Iconic Player?

[packs]

To me an icon has to be transcendent though. I don't think Clemente or Pete Rose or even Willie Mays even transcended baseball. Mantle in my opinion certainly did. As have Jeter and Ichiro (in Japan). To be an icon (IMO) means that even people who might have never seen a baseball game before in their life know who you are.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by packs

To me an icon has to be transcendent though. I don't think Clemente or Pete Rose or even Willie Mays even transcended baseball. Mantle in my opinion certainly did. As have Jeter and Ichiro (in Japan). To be an icon (IMO) means that even people who might have never seen a baseball game before in their life know who you are.

By that standard I think you would have to include Jackie.

[packs]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

By that standard I think you would have to include Jackie.

You're right about that. I would include Jackie too.

[egri]

I keep going back and forth about whether or not Pee Wee Reese is iconic. He anchored their infield for 17 years in two cities (with a break for World War II), won seven pennants and one World Series (plus another as a coach the year after he retired), and put his arm around Jackie Robinson, but when I think "Brooklyn Dodgers", I think of Robinson, Hodges, and sometimes one or two others before getting to Reese.

[packs]

In my opinion the only thing iconic about Reese is his 1953 Bowman card. I would be surprised if you asked an average baseball fan about him and they could tell you anything other than maybe that he played for the Dodgers.

[ls7plus]

McGwire certainly was--he bolstered attendance ON THE ROAD to an incomparable, unfathomable degree, unmatched by anyone else since, except possibly Kershaw. Large portions of the crowd would even arrive early to watch him take batting practice (including me, in 1999 at old Tiger Stadium, where I saw him park four over the left field roof, which only Frank Howard, Harmon Killebrew and Cecil Fielder had ever done in a game. One of them cleared the roof not anywhere near down the line, BUT OVER LEFT CENTER! We were sitting in the left field upper deck, and while the long blasts of his teammates were landing rather softly in the upper deck, his were still coming with the velocity of cannon shots! No one hit them as far and as often as Big Mac! I still remember him parking one high off the scoreboard well beyond the right centerfield fence in old Shea Stadium). He was truly "Bunyonesque." Then of course, as we all know, he fell out of favor.

But it appears the younger generation simply doesn't care much about the steroid revelations--don't look now, but his '85 Topps PSA 10's and 9's have virtually doubled in the last year! And there are over 260 PSA "10's" and 5,000 "9's!" Now either that is speculation running rampant, or one h_ll of a tidal wave in demand!

Best to all,

Larry

[KCRfan1]

Originally Posted by ls7plus

McGwire certainly was--he bolstered attendance ON THE ROAD to an incomparable, unfathomable degree, unmatched by anyone else since, except possibly Kershaw. Large portions of the crowd would even arrive early to watch him take batting practice (including me, in 1999 at old Tiger Stadium, where I saw him park four over the left field roof, which only Frank Howard, Harmon Killebrew and Cecil Fielder had ever done in a game. One of them cleared the roof not anywhere near down the line, BUT OVER LEFT CENTER! We were sitting in the left field upper deck, and while the long blasts of his teammates were landing rather softly in the upper deck, his were still coming with the velocity of cannon shots! No one hit them as far and as often as Big Mac! I still remember him parking one high off the scoreboard well beyond the right centerfield fence in old Shea Stadium). He was truly "Bunyonesque." Then of course, as we all know, he fell out of favor.

But it appears the younger generation simply doesn't care much about the steroid revelations--don't look now, but his '85 Topps PSA 10's and 9's have virtually doubled in the last year! And there are over 260 PSA "10's" and 5,000 "9's!" Now either that is speculation running rampant, or one h_ll of a tidal wave in demand!

Best to all,

Larry

I love watching the home run contest he was in at Fenway! McGwire was a beast.

Just remember to turn down the sound so you don't have to listen to Chris Behrman.

[ls7plus]

Originally Posted by packs

In my opinion the only thing iconic about Reese is his 1953 Bowman card. I would be surprised if you asked an average baseball fan about him and they could tell you anything other than maybe that he played for the Dodgers.

The amount of baseball history that the average current baseball fan is unfamiliar with is truly sad. They are missing out on a lot!

Larry

PS: Pete is 100% on the mark--you absolutely have to include Jackie Robinson!

[GasHouseGang]

I'm surprised Ted Williams is falling in popularity. He was iconic in the 1950's. He was nicknamed "The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived", that certainly sounds iconic. Williams was a seventeen-time All-Star, two-time MVP, a six-time AL batting champion, and a two-time Triple Crown winner. His numbers are pretty darned good too. He had a lifetime .344 batting average, with 521 home runs, and a .482 on-base percentage, the highest of all time.

Another player who's card values always surprised me though, was Stan Musial. His card values never seemed to line up with the legend that he was in the Midwest where I grew up. I guess if he had played on the Yankees for instance, his card values would be higher. But that just means I can afford to collect them.