Baseball Roundtable is pleased to present a guest post from former major leaguer John Paciorek, who has spent a lifetime playing and studying the national pastime – and, in particular, the art of hitting a baseball. In this essay, Paciorek offers what he has observed and learned about developing the optimal approach to batsmanship. Before, we get into the essay  – a bit about Paciorek.

John Paciorek’s drive and talent  got him onto a major-league field on September 29, 1963 – at the age of 18 –  for the Houston Colt .45s (that‘s what they were called then). Paciorek’s  passion  for the national  pastime comes as no surprise, two of his brothers  – Jim and Tom Paciorek – also made it to the major leagues. But, back to John’s career. Batting seventh and playing right field, Paciorek had an auspicious debut.  In addition to four cleanly handled outfield chances, he racked up five plate appearances, three hits, two walks, four runs scored and three RBI.  As surprising as his debut major league performance is the fact that the game also represented Paciorek’s major-league finale.  Still, John Paciorek had the most successful one-game MLB career in history (a 1.000 batting average; on-base percentage; slugging percentage; and fielding percentage).

What happened? Paciorek’s major league potential was cut short by a back injury that required surgery in 1964, sidelined him for all of 1965 and limited him to four minor-league seasons going forward. After leaving professional baseball, Paciorek went on to earn a degree in physical education and forged a career as a physical education  teacher. But he never lost his passion for – and deep interest in – the intricacies of the game. Paciorek has expressed that passion in (among other ways) the authorship of three baseball-focused books Plato and Socrates – Baseball’s  Wisest Fans; The Principle of Baseball – and All There is to Know About Hitting; and If I Only Knew Then What I  Know Now. He has also established a baseball-focused website – at  JohnPaciorek.com.

Now, here is Paciorek’s essay on the art of hitting a pitched ball.

Professional Baseball Batter’s Most Vulnerable Stage

As He/She Is Attempting to Hit A Pitched Ball

 By

John F. Paciorek

Since I finished my career in Major League Baseball on the final day of the 1963 season – on a day that I came to the plate five times, walked twice, had three singles, scored four runs, knocked in three (and suddenly became destined to posterity as the only MLB player with two or more at-bats to record a single-season and career batting average and on-base percentage of 1.000) – I have relegated myself to the idea that penultimate “batting proficiency” can be attained even if perfection is inaccessible to all other major-leaguers.

The circumstances surrounding my  “One Game” performance are documented by Steven Wagner in his Book, PERFECT, Baseball’s Greatest One-Game Wonder. To me, the most remarkable thing that I recall from that otherwise wonderful one-game experience is the very fact that I could warrant such acclamation while sporting a batting technique that I have since calibrated as so devoid of practical application that I wonder how I ever made it to the big leagues. Yet, this technique is one that many players still use today and, as a result, are experiencing the same batting inconsistency I normally suffered through during my playing days. I’m now assuming that I was either extremely lucky or it was a work of providence to have such a Perfect Day.

Within the last 60 years, I’ve attempted to formulate a practical method by which any aspiring baseball player could simply and logically transcend the gamut of mortal illogical reasoning and the despairing moments of human futility to ascend to a nominal level of batting proficiency. After much study and trial and error, I was able to compile a plethora of valuable information, both metaphysically and scientifically adept, and transpose it in written form to three books and hundreds of essays that comprise the website from which I hoped others could glean.

Mostly every batter, whether an inept amateur, competent sandlot prodigy or a professional of variable regard, is inherently drawn to the instinctive notion that he/she needs to stride into a pitched ball in order to hit it with maximum power, force or efficiency. Even those who realize that a minimum stride is theoretically advantageous to seeing the speeding ball with near optimum acuity seem to still insist on lifting the front foot to initiate an opposing force to the pitcher’s powerful delivery. Thus, the actual point at which the batter is at his MOST DEBILITATING!

I have observed recently two current professional  batters who simply lift the heel of the front-foot as the pitch is delivered and vigorously plant it down as the ball reaches the hitting zone, creating a  better chance to achieve batting consistency. They are major-leaguer Paul Goldschmidt (St. Louis Cardinals) and minor-leaguer Ben Gobbel (San Bernadino 66ers). Goldschmidt has already established himself as a prominent hitter in the major leagues, well regarded  for the consistency he has demonstrated over his tenure. But he is by no means perfect nor an example of a Penultimate Batter. Gobbel has just recently changed his technique from that of a slight stride to that of “heel-lift” and his college batting prowess caught the attention of the Anaheim Angels who offered him a minor-league contract to play in the California League this year. He had been showing great potential until he recently broke his left hand by a pitched ball.

Both Goldschmidt and Gobbel (as well as most hitters) understand that, in order to hit a pitched ball effectively in professional baseball, a batter must see it with maximum acuity. Unfortunately, even professional major leaguers do not understand that any movement of the head and eyes diminishes the capacity for “Maximum-Acuity.” In addition, the conscious thought of simply raising the “front heel” expends energy that deprives the batter of optimal “focus” on the pitched ball.

Although Gobbel and Goldschmidt are on the right track in securing batting prowess, they are not altogether on the highest level for experiencing batting perfection. Both would do well if they would copy the batting technique of the greatest hitter in baseball history (besides me – just kidding) – Barry Bonds!

Photo: Kevin Rushforth, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

I picture Barry Bonds in the batter’s box and wonder why more (if not all) batters didn’t try to emulate the technique he brought to the plate? His .370 average (2002) was an understatement of his potential (even with his “senior citizen” status). One of the only things that kept him from hitting 100 home runs and averaging over .400 was the despicable tendency of pitchers who avoided throwing to him.

I don’t know how good an athlete has to be to attain the status of consistent performer. But he shouldn’t have to be an Einstein to figure out (from video replays) what it is that Barry Bonds did differently from all other batters. Each, or any of them, could possibly translate that information into a means to eliminate the margins of error that he unwittingly employed. Most players must think that Bonds was an anomaly and could not be duplicated in strength and natural ability (besides the steroid controversy).

It was neither strength nor natural ability which allowed Barry to stand out as the greatest exponent of batting excellence the national pastime has ever seen. It was his masterful application of the basic fundamentals of batting principles that afforded him the facility to approach impeccable batting technique and execution.  He was the only hitter who came to the plate, and looked as though he should get a hit every time he swung his bat.

What was it that Barry did consistently right, that most, if not all, other batters do only sporadically? The answer is five separate things:

1. He established a strong low center of gravity while waiting for the ball.
2. He eliminated movement of his head and eyes. (Only slightest of strides … No-stride would’ve been even better.)
3. He waited patiently for the ball to get to him, while he quietly lowered his hands to begin an unobtrusive rhythm of his arms.
4. When the ball got to his hitting zone, four things happened simultaneously:a.

• The front foot planted quickly and firmly – at a 120-degree angle to the pitcher
• Front shoulder “shrugged” upward, while back shoulder and elbow drove downward (hands staying behind back shoulder and resenting a flat bat as the body was turning to address the pitched ball)
• Back bent knee drove forward, allowing the hips to turn rapidly with a straightening front leg
• The shoulders followed the hips in rapid succession, arms extending through the contact of the ball.

5. From contact, through the straightening of arms, through the follow-through, the shoulders were continuously flowing, until they had reversed positions.

Photo: Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The only player capable of superseding Bonds in batting efficiency is Aaron Judge, if he would change a few minor things in his batting technique. Because of his natural overpowering strength, Judge doesn’t need to stride. So, he should merely assume a stance wherein he does not have to stride, but rather simply push down onto his front foot from a stable bent-knee position to begin his swing. When he pushes down, his front foot should be pointed at 120 degrees toward the pitcher. By doing this, he will avoid twisting his ankle and knee as the weight will be distributed evenly onto his foot and leg as did Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio.  If Judge continues in his current stance and approach to the ball, he will never surpass Barry as the greatest batter ever!

Like Judge, both Gobbel and Goldschmidt address the pitcher with both feet parallel and toes pointed toward the plate. When they plant the front foot as the heel comes down, they inadvertently strain the ankle and knee as they commence with their powerful swings.

With regard to Goldschmidt and Gobbel, with their feet perpendicular to the plate through their swings, they never express their full power because their ankles are twisted, and foot not fully planted. When Judge takes a full swing, you can always see his front ankle twisted almost to the point of spraining.

For a detailed analysis of Judge’s batting stance and stride,click here.

The best pre-condition for these three hitters (as well as ALL batters) is to assume a “Bonds-like” batting stance (low and stable) with front foot pointed at 120 degrees toward the pitcher, after they have spread their legs and feet to a distance equal to what would be their normal strides. Their hands and bat should be at a position no higher than what is considered a high strike. (In Little League right on up to the major leagues, when the hands are up too high, the batter has a tendency to see the high pitch too clearly and with the hands and bat at that position, they can’t stop themselves from swinging at it.)

A pitcher’s most consistent “out-pitch” with two strikes on a batter with hands high is a high fastball above the strike-zone. The main reason a batter misses the high pitch is that  when he begins his swing from a high position, his power muscles of “lats and pecs” naturally drive the arms and bat down under the ball. If the arms and bat begin at the high strike, it is easier for an adept “swinger of the bat” to adjust his thinking as well as his bat-control to the non-strike, while still remaining  competent in hitting the high pitch within the zone.

Following these instructions is made easier if the batter can manage to contain his primal instinct to stride after a pitched ball. With the “No-Stride,” all the batter has to do has to do is WAIT, BE READY, PUSH DOWN on front foot and explode with extreme intensity by way of the correct mechanical employment of his legs, hips, shoulders, arms, and hands at the ball that he sees most clearly making its way into his striking zone. Thus, it takes away the mental strain of wondering when to “Put the front foot down”!

For any more information about the only sure way of becoming as close to a Perfect Batter in the Big-Leagues, as well as in all lower levels of Baseball,  please consult my website at www.johnpaciorek.com.

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Baseball Roundtable is pleased to bring readers a guest post from Chris Moskowitz of Baseball Reviews – thebaseballreviews.com – a solid source of information and opinion on baseball equipment from bats, to gloves, to shoes and more.  This youthful blogger is a lifelong baseball fan, who has played at the Recreational, Traveling Team, Competitive Club and High School level. He currently works for the Somerset Patriots (Bridgewater Township, New Jersey) of the Atlantic League (Independent).  You’ll find a link to The Baseball Reviews web site on the right-hand side of the BBRT home page.

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THE WEIRD BEGINNINGS OF BASEBALL

by Chris Moskowitiz … thebaseballreviews.com

Yes, baseball has developed into an amazing and almost perfect sport. It is fair, fun, and an awesome choice for exercise and competition at any level. This is exactly why it is America’s favorite pastime.

But baseball hasn’t always been so great. Imagine playing baseball with a bat that is curved, facing a pitcher just 15 yards away from home plate. Consider handling a hot line drive without the aid of a fielder’s glove or crouching behind the plate without a catcher’s mask. Or imagine how long a game would take if it took nine balls outside the strike zone to produce a walk. All of these things seem a little far-fetched today, but this is how it was at the beginning of baseball.

FIELDERS’ GLOVES

Photo by Internet Archive Book Images

Let’s talk about the gloves first. Gloves in baseball used to be nonexistent. Yes, you read that right, baseball gloves used to not be there to protect your hands. I would hate to have gone out to a position on the field in the era when there were no baseball gloves. A lot of people take something as simple as a baseball glove for granted. I know I did.

Imagine playing without a baseball glove and having to cleanly handle pop-ups or speeding grounders. It seems impossible. Especially when it’s cold out. Fall ball couldn’t be a thing in those times because there would have been too much pain in the joints of the hands of fielders. Imagine the sting you feel when you grab a sinking line drive with a glove. Now imagine the pain gloveless fielders must’ve gone through.

So how did they do it? Well, the answer is they would use smart techniques to stop the ball before fielding it. Some of these tactics include blocking the ball with their feet, slapping it down with their hands, or just letting it roll by, hoping the teammate behind them would stop it. I totally understand this, and would probably have done the same.

As the pain apparently mounted, innovation came. At first, fielders’ gloves looked pretty much like today’s batters’ gloves. Small, thin and not meant for catching or scooping. The main purpose of these earliest gloves was to knock the baseball down. Once the fielder could get the ball to stop, he could pick it up and throw it. Smart back then, now this is just a fielding exercise.

Fun Fact …

In the early days of baseball, there was considerable stigma attached to the use of a glove. One of the first group of confirmed players to don protective hand gear, first baseman Charlie Waitt, reportedly used a tan (near flesh-colored) glove, so as not to draw attention to the added gear. (Waitt played in the mid-1870s and early 1880s.)

The next step in innovation was to add the thumb and index finger pockets. I know that some baseball players like to stick their index finger out.  I don’t. The main purpose for that is to gain more control of the glove. As you can imagine, the thumb and finger pockets represented a big step forward for baseball gloves – and the art of fielding.

The next version of the baseball glove had a “pocket” in the palm of the glove to actually enable fielders to catch and field ground balls. That advance was a real game changer.

Since these early innovations, gloves have continued to gain in quality and craftsmanship. New, more pliable and durable materials have been introduced; gloves have been shaped and sized for specific positions (catcher, first base, infield, outfield); and manufacturers have even added flashy colors that allow you to match your fielder’s glove to your team colors.

Fun fact …

Do you know who the creator of Spalding Sporting Goods (a popular sports supplies company) was? It was Albert Spalding, a Hall of Fame pitcher for the Red Sox and White Sox.  Spalding – who led his league (the National Association and National League) in wins for all six of his full major league seasons. Spalding was well respected among players, and that respect was influential in the popularity of the baseball glove. When Spalding started wearing a baseball glove, a lot of others followed. After the popularity of the baseball glove started booming, he co-founded A.G. Spalding, a sporting goods company that is still very prominent today. He ran this company with his brother, Walter, and grew the company, while he grew baseball as well.  For example, in 1874, Red Sox owner Harry Wright charged Spalding with organizing the first foriegn tour by American baseball players – who played both baseball and cricket overseas. Later, as a baseball executive, Spalding is also credited with such innovations as Spring Training, efforts to bring more discipline to the sport and with organizing additinal “world tours” to promote the game. 

Also, did you know that the NBA official basketball is Spalding? Basketball wouldn’t be the same without baseball!

Note: Spalding played seven major league seasons (1871-1877), won 252 games and lost just 65, led his league in wins six times and put up career best numbers of 54-5, with a 1.59 earned run average in 1875.

BASEBALL BATS

Unlike baseball gloves, baseball bats were always in the picture, just not like we now know them.  At first, for example, all baseball bats (for any level of play) were wood. The technology was not developed enough to have metal baseball bats. It was easy just to use a machine to spin a piece of wood into a bat.

Fun Fact …

In the early days of baseball – before there were equipment manufacturers – players used to make their own bats (without restricutions on size, weight, etc.).  That must have made for some interesting sticks. 

Did you know that some baseball bats used to have two knobs on them instead of one? We are all used to the one knob at the end of the bat, so the bat doesn’t fly out of your hands.  When baseball was still in its early stages, some players used a two-knob bat, with the lower hand between the knobs and the upper hand resting on the top knob. Players like Hall of Famer Nap Lajoie (pictured below), who liked to “choke up” on the bat, were also known to use two-knob bats, resting the lower hand on the upper knob.    I wonder just how comfortable that was and what the impact was on bat control and power.

Embed from Getty Images

Another weird thing with baseball bats actually still goes on today. Bone rubbing is a very old technique to fill in the pores of your baseball bat with a hard enough material. This meant that the bats broke less, and were considerably stronger, which was a big advancement. Baseball greats like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig applied this bone treatment to their prized bats for countless hours.

One of the most outrageous baseball bat designs ever was the curved bat shape of the 1890s. Not all of the bats of the era were curved, but the unusually shaped sticks were popular among some players.  The purpose of this design was to enable hitters to put extra spin on the ball.  The thought was that if you could increase spin, the ball would fly farther – and, when the fielder got to the ball, the strong spin would make it harder to keep in the hand or glove.  This was true if the ball was hit perfectly with this bat, which was an extreme task because of the way the bat was shaped.  The degree of ball spin was less coming off regular baseball bats, which is why some players liked this bat. History shows us this bat design did not make it very far and is now primarily an example of experimental equipment design from long ago.

CATCHERS’ MASKS

In the earliest days of the national pastime, about the only piece of protective gear a catcher had was a rubber mouthpiece (similar to what boxers use). Of course, at that time, catchers had more leeway in terms of positioning. Most stood well behind the hitters, grabbing pitches and foul tips on the bounce. As the rules changed, requiring third strikes to be caught on the fly, catchers moved closer to the plate – and more protection was needed.

Photo by Internet Archive Book Images

The catcher’s mask showed up in 1876 – a fencing mask modified by a fellow name Fred Thayer and used by the Harvard baseball squad. It was so popular (and much needed) that, by 1878, Thayer’s patented mask had secured a place in the popular A.G. Spalding Sporting Goods catalog. Over the years, protection for catchers has continued to improve – mitts, chest protectors, shin guards are all part of a modern-day catcher’s prized gear.

BASE ON BALLS

Not only has baseball equipment changed dramatically, we’ve also seen rules improvement from the early days of our national pastime. In the late 1870s, it took nine balls outside the striking zone to earn a walk. Imagine the effect of that rule on “pace of game.” In 1880, the figure was dropped to eight balls; it slid down to six in 1884; five in 1887; and the current four-ball rule came into play in 1889.

Fun Fact …

Here’s a fun, and kind of weird, fact.  In 1887, baseball experimented with a “four strikes and you’re out” rule.  This (what now seems weird) rule lasted only one season.

PITCHING DISTANCE

The last crazy part of baseball’s beginnings that I’ll share has to do with the distance between the pitcher and the batter. Nowadays, you’re probably used to the pitcher being 60-feet/six-inches away from home plate. However, that distance is lot more generous than the batter-to-pitcher path of baseball’s early days.

When baseball first started, the pitcher actually had no set length to pitch from. You could theoretically pitch from second base or just three-feet away. When baseball first “fixed” the pitching distance, the pitcher would stand 45-feet away from the batter. This seems like a pretty hazardous distance to me. It would be hard for any batter to avoid an errant (or purposeful) inside pitch and equally difficult for a pitcher to field a line drive smashed back at him.

The reaction time of a pitcher is one of the most important things in baseball. If the ball comes off the bat too fast or the pitcher is too close, the rules have to change. This is why  the distance is now 60-feet/six-inches and also why we see bat regulations. One of the bat regulations used now is BBCOR – or “Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution – a measure of how much energy is lost (retained) when the bat makes contact with the baseball.

Well, all of these things had to come before we could witness the almost perfect baseball that we know today. All of these advancements have helped to make baseball more comfortable, safer and more enjoyable for players and fans.

Hope you enjoyed this guest post and, if you have a deeper interest in the equipment that is shaping today’s game, you can check out our equipment reviews at thebaseballreviews.com

Primary Resources: Society for American Baseball Research; Baseball-Reference.com; Baseball-Almanac.com; Smithsonianmag.com; 19cbaseball.com

If you have some specific interests, here are links directly to related reviews.

BATS: Click here.

GLOVES: Click here. 

CLEATS: Click here. 

OTHER GEAR: Click here. 

In addition, the “Guides” link has posts on everything from choosing a bat, to joining an adult league to caring for a baseball glove.

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Baseball Roundtable tweets baseball @DavidBBRT

Follow/Like the Baseball Roundtable Facebook page here. 

More baseball commentary, blog post notifications, prizes. 

Member: Society for American Baseball Research; The Baseball Reliquary; The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. 

To most of us, as soon as we started playing or watching baseball, we also started buying. collecting and trading baseball cards.   I fondly recall waiting for each year’s newly released Bowman or Topps cards to make it to the dime store.  As kids, we searched through the packets for our favorite players, bemoaned how quickly we accumulated multiples of seldom-played utility infielders, negotiated trades with the fervor of Frank Lane and even invented games using the statitistics on the backs. (I also remember getting a sore jaw from chewing so much bubble gum, but can’t deny enjoying the sweet scent that stayed on the cards and the sharp crack when you bit into a partiularly dry piece of gum).

With all of this in mind, Baeball Roundtable is pleased to share a guest post from Ross Uitts – founder of the web/blog site Old Sports Cards  (oldsportscards.com).  Uitts is a lifetime sports card collector who shares information and insight about collecting, buying, grading – and enjoying – cards from across the sports spectrum. Among his recent posts: 1952 Topps Baseball Cards: Key Facts, Values And Checklist;  The 60 Most Valuable Baseball Cards – The All Time Dream list; Eleven Stan Musial Baseball Cards You Need to Own; and The Best Sports Card Auctions.  You can visit Uitts’ site by clicking here – and BBRT will be adding a permanent link to Old Sports Cards to the list on the right hand side of this page. 

So, here is Ross Uitts look at his ten favorite baseball cards.  Enjoy.

My Ten Favorite Baseball Cards

by Ross Uitts

For decades, baseball fans young and old have turned to baseball cards as a way to connect more with their favorite teams and players. In my case, growing up as a kid in the late 1980’s, that meant I was chasing cards of Don Mattingly, Cal Ripken Jr. and Ken Griffey Jr. just to name a few. They may not have been the most expensive baseball cards, but that didn’t matter to me.

Prior to the internet, card backs offered one of the best ways to keep up with my favorite players’ statistics and development. And trading them amongst friends naturally became a great way to share our passion for the game.

I collected basketball and football cards, too, but I think I speak for most sports card collectors when I say that baseball cards were always the most desirable in general. Baseball is our country’s national pastime after all. And trading cards were almost everywhere when baseball was at its peak in popularity from the early 1900’s through the 1950’s.

During that time period, tobacco and confectionery companies promoted their products by distributing them with cards of baseball’s greatest icons like Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle. And while there were dozens of baseball card issues from that era, there were very few football, basketball and hockey cards by comparison. That’s probably one of the biggest reasons baseball cards are more popular: they just had a head start in production, creating a larger fan base along the way. Kind of the same reason Superman is more popular than Iron Man: he just had a head start.

Coming back to the 1980’s, we saw collector demand for those old baseball cards became huge. Kids who collected in the 1920’s to 1950’s were bitten by the nostalgia bug and wanted cards they either lost or threw away back then. The 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle was one of the cards to lead the way. Prices rose and people famously started to even consider them as investments safer than stocks, real estate or bonds. That pushed their fame into the mainstream media and even into the minds of non-collectors. I think that’s why even non-collectors can probably tell you what the Holy Grail of baseball cards is (the 1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner), but may not know the Holy Grail of basketball (the 1948 Bowman George Mikan) or football cards (the 1935 National Chicle Bronko Nagurski).

Having said all this, what would be my top ten favorite baseball cards of all time? After giving it some hard thought, I’ve narrowed it down to just ten … but it wasn’t easy. If you asked me again in a week, the list may very well change a bit. But here is my list for now:

1955 Topps Sandy Koufax Rookie Card

 

The Dodgers have been and always will be my favorite team. And although it’s hard for me to pick a favorite from among the many Dodger legends, Koufax has always narrowly beaten the others out for me. From 1961 to 1966, he turned in one of the most dominant six-year stretches that the game will likely ever see. His legend is forever cemented in baseball history, and as a Dodger pitcher, he holds the top spot for me.

1948 Leaf Jackie Robinson Rookie Card

Robinson comes in at an extremely close second place on my list of Dodger favorites. His impact on the game of baseball and American history as the first to break the MLB color barrier cannot be overstated. His 1948 Leaf rookie card is a key to the set and is instantly recognizable. The set design is fairly basic by hobby standards, but the imagery and eye appeal of Jackie’s card is pretty hard to beat.

1909-11 T206 White Border Honus Wagner

It’s the Holy Grail of baseball cards, so I’d be crazy to leave this off the list. Some say Wagner demanded compensation from the American Tobacco Company for using his image. Others believe he merely didn’t want his image associated with promoting tobacco to kids. Either way, his card was pulled from production, making it far more scarce than many other cards in the iconic set. So much so, that it’s value has steadily climbed into the seven-figure range and anytime one surfaces for sale or auction, it usually ends up in the news. I can’t imagine making a list without this card on it.

 

1952 Topps Mickey Mantle #311

Here’s another card that’s likely on every collector’s top ten favorites list. And for many, it actually sits on top ahead of the T206 Wagner. It’s become highly debated as to whether the 1952 Topps Mantle is actually the face of the hobby. The story of the card and how it became so valuable is amazing. It’s not his rookie card, that would be his 1951 Bowman issue. So that’s not why it’s valuable. It’s valuable because it’s the most iconic card in the most iconic post-War baseball card set. Furthermore, it’s a “high-number” card, meaning it was part of the last run of cards, cards #311 to #407, to be printed during the summer of 1952. Kids were becoming more interested in football cards late that summer, so Topps shortened production of the high-number cards. And on top of all that, Topps famously dumped thousands of high-number cards into the ocean during the 1980’s, resulting in even fewer copies in existence today.

1909-11 T206 Ty Cobb Tobacco (Ty Cobb Back)

I absolutely love this card and it’s a prime example of how subtle nuances within the hobby can skyrocket the value of a baseball card. The T206 set is special for many reasons, but one of them is, without a doubt, the numerous brand advertisements on the backs – 16 different backs in total. Estimates place the number of front/back combinations around 5,500, which led to this set being nicknamed “The Monster.” With approximately 22 or fewer known to exist, all in low grades, the “Ty Cobb back” is the rarest of them all. Even without the “Ty Cobb back,” it’s still an incredibly popular and valuable card. But having that distinct back puts it way over the top of any other Cobb card out there.

1933 Goudey #53 Babe Ruth

As I mentioned earlier, from the early 1900’s through the 1920’s, many tobacco and confectionery companies distributed their products with baseball cards as a way to boost sales. Baseball was the biggest sport in the country by far and Babe Ruth sat atop as the king of the game. Since he was the game’s most popular player during that era, Ruth appeared on dozens of cards. But it’s actually his 1933 Goudey #53 that was printed later on that’s my personal favorite Ruth card. He appeared on three other cards in the set (#144, #149 and #181), but this is his most iconic. His 1916 M101-5/4 Sporting News rookie card would blow this one out of the water in terms of price. But, in my opinion, the eye appeal of this Ruth card is unmatched by any other.

1910 T210 Old Mill Joe Jackson

Joe Jackson’s 1909-11 American Caramel E90-1 issue is his recognized rookie card and his most valuable overall, but I’ve always found this one to be his most interesting. The set itself is extremely rare and features hundreds of Minor League ball players. On this card, Jackson is shown as a member of the Cleveland Naps’ minor league team, the New Orleans Pelicans. He dominated the minors and the Naps would call him up late in the 1910 season. The rest is history. Few collectors are ever able to see this card in person, making it one of the hobby’s rarest of all.

1955 Topps #164 Roberto Clemente Rookie Card

Clemente was an amazing player on the field and an amazing person off the field. Few players are able to exhibit the amount of character that he showed. His rookie card sits atop the Koufax and Killebrew rookies as the keys to the 1955 Topps set. And it’s one of the most iconic cards of the 1950’s in general. It’s a must have for any Clemente fan or any serious vintage collector.

1951 Bowman #305 Willie Mays Rookie Card

Mays and Mantle both appeared in the 1951 Bowman and 1952 Topps sets. But unlike Mantle, Mays’s 1951 Bowman rookie card is actually more valuable than his 1952 Topps issue. Mays was card #261 in the 1952 Topps set, which put him outside the “high-number” series cards (#311 to #407) and therefore his ’52 Topps card isn’t as scarce. Had his been a high-number card in the ’52 Topps set, there’s no doubt that card would be more expensive than his 1951 Bowman issue. Either way, his ’51 Bowman rookie card is instantly recognizable and, in my opinion, features some of the best imagery of any vintage baseball card. Such a great depiction of one of the game’s greatest — if not the greatest.

1948 Leaf #8 Satchel Paige Rookie Card

Few players are more interesting than Satchel Paige. Not only did he bring an amazing skill set to the game, he did it with showmanship and charisma. His 1948 Leaf #8 rookie was a single print, making it even more rare than others in the set. Add the fact that it can be incredibly difficult to find in higher grades (due to poor print quality and focus) and it becomes arguably the toughest post-War card to collect.

So there you have it, my ten favorite baseball cards. It was difficult having to leave cards like the 1954 Topps Hank Aaron, the 1925 Exhibits Lou Gehrig, and the 1939 Play Ball Ted Williams among others off the list. But I had to draw the line somewhere.

If I had to give someone advice on collecting old baseball cards, I think it would be in the same spirit as this list: decide on the cards you like and stick with them.

The number-one thing to remember is that you should always collect what you love. Take my list for example. There are cards out there worth more money than some of those I mention above.  But what most hobby veterans will tell you is that card values will always fluctuate. So if the value of your cards happens to decrease, would you rather hold cards you love or hate?

Don’t chase money. Stick to Hall of Famers or your favorite team players and you’ll enjoy the hobby as it was meant to be.

Baseball Roundtable thanks Ross Uitts and Old Sports Cards for this guest post. Whether you collect baseball cards or are just a fan who remembers them fondly, I suggest you visit oldsportscards.com. Lots of interesting information there. For example, in the “Eleven Stan Musial Baseball Cards You Need to Own” post, I learned that there are fewer Musial cards than those of some other stars of his era because, between 1954 and 1957, Stan the Man just “didn’t want to sign (a contract) for cards.”  

There also are post on topics like the Best Baseball Blogs for Every Team in the Big Leagues and the Best Cities for Baseball Collectors and Enthusiasts.  You’ll also find “Buyers Guides” for the cards of players ranging from Babe Ruth to Satchel Paige  to Tony Gwynn – in which Uitts comments on what makes the cards so special AND what makes the players so special.  I’m sure you’ll find some of your favorites.  (And, of course, there is info on trading cards from other sports – basektball, football, hockey – if you are so inclined.  

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Member: Society for American Baseball Research (SABR); The Baseball Reliquary; The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum; Baseball Bloggers Alliance.