The San Francisco Giants won the World Series a month ago, and although the team has something special to cheer about, so do the fans of Willie Stargell. 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.

Before the stamps issuance on July 20, 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 the 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 Stephen Kearney, stamp services manager, referring to the 2.29 million stamps pre-ordered. “I encourage fans to continue supporting their favorite player while the stamps are still available.”

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.

The Major League Baseball All-Star Forever stamp collectables can be purchased by calling 800-STAMP24 or by visiting select post offices.

Contact staff writer Donald Hunt at (215) 893-5719 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .