Love the Ernie Banks memories. For me it'd be a Don Mattingly card. His rookie year coincided my my senior year of HS. He had an otherworldly smoothness and easy power about him. Whether in the box or at 1st base, he patrolled his territory like a cat, always ready to pounce. A great guy and a superb career diminished only by back problems and the poor luck to be on incredible mid '80's offensive teams (Winfield, Henderson, Baylor, Easler, Pags) but thin starting pitching. Thus Mattingly missed Yankee WS appearances in '81 (the year before he came up) and '96 (the year after he retired) - Ouch! But he gave us 14 great years. I'd take his '84 Topps card, showing him at 1st in all his youthful glory, and his '89 Donruss card showing him mid swing in the Yankee Stadium sunlight. Thank you Donny Baseball.
Love the Ernie Banks memories. For me it'd be a Don Mattingly card. His rookie year coincided my my senior year of HS. He had an otherworldly smoothness and easy power about him. Whether in the box or at 1st base, he patrolled his territory like a cat, always ready to pounce. A great guy and a superb career diminished only by back problems and the poor luck to be on incredible mid '80's offensive teams (Winfield, Henderson, Baylor, Easler, Pags) but thin starting pitching. Thus Mattingly missed Yankee WS appearances in '81 (the year before he came up) and '96 (the year after he retired) - Ouch! But he gave us 14 great years. I'd take his '84 Topps card, showing him at 1st in all his youthful glory, and his '89 Donruss card showing him mid swing in the Yankee Stadium sunlight. Thank you Donny Baseball.