation, based on a 1999 text, Williams produced something like 250% of the league average runs created per 27 outs, while Gehrig was about 215%. Gehrig may actually have created more total runs, but a large factor there was that the conditions under which he played were more conducive to scoring runs. This method therefore allows for corrections due to differences in the conditions under which the game was played. For much of Gehrig's career, for example, the pitchers' best weapons had just been taken away from them with the elimination of the spit, scuffed, and just plain dirtied-up balls. At least one author has also written that both leagues eventually went to a different ball with higher seams (to allow better "purchase" by the pitchers, more spin and consequently a better-breaking curve ball) and a thicker cover to deaden the ball a bit, shortly after the entire National League hit .303 or so in 1931. The slider was also not widely used for most of Gehrig's career, while Williams saw it habitually. Plus, no night ball for Gehrig. Finally, gloves got significantly bigger in Williams' time, enabling the fielders to take away hits on balls they previously simply couldn't haul in. Which is why the entire American League in Gehrig's playing days often hit .280-plus, while in Teddy Ballgame's time, the league averages were much lower.

I'm sure we'll have some disagreements here, though.

May all your collecting voyages be smooth sailing!

Larry

PS: Sean, Cobb was also one of a very select few who produced more than 200% of the average league player in terms of runs created per 27 outs--certainly the greatest player in the game for the first 20 years of the 20th century!