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Magazine Cover Derby Round 1.10

Oriole Brooks Robinson Challenges the Mets (Sports Illustrated)

2 votes

You Can Go Home Again (Sports Illustrated)

12 votes

Howard Johnson: The Mets' Versatile Star (Baseball Digest)

1 votes

The Amazin' Murph (Sports Illustrated)

6 votes

Benjamin Grimm Apr 02 2019 05:40 AM

http://ultimatemets.com/covers/images/magazines/MCD.png> Vote for the cover that you like the best. Voting will run for seven days. Oriole Brooks Robinson Challenges the Mets Sports Illustrated, October 19, 1969. http://ultimatemets.com/covers/magazines/19691019_SI.jpg> You Can Go Home Again Sports Illustrated, April 18, 1983. http://ultimatemets.com/covers/magazines/19830418_SI.jpg> Howard Johnson: The Mets' Versatile Star Baseball Digest, July 1992. http://ultimatemets.com/covers/magazines/19920700_BD.jpg> The Amazin' Murph Sports Illustrated, November 2, 2015. http://ultimatemets.com/covers/magazines/20151102_SI.jpg>

Lefty Specialist Apr 02 2019 05:55 AM Re: Magazine Cover Derby Round 1.10

Went with Murph. it was fun while it lasted.

41Forever Apr 02 2019 06:16 AM Re: Magazine Cover Derby Round 1.10

The Seaver return is one of my all-time favorites. Was at that game -- sort of. We couldn't get in and watched most of it from the train platform.

Johnny Lunchbucket Apr 02 2019 07:26 AM Re: Magazine Cover Derby Round 1.10

They instagrammification of Sports Illustrated kills that Muffy cover, plus a 3 word headline rendered in 3 different fonts. Gotta go with the Seav again!

Edgy MD Apr 02 2019 07:48 AM Re: Magazine Cover Derby Round 1.10

For a crowded, busy cover, there's some good layering in that Muffy layout, and a nice action shot that captures the nut of the story. Make Mine Muffy!

Centerfield Apr 02 2019 08:03 AM Re: Magazine Cover Derby Round 1.10

Went with Murph. But that HoJo follow through is awesome. If not for the busy headlines I might have gone with HoJo. WTF with that first cover.

HahnSolo Apr 02 2019 08:41 AM Re: Magazine Cover Derby Round 1.10

If I visualize a HoJo atbat, that cover is what pops up in my head. It's second to Seaver, though.

kcmets Apr 02 2019 08:50 AM Re: Magazine Cover Derby Round 1.10

I like the Hojo one too, Seaver by a nostril hair...

Benjamin Grimm Apr 02 2019 08:50 AM Re: Magazine Cover Derby Round 1.10

That Seaver cover looks almost three-dimensional, like he's throwing the ball right out of the cover. That Murphy cover is just too busy for my taste. And I'm surprised that the Brooks Robinson cover received a vote!

batmagadanleadoff Apr 02 2019 09:41 AM Re: Magazine Cover Derby Round 1.10

I figured that the SI Seaver cover would romp in this bracket. Aesthetically, it just might be the best cover of this lot. I know how popular that cover was and just how well received Seaver was upon his return. But I never cared much for that cover. I always though it a somewhat odd picture of Seaver, captured at a precise moment in time to make it appear as if Seaver threw like a girl. That was my very first reaction to that cover. And emotionally, I was never sky high on Seaver's Mets return. Those Mets were still dreadful. This was before Darryl Strawberry was called up, before Doc Gooden was on anybody's radar and before the Mets got Keith Hernandez for a relative bag of balls. And on top of all of that, the Mets big splashy recent acquisition -- maybe the Mets biggest get in franchise history to that point -- George Foster -- who when the Mets signed him, was in any reasonable conversation of the best hitters in the game, goes out and has the worst season of his career since he became an everyday player almost 10 years before. And then the whispers began about how Foster had permanently lost significant bat speed somewhere between his 1981 strike shortened MVP caliber season with the Reds and his first season as a Met. Those Mets still looked like they were mired in the dreadfulness of the deRoulet era and getting some pitcher clearly past his prime who, I thought, was guaranteed to stink it up pretty soon wasn't doing it for me. Talk about putting a silk hat on a pig. So I went with the Murphy cover, flaws and all, which represents perhaps the most exciting moment in the Mets history of the last 10 or so years and one of the best feel-good stories in franchise history.

G-Fafif Apr 02 2019 12:20 PM Re: Magazine Cover Derby Round 1.10

Seaver's return rating the cover was a victory for news judgment. My heart figuratively jumped out of my chest when I came upon it far from New York (at the appropriately named Hometown Newsstand up the road from my dorm). Beautifully written cover story by Steve Wulf, too. Murphy also earned his cover, though it annoys me that it was a regional edition, with other markets getting saddled with a Royal or a Bengal or somebody else. All of America should have been able to have marveled at Murph. Baseball Digest really developed a crush on HoJo. "Met Supersub Rod Gaspar Has Orioles All Askew" would have been a better 1969 cover line. As if Brooks Robinson was a big deal compared to the Mets' fifth outfielder. I really do like the Murph image and how it captured that fleeting moment after the pennant was secured and before the World Series went to hell. But Seaver could and did go home again, bathed in sunlight and bereft of busyness. I'll take the pitcher over the hitter.

dgwphotography Apr 02 2019 01:10 PM Re: Magazine Cover Derby Round 1.10

I went with Murph. Even though the Seaver cover is a great cover, he just doesn't look right in the racing stripes.

Edgy MD Apr 02 2019 02:46 PM Re: Magazine Cover Derby Round 1.10

He doesn't look right in a few ways. Apart from the piping, he's got this overbite happening, his chin receded from where I'm used to seeing it, and his trademark low-slung knee hidden by the angle. It feels more Ed Lynch-y than Tom Seaver-y, and I don't say that to denigrate Lynch. Also, let's talk typesetting. The headline reads "YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN," but that's not what they're trying to say. If you're trying to contrast with Thomas Wolfe's "YOU CAN'T GO HOME AGAIN," then you have to emphasize where you differ, and set it as "YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN." If italics weren't part of Sports Illustrated's cover design palette at the time, then they could choose to underscore CAN or set it in a bigger font size. Also, if the point of the title is that this story puts the lie to Wolfe's (now-conventional) wisdom, then put an exclamation point after it, man. "YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN," just sounds like, "It's OK — we opened all the windows, cleared the gas out, and double-checked the lines. You should be safe now, but call us if you smell anything." This doesn't bother me as much, but you know the headline editor, exactly five minutes after he or she signed off on the final copy, realized he or she should have gone with "AMAZIN'" instead of "DAZZLING" in the subhead.

Johnny Lunchbucket Apr 02 2019 05:01 PM Re: Magazine Cover Derby Round 1.10

I changed my vote to Hojo

G-Fafif Apr 02 2019 07:09 PM Re: Magazine Cover Derby Round 1.10

It's possible the Seaver cover was the first time I really noticed the racing stripe, having been unable to watch more than Tampa-St. Pete local news highlights of the 1983 Mets to that point. As a result, they will always strike me a decent Seaver fit. Conversely, when I see an image with the Seaver stripe show up to represent Tom's prime in a print or video retrospective, I know whoever chose it is clueless or at least callow.

kcmets Apr 02 2019 07:42 PM Re: Magazine Cover Derby Round 1.10

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: I changed my vote to Hojo I may too, but have to sleep on it.

Zvon Apr 02 2019 07:55 PM Re: Magazine Cover Derby Round 1.10

All great covers, but someone has to give Brooks a lil' love. Maybe my only childhood baseball idol who wasn't a Mets player.

Edgy MD Apr 02 2019 08:22 PM Re: Magazine Cover Derby Round 1.10

Interesting that our house layout artist goes for one of the strangest Sports Illustrated layouts of the time. That shot almost looks like an accident.

Zvon Apr 02 2019 08:39 PM Re: Magazine Cover Derby Round 1.10

Maybe for every other player who ever played, but there was something about the way Brooks would creep in and then set himself that, IMO, made for a classic photo. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/mbB8O8ypIDBB_BnXbPHtHAgDYnQOxwHCOfDUXmi4BptvOr1ZV4WCki19mzWmTwayd8x-sG5FW7dGSnqvEROgsnjdPJgTPa6c8PzKM7KN4XFhsHjCdydqoS34wqhKBgr0aAHYdR34XbdA6WTpzjYlBzgSemklSqEHkGN3ozsUJ_dwJJVzIi0ipYnJ_276h4jlyKyVRqBPS_lTe6M8s2ND_XeFygQJLXR-zgq0jRjEm4cppX5TbvrhZNoNjzcGFyj046yo3748z7_nDorlXPwWxR02h6g8wbG8YK78qGIOLI9ypClSYBRHslPbVahdiKHmQxpM05lUQnfD9D80pnuYuutCbw8-aIGYGtk3BNIf6A-Oc5lGK8ARzAAKZnyHBbq0iBwceE0sWHK9yHYRKEtYAavby0QnlhTdZL9JD7ac8dlgnVhWLG5EOpxynVFbpnI6wrmGfY5uKM8_DunHjBvmv9AlbpsRF8O7uwawUjWrHp6nzBDJupPkluSEzx6EzjOEicNOBq9V5CAqJaMSnDMWknH1mr95Tf6Ih8jBKmtHCz1udRwtTL7h-GhKkImvMg-nDcnm-mWxXg_AEAnmCn2QBJzd_UDQjmEUAis4tjO9n6ORrHJwgKkhTf5GA6_isIykF0gc1VUfKmek2QPdDGtvTWokxWXG02sm=w414-h612-no>

Edgy MD Apr 02 2019 08:49 PM Re: Magazine Cover Derby Round 1.10

That photo works for me. The photo up top (1) has Robinson further in the background, (2) has him unrecognizable apart from the caption assuring you that it's him, (3) has his face half in shadow (and not in an artistic, Beatley way) and (4) most notably, in trying to incorporate a recognizable Met batter in the foreground, doesn't fully commit to focusing on him, and so has him partially out of focus. The photo you post here is three or four times the cover photo of that Sports Illustrated above, isn't it?

Zvon Apr 02 2019 09:07 PM Re: Magazine Cover Derby Round 1.10

Maybe. I'd like to see an uncropped copy of the SI cover photo. I have saved every decent to great quality photo of Brooks that I have come across online over the years, and I've yet to see one. I bet the negative of that photo included more details left and right. Rod Gaspar recognizable? I guess to you and I. To me, all that matters is that Brooks is in focus, ready to pounce on any ball batted his way. https://images.nittanyweb.com/scs/images/products/116/larger/brooks_robinson_autographed_signed_sports_illustrated_magazine_baltimore_orioles_beckett_certified_p781314.jpg>

Benjamin Grimm Apr 09 2019 06:43 AM Re: Magazine Cover Derby Round 1.10

http://ultimatemets.com/covers/images/magazines/1.10w.png> Rankings so far: 1. Casey of the Mets (Sports Illustrated) 2. Mets in the Stretch (Life) 3. The Movin' Mets (Sports Illustrated) 4. You Can Go Home Again (Sports Illustrated) 5. Iwo Jima (Jock Magazine) 6. Tom Seaver & The Art Of Pitching (Sport Magazine) 7. Big Gun: Dave Kingman (The Sporting News) 8. Mona Lisa (The New Yorker) 9. Mr. Long Ball (Sports Illustrated) 10. The Baseball Battle for New York (Sports Illustrated)

Edgy MD Apr 09 2019 07:01 AM Re: Magazine Cover Derby Round 1.10

Maybe. I'd like to see an uncropped copy of the SI cover photo. I have saved every decent to great quality photo of Brooks that I have come across online over the years, and I've yet to see one. I bet the negative of that photo included more details left and right. Rod Gaspar recognizable? I guess to you and I. To me, all that matters is that Brooks is in focus, ready to pounce on any ball batted his way. https://images.nittanyweb.com/scs/images/products/116/larger/brooks_robinson_autographed_signed_sports_illustrated_magazine_baltimore_orioles_beckett_certified_p781314.jpg> I meant recognizable as a Met, not as Gaspar. In fact, has some touch-up work been done here on his number? It seems artificially sharp, especially when considered alongside Elrod Hendricks' "10."

Zvon Apr 18 2019 10:35 PM Re: Magazine Cover Derby Round 1.10

Edgy MD wrote: I meant recognizable as a Met, not as Gaspar. In fact, has some touch-up work been done here on his number? It seems artificially sharp, especially when considered alongside Elrod Hendricks' "10." The number does look touched up. That occurred to me the first time I saw it. And it's almost red, or hot pink. I knew it was Gaspar because I knew the issue was covering the World Series, and I figured that the photo was from the '69 series. I always went out of my way (and still so) for SI World Series editions. They usually have the BEST!!! photos.

Zvon Apr 18 2019 10:37 PM Re: Magazine Cover Derby Round 1.10

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/zybISpZqNJSjc7aH3vo_LjALPLtKV82qwB2RQBWCg_AGzX6h_FCQYYNprZ-kXJYy4anUAjdkB24t-PxUgyUyJz_ozdT7SEMCsPw79Omxjz5qBUO_4ARooOS0YBcV2fXuyqx-wMEd58ausjdXX7gSpn9dAblYRUKaNzA3vpmV-amXF5huzjjunwE5oe52DX5ooUdSA9xlAFgUr4-WFaaJB41hCh5SCmLtXLFuBwPnKRREfr3NXd4iMdYLxQI8lyRygolPktZxxTDLlA7tqeH5vswOpgKTyC_GzptYJs3ZWNma9YOoqnHE6xykuMovMU75v0l4iuu17FVrg4KUC0szU6PjsvPUDj4g1fUegLBtyqVNyvSgQSQatVErvujfeuhtQsOo9qDxWwN-tAhaPlnQ69H0hrpiHEKSu23JjBmwa2O_sqd0b-NzZQFoFdoIYub96PnoibYZnXnYZ6a2E3Cq3pueXLZDBXQY2mvEwusjkA37liW7kYyUvkK429cHIvDCARBXgGrm6UdYSOV9LWFtY6G4w2gb8-qsTPf1CRHe-RAuClTapOXN9HkwQ5ITpP-kkmHAKDYXr0fTZaulVSjCXTMT-f3V6A98WcXeZpxovzVBFSDFwWXE08gN_XRg_S62MmvTE4dyjgEL8ZNve0_D0ImhZOAVOlU=w623-h456-no>