One-Year Wonder Pt. 15: Cody Ross

Every once in awhile, the Red Sox pick up a veteran player for a year, or just the stretch run that was a star at one point that I become fascinated with. It's a player that is basically only a role player at that point in their career, but may show flashes of their old brilliance. It's so unusual to see them as a member of the Red Sox, that I try to find as many of their cards as possible. This series will be about some of those players.

CODY ROSS
One of the biggest things that I hate about the Topps monopoly is knowing that if a player only plays one year for the Red Sox, there will be very few cards available of him.  Take Cody Ross for example.  Even though he had a pretty big year for the Red Sox, he only appeared in 2012 Topps Series Two.  He did get a card in the high number series of Topps Heritage and does have a hard-to-find insert in Topps, but that's it.  I have only been able to track down three cards of Ross so far.  And the biggest issue is that his Topps base card is photoshopped to show him with the Red Sox.

Ross was signed in late January to help solidify the outfield.  He actually ended up being the most consistent offensive player during the 2012 season.  His clutch hits and versatility in the outfield made him a very valuable member of the team.  Ross was able to play all three outfield positions.

For the season, Ross hit a respectable .267/.326/.481 with 22 home runs and 81 RBIs.  He also chipped in 34 doubles.  He did strike out a lot, 129 times in fact, but he put up a pretty good season.  Boston did not bring him back after the season though, choosing instead to go after Shane Victorino and Jonny Gomes.  

For his efforts in his sole season with the team, Ross was named the team MVP.