Feast your eyes on this:
You're looking at Shigeru Takada of the Yomiuri Giants.
And that card he's on is a piece of eye candy.
It's from a 1976 set of Japanese cards that I came across a few years ago on Sean's blog, Getting Back into Baseball Cards . . . in Japan. I sure was thankful for it, and figured with 2024 Opening Day around the corner, it would be a good time to finally circulate it around the blogs again.
Look at the angle of those lines and how the Takada family name follows along. Add a strong hitter's follow-through, and the whole design makes it seem like Shigeru has just walloped a
ball deep into left field. The flat, bright background colors only help the action stand out. (It also looks like there's a soft baseball cap tucked into
his back pocket, which always adds some coolness points.)
It's
just really good design. And remember, we're talking about a time when so much was done by
hand. Imagine an illustrator sitting at a drawing table with a ruler, pencils, pens, inks, masking tape, and paints, and creating this beautiful piece of art—all for a little
baseball card that kids might toss around or tack to their wall.
Pretty
special, isn't it?
As for the man himself, Shigeru Takada had a very successful 13-year career with the Giants. The outfielder was the 1968 Central League rookie of the year, and played for many seasons alongside Sadaharu Oh. Here are some career numbers:
1512 games played, 1384 hits, 838 runs, 229 doubles, 32 triples, 139 home runs, 499 RBI, 200 stolen bases, .273/.339/.414.
Takada also made multiple All-Star teams, took home multiple Diamond Glove awards, and helped the Giants to six championships.
And he's got a heck of a baseball card up there.
Thanks, Sean, for the inspiration. Here's to the new MLB (and NPB) season!
Gorgeous card. Was gonna say I had never seen this design before... but I clicked on the link and commented on his post. Lol. My memory sucks.
ReplyDeleteWell, Sean's original post was from four years ago. Can't blame anyone for forgetting what one card looked like after so much time—even as beautiful as it is! Thanks for stopping by, as always, Fuji.
DeleteIs this a card that you're actively looking for?
ReplyDeleteI haven't been looking for it, but I really need to start. Would love to find a copy for my collection.
DeleteThat is eye-candy indeed! Very cool - I too did not remember it, so thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome, GTT! Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteVery cool, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteSure is, my friend! Thanks as always for stopping by.
DeleteI absolutely love that set! I haven't been able to add any to my collection since that post in 2020 despite four years of looking. They are hard to find and thanks to the explosion of prices since then I'm not sure I'd be able to afford them if they did come up for auction today......
ReplyDeleteWow, hard to find, indeed! I'm sure that makes you appreciate the cards from the set you do have that much more. They really are little pieces of art.
Delete