Let's Post Two!

As you've surely heard by now, Ernie Banks, nicknamed "Mr. Cub," passed away on Friday at the age of 83. To honor him and his catchphrase of "let's play two", I'm making this the first multi-post day since I started writing this blog just over a year ago.

2010 Topps The Cards Your Mom Threw Out #CMT63 Ernie Banks

The card above is a reprint from the 1956 Topps set, showing Banks touching home plate after one of his many home runs. I've seen plenty of posts about Banks in the blog community this weekend, and thought that a card showing him celebrating with his beloved teammates would be appropriate.

Banks, a two-time NL MVP and first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, was known for keeping an upbeat attitude despite many losing years on the Cubs. Before "Ironman" Cal Ripken, Jr. wrapped up his career, Banks held the record for most home runs by a shortstop. That power stroke was good enough to belt 512 home runs, though he played over 2,500 games without a postseason appearance, an unfortunate Major League record that stands to this day. And I thought Todd Zeile's record of most games played without an All-Star appearance was bad.

After a few years with the legendary Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League, and a short stint in the Army, Banks entered the NL in 1953, only a few years after Jackie Robinson broke the MLB's color barrier. In fact, Ernie Banks was the first African-American player to play for Chicago's NL team.

I wrote a few posts ago about players that stayed with one franchise throughout their career. Unsurprisingly, with a nickname like "Mr. Cub", Banks was one of them. He played 19 seasons for the Cubbies, and coached for a couple years after his retirement. He was so synonymous with the Cubs franchise that he was the first player to have his uniform number (14) retired by the team.

If the Cubs finally make this their year, you can be certain that it will be dedicated to the memory of Ernie Banks.

1931-2014

As you may have heard by now, longtime baseball player and coach Don Zimmer passed away yesterday.

1994 Topps Archives 1954 #258 Don Zimmer

"Zim" had spent nearly all his adult life in professional baseball in some form, including coaching stints with two of my favorite franchises, the Colorado Rockies and the New York Yankees. He's had quite an impact on the game over the years—he was hit in the head by a pitch in 1953 and suffered severe health problems that year. The incident led directly to the use of batting helmets shortly thereafter. More recently, Zimmer took on Pedro Martinez in a hotly-contested 2003 ALCS. Though Martinez defended himself valiantly, the world was reminded that Zimmer still had a fiery passion for baseball.

He earned six World Series rings throughout his career. Four came recently while on the coaching staff of the Yankees, and two on the Dodgers, the first going way back to the Brooklyn days where he played alongside Jackie Robinson. He has been one of the most recognizable faces in baseball for generations, and he will be missed.