U.S. #4694-97
2012 45¢ MLB All-Stars
Issue Date: July 20, 2012
City: Cooperstown, NY
Quantity: 80,000,000
Printed By: Avery Dennison
Printing Method: Photogravure
Perforations: Die Cut 11
Color: multicolored
The great poet Walt Whitman is widely credited with saying, “I see great things in baseball. It’s our game – the American game.” Whitman’s prediction proved true, as America’s love of baseball turned it into the national pastime.
Now, our love affair is so deep that the game’s biggest stars can rise to become national heroes. In 2012, the U.S. Postal Service honored four players whose drive for greatness transcended feats of skill.
Joe DiMaggio became a national hero through his seemingly effortless ability and storybook romance with Marilyn Monroe. Ted Williams said, “When I walk down the street, I want people to say ‘There goes the greatest hitter who ever lived.’” Many fans and historians think he succeeded.
Willie Stargell played 21 years for the Pittsburgh Pirates in a career highlighted by mammoth home runs. As the second black player in the Major Leagues (and the first in the American League) Larry Doby faced the same obstacles as Jackie Robinson. But “the media didn’t want to tell the same story twice,” Doby said. He excelled with grace and dignity.