Last year’s American League Rookie of the Year, Evan Longoria, hit 27 home runs in just 122 games. Given a full season, it’s likely that Evan could have easily hit 40 or more dingers. Looking at some of Evan’s baseball cards, you wouldn’t know it. It seems that all the card companies are fixated on using photos of Evan playing his position or posing with his bat, never actually using it.
Now, while this may seem fine to guys like Omaz Vizquel and Fernando Vina who were better fielders than hitters… it’s a travesty to a guy like Evan. Don’t let the injury-shortened season numbers fool you, Evan is a slugger who will one day find himself at the top of the league leaders in home runs sooner rather than later.
It’s time for a company to give us some great baseball cards featuring Evan crushing a few bombs at Tropicana Field so young fans can have the same memories I had with photos like this. We don’t need another posed shot or worse, a photo of Evan fielding a routine ground ball for the 100th time.
Good point – I hope to see some great photos of Evan hitting in 2009!
This is interesting. It seems to be true of rookies–no matter the era. Even Canseco’s rookie cards are posed head shots or portraits. It seems to take a second year or more to get the sweet looking action shots. Even that Topps Canseco card was down the road quite a bit from his rookie.
However, this does seem to beg the question of which rookie card is the best card of the player in action–and a special bonus for batting. Is it 84 Topps Mattingly? 93 SP Jeter? 01 Bowman Pujols? 01 eTopps Pujols or Ichiro?
interesting observation.
I dont mind the leather, but posing always sucks. I love the Goudey one but that’s it.
Funny, I have the opposite feeling with Grandrson cards. Everything is him posed or running the bases, with very few cards of him hitting or (more importantly) using his glove. For a gold-glove caliber outfielder who routinely makes spectacular and diving catches I would like to see some Glove love for Curtis.
That’s funny cause the “1 of 1″ I pulled of Curtis was of him stealing a base!