10 Most Iconic Cards under $200

[the 'stache]

Exactly. I don't get it when somebody lists a '75 Brett as iconic, but not the Yount from the same set. Both came up at the same time. Both were among the very best players of their generation. Both got their 3,000th hit within 10 days of each other, and both went into the Hall together.

It's like having Lennon but not McCartney. Blasphemous!

Originally Posted by pokerplyr80

Those two seem like a good place to start. A 75 Brett should have a 75 Yount to go with it though. You could get one of each in a 7 for 200 bucks.

[jared6180]

Originally Posted by the 'stache

I don't get it when somebody lists a '75 Brett as iconic, but not the Yount from the same set. Both came up at the same time. Both were among the very best players of their generation. Both got their 3,000th hit within 10 days of each other, and both went into the Hall together.

This is a legitimate point. My only reason is because I was born in 1980 and raised a Royals fan, so I consider Brett to be the best. Yes, I'm a bit of a homer for my Royals. I remember Brett and Yount reaching 3,000 at about the same time, but Brett had a larger impact since I watched him play in person and on the TV FAR more frequently than Yount. Is Yount still involved in baseball? I know Brett is very involved with the Royals front office.

Is there a guide for various years of cards and what to look for? Something specific I could read and maybe see images of Real vs. fake? I would love to learn this stuff, and would especially love to learn how PSA grades their cards. In my untrained opinion a PSA 3 and 1 don't look very different especially when we start talking about the difference in the half-grade differences. I bought a few vintage cards from a set breaker in 2012 and what I thought for sure would be an 6 or 7 came back 4s and 5s. I was very disappointed and decided to stay with modern cards. I just really have a desire to get mostly out of the new stuff though so I keep circling around to vintage.

1953 Bowman Color Pee Wee Reese is gorgeous. I really like that set, but I think my favorite is 1950 Bowman, for some reason the small square cards always get my attention.

[Robs70sCards]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbEHAsZxRYo

Three words: Pine Tar Incident. The footage is more iconic than the card

[begsu1013]

.

[CW]

Originally Posted by jared6180

1953 Bowman Color Pee Wee Reese is gorgeous. I really like that set, but I think my favorite is 1950 Bowman, for some reason the small square cards always get my attention.

Good call by Bill on the Pee Wee Reese.

I agree about the '50 Bowmans. They're like little works of art. The Ted Williams and Jackie Robinson are classics from this set as well, and could probably be had in raw VG condition for under $200.

[midwaylandscaping]

I Really liked Robin Yount growing up. 2 MVP's at two different positions. Hard nosed athlete. He gets overlooked a good bit.

[ls7plus]

'73 OPC Schmidt in "7" (or even a "6" with great eye appeal)--the greatest third baseman of all time and far, far tougher than his Topp's rookie.

Have fun in the quest,

Larry

[the 'stache]

I readily admit to being biased where Robin is concerned. He and Clemente are my baseball idols, with Teddy Ballgame not far behind.

I spent a lot of time at old Milwaukee County Stadium as a kid, and I watched him emerge from a strong glove guy with a pretty good stick into an absolutely lethal hitter. The ball just jumped off his bat. I mean, it screamed. He was always in tremendous shape, but when he started hitting the weight room, and adding lean muscle, you could really see what a threat he was becoming, offensively. When he was on, the doubles, triples and home runs came in bunches. He battled at the plate, and really rose to the occasion when his team needed him most. I remember the one game "playoff" the Brewers had against the Orioles in 1982; the winner would meet the Angels in the American League Championship Game. Yount absolutely destroyed Jim Palmer in that game, homering in his first two at bats. And he hit .412 in his only World Series. He's still the only player in World Series history to have multiple four hit games.

The guy always came to the game, and played his heart out. I don't remember his ever taking a play off. I mean, if he hit a grounder to short that was sure to end the inning, he ran like he was trying to beat it out.

Originally Posted by midwaylandscaping

I Really liked Robin Yount growing up. 2 MVP's at two different positions. Hard nosed athlete. He gets overlooked a good bit.

[arexcrooke]

One thing about Banks is that he played more games at 1st base than he did at SS.
As far as iconic cards under $200 I like the following:
1953 Bowman Color Stan Musial. Great picture of Stan and his last card until 1959 I believe? PSA 5 for around $200 and a 4 for well under $200
1953 Bowman Color Duke Snider. Jeez just a beautiful card and a great picture. PSA 5s close to $200 and 4s easily under 2 bills
1967 topps Mantle great pic and great card. I just bought a 6 for $180
What about the 57 Aaron? Great pic tough to find centered and good picture...but it's a reverse negative. Does that bother anyone and keep it out of the iconic department?

[bobsbbcards]

I don't have a list of under $200 iconic cards, but the '69 Bench would probably fit the bill.



Some more '50 works of art.

[the 'stache]

Those Bowman cards were all great; even the tv set has a unique appeal. You can't go wrong with any of them, really. It comes down to preference.

Some of my dream cards come from the '50 set.



The Splendid Splinter? Jackie? Rapid Robert? Yes, please!

If I owned that Ted Williams, I'd take it out, and stare at it all day, like Smeagol staring at "The Precious".

Originally Posted by CW

Good call by Bill on the Pee Wee Reese.

I agree about the '50 Bowmans. They're like little works of art. The Ted Williams and Jackie Robinson are classics from this set as well, and could probably be had in raw VG condition for under $200.

[rats60]

Originally Posted by the 'stache

Exactly. I don't get it when somebody lists a '75 Brett as iconic, but not the Yount from the same set. Both came up at the same time. Both were among the very best players of their generation. Both got their 3,000th hit within 10 days of each other, and both went into the Hall together.

It's like having Lennon but not McCartney. Blasphemous!

The limit is 10 cards, so why have multiple cards from the same set and too many 70s cards when many key 60s RCs can be had in that range. Ideally, you would try to get one key card from each year 52-75. It's not that Yount RC is not iconic, just not as iconic as Brett.

[KCRfan1]

Brett's stats are pretty superior to Younts, and Brett is usually in the mix when it comes to discussions about the best at his position of all time. Yount is a great player but I have never considered him as the best at his position.

This is the major factor for me between the player and their card.

[the 'stache]

Consider where they played. Brett played third base, a position that places a premium on offense. Yount was a shortstop, a position that placed a premium on defense. Though Ernie Banks, Vern Stephens and a few other shortstops in the live ball era showed a shortstop could play great defense, and hit for power, it was really the trio of Yount, Ripken Jr and Trammell that changed the perception of the position.

JAWS has George Brett ranked as the fourth best third baseman of all-time, Yount the fifth best shortstop of all-time. Brett's 7 year WAR peak was 53.2. Yount's was 47.2, and would have been higher had he not blown out his shoulder in 1984.

All things considered, they're pretty close.

Originally Posted by KCRfan1

Brett's stats are pretty superior to Younts, and Brett is usually in the mix when it comes to discussions about the best at his position of all time. Yount is a great player but I have never considered him as the best at his position.

This is the major factor for me between the player and their card.

[Neal]

I believe Yount also played mostly in county stadium.

Pitchers park if there ever was one. Yount was a beast as well as a fantastic ss and cf

Brett was great and not taking anything away from him byw

[pokerplyr80]

I didn't mean to turn this into a Yount vs. Brett debate. I was just trying to say that certain iconic cards from the same set go well together, and that those two would be a nice addition to the OP's collection.

Same with 41 Play Ball Williams and Dimaggio, 51 Mantle and Mays, 55 Clemente and Koufax, 83 Gwynn, Boggs, and Sandberg, and many others. The 83 RCs would also be well within your range in PSA 9, probably less than 200 for all 3.

[rats60]

Originally Posted by the 'stache

Consider where they played. Brett played third base, a position that places a premium on offense. Yount was a shortstop, a position that placed a premium on defense. Though Ernie Banks, Vern Stephens and a few other shortstops in the live ball era showed a shortstop could play great defense, and hit for power, it was really the trio of Yount, Ripken Jr and Trammell that changed the perception of the position.

JAWS has George Brett ranked as the fourth best third baseman of all-time, Yount the fifth best shortstop of all-time. Brett's 7 year WAR peak was 53.2. Yount's was 47.2, and would have been higher had he not blown out his shoulder in 1984.

All things considered, they're pretty close.

Brett was also better in the postseason. He has a championship and he has memorable big hits.3 run HR in game 5 76 ALCS. 3 HRs off Catfish Hunter in 78 ALCS. HR off Goose Gossage in game 3 80 ALCS. Hitting .390 in 1980. 2 HRs off Doyle Alexander in 85 ALCS. 4 Hits in game 7 of 1985 World Series. He was clutch, one of the best postseason players of all time.

People remember Reggie Jackson for his HRs in 1977, not his regular season stats, Mantle for his 18 WS HR, etc. Postseason matters. Brett has that reputation and that makes him the choice. It doesn't hurt that he also has the better regular season numbers, even if they are close.

[KCRfan1]

I don't really get too much into Saber metrics like WAR, JAWS, OARS, PAWS ect. Just looking at the basics like you find on the back of a card, Brett clearly has the better stats.

Not taking anything away from Yount.

The 75 set is one of the best for rookie cards with Yount, Carter, Brett, and Rice. Brett and Yount are the 2 to have and can't really go wrong with either. In the Era of free agency and shuffling of player's between teams, it was nice to have those 2 stay with their teams throughout their career. Rice as well.

[Exhibitman]

Condition not an issue, you can do really well. I'd go for:

[the 'stache]

I understand your point. But Lou, don't you understand why Brett's numbers should be better? He played one of the premium offensive positions in baseball. Third base. First base. Left field. Right field. When WAR is measured, adjustments are made for second basemen, shortstops, catchers and center fielders, because typically, players at those positions won't generate anywhere near the same kind of offense the corner outfielders, third and first basemen will. Those guys are typically bigger, and slower. Shortstop is the most demanding defensive position on the field. When you plug a guy like Yount, as great as he was defensively, and then turn him into a wrecking ball with the bat, that's much more beneficial to a team than a third baseman that can hit. Because shortstop is the toughest spot on the field to fill; find a great defensive shortstop that can hit like Yount, Ripken, Trammell, and you've really got something. Now, granted, Brett was an exceptional hitter (and one of my favorite players growing up). And he was a real good defender, too. But Yount? Look at his prime before being forced to switch to center field because of his shoulder injury.

Between 1980 and 1984, five seasons, these are his 162 game averages as a shortstop:

.303 AVG, 117 runs scored, 197 hits, 42 doubles, 11 triples, 22 home runs, 15 stolen bases, 95 RBIs. He slashed .355/.498/.854 with a 139 OPS +. For that era, that's obscene production from a shortstop.

Yount had multiple shoulder surgeries after the 1984 season. Then, after basically re-learning how to hit in the 1985 season, altering his swing mechanics in the process, he had another great four year run as a center fielder. Much of his power had been robbed from him, but his 162 game averages in center, another premium defensive position, are quite good:

.312 AVG, 98 runs scored, 195 hits, 35 doubles, 10 triples, 17 home runs, 20 stolen bases, 90 RBI. He slashed .381/.477/.858 between 1986 and 1989.

By win shares, as of 2006, Bill James ranked the different historical players. He had George Brett as the second best third baseman of all-time (behind Mike Schmidt), and Robin Yount as the third best shortstop of all-time (though, I expect Alex Rodriguez may have passed him, depending on when he made the move to third base. Win shares is, of course, just one way of comparing players from different positions, and different eras. I don't mean to infer that win shares is the definitive metric. But I can't think of many shortstops who were better overall than Yount. Wagner, of course, and Cal Ripken Jr was just as good, and did it longer. Mr. Cub? He hit 512 home runs to Yount's 251. Interestingly enough, though, with all that power, his OPS + lead isn't that big: 122 to 115. Ernie was no slouch with the glove, either. He had some real good defensive seasons, and won a Gold Glove. They're close.

It certainly makes for a fun discussion, if you ask me.

Originally Posted by KCRfan1

I don't really get too much into Saber metrics like WAR, JAWS, OARS, PAWS ect. Just looking at the basics like you find on the back of a card, Brett clearly has the better stats.

Not taking anything away from Yount.

The 75 set is one of the best for rookie cards with Yount, Carter, Brett, and Rice. Brett and Yount are the 2 to have and can't really go wrong with either. In the Era of free agency and shuffling of player's between teams, it was nice to have those 2 stay with their teams throughout their career. Rice as well.