1934-1936 Diamond Stars: #108 Wally Berger

Sunday, October 6, 2024

#108 Wally Berger - Boston Bees

Walter Anton Berger

Boston Bees

Outfield

Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 6'2" Weight: 198

Born: October 10, 1905, Chicago, IL

Major League Teams: Boston Braves 1931-35; Boston Bees 1936-37; New York Giants 1937-38; Cincinnati Reds 1938-40; Philadelphia Phillies 1940

World Series Appearances: New York Giants 1937; Cincinnati Reds 1939

Died: November 30, 1988, Redondo Beach, CA (83)

Wally Berger enjoyed a solid multi-year run in the early 1930s in which he was the top player for the Boston Braves/Bees franchise, earning MVP votes in each season between 1932 and 1936. Berger hit 38 home runs in his rookie season of 1930, a record for rookies that stood until 1987 when broken by Mark McGwire, and he drove in 119 RBIs, a National League rookie record that was in place until surpassed by Albert Pujols in 2001. Berger was a four-time All-Star and the National League's starting center fielder in the inaugural All-Star Game in 1933. Of the 18 players who started the 1934 All-Star Game, Berger is the only one not currently in the Hall of Fame. He never topped the 38 home runs he hit in 1930, but he led the league in 1935 with 34 home runs and a career-high 130 RBIs. Shoulder and hand injuries suffered during the 1936 season hurt his power numbers in subsequent years, and Berger would retire following a final season in the minors in 1941, playing for the Cubs' top affiliate, the Los Angeles Angels.

Upon his retirement, Berger owned a career .300 average with 242 home runs and 898 RBIs, with his home run tally 12th on the all-time list following the 1940 season. He briefly scouted with the Giants and Yankees in the late 1940s before leaving baseball for good.

Building the Set

September 21, 2024 from Nashville, TN (Burl's Sports) - Card #109

Seller Burl's Sports had this card listed on eBay recently, and I don't think it had been listed over the summer the last time I searched for the 11 cards I still need for my version of a Diamond Stars master set. I made an offer on the card, which was quickly accepted by the seller. Even though the card was slabbed, it still had to go through the eBay authentication process, which seems a bit redundant. After eBay confirmed that yes, this is a real baseball card, it eventually made its way to me.

With the arrival of this Berger card, I'm down to 10 cards to go. I've recently started at least thinking through the idea of foregoing the final 10 cards and having them represented in my set by reprints. These are all fairly pricey cards I need and I could see myself adding one or maybe two a year for the foreseeable future, or just simply satisfying myself with reprints and moving on to my next set collecting quest. A family friend of mine recently went this route with his 1959 Topps set, opting for reprints of the Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays cards as he couldn't justify those cards' price tags. He had fun collecting 570 out of the 572 cards in that set and then decided he was close enough. I initially hated that idea conceptually, but 10 cards away from a complete Diamond Stars set, I kind of get it now.

Variations Available

1 - 1936 / blue back / 1935 statistics / 1935 copyright

The Card / Bees Team Set

This is the second Berger card in the set, with the outfielder first appearing on card #25. The final 12 cards in the Diamond Stars set, released as part of series three in 1936, contain the exact same photos and players as earlier cards from the set. Berger's card needed some extra attention, removing the Braves word mark from the front of his jersey since Boston switched to the Bees nickname for their 1936 season. This card has the same text on the back as his earlier card, save for his 1935 statistics at the bottom replacing his 1934 statistics. Also, the ink on the back of card #108 is blue, similar to all cards from the third series.

The back of the card gives a few tips to aspiring batters on how best to stride toward a pitch and what do with your arms while swinging.

1936 Season

Berger was named to his fourth consecutive All-Star team in 1936, although his production for the Bees declined a little from his monster year in 1935. Berger appeared in 138 games, batting .288 with 25 home runs and 91 RBIs. A shoulder and hand injury cut into his playing time, with Berger making 133 starts in center field for the Bees.

Phillies Career

On May 10, 1940, the Reds released Berger and the now veteran outfielder signed with the Phillies five days later on May 15th. Berger had held out for a higher salary with the Reds in the spring, after hitting 14 home runs for the team during their pennant-winning 1939 season.

The Reds ultimately relented, but Berger received minimal playing time and his release came as a surprise. Berger appeared in 20 games for the Phillies, hitting a respectable .317 (13 for 41), including his final career home run on June 5th against Cubs pitcher Larry French. Not receiving any playing time, Berger requested his release from the club, which was granted on July 5th.