Ozzie Smith Provides A Perfect Signature!!!

Ozzie Smith Provides A Perfect Signature!!!

Truth be told, I respect a player that delivers a consistent autograph.  And if said player happens to deliver a great looking signature, I hold them in even higher regard!!!

Ozzie Smith easily accomplishes that task.

Check out his beautiful signature:

While I cannot tell if he signs quickly or slowly, it’s very obvious that ‘The Wizard’ tries to deliver for his fans.  His signature has some great loops and swirls, but what is most remarkable is how straight Ozzie signs.  It’s almost unheard of that a player gives you such a clean, and sharp ‘graph.

And those ‘Double Z’s’ look amazing!!!

Ozzie Smith Was An All-Star 15 Times!!!

Ozzie Smith Was An All-Star 15 Times!!!

Making the All-star squad in 13 of his final 14 major league seasons, Smith was a fan favorite and an annual selection as one of the league’s best shortstops.

Ozzie Smith was one of the most liked and respected players in the game during his era.  His love for the game was evident each and every time he took to the field. 

Smith’s dedication to defense as well as his talent for base running is what made him a perennial All-star selection during baseball’s mid-summer classic.  And like may of his counterparts, Smith took the role of being an All-star very seriously.

13 All-star selections in 19 seasons – not too shabby!!!

Ozzie Smith Was Great On The Base Paths…

Ozzie Smith Was Great On The Base Paths…

While defense is what made Ozzie Smith stand out amongst his peers, he was also a terrific base runner.

Used at several different spots in the batting order during his 19-year career, Ozzie made the most out of each and every successful plate appearance.  And once he got on base, he stole the show…

Ozzie has 580 career stolen bases which puts him at 21st on the all-time list.  Ozzie collected double-digit steal in the first 16 years of his career and he surpassed 30 swipes in a season 11 times.  He was also great at generating runs for his team.  With 1,257 runs scored, primarily from the 7th or 8th position in the batting order, Smith made other teams pay when he got on base!!

Ozzie Smith, ‘The Wizard Of Oz’

Ozzie Smith, ‘The Wizard Of Oz’

With one of the most fitting nicknames in all of sports, ‘The Wizard Of Oz’ is a perfect one for one of the game’s most talented defensive players.

Ozzie Smith was blessed with incredible footwork and speed.  As a shortstop, he used his skills to make impossible plays look routine.  With unlimited range and a steady and consistent arm, Ozzie was making outs out of balls that were normally hits.

Essentially, he was performing magic on the baseball diamond, like a ‘Wizard’!!!

Happy Birthday Ozzie Smith!!!

Happy Birthday Ozzie Smith!!!

Today is Ozzie Smith’s birthday.  And as I love to do, I am going to dedicate a day’s worth of posts to the greatest defensive infielder we have ever seen.

Happy Birthday Mr. Smith, this one’s for you!!!

Happy Birthday Carlton Fisk!!!

Happy Birthday Carlton Fisk!!!

Carlton Fisk turns 64 years old today.

Carlton Fisk was an 11-time all star catcher that held together some of baseball’s most diverse pitching staffs for 24 major league seasons.  A 7-time candidate for baseball’s MVP award, Fisk was the centerpiece for both the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox for a quarter century.

With 376 career home runs and 1,330 RBI, Fisk was a solid contirbutor to his team’s offense.  Throughout his entire career, Fisk was used as a DH, infieleder, and outfielder just to kepe his potent bat in the line-up.

Happy Birthday Mr. Fisk!!!

Rickey Henderson’s Iconic 1980 Topps Rookie Baseball Card!!!

Rickey Henderson’s Iconic 1980 Topps Rookie Baseball Card!!!

Ask any collector to give you their ‘Top 5′ rookie cards to own from the 1980′s and the odds are pretty good that the 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson rookie card makes the list more often than not.

A classic design and great photo have kept this iconic card as a collecting goal for many almost 30 years after it’s release to the hobby.

Topps did a great job with this one…  Perfect photo choice.  Perfect colors used on the banners to compliment Rickey’s uniform.  And a perfect facsimile signature of one of the game’s brightest stars!! 

The 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson rookie card – I’ve got mine, do you have yours??

Baseball Card Companies Love Rickey Henderson!!!

Baseball Card Companies Love Rickey Henderson!!!

Rickey Henderson offered the baseball card companies something different.  They didn’t have to rely solely on posed photography or shots of Rickey in his batting stance at the plate.

Instead he gave the card companies beauties like these:

The anticipation of the next pitch…

Head-first slides…

Base stealing dominance….

Pictures where you can almost see the gears in his head spinning…

Rickey gave all of us handfuls of unique collectibles!!!  Thanks Rickey!!

Rickey Henderson And His Hall Of Fame Plaque

Rickey Henderson And His Hall Of Fame Plaque

I cannot think of a player more deserving of enshrinement at Cooperstown than Rickey Henderson.

The greatest lead-off hitter of all-time, Henderson turned base stealing into an art and was the barometer by which all future runners were held to – and nobody compared!!

Rickey Henderson had amazing baseball talent, and a personality to match.  While at times his interviews were more entertaining than his play, there is no doubt that Rickey is a baseball legend and several of his amazing accomplishments will not be matched by many players.

A true player, with an undying love for the game, Rickey Henderson is a Hall of Famer!!!

Rickey Has 2 Rings.

Rickey Has 2 Rings.

Unlike many of the game’s stars from the 1980′s, Rickey Henderson made it to the World Series and he took home 2 championship titles. 

In his 25-year career, Rickey played in 3 World Series match-ups.  Winning 2 of the 3 is pretty solid and Henderson was a key contributor both times.

In 1989, Henderson’s Oakland team beat the Giants in 4 games.  In that stretch, Rickey hit .474 while going 9 for 19.  He also collected 2 triples, a home run, 3 steals, scored 4 times and had 3 RBI.

And in 1993, Rickey’s Toronto Blue Jays teammates beat the Phillies in 6 games.  And while he was not as dominant as he had been during the 1989 Fall Classic, Henderson still managed to collect 6 hits, score 5 runs, and finish the series with a .393 on-base percentage.