WASHINGTON — Congratulations to the Giants for taking the World Series. Willie Stargell fans can also celebrate their own victory. They stepped up to the plate in the Stamps Batted In (SBI) pennant race to position the Pittsburgh Pirate icon as the Most Popular Player (MPP) among four icons immortalized on the Major League Baseball All-Stars Forever stamps last summer.
Prior to the stamps July 20 issuance, the Postal Service started a friendly pre-order stamp competition in late May among fans of Stargell and other players commemorated on the stamps — Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees, Larry Doby of the Cleveland Indians and Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox. Williams took the lead at the beginning with DiMaggio nudging ahead a week prior to the First-Day-of-Issuance ceremony only to have Williams take it back.
“Fan support of their favorite players was so strong that we decided to continue this friendly competition through the end of the World Series,” said Stamp Services Manager Stephen Kearney referring to the 2.29 million stamps pre-ordered. “I encourage fans to continue supporting their favorite player while the stamps are still available.”
To-date, more than 32 million stamps have been sold. Three million stamps on sheets of 20 were printed for each individual player in addition to the 80 million stamps on sheets of 20 honoring all four players.
| Stamp | Pre-Order SBI | Regular Season SBI | Total SBI |
| Willie Stargell | 540,613 | 7,679,742 | 8,220,355 |
| Ted Williams | 630,353 | 7,578,682 | 8,209,035 |
| Joe DiMaggio | 626,553 | 7,439,302 | 8,065,855 |
| Larry Doby | 500,813 | 7,343,202 | 7,844,015 |
| Totals | 2,298,332 | 30,040,928 | 32,339,260 |
Fans can view the July 20 dedication ceremony at this link that includes a tribute from Hall of Famer “Mr. Padre” Tony Gwynn.
A video tribute to the four players is available at this link. Information on special collectables can be viewed at this link. Fans can purchase the stamps and individual stamp sheets depicting each player along with unique collectables at www.usps.com/play-ball. The Major League Baseball All-Star Forever stamp collectables also can be purchased by calling 800-STAMP24 or by visiting select Post Offices.
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.