We Made it to 2025 (Lots of Wongs)

In my ongoing effort to get caught up, I have finally made it to 2025 cards.  And my first many 2025 cards were Connor Wong cards.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I went through a period where I was not collecting much.  I was not able to find cards in stores and I didn't have time to do trades.  So, I bought a lot of Wong cards, and some other random stuff occasionally.  Wong did finally get his first extra-base hit of the year last Friday against the Dodgers.  

1.  2025 Topps Orange Rainbow Foil.  Serial-numbered to 25.

2.  2025 Topps Sandglitter.

3.  2025 Topps Pink Holo Foil.

4.  2025 Topps Diamante Foil.

5.  2025 Topps Purple Rainbow Foil.  Serial-numbered to 250.

6.  2025 Topps Spring Training.

7.  2025 Topps Rainbow Foil.

8.  2025 Topps Gold.  Serial-numbered to 2025.

9.  2025 Topps True Photo.

10.  2025 Topps Spring Training Green Foilboard.  Serial-numbered to 99.

There will be many more Wong cards to come.  I am still going on this collection until something happens with his status on the team.

Two Wongs Don't Make a Right and Finishing Off a Team Set

I know part of the title is a common saying, but I always think of the Suicidal Tendencies song "Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right (But They Make Me Feel a Whole Lot Better)".  Just getting that in there.

1.  2022 Panini Select Cracked Ice.  This card is serial-numbered to 25.

2.  2022 Topps Chrome Rookie Autographs Mini Diamond Refractor.  This one confuses me.  There is no reference to this card on TCDB, or even the parallel set as a whole.  I really have no idea what the deal here is.  That is my second Wong card that is not listed on TCDB.

Up next is the rest of the 2024 Topps team set that I bought as a whole on Ebay.  There were a lot of interesting players (including a couple of people who looked like Red Sox With No Cards candidates  previously) released in Series 2 and Update, so I just wanted to grab them all.

1.  Chris Murphy.  Murphy is actually back with the big league club after dealing with some injury issues.  He made it into 20 games in 2023, did not appear in the Majors in 2024, and made it back a few weeks ago.  And he has a 2.70 ERA thus far, so he is doing pretty well.

2.  Brandon Walter.  Very similar to Murphy, Walter was a lefty reliever in 2023 who went down with an injury.  He is currently starting for the Houston Astros and doing quite well himself.

3.  Rob Refsnyder.  Refsnyder has been a very solid platoon/bench bat.  He is a lefty killer and an important voice in the clubhouse.  To date, in parts of four seasons with the Red Sox, he has hit .276/.366/.437 with 24 home runs and 107 RBIs.

4.  Adam Duvall.  Boston has made a habit of corner outfield One-Year Wonders in recent years, starting with Hunter Renfroe.  Duvall was the 2023 edition, hitting .247/.303/.531 with 21 home runs and 58 RBIs.  Injuries limited him to 92 games played.

5.  Tanner Houck.  Houck was an All Star in 2024, but had a very rough start to his 2025 season.  He re-injured himself recently and was shut down again.

6.  Brayan Bello.  If he can develop his changeup into a real strikeout pitch, I think Bello could become a great starter.  He just needs to take that one more step.

7.  Garrett Whitlock.  Whitlock appears to be back at full strength lately.  He currently has a 3.10 ERA with 63 strikeouts in just 49.1 innings.  

8.  John Schreiber.  Schreiber joins Rich Hill as the only players thus far to come back from Red Sox With No Cards purgatory.  He was listed in my 2021 post, and would have made it further had I done one more recently.  It's odd that he makes his debut on a Red Sox card after he was traded to the Royals for minor league pitcher David Sandlin.  Schreiber was a force in the 2022 bullpen, saving eight games and notching 74 strikeouts in 65 innings with a 2.22 ERA.  

9.  Bobby Dalbec.  He just could not hit enough to justify the strikeouts.  2024 saw the end of the Dalbec era in Boston.  He hit 47 career home runs in Boston.

10.   Reese McGuire.  Another player who saw his time in Boston end in 2024.  McGuire was great down the stretch in 2022 after replacing Christian Vazquez (.3367/.377/.500), serviceable in 2023 (.267/.310/.358) and awful before being released in 2024 (.209/.280/.295).

11.  Vaughn Grissom.  Boy, that Chris Sale trade was rough.  Sale won the pitching Triple Crown and a Cy Young Award for the Braves, Grissom played in 31 games for the Red Sox in 2024, hitting .190/.246/.219.  He has yet to play this year and has been passed on the depth chart by at least a couple of guys.  He is running out of time.

12.  Pablo Reyes.  Reyes will forever be remembered for his walkoff grand slam in 2023.  He is another guy whose time in Boston ended during the 2024 season when he was sold to the Mets in May.  His grand slam was one of just two home runs he hit in Boston.

13.  Wilyer Abreu.  Now, we get into some good players.  Abreu currently leads the team with 20 home runs.  If he can control his streakiness, he could be a star.

14.  Romy Gonzalez.  Like Refsnyder, Gonzalez is a wrecking ball against lefties.  He recently crushed a grand slam against the Phillies for Boston to take a lead in a game they eventually won.  

15.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  My new favorite player has had a rough stretch offensively lately, but his defense still plays.  He made a sparkling unassisted double play against the Dodgers on Sunday, catching a line drive then diving into second base to double up the runner returning to the bag.  Even when he doesn't play center field, he makes great plays.

16.  Chris Martin.  I predicted Martin would get his first card since 2020.  All he had to do was get a Cy Young vote as a middle reliever in 2023.  Martin pitched two seasons in Boston, going 7-2 with a 2.16 ERA with five saves and 96 strikeouts versus eleven walks in 95.1 innings.

17.  Lucas Giolito.  Signed to shore up the rotation in 2024, Giolito went down with a season-ending injury in Spring Training.  It has been a bumpy road, but he finally looks like he is doing what he was signed to do now.

18.  Justin Slaten.  Boston has had some good luck with Rule 5 picks.  Garrett Whitlock is the best example, but Slaten has been very good when healthy.  He had a 2.93 ERA in 2024 and had been doing pretty well before going down with an injury earlier this year.

19.  Naoyuki Uwasawa.  I am a little surprised Uwasawa got a card.  Thrilled, but surprised.  He was a 30-year-old rookie in 2024, recently over from the Rays.  Now, when the Rays trade an unproven pitcher, a team should probably be a little concerned.  Uwasawa appeared in two games with Boston, four innings with three strikeouts and two walks, a 2.25 ERA.  He had a 7.78 ERA in Worcester though and didn't make it back.

20.  Tyler O'Neill.  The 2024 edition of the One-Year Wonder corner outfielder, O'Neill parlayed a 31-homer-season into a three year deal with the Orioles that they probably regret.  O'Neill hit .241/.336/.511, but played in just 113 games due to injury, kind of the story of his career.  It was a nice season, but oddly, he only drove in 61 runs.

Topps Now Road to Opening Day Bonus: September 22, 2024

This was the only free bonus card for the Red Sox from the Road to Opening Day set this year.  Casas had a rough year in 2024.  Through April, he was hitting .244/.344/.513 with six home runs and ten RBIs, a reasonable start for the first month, but then he went down with a rib injury.  He did not return to the lineup until mid-August.  As could be expected, it took some time before he started to get the hang of hitting again and he was starting to heat up as the season was coming to an end.  In Game #155 for the Red Sox, he had his first three-homer game in an 8-1 beatdown of the Twins, the first two of which were three-run shots with the third being a solo homer.  Casas ended the season with 13, a far cry from where he was expected to end up, but not bad considering the injury toll.

More Wongs and Others

Still going.  I am getting close-ish to catching up.  

1.  2022 Topps Chrome Sonic Red RayWave Refractor.  This card is serial-numbered to five.  It also completes the Sonic rainbow for me.

2.  2024 Topps Chrome Sapphire.

3.  Chris Sale.  This was just a one-card trade on TCDB.  It still needs to be shown off.

4.  2024 Topps Chrome Sapphire Orange.  This card is serial-numbered to 25.

1.  Kevin Millar.  Millar is still one of my favorite players from the 2004 team.  He was a big character guy in the clubhouse, and he could hit a little bit too.  In three seasons he hit .282/.362/.451 with 52 home runs and 220 RBIs.

2.  Ted Williams.

3.  Daisuke Matsuzaka.  Matsuzaka finished fourth in the ROY vote in 2007 and followed that up with a fourth-place finish in the Cy Young vote the next year.  And then the injuries and ineffectiveness occurred.

4.  Bobby Dalbec.

5.  David Ortiz.

6.  Julian Tavarez.  Tavarez was one of the crazier individuals I remember in Boston.  He started a brawl in Spring Training against the Rays, rolled balls to the first-baseman on grounders, and was generally a maniac.  He spent parts of three seasons in Boston, going 12-16 with a 4.94 ERA.

7.  Byung-Hyun Kim.  Kim did not endear himself to Boston fans when he gave them the finger after being booed.  He had a tumultuous stint in Boston, and was okay in 2003 after being acquired.  

8.  Allen Webster.  Webster was one of the major names acquired in the huge trade with the Dodgers in 2012, but he never lived up to expectations.  In 19 games in Boston, he had a record of 6-5 with a 6.25 ERA.

9.  Ty Buttrey.  Buttrey was traded to the Angels in the deal for Ian Kinsler in 2018 before pitching for Boston.

1.  2024 Topps Chrome Sapphire Gold.  This card is numbered to 50.

2.  2022 Panini Chronicles Origins Signatures Holo Gold.  This card is serial-numbered to 25.

That's it for today.

Topps Now: September 9 and 11, 2024 and a Wong 1/1

And another Topps Now post, this one featuring Tyler O'Neill primarily, a candidate for a One-Year Wonder post in the near future.

On September 9, the Red Sox crushed the Orioles 12-3.  Brayan Bello didn't have his best stuff but pitched well enough to win and the Red Sox benefitted from outfielders Rob Refnsyder and Tyler O'Neill hitting back-to-back home runs TWICE.  Refsnyder has become a certified lefty-killer and an important voice in the clubhouse.  O'Neill came over from the Cardinals in a trade prior to the season to provide right-handed pop, and he absolutely delivered.

2022 Panini Mosaic Rookie Autographs White Sparkle Mosaic.  This is a 1/1 Wong autograph.  So, of course I have to show it off.  I believe I have 22 Wong 1/1s. 

On September 11, Tyler O'Neill haunted the Orioles again (his future team, who he is haunting now in a very different way).  The Orioles had a one-run lead going into the bottom of the tenth with Keegan Aiken pitching.  Aiken struck out Rafael Devers, but then Romy Gonzalez reached on an error and O'Neill crushed a home run over the Monster to win the game.

Wongs and a TCDB Trade (Or Two, I Can't Remember)

Let's just do this, shall we?

1.  2022 Donruss Optic Gold Prizm.  This is serial-numbered to just 10.

2.  2024 Topps 582 Montgomery.  

I can't remember if the next cards came from one trade or more.  I don't think it matters that much though.

1.  Michael Wacha.  Wacha had a great season his one year in Boston.  He had an 11-2 record with a 3.32 ERA in 23 starts.  He struck out 104 and walked 31 in 127.1 innings pitched.  I considered him for the All-Time One-Year Wonder for right-handed starting pitcher, but I couldn't ignore Hideo Nomo throwing a no-hitter and leading the league in strikeouts.

2.  Xander Bogaerts.

3.  Rafael Devers.

4.  Jimmie Foxx.  I love seeing Foxx show up in sets these days.

5.  Triston Casas.

6.  Chris Sale.

7.  Jarren Duran.

8.  Alex Verdugo.  Man, his career has stalled.  He was released by the Braves earlier this year.

9.  Pedro Martinez.

10.  Trevor Story.  Story has been enjoying a renaissance this season.  He doesn't hit for a high average (.252), but has 15 home runs and 17 stolen bases, to go with 60 RBIs and Gold Glove-caliber defense.  This is the player the Red Sox thought they were getting.

11.  Trevor Story. 

12.  Rafael Devers.

13.  Xander Bogaerts.

14.  J.D. Martinez.

15.  Tanner Houck.  Houck has been shut down, probably for the season.

16.  Jarren Duran.

17.  J.D. Martinez.

18.  Xander Bogaerts.

19.  Rafael Devers.

20.  Trevor Story.

That's it for today.

Topps Now: August 2 and August 26, 2024 (Plus a Couple Wongs)

Ho-hum, another Topps Now post with obscure players.

Nick Sogard made his Major League debut on August 2.  Sogard comes from a family of former Major Leaguers.  His cousin is former A's infielder Eric Sogard, who I remember primarily for wearing glasses.  He is also the nephew of Steve Sax and former Red Sox catcher Dave Sax.  So yes, a long line of baseball players in his family.  Sogard was originally acquired in the deal that sent Jeffrey Springs to Tampa Bay, so Boston is finally getting something out of that trade (since Ronaldo Hernandez never developed).  Sogard has hit .265 in the Majors to date.  Not bad.  He collected a hit and two RBIs in his debut.

1.  2024 Topps All Star Game Foil.

2.  2024 Topps Yellow Foil.

I am including these Wong cards since there were just two in between receiving Topps Now cards, rather than doing three separate posts.

On August 26, Danny Jansen became the first player to play for both teams in the same game.  Allow me to explain:  this game started on June 26, but was suspended in the top of the second inning due to rain.  Jansen started the game for the Blue Jays and was at the plate when the game was suspended.  It was completed on August 26, but by this point, Jansen had been traded to the Red Sox and he appeared in the game when it was resumed, behind the plate for a "pinch hitter" sent to the plate to relieve Jansen.  Jansen had a hit in four at-bats.  Unfortunately, this was pretty much the highlight of the Jansen era in Boston.  He hit .188/.323/.300 with three home runs after being acquired for Cutter Coffey, Eddinson Paulino and Gilberto Bautista.  None of those three have appeared in the Majors yet and each would have had to be protected on the 40-man roster after the season. 

A Quick Trade Post

My normal procedure with trades is to let them come to me.  It's sometimes a little difficult to decide on just one card that I want.  Every once in awhile though, I will be the one starting the deal.  This trade today was one of those occasions.  I like the Prizm set lately because of the retired players.  And they have included Dom DiMaggio and Johnny Pesky recently, two players I tend to grab as many cards as I can.  

1.  Dom DiMaggio.  This was the card that started the proposal for me.  DiMaggio is a favorite, even though I never saw him play.  He didn't look like a star athlete, he was 5'9" and less than 170 lbs. and he wore glasses.  Yet, he was a seven-time All Star and hit .298/.383/.419 in his career, spent entirely in Boston.

2.  Rafael Devers.  Devers has been having a rough start in San Francisco, but I see no reason he won't eventually come around.  Hopefully at least one of the players Boston got in the trade will come through.

3.  Carl Yastrzemski.  I also still love getting cards of Yaz.

4.  Jack Lopez.  Who?  Exactly.  Lopez played in seven games in 2021 even though he was never on the 40-man roster.  This is because Boston called him up when several players were placed on the COVID restricted list and they didn't have enough players, a rule used just in those two seasons.  Lopez hit a couple of doubles.  He played a little more with the Angels last season.

5.  Masataka Yoshida/Alex Verdugo/Justin Turner/Jarren Duran.  Turner is a future One-Year Wonder post.  Maybe when I get close to catching up on my card posts, I can do a few of my series posts.  The One-Year Wonder posts in particular have a lot of candidates to do.  Turner had a very good year his one year in Boston.

Topps Now: July 16, 2024 - The All Star Game

Jarren Duran became the fifth Red Sox player to win the All Star Game MVP last year.  He joins Carl Yastrzemski (1970), Roger Clemens (1986), Pedro Martinez (1999) and J.D. Drew (2008).  Duran hit a two-run home run off of Hunter Greene of the Reds with the Orioles' Anthony Santander on base.  Those were the deciding runs of the game, making him a pretty easy selection.  Duran was in the middle of his best season to date in 2024 and would continue his hot start in the second half.

Wong and a Big TCDB Trade

This is going to be one of those posts that doesn't need much introduction.  It's just a card post.

2022 Donruss Optic Rated Rookie Signatures Silver Star Prizm.  This is just another variation of the Donruss autograph card.  I have 21 of these now.

Up next is a big trade that features a completely random assortment of players.

1.  Jody Reed.  Reed was an early favorite player of mine.  He was an underrated, scrappy player who had virtually no power, but managed 40+ doubles three seasons in a row, including tying for the league lead with 45 in 1990.  

2.  Rafael Devers.

3.  Luis Tiant.  I was apprehensive about getting this card because I thought it would be oversized.  This is fine though.  I am still pissed he didn't get elected to the Hall of Fame this year.

4.  Chris Sale.

5.  Roger Clemens.

6.  Tris Speaker.  Speaker was the first major star Boston traded away, even pre-dating Babe Ruth.

7.  Tom Bolton.  Bolton was one of two Red Sox players in my first pack of baseball cards, along with Dennis Lamp.

8.  Masataka Yoshida.

9.  Bob Zupcic.  Zupcic hit three home runs in 1992.  Two of them were grand slams, and one was a walkoff.

10.  Steven Wright.

11.  Aaron Sele.  Sele and his college batterymate Scott Hatteberg were both drafted in the first round of the 1991 draft.

12.  Brayan Bello.  Bello has been on a roll lately.  Hopefully he has turned the corner and will develop into a solid starting pitcher going forward.

13.  Roger Clemens.

14.  Andrew Benintendi.

15.  Celebration card.  This is from the 2004 World Championship parade.

16.  Dave Stapleton.  Stapleton should have been playing first at the end of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.  He hit .321 in his first season, but declined every year the rest of this career.

17.  Jose Iglesias. 

18.  Kevin Morton.  Morton was a first round pick in 1989.  He made it to the Majors in 1991 and was 6-5 with a 4.59 ERA but never made it back to the Majors.  

19.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  I am not going to super-collect Rafaela, I am way too late in the game for that.  But I am going to pick up a bunch of cards to position him as a major player in my collection.  I have a lot of cards of him coming.

20.  Rick Miller.  Miller had good speed, was a great defender, and a very good pinch hitter.  He served two stints in Boston, from 1971-1977 and then 1981-1985.  He left Boston as a free agent in 1977 and then was re-acquired in the deal that sent Rick Burleson and Butch Hobson to the Angels for Carney Lansford and Mark Clear.

21.  Daisuke Matsuzaka.

22.  J.D. Martinez.

23.  John Kennedy.  Kennedy was a decent utility infielder for a few seasons.  His best season in Boston saw him hit .276/.320/.412.

24.  Jacoby Ellsbury.

25.  Don Pavletich.  Pavletich didn't play much after being acquired by Boston.  He was picked up in a trade with the White Sox that also brought Gary Peters and was sent to the Brewers in a huge trade along with George Scott, Jim Lonborg, Ken Brett and Billy Conigliaro for Tommy Harper, Lew Krausse and Marty Pattin.  You don't see franchise-altering trades like that anymore.

26.  Victor Martinez.  I never really warmed up to Martinez during his time in Boston, because he relegated my favorite player to backup duty.  But he was great in Boston.  I recognize and appreciate that now.

27.  Phil Gagliano.  Gagliano hit .324 in part-time duty for Boston in 1971.  

28.  Lee Smith.  This is a Tiffany card.  

29.  Eddie Kasko.  Kasko was the manager after Dick Williams and played his final season in Boston.  

30.  David Price.  I don't get a ton of relics anymore, but there were a couple in this trade.

31.  Rob Deer.  I remember being excited when Deer was acquired in a trade during the 1993 season.  I didn't really understand the trade deadline at the time, so I was disappointed when they did not bring him back after the year.  He homered in his first Red Sox at-bat.

32.  Drew Pomeranz.  I hated the deal that brought Pomeranz to the Red Sox because it sent their big pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza to the Padres.  It worked out though because Pomeranz had a 17-win season the next year and Espinoza didn't make it to the Majors until just recently.  

33.  David Price.

34.  David Ortiz.

35.  Roger Clemens.

36.  Dustin Pedroia.

37.  Brayan Bello.

38.  Triston Casas.

39.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Here is another one, my second in this trade.

40.  Alex Verdugo/Enrique Hernandez.  

41.  Rafael Devers.

42.  Roger Clemens.

43.  Roger Clemens.

44.  Kevin Plawecki.  Plawecki was a solid backup catcher in 2021 and hit .287/.349/.389.

45.  Wade Boggs.

46.  Roger Clemens.  There were a lot of Clemens oddballs in this trade.

47.  David Ortiz.

48.  Roger Clemens.

49.  J.D. Martinez.

50.  Pedro Martinez.

51.  Tom Burgmeier.  Burgmeier was an All Star in 1980 when he had an ERA of 2.00 and 24 saves as the team's closer.

52.  Mookie Betts.

53.  George Scott.  I am a big fan of the Boomer, even if I never saw him play.  He just seems like the kind of player I would have loved.

54.  Gary Wagner.  In 1970, Wagner saved seven games for the Red Sox and had an ERA of 3.35.  It was his last Major League season, though he was just 30. 

55.  Wilyer Abreu.  Abreu is criminally underrepresented in my collection.  I still have fewer than 10.  I am waiting on the trade deadline.  If he doesn't get traded, which seems less and less likely, I will probably add him to Rafaela as players to target.

56.  Wade Boggs.

57.  Wade Boggs.

58.  Jose Santiago.  Santiago turned into a solid pitcher in the Impossible Dream season and homered in his first World Series at-bat.  How many pitchers can say that?  He was an All Star in 1968, but suffered an arm injury that eventually ended his career.

59.  Hanley Ramirez.  We close things out with the second relic.  Ramirez had a huge 2016 season when he hit .286/.361/.505 with 30 home runs and 111 RBIs.

That's it for today.

A Huge Wong Twitter Purchase

So, I saw a Twitter thread some time last year in which people were talking about their "rainbows" they were actively collecting.  One user posted up his collection of 2022 Bowman Connor Wong cards.  This caught my attention.  He had every single card with the exception of the Cyan Printing Plate and the Platinum card.  I have the Platinum card.  I responded to him and told him that, but said since I collected Wong, I would not be willing to part with it.  His response was to offer to sell me his cards.  I didn't really need all of them, but he was only willing to part with the whole group.  His price wasn't terrible, so I bit the bullet.  Here are the cards I needed:

1.  2022 Bowman Green Pattern.  The Green and Green Pattern do not look that dissimilar and they are both serial-numbered to 99, so I just never managed to grab it.

2.  2022 Bowman Printing Plate Yellow.

3.  2022 Bowman Printing Plate Black.

4.  2022 Bowman Printing Plate Magenta.

So there you have it.  I now have all of the 2022 Bowman cards except the Cyan Printing Plate.  Hopefully that will pop up some day.

Odds and Ends

Four cards to show off today, which will include a Hall of Famer relic.  

2023 Topps Chrome Gold Mini Diamond.  This card is serial-numbered to 50.  Yes, as I continue to work toward catching up, there will be a lot of Connor Wong cards coming.  I keep hoping he pulls out of his very deep slump, but it just does not happen.  I am very concerned about his future with the team.

Here is the Hall of Famer relic.  I have a Lee Smith relic previously, but it seemed very likely that he was wearing an air-brushed Cardinals uniform.  This one looks much more like a Red Sox uniform.  I need Billy Wagner to show up on Red Sox cards soon again.  I didn't get to watch Smith during his time with Boston as I started watching them the year after he was traded.  He was an active pitcher for several more years though and I always liked him.  I rooted for him to get elected every year.

Here is a small trade that included a nice Kevin Youkilis parallel and a buyback of Lou Clinton.  The stamp is in a really bad spot.  Clinton came up with Boston in 1960 and played parts of five seasons with the team.  His best year was 1962 when he hit 18 homers with a line of .294/.349/.540.  He also had ten triples.  The next season his slash line declined, but he hit 22 home runs.  In 1964 he was traded to the Angels for Lee Thomas and he later played with the Athletics, Indians and Yankees.  He never came close to this 1962 numbers though.

Topps Now: June 16 and July 5, 2024 (F*** the Yankees)

I have two Topps Now cards to show off today, both of which occurred in games against the Yankees, hence the whimsical title.

On June 16, 2024, the Red Sox took advantage of the less-than-stellar catching of Jose Trevino and stole nine bases.  Boston is not traditionally a team blessed with a lot of speed, but that was a bit different in 2024 as they featured two 30+ stolen base players and a host of others that could steal in the right opportunity, the team stole 144 bases on the season.  Leading the charge on this night was David Hamilton (pictured) with four steals in the game, joining Jacoby Ellsbury and Jerry Remy as the only players in Red Sox history to do so.  Jarren Duran stole two bags, Ceddanne Rafaela stole one, as did the unlikely duo of Bobby Dalbec and Dominic Smith.  Smith unfortunately, never appeared on a Red Sox card.  Boston won the game 9-3 with Kutter Crawford getting the win.  

On July 5, 2024, the Yankees were cruising.  Nestor Cortes had completely shut the team down for six innings, going six strong innings with just three hits and a run while striking out eight.  The Yankees had a two-run lead going into the ninth when Clay Holmes imploded with two outs.  Dominic Smith (there he is again) singled and Masataka Yoshida came up and crushed a game-tying homer to right.  Boston kept the Yankees off the board in the ninth and Ceddanne Rafaela launched a two-run homer to center with the ghost runner David Hamilton aboard in the tenth.  Kenley Jansen came in for the save in the bottom of the tenth.

Random Pickups Including Some Long-Lost Wongs

In an ongoing attempt to catch up, I am showing off the next batch of pickups.  As said in the title, some Wong cards will appear in here that I had an interesting history with. 

Up first is this small trade that included a couple of parallels of David Hamilton and Matt Barnes.  Hamilton is currently in the minors.  Barnes was an All Star in 2022, but then imploded in the second half and never could get back to what he once was.  That's a shame because he was a good reliever for several seasons.  The highlight of this package though is the Yoshida die-cut insert.  Yoshida is finally back in the Majors, but hasn't done a whole lot yet.

2024 Topps Clear.  I had to buy this card twice.  I don't remember what happened with the first transaction, but I remember the seller just never sending the card.  That is extremely frustrating when it happens, even worse when it's a card serial-numbered to 10.  It didn't take too long to get it again though.

Here's a nice trade with some oddballs and early inserts.  The Leo Kiely and Bill Consolo cards are from a reprint set.  I would love to get the original vintage cards, but that is not what these are.  Kiely was a decent reliever for a few seasons and Consolo was a bonus baby who had to be on the Major League roster immediately.  Due to being 18 at the time of his debut, his development was severely stunted and he never really became a good player.  The Pepsi cards are from a Score oddball set I am still trying to complete, the most noteworthy card is Bill Buckner, who finished his career with the Red Sox in 1990, but did not appear in any major sets (just a couple oddballs).  His final home run was an inside-the-park job.

I think these two cards came from the same trade as above, though I don't recall specifically.  I try to add as many Wakefield cards as I can these days.  Hopefully Casas comes back strong next season, but I think there's a reasonable chance Boston moves him.

Here is another trade with a parallel of Chris Sale and two autographs of players who never played in Boston.  Jamie Callahan was traded to the Mets in the Addison Reed trade and only pitched in nine games in the Majors.  Adam Everett was a first-round pick by Boston, but he was traded to the Astros for Carl Everett (yes, Everett for Everett).  Everett has a lengthy career, and was known as a great defensive shortstop, but he never really hit much (career OPS+ of 69, ouch).

2022 Finest Black Refractor.  This was a card I wanted for a long time after missing out on buying it early in my Connor Wong collection.  It took a long time before it became available again.

2022 Panini Mosaic Orange Fluorescent.  This was a big deal.  This card was #1 on my most-wanted list because I bought it very early in my Connor Wong collection, but the seller dropped off the face of the earth and never sent the card and never responded.  The card is serial-numbered to 25 and it took a very long time before I saw another copy of it.  Over a year in fact.  I was thrilled when it popped back up.

Another trade featuring a bunch of random newer cards.  Will Middlebrooks is a bit of a surprise in there.  I really enjoy listening to him call Red Sox games.  The Devers/Betts card is interesting.  They will be running into each other more often now that they are both in the NL West.  I want to point out the Marcelo Mayer card.  He is now in the Majors, but has had uneven results so far.

Finally, some A&G minis.  Three Hall of Famers, and Mike Napoli.  One of these things is not like the others.

Topps Now: June 5, 2024

I say it a lot.  Probably too often.  People are probably sick of hearing it.  But I will say it again.  I love Topps Now when they produce cards of obscure players.  Jamie Westbrook will go down as one of the most obscure players from the Red Sox in quite some time.  This was his first card with Boston. 

Jamie Westbrook was originally drafted in 2013 by the Diamondbacks in the fifth round.  He also spent time in the Brewers, Tigers and Yankees systems before finally making his Major League debut with Boston eleven years later.  He was 29 years old.  Westbrook raised some eyebrows in Spring Training in 2024 with his ability to hit the ball hard.  He impressed in the minors and was brought up for some depth.

He made it into 21 games with the Red Sox, hitting .150/.234/.350 with two home runs and seven RBIs.  He is back in the minors in 2025, this time in the Rays system.  It is great that he was able to achieve a lifelong dream and play in the Majors, no matter how brief.

Some Autos (Including a Superfractor)

 Not all of these will be Connor Wong cards.  But most of them will be.

2022 Topps 1987 Chrome Autographs.  I don't really know why it took me so long to add this card, but I did add it.  

Here is the only non-Connor Wong autograph.  I mentioned recently I was a big fan of Hamilton last season.  Hamilton came to Boston in the Hunter Renfroe to Milwaukee trade.  A lot of fans were down on that deal since Jackie Bradley Jr. (who was the only MLer acquired in the deal) was basically cooked and Alex Binelas didn't do much.  But Hamilton was a pretty decent player last year after they solved his best position.  He stole 33 bases as well.  This year has not been going as well and he was a victim of a roster crunch, being sent back to Worcester.

Sorry, about the bad scan, but here is the superfractor.  Of course it's Connor Wong.  Did you expect anything less?

2022 Donruss Signature Series Gold.  This is serial-numbered to 25.  The picture on these cards is kind of ugly, I'm not sure if that is a minor league uniform or a college uniform, but it looks very amateurish.