1971 O-Pee-Chee George Mitterwald #189 Minnesota Twins

Description

1971 O-Pee-Chee George Mitterwald #189 Minnesota Twins Catcher cards have a character all their own, and this 1971 O-Pee-Chee George Mitterwald #189 Minnesota Twins single is a fine example, showing the Twins backstop crouched in full pinstripes with his big mitt presented to the camera. The warm stadium background, black border and neat facsimile signature give the card a classic early seventies feel that displays beautifully in a nine pocket page. Of the Twins cards offered from this sheet, this example is among the stronger presenting copies, which matters a great deal in a set where the black edges punish even gentle handling. For collectors building the Canadian 1971 O-Pee-Chee set or a period Minnesota team set, a clean looking starting catcher is a welcome find at a raw card price. George Mitterwald took over the regular catching duties for Minnesota in 1970, exactly as the biography on the back of this card explains, handling a pitching staff that carried the Twins to a second consecutive American League West title. The reverse praises him as especially dependable in clutch situations and records that he went three for four with two runs batted in during the first game of the 1970 playoffs against Baltimore, following useful work in the 1969 postseason as well. His printed 1970 statistics show 117 games behind the plate for a contending club, a workload that speaks to the trust manager Bill Rigney placed in his defence and game calling. Mitterwald went on to catch eleven major league seasons between Minnesota and the Chicago Cubs, later managed in the minor leagues and served as a big league bullpen coach, giving him one of those long baseball lives that vintage collectors enjoy tracing through a stack of cards. This copy is the Canadian O-Pee-Chee printing, identified by the bilingual golden back carrying French text in the dark side panel, French and English batting record headings and the printed in Canada T. C. G. line. The reverse portrait sits in the familiar starburst frame beside complete statistics through 1970 and notes his Bloomington, Minnesota home, a nice local touch for Twins fans. O-Pee-Chee production was far smaller than the American Topps run, and the Canadian set has developed a loyal following among collectors on both sides of the border. Because the 1971 design places a thin white inner frame between the photograph and a jet black outer border, even minor edge wear stands out, which makes a well centred example with strong colour noticeably more attractive. The front shows light white flecking along the left black edge and minor touches at the corners, with the lower corners showing small points of wear but remaining recognisably defined for this issue. A faint vertical line visible at the upper right edge in the scan appears consistent with the protective sleeve rather than a confirmed crease in the card, and no crease, wrinkle or paper loss can be identified across the photograph itself. Colour in the pinstripes, mitt and stadium background is strong, the facsimile autograph is bold, and the bilingual back is clean and fully legible with no writing observed. Centering is slightly in favour of a wider black border on the right side, roughly a sixty forty impression that remains well within the normal range for 1971 and does not hurt eye appeal. The light edge flecking keeps the card conservatively at an excellent level rather than anything higher, and at that grade it stands as one of the better raw values in a 1971 O-Pee-Chee Twins grouping. Grade Estimate: EX 5