Johnson/Mathewson/Young. Who do you feel gets the most hobby love?

[rhettyeakley]

WaJo was the best of the trio but I feel like in terms of value he is probably #3 in that group simply due to the differing periods their careers spanned. Young started so early and predated WaJo by almost 20 years so it is tough to compare a roughly 1890-1910 career to one that roughly spanned from 1908-1928. Matty basically bridges the gap between the other 2 & was in New York at the time and was so beloved by the NY media that he has a more romantic feel to his career (especially given his early demise). WaJo was later and is easier to acquire an item of given the time he played, thus a lower demand.

I feel like WaJo should be more appreciated than he is, given that in my opinion he is the greatest pitcher of all time. It feels weird to say it and I certainly don’t mean to be offensive by saying so but Walter Johnson may just be a bit too boring to people. He played in a smaller market for some bad teams, by all accounts wasn’t a mean or nasty individual and was pretty much universally liked by just about everyone. For some athletes that can be a bit of a hinderance, which is strange but true. Also pitchers have always lagged behind position players as far as overall value as it related to collectibles. Even in today’s game/hobby there is no pitcher whose items come anywhere close to having the demand that players like Mike Trout, Ronald Acuna, Derek Jeter or Ken Griffey Jr demand.