who is the single most undervalued baseball player, relative to card values, of all time?

lightningboy · July 4, 2015 4:51AM

I know this is simply a make believe scenario, but assuming all things were equal (hometown's exposure, championships etc), which ball player's statistics exceed his card's values in the collecting circle?

As an example, if Mickey Mantle played his entire career with the same stats for Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh etc, his cards would most likely not sell for as much as Mays' or Aaron's.

I know we could all name 10 players easy but let's just keep it to 1.

First guy that comes to mind for me is Frank Robinson.

timpatg · July 4, 2015 5:00AM

I know you said 1 but for older guys I would say Banks. For the younger guys, I still don't understand why Jim Thome gets no hobby love.

MantleMarisFordBerra · July 4, 2015 5:11AM

<< First guy that comes to mind for me is Frank Robinson. >>

Before I opened the thread this was my thought as well. Not only are the numbers insane, but he was also the first black manager in MLB history. This guy has it all but collectors seem "meh" at best.

CharleyBrown · July 4, 2015 5:19AM

Stan Musial

brad31 · July 4, 2015 5:26AM

I am in full agreement on Frank Robinson. I remember for the all century team he was the Commissioner's choice because the fans did not vote him in. You would think as one of the only guys who played significant time in both leagues everybody would have had the chance to get to see how great he was. It seems to have hurt him that he is not associated with one team like other greats from that era.

KendallCat · July 4, 2015 5:56AM

Robinson is a great choice along with Musial. On the opposite end Jeter is overrated based on numbers.

mattyc_collection · July 4, 2015 6:04AM

I'm torn between Gehrig, Foxx, Kiner, Williams, Musial, and Berra. Their stats are simply breathtaking. Imagine some kid coming out today and doing what Ralph Kiner did? I recall the rabid McGwire craze in 1987, and that was just one amazing HR season, albeit record setting.

lightningboy · July 4, 2015 6:07AM

Musial is a great choice. Even though he is extremely popular and well regarded, his cards do not garner nearly the love of say Ted Williams. Musial's overall career numbers have got to put him close to top 5 players of all time.

pauldrolkees · July 4, 2015 6:12AM

Barry Bonds!

KendallCat · July 4, 2015 6:18AM

<< I'm torn between Gehrig, Foxx, Kiner, Williams, Musial, and Berra. Their stats are simply breathtaking. Imagine some kid coming out today and doing what Ralph Kiner did? I recall the rabid McGwire craze in 1987, and that was just one amazing HR season, albeit record setting. >>

I think Williams stats speak for themselves and is considered the greatest hitter of all time. I do agree with Gehrig, and his stats are possibly the greatest of all time. Anyone that looks at his season by season stats can make a case for him as the top offensive player of all time if not top 3.

Baseballfans · July 4, 2015 6:21AM

Stan Musial nickname " Stan the Man" that is before comic legend Stan Lee borrow it & use it as his signature quote.
He wasn't even voted in All Century team in 1999 but the writer feel injustice if he wasn't in lineup. So later special committee decided to add extra player on the roste just for Musial.
So much respect yet his auto is very affordable.

pdub1819 · July 4, 2015 6:28AM

Stan Muisial.

PSASAP · July 4, 2015 6:37AM

For the modern players, Vlad Guerrero had a stellar career, but his cards are still cheap, relative to what he accomplished.

lightningboy · July 4, 2015 7:45AM

Williams and Gehrig are certainly 2 of the greatest of all time without a doubt in anyone's mind. But with respect to the question, their cards are valued pretty high. I guess a case could be made that Williams cards should sell for more than Dimaggio's. But Gehrig really only trails Ruth in common sets and you cant really argue that.

Another guy who was incredibly gifted and had a fantastic career is Roberto Clemente. But strictly based on stats, his cards probably should not sell for as much or more than Mays or Aaron.

ElvisP · July 4, 2015 12:51PM

Harmon Killebrew comes to mind. His RC can still be had for under $500 in PSA 7. Same for Don Drysdale and Roger Maris.

ClockworkAngel · July 4, 2015 4:37PM

Yah I have been bullish on Musial. I always felt his 1948 RC's were very underpriced in comparison to some of the other true icons.
Others from that era that come to mind are banks and wille mays

Modern
Gary Carter - totally dominated the catching position in the 1980's. He was the Bench of that time periond. And a hell of a nicer guy than Bench. But his RC is an after thought to Brett and Yount
Eddie Murray- some pretty sick stats at the end of his career. But not a very popular player which has hurt. His RC is a bargain compared to others with similar stats
Steve Carlton - hurt by being on some bad teams, playing too long, and another guy not being well liked. But his RC hasn't increased like so many others in this era

Finally
Greg Maddux - Hard to really judge card value of this one since Maddux came around at the start of the junk era in cards. Regardless this guy was putting up Christy Mathewson type stats in the middle of the steroid era. People talk about his accomplishments and stats but I don't think it registers enough with a lot of guys that he did it in the era when everyone was juicing and putting up Nintendo type numbers.

Tabe · July 4, 2015 5:22PM

<< 
Modern
Gary Carter - totally dominated the catching position in the 1980's. He was the Bench of that time periond. And a hell of a nicer guy than Bench. But his RC is an after thought to Brett and Yount
>>

Not sure I'd agree Carter "totally" dominated the position in the 80s. Lance Parrish was right there with him. People forget how good Lance was - an elite defensive catcher who also put up 30 homers a year. If he doesn't hurt his back in 1986 (while on pace to hit 40 homers), he's in the HOF.

Carter was better longer but I wouldn't say he "totally" dominated the 80s.

Tabe · July 4, 2015 5:23PM

<< Barry Bonds! >>

For sure. Greatest offensive seasons ever and his RCs are dirt cheap.

JBrules · July 4, 2015 8:08PM

<< Harmon Killebrew comes to mind. His RC can still be had for under $500 in PSA 7. Same for Don Drysdale and Roger Maris. >>

+1 on Killebrew and add Frank Robinson rookie card (VCP) is 334!

Wondo · July 4, 2015 10:34PM

My pick is Warren Spahn.

sbfinley · July 4, 2015 10:59PM

Napoleon Lajoie's common E and T cards usually can be had for $100-$250 in lower grade, while his closest contemporaries (Cobb and Wagner) are usually in the $600-$1000 range. Still probably the greatest player in a 125+ year old franchise's history.

miwlvrn · July 5, 2015 12:53AM

Alan Trammell, but that answer is coming from a very biased view as he was my favorite home town player throughout the '80's.

Not sure who I'd say objectively though.

RedHeart54 · July 5, 2015 12:58AM

I always thought Harold Baines was pretty undervalued relative to his performance. He wasn't flashy but he was solid hitter and hit for power. With one more good season he would have had 3000 hits, 400 homeruns and a lifetime .300+ average. (He hung on too long and his last 2 seasons probably dropped his lifetime average several points.) I don't think his '81 rookies sold for more than $7 or $8 even in the late '80s or early '90s.

Estil · July 5, 2015 1:29AM

Willie Mays. Yes you heard right. Considering you could make a strong case for him being the greatest player of all-time (even better than Ruth) it's a joke that Willie's cards aren't at least as valuable overall as Mickey's.

Golfcollector · July 5, 2015 2:41AM

Sam Crawford gets my vote

tsalems1 · July 5, 2015 3:12AM

I would go with Mays and Aaron

timpatg · July 5, 2015 3:14AM

<< Willie Mays. Yes you heard right. Considering you could make a strong case for him being the greatest player of all-time (even better than Ruth) it's a joke that Willie's cards aren't at least as valuable overall as Mickey's. >>

That has to be a joke. If there's any discrepancy in true card value it falls back to popularity. Mantle was loved by everyone other than his opponents. Mays was always and still is a world class dbag. Mantle and Mays were the same age and started about the same exact time. Mays stayed healthy. Mantle became a drunk and his skills were drastically diminished by the age of 33. Let Mantle not be a drunk and remain somewhat healthy from ages 33-40 (Mays was 42 when he finally retired), he reaches 700+ HRs, 3200+ hits and 2000+ RBI. For now that would put him in a group of 2 people (Aaron and eventually Arod).

I know, "what ifs" but comparing those 2 always aggravates me.

PSASAP · July 5, 2015 5:10AM

Put Mantle in Candlestick for all of the 60's and he probably doesn't get to 500 home runs. You can make as many arguments against Mantle as you can for him.

CollectorAtWork · July 5, 2015 5:22AM

Williams and then Mays. Their RCs get no love compared to Mantle, Aaron and Clemente with arguably better stats

ldferg · July 5, 2015 5:31AM

Eddie Murray

BLUEJAYWAY · July 5, 2015 12:31PM

Bob Feller gets little consideration. He missed 4 years of his prime due to military service. Read his stats on Wikpedia.

DavidPuddy · July 5, 2015 12:38PM

Eddie Mathews
Willie McCovey

slum22 · July 5, 2015 12:47PM

I don't know enough about pre war players to do anything but guess on those players, but for post war players I would probably rank in chronological order:

Musial
Mays
Banks
McCovey
Carlton
Joe Morgan

If this was a year ago, I could have said Aaron, but his cards have experienced a pronounced bump this year. Musial continues to be criminally undervalued (hopefully I can land one of his RC's while this continues). Mays is by most accounts a top 5 all timer, and his cards lag significantly compared to Mantle and even Aaron. Carlton was every bit Ryan and Seaver's equal as a pitcher but his cardboard is a pittance in comparison.

SultanOfSwat · July 5, 2015 2:00PM

I would agree with Mays and Musial.

60sfan · July 5, 2015 3:44PM

Babe Ruth cards seem undervalued relative to Mantle cards.

Willie Mays cards seem undervalued relative to Roberto Clemente cards.

Agree with comments about Stan Musial, Ted Williams, Willie McCovey, Eddie Mathews, Steve Carlton , Joe Morgan being undervalued..........would add Fergie Jenkins to that list - won 20+ games six years in a row.

Joe Morgan won back to back MVPs ...........Steve Carlton won 4 Cy Young awards -- thats more than Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan , Curt Schilling and Jack Morris combined.

dytch2220 · July 5, 2015 4:33PM

Bob Hamelin

Tabe · July 5, 2015 5:00PM

Some of these answers make no sense to me. Mays? Ruth? Williams? These guys are not undervalued.

I can't see an argument for anybody other than Barry Bonds - all-time home run champ, billion-time MVP, holder of a hundred records... and his cards are dirt cheap. There is no player with a wider disparity between performance and card values.

garnettstyle · July 5, 2015 9:13PM

Willie Stargell

DanBessette · July 5, 2015 9:47PM

Before I opened this thread, I was thinking Brooks Robinson or Lou Brock. But Frank Robinson is a great choice!

SultanOfSwat · July 5, 2015 11:05PM

<< I can't see an argument for anybody other than Barry Bonds - all-time home run champ, billion-time MVP, holder of a hundred records... and his cards are dirt cheap. There is no player with a wider disparity between performance and card values. >>

Many people in the hobby view Bonds as a cheating fraud and liar who put up most of his video game numbers while being fueled by PEDs. That is why his cards are priced accordingly.

Griffins · July 6, 2015 12:15AM

<< 

<< I can't see an argument for anybody other than Barry Bonds - all-time home run champ, billion-time MVP, holder of a hundred records... and his cards are dirt cheap. There is no player with a wider disparity between performance and card values. >>

Many people in the hobby view Bonds as a cheating fraud and liar who put up most of his video game numbers while being fueled by PEDs. That is why his cards are priced accordingly. >>

this. Only I'd change "in the hobby" to "outside of San Francisco"

bishop · July 6, 2015 12:18AM

bounce · July 13, 2015 12:35PM

Been thinking about this as I get my want list together for Chicago, including a ton research on pricing so that I've got my "limits".

Considering the statute of these guys, I'm honestly surprised their cards are not way more expensive, but I've noticed there is a "bias" toward hitters in baseball.

Cy Young and Walter Johnson were absolutely unbelievable players. I still can't believe Cy wasn't an original Hall of Famer, talk about being slighted. Honestly, I guess you could add Christy Mathewson to this list, too, but these two guys are probably top 5 on any list of pitchers.

While their cards aren't "cheap" certainly, comparative prices to Cobb and Ruth sure looks to me to show the "hitters" bias. Even RCs of Mantle and Mays and Aaron outpace these guys, which to me just doesn't make a ton of sense.

I've always been a baseball fan, and I've always enjoyed great pitching over the big home runs.

For the money, give me solid mid grade examples of these hurlers any day.

Dodgerfanjohn · July 13, 2015 2:04PM

<< I don't know enough about pre war players to do anything but guess on those players, but for post war players I would probably rank in chronological order:

Carlton
Joe Morgan

>>

Joe Morgans cards are ridiculously low valued. 6's and 7's can be had at a song for a guy that is one of the top 5 2nd basemen of all time.

For modern cards someone pointed out Thome and I I agree. His numbers are ridiculous. I think Randy Johnsons is probably undervalued too, even though theres the whole junk era problem.

olb31 · July 13, 2015 11:10PM

Tim Duncan hands down. This guy not only is a fantastic basketball player but a very high character individual. In my opinion he is one of the top ten players of all-time.

1) Bill Russell
2) Wilt
3) Mike
4) lew alcinder
5) Magic
6) Larry
7) Oscar
8) Kobe
9) Lebron
10) Duncan

the other top 9 guys cards are through the roof, duncan's are pedestrian.

ReggieCleveland · July 13, 2015 11:37PM

I'd go Stan Musial and Eddie Mathews.

No one EVER talks about Eddie Mathews yet he has the 22nd most WAR all-time.

Arthur

QUITCRAB · July 14, 2015 12:30AM

Brooks Robinson. All century third baseman! He cards should be priced higher for all his accomplishments !

JoeBanzai · July 14, 2015 12:42AM

<< I'd go Stan Musial and Eddie Mathews.

No one EVER talks about Eddie Mathews yet he has the 22nd most WAR all-time.

Arthur >>

Agree that Mathews is never talked about, personally I rate him as second best at third base behind only Schmidt, however his rookie card being the last card in the 52 set is quite expensive, so I don't know if he is undervalued that way.

My vote would go to Frank Robinson as best player whose cards are undervalued.

ReggieCleveland · July 14, 2015 1:07AM

<< 

<< I'd go Stan Musial and Eddie Mathews.

No one EVER talks about Eddie Mathews yet he has the 22nd most WAR all-time.

Arthur >>

Agree that Mathews is never talked about, personally I rate him as second best at third base behind only Schmidt, however his rookie card being the last card in the 52 set is quite expensive, so I don't know if he is undervalued that way.

My vote would go to Frank Robinson as best player whose cards are undervalued. >>

Yes, his '52 is a monster, but these were all picked up between $8-15 each delivered. I mean, c'mon. I know they're low technical grades but even still, that seems pretty undervalued.

Arthur

who is the single most undervalued baseball player, relative to card values, of all time?

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