I've been waiting years for this. Seriously. Years. And based on the prices people are paying on eBay, I'm not the only one.
When I checked last week, they were selling in the $20 to $40 range with most ending in the area of $28 to $35. Now that's what I call respect. I've spent less on certified on-card autographs of Rod Carew, Frank Thomas, and Steve Carlton recently and all of these guys are enshrined in Cooperstown.
Speaking of Cooperstown... maybe the Modern Era Committee will finally show Simmons some respect and induct him.
While I was waiting, I saw this signed 1971 Topps rookie card of him pop up on eBay with a best offer option:
After going back and forth, I finally accepted the dealer's counteroffer of $35 (+ $3.75 shipping). I realize that this is just as expensive as his Archives autograph, but I'd much rather own an autographed copy of his rookie card.
Well that's it for today.
Are there any other collectors and baseball fans out there who feel that Simmons is Cooperstown worthy?
11 comments:
Cool pickup! Simmons is one of those guys that's along the lines of a Ron Santo for me--he played before I was born and wasn't talked about as much as someone like Johnny Bench, so it's hard for me to get an idea of how deserving he is. But I don't mind a larger Hall full of guys not everyone agrees on, especially when it results in a guy like Trammell making it. So I'd be on board!
I never thought of simmons as a hall of famer but that doesn't mean he's unworthy, obviously. He's in a group of 70's stars that are on the bubble it seems
Not sure this will transfer well but here goes....Check out Simba's Similarity Scores on baseball Reference.
Miguel Tejada (863.6)
Alan Trammell (831.1) *
Joe Torre (820.0) *
Carlton Fisk (819.6) *
Gary Carter (817.5) *
Lou Whitaker (817.2)
Barry Larkin (807.0) *
Joe Cronin (806.1) *
Yogi Berra (803.9) *
Jimmy Rollins (797.1)
* - Signifies Hall of Famer
And that's not even taking his defensive skills into account, and they were top notch. I think he belongs.
The guy needs to be in the Hall just based on his 1975 Topps card alone.
Clearly, by all statistical analysis, Simmons was an elite player during his career. On the other hand, Simba hardly moved the needle ala Reggie Jackson or Johnny Bench. In my opinion the HoF should be reserved for Legends, Pioneers & Innovators, whereas the likes of Blyleven, Trammel or Simmons can be honored by their respective teams. Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Rickey Henderson, Ken Griffey Jr, Derek Jeter, and so on really stirred the proverbial drink in a way that left no doubt as to their individual Hall enshrinment. The Fame of a player is often the most overlooked qualification when it comes to any players Hall of Fame candidacy.
That Simmons RC PSA/DNA is a nice pick-up. 71 Topps is my all time favorite Modern set and a Rookie autograph is quite desirable, however my one pet peeve on an autograph card on the same real estate as a facsimile autograph.
Nice pick up of his rookie. Congrats!
The autographed rookie definitely trumps the archive, but glad to see a new face in Archives. He was an outstanding catcher and deserves Hall consideration.
dennis - in all honesty... i'm for a smaller hall of fame and a bigger hall of very good. but with guys like trammell in, i feel like simmons should be in the discussion.
gcrl - me either. i read a good article somewhere that opened my mind to simmons. either baseball digest or sports illustrated.
commishbob - one of the things that hurts him is he played during the bench, fisk, and carter era. but like you point out, his similarity scores are up there with carter.
night owl - that's why they call him simba
xavier higgins - bottom line is i agree with you. i wish the hof was reserved for the best of the best. but with more hall of very good guys getting enshrined, i just feel simmons should be discussed. i also have issues with players signing cards with facsimile signatures. but unfortunately simmon's two rookie cards both feature facsimile signatures.
sumomenkoman - thanks. i was pretty stoked.
baltmoss68 - i'm crossing my fingers and hoping i beat the odds and pull the simmons autograph from one of my archives blasters.
That is a great looking card. Not only is Simmons underrated in terms of his Hall of Fame status, but nobody ever talks about that 71 Topps card. I know there are rookie cards of Garvey, Blyleven, and Concepcion in there, but nobody even mentions the Simba. Can't wait for him to get into the Hall.
Catching up on old posts. HoF has not been good to 3rd basemen and catchers to the point where I want a bigger hall in those specific positions. I'm open for the debate about toning things down with firstbasemen and outfielders though.
snorting bull - great observation. definitely underrated card in my book
nick vossbrink - great thing about the baseball hall of fame is there's lots of room for debate.
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