sfmays24 is a person of interest

[Jim VB]

Originally Posted by Kalineman

In response to the question earlier in this thread about Rogers Hornsby's role with the Mets in the early 1960s, former Mets pitcher Jay Hook is a friend of mine. A couple of weeks ago when we were talking about the early Mets teams, he told me Hornsby was a "hitting advisor" for the team. he may also have been doing some scouting. So it's entirely possible for Hornsby to have signed the 1961 Topps card.

If I remember the story correctly, the Mets first hired Hornsby as a scout when they were preparing for the expansion draft. He had a reputation of not being too fond of "modern" ballplayers. He spent the entire 1961 season scouting every major league team. The Mets knew that you could never be sure who a team wouldn't protect in the draft and they wanted a report on everyone.

When his season end reports were filed, he blasted nearly every player as not having the skills necessary to play big league ball. He did file one, marginally favorable report though. The comment made about one player was simply, "Looks like a major league ballplayer."


That player: Mickey Mantle. (You have to admit, he had had a pretty good year in 1961.)