Thursday, February 25, 2016

Mister Baseball

The other day Shoebox Legends posted a beautiful Al Kaline autographed card.  It got me thinking.  If Al Kaline is "Mr. Tiger" and Ernie Banks is "Mr. Cub" who would wear that title for all the other teams.  

I came up with the following list.  The choices were strictly what players came to mind.  I did no research and I'm not saying that any of them are the greatest ever to play for their team, although many arguably were.  There were some teams I stuggled with and a couple where I simply passed.  I combined a number of teams who transplanted and separated at least one. Bear in mind that my choices are influenced by my age (50's) and location (Chicago, North Side).  I'd love to hear what you think.   Where did I go wrong?  Who did I miss?  (BTW all of the cards pictured are from my collection.)

Mr. Diamondback
Mr. Brave
Mr. Oriole
Mr. Red Sox
Mr. White Sox
Mr Cub
Mr. Red
Mr. Indian
Mr. Rocky
Mr Tiger
Mr. Marlins
Mr. Astro
Mr. Royal
Mr. Angel

Mr. Dodger (Brooklyn)

Mr. Dodger (LA)
Mr. Brewer

Mr. Twin

Mr.Expo

Mr. Met

Mr. Yankee

Mr. A's

Mr. Phillie

Mr. Pirate

Mr. Padre

Mr. Giant

Mr. Mariner

Mr. Cardinal

Tampa Bay Rays


Mr. Ranger


Mr. Blue Jay

Mr. National


18 comments:

  1. While I would agree with the idea of calling Ted Williams "Mr. Red Sox", They actually used to call Johnny Pesky that, due to the fact that he was involved with the team as a player, announcer, manager, or coach for like 50 years.

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    1. I'd probably make Ron Santo Mr. Cub for similar reasons. Can't fight Ernie at this point.

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  2. I don't disagree with any of your selections really, especially not selecting a Marlins player. For the Rays I'd probably go with Evan Longoria myself. Also, AWESOME cards. Caught myself drooling over more than a few, especially that Banks RC and that Nolan Ryan hard-signed auto!

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    1. I'm so lost when it comes to the Florida teams that I didn't even think of Longoria. Good call. I really wanted a hard signed Ryan and I do love the one I found. Looking back, it was 8 years ago and I see I paid a lot less than I'd have guessed and less than what the last two went for on Ebay. That's certainly not always the case. My impression is that Ryan was and remains a big collector favorite.

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  3. I second the nomination of Longoria and totally agree with Nolan Ryan being selected for three teams. I thought about Griffey for the M's, but Ichiro is a solid choice.

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    1. Thanks for the comment on Ryan. I felt a little funny about the three teams. I'll admit I didn't even think of the Kid. He'd certainly be a good chice as well. As I said, I didn't do any research. My choices were more along the lines of word association than HOF voting.

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  4. Very interesting and thought provoking. I have two revisions to consider...
    Mr. Phillie.. .. Either Richie Ashburn or Mike Schmidt.
    Mr. White Sox.... Frank Thomas

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    1. Yep. I did think Ashburn but I blanked on Schmidt. Probably better than Lefty. I thought of Thomas and I may be wrong but I had a better feeling about Fox.

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  5. Good choices on the Dodgers.
    I wouldn't second-guess another blogger's choices in a case like this, but I would have probably chosen Tony Gwynn to be Mr. Padre.

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    1. Bing! I forgot Tony Gwynn? Shame. You're spot on. My brain sucks. Thanks.

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  6. What about the defunct teams? Mr. Pilots? Mr. Senators? Frank Howard or Walter Johnson? Tough call.

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    1. It did cross my mind. The Senators/Twins and Senators/Rangers and those were the two I thought of, Big Train and Big Frank. Pilots I think I dismissed. One year? Might as well just go with the Brewers. Might have also tried the Philadelphia A's or St. Louis Browns.

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  7. Great list. But Dave Winfield? #19 is rolling in his grave right now. Mr. Padre will forever be Anthony Keith "Tony" Gwynn, Sr.

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    1. I know, I know. I screwed up bigtime there. I erred on the side of not being analytical but opened myself up to revealing my poor memory. Definitely should be Mr. Gwynn.

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    2. Lol. It's okay. I make mistakes all the time. Great list nonetheless.

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