Skip to main content

Similarities

I just looked quickly through my few 2017 Topps flagship cards to see if I could find photos of two players on the same team that are similar.

This is the best that I could come up with:


I have nothing support the upcoming statement because I have no time to research it, but I would guess that there aren't as many instances of players from the same team appearing in similar poses as there once was.

I know they do happen still. With the recent (and apparently now-dispensed) emphasis on zooming in on players' faces there must be several instances of two pitchers from the same team grimacing similarly. But with the focus on action and the modern camera capabilities, there is much more room for a variety of images and my shuffle through a 100 or so 2017 Topps cards confirmed that.

Catching players in similar poses was much more common when I was collecting cards as a kid. And even through the 1980s, when action photos took over, you could find teammates in similar shots.

Here's one from 1990:


Gee whiz, Score, you had three border colors, couldn't you have at least made one of them red or blue?

But the real reason for this post was a mention on my 1971 Topps blog.

I recently posted a card of a long-forgotten pitcher for the Kansas City Royals, Mike Hedlund.



A regular commenter on my blogs, steelehere, mentioned in the comments on that post that the pose by Hedlund on this card looked similar to the one on teammate Dick Drago's card.

I had never noticed that, but, yeah, I guess they do look similar.


But you don't need me to confirm this because it was confirmed by no one other than Mike Hedlund himself.



There you go, straight from the source.

This is the second time in a little more than a month that a former player has commented on my 1971 Topps blog. It's interesting to get the perspective, too, because I never considered that a pitcher's wind-up would contribute to how he would pose for a photo. But now that I think of it, I guess it could.


I think sometimes we card collectors get lost in our obsessive examining of cardboard. As we nerd-out over photos and card numbers and other minute details, we think we're the only ones who care.

But sometimes the fact that we care -- care enough to wonder about it out loud in full view -- can draw others into our little world.

That's pretty cool.

Comments

Anonymous said…
That *is* cool... and it's also why I try to keep in mind that the player I'm writing about, or his family or friends, could be reading any post I'm writing. Ya never know.
Rob said…
Cool comment!

The Orioles had three pitchers in a weird dugout shot from the 1988 Topps set that all look the same:

http://1988topps.blogspot.com/2014/12/659th-and-658th-place-dave-schmidt-and.html
steelehere said…
That's cool. Do you have a list on the number of players and/or their family members that have commented on your blogs through the years? I feel like you must be well into the double digits and it's definitely a compliment to your writing.
GCA said…
Seems to me (from busting two boxes recently) that most of the photos on this year's Bunt set are all chest-up batting shots. Will have to confirm...
night owl said…
I don't have a list. Off the top of my head I can think of six. There's probably a couple more.
John Bateman said…
1972 Topps Roberto Clemente, 1991 Topps Carmelo Martinez and 2008 Topps Chrome Clete Thomas all are very similar.
Fuji said…
That is so cool to have a former ballplayer comment on a post he's featured in. To have it happen twice is super duper cool.
Stack22 said…
I would screen shot those comments, send them out to be printed, and frame them in my den.

I did a divorce for a grandson of a guy I blogged about in my 1952 blog, tip off was the great grandson had the same name. I mentioned it jokingly, "any relation to X" and sure enough, it was a direct line.