Help! - Best players for 1958-1980 baseball card display

[Beatles Guy]

INFIELDERS
Dick Allen
Steve Garvey


CATCHERS
Thurman Munson


PITCHERS
JR Richard


OUTFIELDERS
George Foster
Dave Parker
Dale Murphy

[MCoxon]

Hi there - few thoughts:

1) Irvin only played until 1955/56, so doesn't fit the '58-80 time. He was an early HOFer, in spite of only 1-2 great MLB years, especially '51 when he finished #3 in MVP voting. That said he's a favorite of mine, have his whole run from Topps + Bowman, and his 53B and 55T are particularly awesome

2) Minoso. Gotta keep him. He will be in the HOF shortly, esp. with his passing, and he is as you say a poor man's Clemente. So, even just for the spirit and his ambassadorship of the game through his retirement, I'd keep him. He has tons of awesome cards to choose from (53B, 54 Red Heart, 53T, 59T, among many others)

3) Tony Oliva . I hope he's on your top 50? This guy is always my favorite pick for best non-HOFer, and frankly, one of the top players in 64-71 (before injuries). 3-time batting champ, 5-time hits leader, he was a sure-fire HOFer until injuries in his later career. Also, he has some of the coolest looking cards, especially 65, 66, 67 topps

I'm a huge fan of Cuban players too, which is why both Minoso and Oliva are so high in my personal list - I think they double-integrated to some degree (especially Minoso, who broke in in 1949 with CLE before several teams had integrated, and at a time when he also spoke only Spanish)

[jason.1969]

Agreed on Irvin. In his case, he'd be on the "First 50" display that runs from 1933-1957. His MLB numbers aren't HOF-calibre, but I always keep in mind he didn't make his debut till he was 30, largely for reasons due to anything but lack of ability. Irvin has some beautiful cards...I really like his 53 Bowman Color and his 54 Dan Dee. However, I'm now thinking I may represent him with his 51 Topps Red Back. This gives me a chance to include the very first Topps issue in my display.

Minoso has a gorgeous 53 Bowman Color card as well, and that could well sway me. For the row in the display where he'd go, it comes down to Minoso vs Ashburn. I like Ashburn's 52 Bowman next to my newfound 52 Bowman Robin Roberts, so this could almost be a coin flip.

Yes, I agree Oliva was really good and could have been really, really good. I've also heard he's a terrific guy from people who've met him. I think he does the Spanish broadcasting for the Twins these days. He doesn't quite make my list at the moment, even with the three batting titles. Another guy I feel guilty omitting is Bill Madlock, with FOUR titles!

[MCoxon]

Originally Posted by jason.1969

Another guy I feel guilty omitting is Bill Madlock, with FOUR titles!

You're right - it's so tough. Madlock is also close.

51 Red Back for Monte Irvin is a great choice.

If you do go with Minnie, I'd vote the 53 Bowman - but honestly you can't go wrong with any

Good luck!

[jason.1969]

The final standings are in, with the number of kills next to each player listed. The red guys are the unlucky seven who will barely miss out on Man Cave Immortality.

I feel good about the results and DEFINITELY don't feel like any undeserving players will end up in the display. I think you all helped reduce the bias I tend to assign to the superstars of the late-1970s and early 1980s. As a kid reading the backs of baseball cards, George Foster and his .320/52 season stood very, very tall, and Dave Parker's 1979 All-Star Game performance convinced me he was probably the best player ever!

I will say, other than with Munson, that this forum's voters tended to value longevity and consistency above guys who lit the world on fire for just a few seasons. And to echo one of the voters, it made me happy to see Garvey do well here.

The only thing I feel badly about, and it has nothing to do with the votes here, is that I would have liked to keep 53 Bowman Color Minoso (3 kills) over 1979 Topps Murphy (3 kills). However, there is some organization by year/era that would fall apart if I tried to stuff in one more 1950s card whereas I had an open spot in my 1976-1980 row. While I love the 53B Minoso card, I suppose a way I could still sneak Minnie in would be to use his 77T RB card instead. Will have to think about that one.

INFIELDERS
3 Dick Allen
1 Steve Garvey
1 Ron Santo

CATCHERS
1 Thurman Munson
0 Gary Carter

PITCHERS
5 JR Richard
2 Don Sutton
0 Phil Niekro
0 Rich Gossage
3 Luis Tiant
1 Bruce Sutter

OUTFIELDERS
6 George Foster
3 Minnie Minoso
1 Jim Rice
3 Dave Parker
3 Dale Murphy
5 Fred Lynn
1 Richie Ashburn
0 Andre Dawson
1 Monte Irvin

[brian1961]

So glad you're having a lot of fun, Jason.

There's guys you left off in the end that I would have had to have included. But then, I began in 1961, so it's only natural Minnie Minoso and Richie Ashburn would have been spared, and guys like Dave Parker and Fred Lynn would have drawn a big blank from me. Same with Don Sutton. Also, I favor a guy for any number of reasons, but longevity is almost always not one of them, which means I will favor the guy who was on fire for a few seasons---like Gary Peters, Dean Chance, Mel Stottlemyre, Thurman Munson, etc. Which is neither here nor there, because this is all about your tastes and what moves you. ----Brian Powell

[skelly]

Not really understanding the Dave Parker snub. He was a "show stopper" when he first came up in the 70's. I'll admit that he faded after 8 or 9 years, but when he first came up, a person might go to a game to see Parker. He was a physical specimen. You didn't want to be on line getting food or drinks if he was up.

[KingFisk]

Originally Posted by brian1961

So glad you're having a lot of fun, Jason.

There's guys you left off in the end that I would have had to have included. But then, I began in 1961, so it's only natural Minnie Minoso and Richie Ashburn would have been spared, and guys like Dave Parker and Fred Lynn would have drawn a big blank from me. Same with Don Sutton. Also, I favor a guy for any number of reasons, but longevity is almost always not one of them, which means I will favor the guy who was on fire for a few seasons---like Gary Peters, Dean Chance, Mel Stottlemyre, Thurman Munson, etc. Which is neither here nor there, because this is all about your tastes and what moves you. ----Brian Powell

+1

This is a really cool project, Jason. You've got your no doubt about it guys and then the fellows on the margins which is where half of the fun and angst lies.. As a suggestion, why not go ahead and get all of the guys, your JR Richards and Fred Lynns, and keep them in an Honorable Mention Wing in your Mancave Museum?

I am doing a project without any subjectivity (aside from which actual manufacturer to get) - the rookie cards of every MVP winner from 1950 on, and every Cy Young winner. It's been a lot of of fun collecting the obvious guys like Maddux, Koufax, etc but it's been really cool learning more about the less obvious guys like Bob Turley, Mike McCormick, etc. These pieces of cardboard are still a tremendous gateway back through history.