My 1956 Topps Project

[Eric72]

Card #75, Roy Sievers, shows an image we could all be seeing frequently this summer. He leans against a railing which separates the field from the stands. Unlike many similar shots, there is nobody in the seats. Absolutely nobody.

While baseball fans are beginning to wrap their heads around Major League Baseball in 2020, this mid-1950s common shows us a glimpse of the "action" we're likely to see this year. Sievers lazily props himself against the rail, likely stretching out his muscles as the day begins.

The morning sun can be seen reflecting off his sunglasses, yet the empty stands are awash with a green tint rather than golden sunlight. This seems to occur frequently with 1956 Topps cards. For reasons unbeknownst to me, their creative team chose this hue on quite a few issues from this set. The more frequently I encounter this, the more familiar (and oddly appealing) the colorization becomes.

Sievers' portrait shows a 29-year-old outfielder whose career was entering its eighth season. His facial features strike the balance between being experienced enough to have gained wisdom and being young enough to have enthusiasm. He looks relaxed, content, happy.

Perhaps this frame of mind helped propel him to his first of four All-Star seasons in 1956. It seemed as though he began to hit his stride and fulfill the promise shown during his Rookie of the Year campaign in 1949 with the St. Louis Browns.

Although not a household name today, Roy Sievers surely put fear in the hearts of opposing pitchers during an eight year stretch in the mid-50s and early 60s. From 1954 through 1961, Sievers finished in the top seven of the MVP voting 3 times. He also finished in the top 31 three other times. His best season (by "classic" statistics) was 1957, when he hit .301 with 42 home runs and 114 RBI. All this while striking out only 55 times.

As a matter of fact, Sievers never struck out 100 times or more in any of his 17 big league seasons. He hit over 300 home runs. He overcame numerous injuries, suffered early in his playing days, to put together a very nice Major League career.