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The Babe launches one deep at Yankee Stadium
Now that McFarlane Toys has finally started putting out figures of retired baseball players as part of their new Cooperstown collection with Series 2 they go back all of the way to the inaugural class of the Hall of Fame to provide an action figure of George Herman "Babe" Ruth.Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds and everybody else can hit as many home runs as they want and the Sultan of Swat is never going to be forgotten as the greatest slugger the came has produced.Ruth led the American League in homers 12 times and crushed 714 longballs while leading the Yankees to seven pennants and four World Series.Since he was also one of the best left-handed pitchers of his generation and fulfills the Little League ideal of the kid who pitches and bats third, Ruth has a substantial claim to be the greatest baseball player of all-time.Ty Cobb and Ted Williams might have been better hitters, but how many consecutive shutout innings did they pitch in the World Series?Babe Ruth is the monumental figure in the history of the game and the only person who deserves to be mentioned in the same breath in terms of their impact on the game is Jackie Robinson.

This 6" inch figure shows Babe Ruth finishing his swing.He has obviously connected and is depositing this ball in the general direction of center field at Yankee Stadium.As is the case with these figures Ruth wears a period correct uniform.The Yankees had removed the "NY" monogram from their jersey in 1917 and went with a plain, pinstripes-only look for two decades until it was reinstated in 1936.That means Babe Ruth never wore the Yankee uniform with the "NY," which is why it is not on this figure.It was in 1929 that the Yankees became the first team to make numbers a permanent part of the uniform, which became a standard practice by 1932.Ruth wore #3 because he batted third in the order and Lou Gehrig #4 as the cleanup hitter (Bill Dickey originally wore #10 because he was the third of the three rotating catchers who batted eighth in the Yankee lineup.But I digress again).The bat is a Babe Ruth model Louisville Slugger and the base for this figure is of home plate at Yankee Stadium.

The rest of the MLB Cooperstown Series 2 figures are for "Catfish" Hunter of the Oakland A's, Cal Ripken, Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles, Mike Schmidt of the Philadelphia Phillies, Willie "Pops" Stragell of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Willie Mays playing for the San Francisco Giants.Of course, with Yogi Berra and Reggie Jackson in the MLB Cooperstown Series 1 set of figures and the Bambino in Series 2, it is to be hoped that the flood gates are opened for other Yankees greats from Lou Gehrig and Bill Dickey to Whitey Ford and Thurman Munson.I do have my doubts that Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle will be licensed for such action figures, but hopefully over the next decade we will be able to get most of the players who have their numbers retired at Yankee Stadium (anybody notice that all of the magic numbers on "Lost" are those of retired Yankees?).Be aware that there are 12 inch figures of Babe Ruth and Cal Ripken, Jr. coming out this year as well, and the Ruth figure is different from this one. ... Read more

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Finally, a McFarlane figure of A-Rod wearing pinstripes
This is the third figure of Alex Rodriguez that McFarlante Toys has put out, but the big difference is that this time he is wearing the pinstripes of the New York Yankees.Threes are sort of wild with this figure since not only is it the third figure, but A-Rod now plays third base and wears #13 for the Bronx Bombers (he wore #3 in the past, but that is not possible when you wear pinstripes).The first Rodriguez figure was part of MLB Series 2 and showed him finishing his swing for the Texas Rangers, while the second figure had him going for a group ball as part of MLB Series 8.This third 6-inch figure has A-Rod getting ready to swing at a pitch and the nice touch is the front foot being slightly off the ground as he gets ready to drive the ball (it looks better from head-on or from the backside than it does from the front).

Alex Rodriguez is apparently much more comfortable playing with the Yankees in this second season after he and his massive contract ($22 million a year) were traded by the Rangers for second baseman Alfonso Soriano and a player to be named later.At this point in the 2005 season the Yankees have played 41 games, which would roughly be a fourth of the season, and A-Rod leads the majors with 14 home runs and 41 runs batted in (mostly batting 5th).That would translate into 56 home runs and 164 runs batted in over a whole season, which would meet the expectations of most Yankee fans (and maybe even of George Steinbrenner, but I do not want to go out on a limb).Rodriguez turns 30 on July 27th and since he is only five shy of the mark he should have over 400 career home runs by that time.Yankee Stadium is, of course, built for left-handed power hitters, but right now it does not seem to be hurting A-Rod.Having been considered the greatest hitting shortstop of all-time when he played for Seattle and Texas, the question is now how long it will take for him to surplant Mike Schmidt as the greatest hitting third baseman of all-time.

McFarlane's MLB Series 11 has the second figures for Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Cincinnati Reds, Mark Prior of the Chicago Cubs, Mike Piazza of the New York Mets, and American League M.V.P. Vladimir Guerrero of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (or however that goes).Getting their first figures are Roy Hallady of the Toronto Blue Jays, Bill Wagner of the Philadelphia Phillies, and Johnny Damon of the Boston Red Sox (setting a record for most hair on a McFarlane baseball figure). ... Read more

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Awesome McFarlane
The nice Red jersey on Shaq is great and the way the ball connects to his elbow it looks so real ... Read more

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Baseball's reigning Iron Man fields a grounder at short
I have to say that when I heard Cal Ripken, Jr. was going to be part of McFarlane Toy's MLB Cooperstown Series 2 that I was hoping they would show him taking his famous lap around Camden Yard when he broke Lou Gehrig's record for consecutive games played.Instead we have Ripken, wearing the home white jersey of the Baltimore Orioles, playing a ground ball at shortstop.Notice his technique: Ripken is going to use both hand to catch the ball when it bounces into his glove and that his eyes are on the ball.That is the key detail with this 6" figure and represents the type of solid ballplayer that Ripken was throughout his major league career.No wonder this was a guy who played with one team his 20-season entire career in a time when most other stars were always finding they could earn more money to play somewhere else.

Ripken is not yet in the Hall of Fame, but his election to Cooperstown is a foregone conclusion when he becomes eligible next year.Ripken won the American League Rookie of the Year award in 1982 and was named Most Valuable Player the following season when the Orioles won the World Series and won the M.V.P. again in 1991.At the end of his career Ripken had a .276 average, 431 home runs and 1,695 runs batted in.Before Ripken All-Star shortstops were in the mold of Luis Aparicio, Bert Campaneris and Ozzie Smith.After Ripken they were power hitters like Alex Rodriguez, Nomar Garciappara, and Miguel Tejada. But of course Ripken's biggest legacy is shattering Gehrig's record for consecutive games played, breaking the hallowed mark of 2,130 games and setting a new standard of 2,632.Breaking the record in the wake of the player's strike and the cancellation of the World Series in 1994 was crucial in restoring the faith of fans in the national pastime, which is why I would have liked to have seen Ripken trotting along waving at the fans while acknowledging the emotional standing ovation he received when they stopped the game after the sixth inning when the game became official.

The rest of the MLB Cooperstown Series 2 figures are for "Catfish" Hunter of the Oakland A's, Mike Schmidt of the Philadelphia Phillies, Willie Mays playing for the San Francisco Giants, Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees, and Willie "Pops" Stargell of the Pittsburgh Pirates.Now that they are doing players in (or definitely heading for) the Hall of Fame it will be interesting to see when they come up with the Lou Gehrig figure to go along with Ruth or Ripken, depending on your associations.For now the figure from Series 1 that best complements this one is obviously that of Brooks Robinson playing third base.Of course, if there is one McFarlane figure that deserves a 5-star rating for durability, Cal Ripken, Jr. would have to be the one. ... Read more

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Yanks - Sox rivalry, it doesnt get better than this!
This is an awesome collectors item for a yankee or red sox fan. Youve got Jeter a guy who has won 4 WS rings in 8 years in the Bigs and Nomar who is one of the top 3 SS's in the game, and is a great player all around also. On top of that its the YANKEES vs REDSOX!! Must have for any Jeter or No-Mah fan. Very nice mcfarlane piece.

Nomar tries to take Jeter out with a wicked hard slide
Once thing the Alex Rodriguez deal did was to make the debate as to who is the best shortstop in baseball still playing the position of shortstop relatively simple (that debate is worthy of another star in the educational value rating). Here we have the two prime contenders, Nomar Garciaparra of the Boston Red Sex sliding into second base in an attempt to break up a double-play, but Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees has already fired the ball off to first base. Come to think of these figures also can be considered educational because Nomar is showing perfect form on the slide and Jeter is doing likewise on the throw to first.

Of course the question is whether Yankee fans will be able to tolerate having a figure of Nomar (he is clearly out already, which should make it more palatable) or that BoSox fans can endure having Jeter in the house (he finally got his batting average over .200, so there really would not be a debate except that Garciaparra has not played a game yet this year, just another ironic aspect to the big debate). The key details on this pair of 6" figures this time is actually the base, where Nomar's slide has smoothed out the dirt behind him and already thrown dirt on the first base side of the second base bag. McFarlane usually manages to come up with some nice details on these figures, which set the standard for action figures, even if they are only movie characters and not sports stars.

These are actually one of two McFarlane Toys figures for both players to come up this year. The Nomar Garciaparra 2 figure came out with McFarlane's MLB Series 9 and the Derek Jeter 2 figure will be part of MLB Series 10. The second 2-Pack has Todd Helton holding Sammy Sosa at first. It will be interesting to see see what other combinations they can come up with in this format: Mike Piazza getting reading to tag Roger Clemens at the plate, Ichiro beating the throw to Jason Giambi at first, Chipper Jones letting Andruw Jones catch the ball in left center, Alex Rodriguez at bat with Ivan Rodriguez catching, etc. There could be some interesting possibilities with this format.

We can also look forward to the first series in the Cooperstown Collection this summer, which will have living Hall of Fame members Yogi Berra, Bob Gibson, Reggie Jackson, Brooks Robinson, Nolan Ryan, and Tom Seaver. There will also be 12" figures of Ryan and Sammy Sosa around World Series time as McFarlane Toys continues to expand its sports figure lines. ... Read more

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McFarlane does it again!
The Isles' dynasty gets some plastic props.I am hoping for Denis Potvin next! ... Read more

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Willie Mays the "Say Hey Kid" as a San Francisco Giant
I got an autograph from Willie Mays once at a giant baseball card show and what I remember is that he had the biggest hands I have ever seen on a person I have actually met.No wonder the man caught everything that was hit his way; he probably did not actually need the glove.That is a moot point with this figure of Mays for the MLB Cooperstown Series 2 from McFarlane Toys because he is at bat somewhere on the road wearing the gray jersey of the San Francisco Giants.Of course, I was sort of hoping that would do this figure of Mays wearing the home white jersey of the New York Giants as he chased down Vic Wertz's shot into dead center at the Polo Grounds in the 1954 World Series.But there are probably copyright issues or something like that, so this is what fans of the "Say Hey Kid" get and I have a different complaint: I do not think it especially looks like Willie Mays.Very few of these McFarlane sports figures are spot on, but they are usually in the ballpark.But with this one I just do not see it in the face, although the pose certainly captures Mays breaking out of the batters box once he had driven the ball into the outfield.

With the passing of Joe DiMaggio it was Willie Mays who was the obvious choice for the title of greatest living baseball player, although cases can certainly be made for Hank Aaron and Stan Musial.But Mays excelled at all phases of the game and when you talk about somebody being a five-tool player, this is the guy who serves as the prototype.Before he entered the Hall of Fame he had amassed 3,283 hits and 600 home runs to go along with the 1951 National League Rookie of the Year award, Most Valuable Player awards in 1954 and 1965, a dozen Gold Gloves, and a record-tying 24 All-Star games (remember, they played the game twice each summer from 1959-62). Certainly few people have played the game with as much enthusiasm and skill as Willie Mays.

The rest of the MLB Cooperstown Series 2 figures are for "Babe" Ruth of the New York Yankees, Jim "Catfish" Hunter of the Oakland A's, Cal Ripken, Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles, Mike Schmidt of the Philadelphia Phillies, and Willie "Pops" Stragell of the Pittsburgh Pirates.Now that there is a Willie Mays figure we should be able to look forward to figures of Willie McCovey and Juan Marachial down the road. For now you can get this Willie Mays figure by itself or as part of a set with his godson Barry Bonds, which gives you the two players currently in third and fourth place on the all-time home run list. ... Read more

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Whoever is sliding into home here is not going to make it
Irony abounds with this second sports figure of Mike Piazza from McFarlane Toys.Piazza has always been known as one of the best hitting catchers of all time, currently with a .313 career average and 384 home runs.But then the first Piazza figure showed him in full follow-through at the plate having just hit the ball someplace hard, so they wanted to come up with something different for this one.The other ironic element is that there was all this talk about moving Piazza to first base, to save the wear and tear on his legs working behind the plate, that he is still catching, as shown in this MLB Series 11 figure.That Series 1 figure was as a New York Met too (I thought that would be far back enough to when Piazza was a Los Angeles Dodger, but I was wrong).

The scale on this figure is 6-inches, although obvious the figure is not that tall since he is shown blocking the plate to prevent a runner from scoring.It would be nice if there was another McFarlane figure shown sliding that could make a mini-diorama, but I do not think there is one yet (and if there is, it is probably sliding into second instead of home).As we have come to expect from McFarlane there is nice detail on the uniform and the catching gear, but they also did a nice job sculpting the face on this one so that it is recognizable as Piazza (granted, the facial hair helps with the recognition factor).

McFarlane's MLB Series 11 also has the second figures for Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees, Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Cincinnati Reds, Mark Prior of the Chicago Cubs, and American League M.V.P. Vladimir Guerrero of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (or however that goes). Getting their first figures are Roy Halladay of the Toronto Blue Jays, Bill Wagner of the Philadelphia Phillies, and Johnny Damon of the Boston Red Sox, who has to hold the record for most hair on a McFarlane baseball figure.Mets fans can look forward to a figures of their two big free agent acquisitions this year as well with Carlos Beltran in Series 12 and Pedro Martinez in the Series 13 Extended Edition (old figures in new uniforms).
... Read more

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The greatest third baseman of all-time crushing a baseball
I wonder what Mike Schmidt thinks of Alex Rodriguez moving from shortstop to third base.I also wonder what Honus Wagner thinks about it, but since Schmidt is still one of the living it would be his opinion that matters more in the current debate.Schmidt and Wagner would be my choices for the left side of the infield on my All-Time Baseball Team.Wagner's position was pretty secure until A-Rod came along, but not that he has started playing third base it could be Schmidt that has to worry about his status as the greatest player at his position who ever lived.

Schmidt provided a combination of power and defense at the hot corner that gets him to the top of the list (i.e., more home runs than Brooks Robinson and better fielding than Eddie Mathews).A right-handed slugger who hit 548 home runs in his career he holds the single season mark for the position with 48 homers in 1980 (A-Rod will not get the record for homers while playing third for a career, but for a single season?Do not bet against him after he belted three last night at the Stadium, but remember that Schmidt hit four in row in one game in 1976).Named to the All-Star team 12 times and the winner of 10 Gold Gloves, Schmidt was named the Player of the Decade for the 1980s by the "Sporting News." Enough said.

I think this is one of the better sports figures that McFarlane Toys has put out, showing Schmidt at the moment of contact as he is about to tell Mr. Spalding to go long.Schmidt is wearing the blue jersey of the Philadelphia Phillies and his number 20 (now retired).He was a tough guy in a tough town (is there a tougher sports town to be a home player in than Philadelphia?The only thing worse was Tehran when Saddam's son was running the Iraqi Olympic program), and this 6" figure captures him perfectly.This is clearly the best of the figures in this second series of current and future Hall of Famers.

The rest of the MLB Cooperstown Series 2 figures are for Jim "Catfish" Hunter of the Oakland A's, Cal Ripken, Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles, Willie Stargell of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Willie Mays playing for the San Francisco Giants, and that Babe Ruth fellow who hit a whole lot of home runs without ever taking steroids (not to mention ever playing a major league game at night, on the West Coast, or against an African-American pitcher: no wonder baseball fans like to argue out the relative merits of old-timers versus the ballplayers of today). If you missed Series 1 then you need to track down Yogi Berra, Bob Gibson, Reggie Jackson, Brooks Robinson, Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver. It is really great that McFarlane Toys is going back to these great old school players and I am waiting to see who they come up with next (Honus Wagner would be nice). ... Read more