Binder Page Heroes 8 Splendid Splinter Edition

happy friday, everbody.  here's to the upcoming weekend.

it's a cardinal rule that Teddy Ballgame cards are a MUST for any collection worth it's mettle.  Since  my current baseball card budget won't allow me to buy any cards from william's playing days, i have to settle for cards of williams as a manager, and reprints or tribute cards.

as the Binder Page Heroes series unfolds, we'll see those types of williams cards sprinkled throughout, but as is the case with other players i collect, he also gets his own page. this is what currently sits in my binder page featuring the greatest hitter who ever lived...

in 1941 williams hits .406.   in 1942 he wins the freakin' triple crown.  then he goes to WWII.  in his first season back from the war, 1946, he's understandably a bit rusty, yet he blasts 'only' 38 homers and 'only' 123 RBIs, earning AL MVP honors.  in 1947, he earns the triple crown AGAIN !  he missed 3 prime years in the war.  he later went on to fly 37 combat missions in the korean war ('52 and '53 seasons).  more on that later.

williams was the first manager of the washington senators, and actually was voted manager of the year in his first season at the helm.

this is a great card because it's one of the few times anybody ever saw williams smile.

let's see how epstein here did under the tutelage of the greatest hitter who ever lived:  epstein hit for 30 HR, 85 RBIs and .278 BA.  how about this...epstein apparently took hitting science so seriously, he developed a technique known as 'rotational hitting' that has apparently caught on out here on the west coast.  do you think that was a result of his being a student of williams?

 while i don't discount anyone's service in the military, i do question topps using the term "ace" to describe williams.  it's my undertanding in order to be an ace, you actually have to have 5 or more combat kills to your credit.  that said, teddy ballgame flew 37 COMBAT missions, and successfully landed his plane when it was damaged by flak.  so that certainly makes him a legitimate war pilot, patriot and bad ass in my book. 

speaking of books, this is one of those mini-booklets that fold open with stats and stories about the player.  these booklets are very affordable and fun little oddballs.  the lower half is covered up by one-third of another oddball release, a BAT card.

here's old school teddy wondering what the heck he's doing on a hippie psychedelic freak out designed card.  hey, he's got ex-Dodger Frank Howard playing for him. go rangers !

natch: ex-Dodger Howard topping the batting stats. 

this is the BAT tri-fold card.  i can't bring myself to fold it just so it will neatly fit in its sleeve.

thanks for reading, everybody.