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#1
11-13-2025, 09:56 AM
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Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio
Has always seemed to me that they are underappreciated in the hobby. They may not be in the upper upper tier of important baseball players in the 20th century, but they are certainly extrordarily important figures. Maybe they are too close to recent memory to have that aura of the 27 Yankees and other great players? Or they lived recently enough that many of us remember them and their personalities, warts and all. Or maybe people disagree. Just feels to me that, as Rodney used to say, they get no respect. Or not enough respect.
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#2
11-13-2025, 10:22 AM
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I think a lot of it is that they missed key sets. DiMaggio’s career fell right between the Goudeys and 1952 Topps. And Williams missed 1952 Topps and a couple of the other 50s Topps sets. So they don’t have what would have been headline cards in ‘52 Topps. And as cool as some of the ‘40s and late ‘30s issues are to us, they don’t have the mass appeal of ‘52 Topps.
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. Buying T205s: (larger want list here) • Also WTB: Christy Mathewson - 1914 Pritchard Stamp See the Want List for "Successful net54 transactions" list.
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#4
11-13-2025, 11:02 AM
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I've wondered if Williams would have stuck around if he had not missed all that time. He could have been close enough to the all-time home run record that maybe he sticks it out a year or two more. He wasn't really struggling when retired.
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#5
11-13-2025, 10:43 AM
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I look at Ted Williams and think, wow, what he could have done if the military service didn't interrupt his career. He'd have had 3K hits, 2K runs and RBIs. Who knows if he'd had a third or fourth triple crown.
Not saying Joe was a slouch. But he was a Yankee and received a lot of props for a career on great Yankee teams and all those WS championships. Now, here's where people are going to say I'm just stupid. I think Joe was a better overall offensive player than (get ready for this), the Mick.  Good points about both missing the 52T set, but I've never looked at players based on what sets they were in. Joe did make the 38 Goudey set, but ok, it's not the prettiest set.
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#6
11-13-2025, 10:51 AM
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Both upper tier in my mind.
Mandatory reading. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1...-bid-kid-adieu
__________________
Four phrases I nave coined that sum up today's hobby: No consequences. Stuff trumps all. The flip is the commoodity. Animal Farm grading. Last edited by Peter_Spaeth; 11-13-2025 at 10:53 AM.
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#7
11-13-2025, 12:41 PM
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Quote:
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Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube Channel, The Stuff Of Greatness. New videos are uploaded every week... https://www.youtube.com/@tsogreatness/videos Last edited by perezfan; 11-13-2025 at 12:42 PM.
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#8
11-13-2025, 03:24 PM
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The OP says “under appreciated in the hobby.” I take this to mean value. Assuming that’s the topic, I agree that they are (certainly) a tier below the ultimates. I also agree that’s partly bc of the timing of their careers and their non-inclusion in one or more of the hobby’s ultimate sets.
That said, between the two, I would put my money on Joe D over Ted because (1) he was a Yankee, (2) he has the consecutive hit game record that will never be beat, (3) he is a prominent lyric in a major Simon and Garfunkel song, and (4) he was married to Marilyn Monroe. In other words, there are real and meaningful reasons greater than their baseball career to remember Joe over Ted.
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#9
11-13-2025, 02:59 PM
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Quote:
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.
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#10
11-13-2025, 03:18 PM
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The Richard Ben Cramer biography of DiMaggio did his reputation no favors either.
Then again, no one was singing Ted, Ted Williams, we want you on our side. Or, where have you gone, Ted Williams?
__________________
Four phrases I nave coined that sum up today's hobby: No consequences. Stuff trumps all. The flip is the commoodity. Animal Farm grading. Last edited by Peter_Spaeth; 11-13-2025 at 03:21 PM.
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