Yogi Berra is the first player in nine years to appear on a U.S.P.S. stamp. Despite many deserving candidates — including Henry Aaron — it could be a long wait before we see another.
A great majority of those stamps have been part of multiplayer “issuances.” Berra is in an even rarer group: He is the first player since Lou Gehrig in 1989 to receive an issuance all his own. After Gehrig, every player who has appeared on a stamp has been part of a larger set: Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson and Roger Maris in the 1998-99 “Celebrate the Century” series; a whopping 20 players in the “Legends of Baseball” set in 2000; four midcentury stars in the “Baseball Sluggers” issuance of 2006; and an “M.L.B. All-Stars” set in 2012 that featured Joe DiMaggio, Larry Doby, Willie Stargell and Ted Williams.
Now, nine years after the last baseball stamp, Berra has the stage all to himself.
Will it be another nine years before we see another player honored? There is certainly no shortage of candidates.