Comments on: Willie Stargell http://cardboardgods.net/2007/03/07/willie-stargell/ Voice of the Mathematically Eliminated Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:43:47 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Josh Wilker http://cardboardgods.net/2007/03/07/willie-stargell/#comment-297 Josh Wilker Thu, 29 Mar 2007 22:00:34 +0000 http://cardboardgods.net/2007/03/07/willie-stargell/#comment-297 <b><a></a>1.</b>  11 comments from the old CG site: Anonymous said... All the more a good reason to keep including Wille Stargell cards in every new Topps set each year..... GOGOSOX60 9:37 AM Michael said... You're so fucking good you make my head hurt. Brilliant. 11:55 AM Gus and Fer said... Josh, don't be too hard on yourself. Very few of us measure up to Willie Stargell, a mensch's mensch. Also, the Pirates never had to worry about losing Pops to free agency The team and city treated Clemente like shit pretty much until he died; you gotta think if leaving were a genuine option, Stargell would have considered it. I suspect there were friendlier and more lucrative settings where he could have mensch-ed up (any number of California teams come to mind). He's no less and no more a Hall of Famer for staying in Pittsburgh. You're no less and no more Wilkerized for having multiple employers, and maybe you appreciate Mr Adler more. More than Chuck Tanner or Bill Virdon? Too bad Pops isn't still around for you and he to have that conversation. 1:06 PM pm said... Pops. He was a mensch AND a macher... 5:12 PM Jon said... 11 employers in 23 years; but one of the years had a Kingmanesque stretch of 3 in 3 months. That's a wild Pirates uniform. 5:20 PM Josh Wilker said... Michael, thanks for the encouraging praise. I appreciate it. Jon: That is a wild Pirates uniform, but not quite as wild as the Pirates uniforms got as the '70s drew even near to their cocaine-addled close. (I hope to soon attempt to at least begin to address the Pirates "mix and match gone insane" late-late '70s style in a forthcoming essay on Grant Jackson.) One of the things I like about this particular Stargell card (besides the man's undeniably soulful expression) is that it displays the "regular hat under batting helmet" look that has completely vanished from the face of the earth. I know, as Gus and Fehr suggested, that Pops probably could have cashed in if his time in the bigs coincided more with the wide-open player movement we see now, but I'm personally glad I never had to see the great Pittsburgh macher/mensch jammed into a San Diego Padres uniform, for (a particularly horrifying) example. 6:20 PM Jon said... Appropos of nothing, I decided to create a Cardboard Gods All-Star team of the Gods profiled so far: C- Johnny Bench 1B - Willie McCovey 2B - Rich Dauer(?) that's a weak position 3B - Ron Santo SS - Ozzie Smith LF - Jim Rice CF - Fred Lynn RF - Henry Aaron P - Tommy John RP - Quiz I need a spot for Killebrew. Can he DH? 7:00 PM Josh Wilker said... Jon, Great list! Very fitting too: Sorting guys into various all-star teams was probably the most time-consuming way I had of "spending quality time" with these cards. Now I'll have to work on expanding the pool of 2nd basemen. As of right now, I might take Dave Cash over Dauer; also, I think Toby Harrah had a good season there late in his career. Also, If I just had to win one game I'd be tempted to go with Mr. J.R. Richard over Tommy John. I wonder if anybody else feels like chiming in on this, maybe round out a 25-man roster.... 8:56 PM Anonymous said... According to Ogilvie of the Bad News Bears, Henry Aaron "played quite a few games on second base." That's good enough for me. 12:46 PM Ellen said... I must point out not a single position is filled by a Yankee. Tortured by the knowledge that it is most probably my Yankee fan status that compelled me to make this stunningly "DUH" observation, to kick this out like a knee at a reflex hammer, to squeal like a rat at the cocaine bottle -- knowing that, I refrained for days. Til now. There are no Yankees on your all star team. There are no Mets, either. 10:10 AM Josh Wilker said... Ellen, Consider the Yankee exclusion from the CG all-stars a complement to the balance of those Yankee championship teams of the 1970s. They had a slew of very good players (Bill Lee has spoken of the Yankees of that era as a swarm of "samurai"), but I think only Reggie could be considered a Great, and he's blocked by Hammerin' Hank in right. Fear not, for a near future post I'll present a 25-man all-star roster culled from the first hundred (or so) Cardboard Gods, and there should be a couple Yanks on it. 12:25 PM 1.  11 comments from the old CG site:

Anonymous said…
All the more a good reason to keep including Wille Stargell cards in every new Topps set each year…..

GOGOSOX60

9:37 AM

Michael said…
You’re so fucking good you make my head hurt.

Brilliant.

11:55 AM

Gus and Fer said…
Josh, don’t be too hard on yourself. Very few of us measure up to Willie Stargell, a mensch’s mensch.

Also, the Pirates never had to worry about losing Pops to free agency The team and city treated Clemente like shit pretty much until he died; you gotta think if leaving were a genuine option, Stargell would have considered it. I suspect there were friendlier and more lucrative settings where he could have mensch-ed up (any number of California teams come to mind).

He’s no less and no more a Hall of Famer for staying in Pittsburgh. You’re no less and no more Wilkerized for having multiple employers, and maybe you appreciate Mr Adler more. More than Chuck Tanner or Bill Virdon? Too bad Pops isn’t still around for you and he to have that conversation.

1:06 PM

pm said…
Pops.

He was a mensch AND a macher…

5:12 PM

Jon said…
11 employers in 23 years; but one of the years had a Kingmanesque stretch of 3 in 3 months.

That’s a wild Pirates uniform.

5:20 PM

Josh Wilker said…
Michael, thanks for the encouraging praise. I appreciate it.

Jon: That is a wild Pirates uniform, but not quite as wild as the Pirates uniforms got as the ’70s drew even near to their cocaine-addled close. (I hope to soon attempt to at least begin to address the Pirates “mix and match gone insane” late-late ’70s style in a forthcoming essay on Grant Jackson.) One of the things I like about this particular Stargell card (besides the man’s undeniably soulful expression) is that it displays the “regular hat under batting helmet” look that has completely vanished from the face of the earth. I know, as Gus and Fehr suggested, that Pops probably could have cashed in if his time in the bigs coincided more with the wide-open player movement we see now, but I’m personally glad I never had to see the great Pittsburgh macher/mensch jammed into a San Diego Padres uniform, for (a particularly horrifying) example.

6:20 PM

Jon said…
Appropos of nothing, I decided to create a Cardboard Gods All-Star team of the Gods profiled so far:

C- Johnny Bench
1B – Willie McCovey
2B – Rich Dauer(?)
that’s a weak position
3B – Ron Santo
SS – Ozzie Smith
LF – Jim Rice
CF – Fred Lynn
RF – Henry Aaron
P – Tommy John
RP – Quiz

I need a spot for Killebrew. Can he DH?

7:00 PM

Josh Wilker said…
Jon,

Great list! Very fitting too: Sorting guys into various all-star teams was probably the most time-consuming way I had of “spending quality time” with these cards.

Now I’ll have to work on expanding the pool of 2nd basemen. As of right now, I might take Dave Cash over Dauer; also, I think Toby Harrah had a good season there late in his career.

Also, If I just had to win one game I’d be tempted to go with Mr. J.R. Richard over Tommy John.

I wonder if anybody else feels like chiming in on this, maybe round out a 25-man roster….

8:56 PM

Anonymous said…
According to Ogilvie of the Bad News Bears, Henry Aaron “played quite a few games on second base.” That’s good enough for me.

12:46 PM

Ellen said…
I must point out not a single position is filled by a Yankee.

Tortured by the knowledge that it is most probably my Yankee fan status that compelled me to make this stunningly “DUH” observation, to kick this out like a knee at a reflex hammer, to squeal like a rat at the cocaine bottle — knowing that, I refrained for days. Til now.

There are no Yankees on your all star team.

There are no Mets, either.

10:10 AM

Josh Wilker said…
Ellen,

Consider the Yankee exclusion from the CG all-stars a complement to the balance of those Yankee championship teams of the 1970s. They had a slew of very good players (Bill Lee has spoken of the Yankees of that era as a swarm of “samurai”), but I think only Reggie could be considered a Great, and he’s blocked by Hammerin’ Hank in right.

Fear not, for a near future post I’ll present a 25-man all-star roster culled from the first hundred (or so) Cardboard Gods, and there should be a couple Yanks on it.

12:25 PM

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