2025 National Pickup - John Donaldson Signed Card

While at the National, Jesse and I came across a vendor that had these signed cards showing Joe DiMaggio coaching a few Oakland A's.  I believe one of the guys seared is Catfish Hunter.

I bought the card because it is signed by John Donaldson, a North Carolina native, and someone I have met at the Wilson Hot Stove Event.  I figured the card would look cool in my album.

It turned out, the vendor knows Donaldson personally.  Donaldson signs a few of the cards and the vendor sells them, giving the money to Donaldson.  So, I was glad I picked one up, because Donaldson is a very nice guy.

Yogi: An Evolving Collection and Thoughts on the Franchise Four

Ask anyone who knows me how I feel about the New York Yankees.  As they run away with the AL East this season, my disdain for the Evil Empire continues to fester and grow, as it has since some little brat interfered with a play in a playoff game back when Bill Clinton was president.

As my collection continues to grow and evolve, I have noticed something happening, especially recently.

I have noticed that I have quietly amassed quite the vintage collection and among some of my favorites are Yankees.  Several of my favorite cards in my collection are Mickey Mantles, and I noticed recently that I have a BUNCH of vintage Yogi Berra cards.  I just have gotten lucky at shows lately and in trades.  I have found a lot of Yogi cardboard and was smart enough to grab them when I could.

It helps that I had a discussion with my good friend, and Yankee fan, Drew, about a year ago which consisted of analyzing stats of some legendary catchers.  Yogi, for the most part, turned out to be the standard bearer when it came to legendary catchers.  He also has 10 World Series rings, which doesn't hurt.

He's Yogi.  He's a legend.  Yet, when it comes time to recognize said legend, Yogi always tends to need some help.  Just recently, Yogi needed an online petition to allow his name to be entered into consideration for the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  Maybe this will be one time where the president actually performs an act that The People really want, instead of something he thinks they want.

Additionally, Yogi didn't make the cut for the Yankees' franchise four that was announced a few days ago at the All Star game.

It is very understandable that Yogi would miss the cut when one is choosing only four great Yankees.  I mean, who could leave Ruth or Gehrig off of the list.  Those two should always be locks on any Yankee Mount Rushmore.  Mantle was a great choice.  I can't argue that at all.  Which leaves us Joe DiMaggio...

DiMaggio made the cut, and Yogi is left out.  A compelling argument can be made to include DiMaggio in the Franchise Four, but I would honestly like to hear the argument AGAINST Yogi.  Seriously, I want to hear it.  Ten rings carry a lot of weight.  Their weight in gold, so to speak.  Yogi and DiMaggio have similar career numbers.  MVPs: Yogi - 3/DiMaggio - 3; Rings: Yogi - 10/DiMaggio - 9; World Series Appearances: Yogi - 14/DiMaggio - 10; Hits: Yogi - 2,150/DiMaggio - 2,214; Homers: Yogi - 358/DiMaggio - 361; Avg.: Yogi - .285/DiMaggio - .325.

DiMaggio and Yogi could probably be swapped and Yankee fans would be ok either way.  I won't go into the travesty that was the "living Franchise Four" that also saw Yogi left off.

I just feel that Yogi is kind of underrated when it comes to legendary players, and could quite possibly have his legend grow far after he is gone.  Lucky for us, at 90 years old, he is still around.  Sadly, it won't be for much longer, but I, for one, am glad I was able to realize and appreciate him before he was gone.

Hall of Fame Signed Baseball - Joe DiMaggio

I visited the antique shop in Columbia, SC today and left there with a ton of stuff.  One of the more notable items I got (and I got a few) was my 110th baseball signed by a Hall of Famer.

Joe DiMaggio (b. 1914 - d. 1999) played in the majors from 1936 to 1942 and 1946 to 1951 for the New York Yankees.  He had 2,214 hits, 361 home runs and a career batting average of .325.  He was a 13-time All Star (every season he played), two-time batting champ (.381 in 1939 and .352 in 1940) and was a three-time AL MVP (1939, 1941 and 1947).

Dimaggio won the World Series nine out of the ten times he played for the title.  He won in 1936 through 1939, 1941, 1947, 1949, 1950 and 1951.  Only Yogi Berra has more rings than DiMaggio did.

DiMaggio is the owner of one of the records that baseball may never see broken, a 56-game hitting streak.  DiMaggio accomplished the feat in 1941.  That is one of those records that you will likely never see broken, much like Cal Ripken's consecutive games streak, or Cy Young's wins record.  DiMaggio was an excellent hitter who could have achieved muchmore, had his career not been interrupted in its prime due to World War II.

DiMaggio was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1955 when he was named to 88.8% of the ballot.  He had appeared on the ballot in 1953 and 1954, but wasn't elected (he also appeared on the ballot as a player in 1945).  His inclusion on the '53 and '54 ballots were largely due to the fact that it was always hinted that he night come out of retirement.  He is the reason for the 5-year waiting period on the current Hall of Fame ballot.