I like this Roy Campanella card. This particular one comes from APBA’s 1953 reprint set which was published in 1985. In addition to the power (1-1-5-6) and the all-around hitting (55-7), he’s got that nasty Catcher (9). I think that’s what puts it over the top for me. If that wasn’t enough, throw in the 15-10 and a decent on-base (four 14s) and you have a fantastic card.
That year he broke the single season record for putouts by a catcher. Offensively, he also broke the record for homeruns (41) and rbis (142) by a catcher in one season.
The writers liked Campy in 1953, too. Enough to vote him NL MVP that year. This was his second of three MVP awards he would get in his career.
| Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 Totals | 144 | 590 | 519 | 103 | 162 | 26 | 3 | 41 | 142 | 4 | 67 | 58 | .312 | .395 | .611 |
A couple of interesting stats about Campanella: of the 10 years he played in the majors, he made the All-Star team in 8 of them. He also received MVP votes in seven of them.
Also, despite being a power hitter, Campy consistently walked more than he struck out. For his career, he had a 533/501 walk to K ratio.
Now for your viewing pleasure, a Roy Campanella homerun trot:
