Field of Dreams = Shoeless Joe Overrated?

[JamesGallo]

I don't think we can ever say what might have been. Since Ruth himself said Jackson was a better hitter and he hit more home runs then most during the period he played it's not possible to say that he would only have been a middle of the road HOF and not Cobb, he very well might have thrived in the live ball era, but who knows.

I think a lot of the value to his cards is tied into the limited number and even more limited availabilty of them. If you want a cobb card there are plenty to choose from Ruth and all the other greats same thing they are always available but Jackson cards just aren't always available like that and as a result the valued have inflated. That plus all the movie and black sox stuff certainly add to it all. I have alwasy been engrossed with the story and the movie didn't impact my desire to have a Jackson card the story did.

James G

[the 'stache]

This is an interesting discussion, Jason.

I posted this in the topic I started about Shoeless Joe's cards:

Originally Posted by the 'stache

As far as the hobby is concerned, Shoeless Joe represents a perfect storm of sorts-a great baseball player, an enigmatic man, involvement in one of the most interesting moments in baseball history, and relative scarcity of pre-war collecting options.

I didn't even factor in the popularity of Field of Dreams.

I do think the movie has somewhat inflated his card prices, but to what degree is impossible to ascertain. It's like trying to predict what he might have done as a hitter had he been allowed to continue playing. He could have had a drop off in production, sure. Age typically slows baseball players down in their mid thirties, if not sooner. But if you look at his career stats, 1920 was probably his most complete season as a Major Leaguer. While his stolen base numbers were way down from his peak, he still had the speed necessary to tally 20 triples. He hit .382, and had career highs with 12 home runs and 121 RBI. He was a single base off his career high of 337 when he hit .408 in 1911. And Shoeless Joe, if you believe what was said by his contemporaries, was hardly a typical ball player. Ty Cobb himself called him the "perfect hitter". Walter Johnson said he was the "greatest natural player I've ever seen". So, it's possible that Joe's pure ability might have staved off father time's influence.