Little help deciding the next player to collect...

belz

Needing a new project to focus on for the new year. Parameters: HOF, played and retired in the 60s, 70s, and or 80s. Preferably played in 1971 as I'd love to have a killer PSA card with perfect black border. My initial thought has been Tom Seaver, as I've always loved the look of most of his cards. Just looking for the basic topps cards. Any thoughtful insights would be appreciated.

LarkinCollector

Seaver's a good option, some other underappreciated options to consider: Kaline, F Robinson, Drysdale (no 71).

begsu1013

what position did you play?

belz

Originally posted by: begsu1013

what position did you play?

P (southpaw) and CF

begsu1013

snider or mays perhaps.



considering the significance of the 71 card, could maybe start if off w/ the blyleven rc.



hrabosky rc was 71 as well and while not a hof, definitely a character. I was a pitcher as well and absolutely loved his style of play and pre-pitch routine.

requested his basic player set like 6 months ago and still waiting.



and then there's always ryan.

DanBessette

Seaver is a good choice, as well as the 3 Kyle suggested and Mays. Snider doesn't have a 71T and Ryan played well into the 90s. Other suggestions: Yaz (had to say it!), Bench, Aaron, Clemente. If 71T is so important to you, Thurman Munson might be a cool one

ahkmedbinladen

Manny Sanguillen

vintagefun

Some good choices....but I'll throw you the one I've been considering once I complete my others...McCovey (60-80)



I'm also considering Drysdale. And while this one won't be of the graded variety...I am slowly building a raw Stargell run.



Looking forward to your decision and updates.

georgebailey2

Killebrew, Reggie and Carlton all have very attractive cards throughout their careers.

cardcountry

All the above are great. I'd personally pick Clemente. His cards are very popular and are always climbing in value. Next to mantle, I sell the most of his cards by far.

Jeff

ThoseBackPages

Clemente, hands down.

CollectorAtWork

Clemente

QUITCRAB

Brooks ... A class act !
Great cards and oddball material to chase !

swish54

Fergie Jenkins played in the 60/70/80s. I think he's overlooked and his stuff is very cheap.

miwlvrn

I like the Kaline suggestion but there is admittedly home-town bias in my vote.

craig44

How about pete rose. He fits your timeline perfectly. May not be hof, but played at that level

thenextlevel

Nolan Ryan. The 71 Ryan is an awesome card.

bounce

clemente gets my vote - pirates won the 71 series and he was MVP so good link there



other choices i'd give (in no particular order):

bob gibson (his 71 card is kind of cool actually)

reggie jackson

ernie banks

pete rose

joe torre (71 NL MVP)

slum22

I don't know if you're a Cubs fan or not but I think Ernie Banks would be a great choice. Terrific player and by all accounts a great person too. If you want to go outside the box a little and switch sports I think Jim Brown or Walter Payton would be awesome guys to build player sets around. Iconic players and great looking cards. The 76 Payton is one of my favorite cards.

frankhardy

How about Lou Brock? Lou Brock, at 76 years old, just had his lower left leg amputated due to diabetes. It's sad that those legs stole more bases than anyone in NL history.

KendallCat

+1 for Clemente. Some great issues and hugely popular, and has a cult following with the Latin community. Other good ones would be Seaver, Ryan, and Bench. As you will see MUCH cheaper with any player not named Mantle!

seebelow

agree with the above.....and all of the sudden you'll be back to buying primarily psa 10s ( and 9s)..ha...vs Mickeys world

belz

Great replies..thx guys. Without too much narrative, I've narrowed it down to Yaz, Seaver, or Clemente. All for various reasons. It's been fun doing searches on eBay for a bunch of new players and cards to see/remember what they all look like.



Steve, sticking with baseball but if I went outside I would for sure do Payton in all 9s plus.



Thanks again everyone. This forum can be really great.

dberk12

My vote would be Seaver. He is underrated (so are most of the people on your list) and has has some great cards. I love the 1974 Topps horizontal action shot. His cards have always been undervalued compared to pitchers in the same era (Ryan) and they seem to have some momentum recently. Now may be a good time to get in. Good luck with your venture and I look forward to seeing scans along the way.

Ironmanfan

Jim Palmer (who won World Series games in three decades!)



IMF

KendallCat

Originally posted by: belz
Great replies..thx guys. Without too much narrative, I've narrowed it down to Yaz, Seaver, or Clemente. All for various reasons. It's been fun doing searches on eBay for a bunch of new players and cards to see/remember what they all look like.

Steve, sticking with baseball but if I went outside I would for sure do Payton in all 9s plus.

Thanks again everyone. This forum can be really great.

Best part is the price! For the price of a 1959 Mantle you can get almost every Seaver card out there in a high grade.

belz

That's the truth!!!

DanBessette

Obviously I vote for Yaz! Lol. All 3 players have a competitive registry, if that matters to you.

mickeymantle24

If you don't go with Seaver then I would recommend Clemente. He has some beautiful cards and should keep climbing with the following he has. Cant wait to see the new additions no matter who you decide to collect!

seebelow

all of the above mentioned the most.



how about Rose? his first three are great looking and they go clear to '84.

belz

Well...I'm going with my original thought. Although Clemente might be a better investment, and popular amongst collectors, I don't have the same desire as some. I grew up in the 70s and 80s. I have fond memories of so many cool players. Since I've been collecting mantles I've been missing the 70s and 80s. Seaver it is. I probably won't dive in until next year and still have big work to do on Mantle and some hof modern autos, but I'm excited for the next project and glad its a fraction of the cost..maybe I'll just sell my 58 mantle, downgrade the 58 to a 7+, and buy every Seaver in high grade, lol. Sorry mantle dudes, not going to happen.