by dukie98 » Mon Dec 12, 2011 7:27 pm
I don't particularly see a need for any of the three new cards under discussion, but I'm strongly opposed to the use of any Federal League cards. While it may have been considered a "major" league at the time, the caliber of play simply was not at the same level. There were no HOF-caliber players who played in the Federal League during their prime-- instead, there were just a handful who played at the very end or very beginning of their careers. Offensively, Benny Kauff was the dominant force of the league, putting up Speaker/ Cobb-like stats-- but when he returned to the NL in 1916 at age 26, he hit .264/ .348/ .408 -- not quite the second coming of Cobb.
If additional cards from this era are added, I'd prefer that they be more representative of their actual careers - 1913 for Gregg, 1917 for Hendrix, and 1919 for Leonard. (I realize this isn't the question on the table).