The Red Sox in Order

I made a recent trade with Tom over at Angels in Order.  All of the cards he sent were off of my wantlist.  Here are the cards he sent my way:

1.  Doug Mirabelli.  I am still not convinced this isn't Jason Varitek in the picture.  It just does not look like Mirabelli.  I note that he is wearing Mirabelli's chest protector, but that doesn't mean everything.  I am just not sure.  Mirabelli was a favorite of mine too, just not on the same level, obviously.  Mirabelli provided Boston an excellent backup catcher for several seasons.  He hit .281 with nine home runs in 2004 when Varitek hit .296 with 18 home runs.  That is excellent production from the catching platoon.

2.  Mike Lowell.  During Lowell's five-year stint with the Red Sox, he hit .290/.346/.468 with 80 home runs and 374 RBIs.  He was an All Star in 2007 and won the World Series MVP.  That year he finished fifth in the A.L. MVP vote.  Lowell was something of an afterthought when Boston acquired him along with Josh Beckett, but he was a great player during his time in Boston.

3.  Kevin Youkilis.  For a two-year span, Youkilis was one of the best hitters in the game.  From 2008 to 2009, he hit .309/.401/.559 with 56 home runs, 79 doubles, 190 runs scored, 318 hits and 209 RBIs.  He was an All Star both seasons (three total), and finished third and sixth in the MVP voting.  He also won the Hank Aaron Award in 2008.  

4.  Pedro Martinez.  This is a World Series Heroes insert from 2005 Upper Deck.  Martinez was of course coming off of the 2004 World Series victory over the Cardinals.  Martinez pitched Game 3 of the World Series and pitched seven innings of three-hit, scoreless ball.  He struck out six and walked two.  It was not his most dominant performance, but it was exceptional.  He won the game of course.  He would pitch two more World Series games, both with the Phillies against the Yankees, but he was nowhere near as good as his first World Series game with the Red Sox.

5.  Roger Clemens.  There were four Clemens cards in this trade.  I am missing a lot of Clemens cards from the mid 1990's when I was not as excited about him.  That's why I put my full wantlist together, to get some of those cards.  Clemens is tied with Cy Young for career victories with the Red Sox at 192.  

6.  Roger Clemens.

7.  Roger Clemens.

8.  Roger Clemens.

9.  Kevin Youkilis.

10.  Andy Yount.  Yount was Boston's first round pick in the 1995 draft, 15th overall.  Unfortunately, he suffered a bizarre injury and never made it close to the Majors.  Roy Halladay was selected two picks later.

11.  David Ortiz.  I have no idea what more there is to say about David Ortiz.  I am working on a post (or series) in which I look at every player I have more than 100 cards of.  Ortiz is the third-biggest player in my collection, behind only Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Varitek.

12.  David Eckstein.  I have covered Eckstein several times on this blog.  He never actually played with Boston, even though he was drafted by them.  He looked like a possible Major Leaguer, but Boston needed a third-baseman right away and re-acquired Lou Merloni.  In order to make room on the roster, they DFA'd Eckstein and he was claimed on waivers by the Angels.  They probably should have just kept Eckstein.

13.  Jarren Duran.  The newest card in the package is this Duran card.  I can't escape Duran.

14.  Josh Beckett.  I remember Beckett as maddeningly inconsistent from year to year in Boston.  He was second in the Cy Young race in 2007 and ninth in 2011.  He was an All Star three times.  He had a record of 89-58 with a 4.17 ERA with 1,108 strikeouts and 338 walks in 1,240 innings pitched.  He was the ALCS MVP in 2007.  If he is not yet in the team Hall of Fame, he should be.

Thanks Tom!

A Trade With Swing and a Pop Up

I recently made my first blog trade in a very long time with Bert from Swing and a Pop Up, a fellow Red Sox fan.  Almost all of the cards I received were off of my wantlist, with a few exceptions.  A lot of them were oddball cards, though there were some other base cards as well.

And here we go:

1.  Dennis Eckersley.  This card finished off the 1998 Stadium Club team set for me.  Oddly, I had the magenta printing plate of this card.   Not sure why I did not have this one.  Eckersley spent the final season of his career with the Red Sox and recorded the final save of his career with the Red Sox.  He also threw more than twice as many innings with the Red Sox than any other team for whom he pitched.

2.  Jose Malave.  Malave looked like a promising prospect when he hit .299/.369/.563 with 24 home runs and 92 RBIs for the Red Sox Double-A team in 1994.  Unfortunately in parts of two seasons with Boston, he hit just .226/.248/.368 with four home runs and 17 RBIs in 45 games.

3.  Roger Clemens.  This completed the 1995 Bazooka set for me.  Clemens seems to be the last card standing in a lot of sets in the mid 1990's.  I have no explanation for that, other than maybe fatigue.  I do tend to not focus as much on players that I already have a lot of cards of (with the obvious exception of Jason Varitek).  Nomar Garciaparra, Pedro Martinez and Manny Ramirez have also been players that happened with.

4.  Cory Bailey.  This finished off 1994 Pinnacle.  Bailey came up as a reliever prospect, but pitched in just 16 games over two years with Boston, throwing 20 innings, striking out 15 and walking 15.  He had an ERA of 5.40 and was 0-2.  He was traded to the Cardinals along with Scott Cooper for Mark Whiten and Rheal Cormier.  He had some decent seasons with the Cardinals and Royals.

5.  Babe Ruth.  Coming from the Ruth Conlon set, there are still a handful of Red Sox cards out there I still need.  This card discusses Ruth winning 17 of his last 21 decisions in 1915, his first full season in the Majors.

6.  Babe Ruth.  And this card discusses Ruth breaking the single-season home run record in 1919 when he hit 29 home runs as a member of the Red Sox.  The previous record of 25 belonged to former Red Sox Buck Freeman, who hit that number as a member of the Washington Senators of the National League.

7.  Carl Yastrzemski.  I love this shot of Yaz with the camera crew.  

8.  Jim Rice.  This seems more like a standard shot of Rice.

9.  Mike Torrez.  Torrez pitched the ill-fated one-game playoff in 1978 and gave up Bucky Dent's home run.  In five years with Boston, Torrez had a record of 60-54 with a 4.51 ERA.  He struck out 480 and walked 420 in 1,012.2 innings pitched.  His best season was 1981 when he went 10-3 with a 3.68 ERA.

Up next is a bunch of singles from the 1982 Brigham's/Coca-Cola set, which is one I am still trying to complete.

10.  John Tudor.  Tudor spent the first five seasons of his career with the Red Sox, going 39-32 with a 3.96 ERA.  Boston then traded him to the Pirates for Mike Easler.  Tudor had the best season of his career in 1985 when he went 21-8 with a 1.93 ERA and led the league in shutouts.  It would have been nice if Boston had held on to him.

11.  Dave Stapleton.  Stapleton was a very impressive defensive player, but did not hit much.  At least most of his career.  He was great in his rookie season in 1980 when he hit .321/.338/.463 with 33 doubles, seven home runs and 45 RBIs.  He finished second in the Rookie of the Year vote to Joe Charboneau.  He was primarily a second-baseman that season.

12.  Bob Ojeda.  Another pitcher Boston would have been smart to hold on to, Ojeda spent his first six seasons in Boston, going 44-39 with a 4.21 ERA.  He was traded to the Mets prior to 1986 for Calvin Schiraldi and Wes Gardner.  Ojeda went 18-5 with a 2.57 ERA for the Mets that season and was 1-0 against his old team in the World Series.

13.  Carney Lansford.  Lansford, along with Mark Clear, was the major return in the trade of Rick Burleson and Butch Hobson to the Angels.  Lansford won the batting title in his first season with the Red Sox, hitting .336 and winning his only Silver Slugger Award.  He was later traded to the A's in the deal that brought Tony Armas to the Red Sox.

14.  Glenn Hoffman.  Trevor's much older brother, Hoffman was supplanted as the third-baseman by the acquisition of Lansford and moved over to shortstop.  His best season was his rookie year in 1980 when he hit .285/.326/.397.  Like Stapleton, he declined quickly.

15.  Rich Gedman.  Gedman was second in the Rookie of the Year vote in 1981 when he hit .288/.317/.434 with five home runs and 26 RBIs.  Gedman was a two-time All Star in 1985 and 1986.  He hit .259/.310/.412 with 83 home runs in eleven seasons with the Red Sox.

And now for the primary reason this trade got started, the 1991 Swell Baseball Greats remaining cards for the team set.

16.  Tris Speaker.  Boston never should have traded Speaker.  Yes, unfortunately this has been a problem with this franchise for a very long time.  Speaker was Boston's best player.  In nine seasons, he hit .337/.414/.482 with 39 home runs (it was the Deadball Era) and 542 RBIs.  He also stole 267 bases.  Speaker was traded for Sad Sam Jones, Fred Thomas and cash.  Jones was at least decent.

17.  Carl Yastrzemski.  Yaz is one player Boston kept for his entire career, and his was the longest career in team history, spanning 23 seasons and 3,308 games.  Thus, he holds a number of career records for the Red Sox, most notably his 3,419 hits.  He is the only Red Sox player to have 3,000 hits with the team.

18.  Rico Petrocelli.  Petrocelli at one point held the single-season record for home runs by a shortstop.  He hit 40 home runs in 1968.  He spent his entire 13-season career with the Red Sox and hit .251/.332/.420 with 210 home runs and 773 RBIs.

19.  Jim Lonborg.  The third member of the Impossible Dream season in a row.  Lonborg won the first Cy Young Award in Red Sox history.  It was also the first year that the award was given to a pitcher in each league.  Lonborg was 22-9 with a 3.16 ERA and struck out 246 while walking 83 in 273.1 innings.  He led the league in wins and strikeouts.

20.  Rick Ferrell.  Ferrell, like Speaker and Yaz, is a Hall of Famer.  Ferrell was elected by the Veterans Committee in 1984.  Ferrell is largely considered one of the worst Hall of Famers, but he was a very good contact hitter for a catcher.  He hit .302/.394/.410 for his five years in Boston.  Ferrell was caught for Boston at the same time his brother Wes was a pitcher.  They were traded to the Senators together in a deal for Ben Chapman and Bobo Newsom.

21.  Don Baylor.  Baylor was acquired in a rare deal with the Yankees in 1986.  Rarer still, the deal actually seemed to help both teams.  A novel idea.  Baylor hit .238/.344/.439 with 31 home runs and 94 RBIs for the pennant-winning Red Sox.  The next season he broke the record for being hit by pitches.  Baylor was traded to the Twins late in 1987 season.  Later, he became the first manager for the Colorado Rockies.

Thanks for the trade Bert!

An Utz-erly Appreciated PWE

Kenny, the Zippy-Zapper and sole member of the Luis Torrens Fan Club, sent me a PWE recently.  It contained this Utz card of Xander Bogaerts.  I have lamented previously that these are a regional issue and unavailable in Nebraska.  So he sends me one every once in awhile, which is greatly appreciated.  Bogaerts is probably the current Face of the Franchise, and one player who is having a good season this year.  

Thanks Kenny!

 

Waiting Until Next Year

Recently Tom from the Cubs-centric blog Waiting 'til Next Year contacted me about making a trade regarding some Big League cards.  We quickly worked out some details, and my cards arrived, knocking off a bunch of needs from my wantlist.

His blog title is certainly appropriate for the Red Sox season.  They recently snapped a nine-game losing skid.  Almost halfway through the season, they are in bad shape.

Lots of stuff there, including base cards, blue parallels, orange parallels and even a foil parallel.  It leaves me with a few base cards left on my wantlist.  Of the photos, the Chavis is my favorite as it shows a double play in progress against the Yankees.  That is Aaron Hicks by the way.  Eduardo Rodriguez is the big winner of this lot, as he appears on three cards.  I'm good with that.  I was disappointed he was not going to pitch this season, though I certainly understand the reasons.

Thanks Tom for the great package of cards!

A 2020 Zippy-Zapping

Another PWE Zippy-Zapping made its way into my mailbox recently.  Two 2020 cards fell out. 

1.  Rafael Devers.  This is one of the Utz cards, a nice food issue from Topps.  These are apparently a regional issue, because I have never heard of the brand before there were cards last year.  This year's was even better because the design and pictures are not just a rehash of the Topps design of the year.

2.  Eduardo Rodriguez.  Yes, this is a Red Sox card, forget those two Astros guys.  E-Rod had a terrific year last year and started to gain some recognition.

Thanks Kenny! 

Blog Trade

It had been awhile since I had a trade through my blog, other than the Zippy Zappings of course.  But then, Michael contacted me and offered to send me some Red Sox cards.  I was not expecting a huge brick of cards.  But I definitely am not complaining.  There was a pretty good haul of cards I needed too:

1.  Michael Bowden.  This is probably the biggest "hit" of the package, but that is not the biggest concern of mine.  What I like is that Bowden is not super huge in my collection, despite having been a big prospect at one time.  Bowden was traded to the Cubs for Marlon Byrd in 2012, a player who has no Red Sox cards.

2.  Carl Crawford.  I had high hopes for Crawford, I really did.  I always enjoyed him with the Rays, and he is notable because he was a Nebraska quarterback recruit at one point.  Unfortunately, his time in Boston was less than impressive.  A lot of the guys I really wanted Boston to sign did not work out: Edgar Renteria, Julio Lugo, Crawford, Pablo Sandoval...

3.  David Ortiz. 

4.  Daisuke Matsuzaka.  A couple of players dominate this package.  One is Matsuzaka who had an inordinate number of cards for his performance in the Major Leagues.  His first two seasons were good, but he struggled after that.

5-9.  Kevin Youkilis.  The other is Youkilis, who was one of my favorite players when he was with the team.  I am not sure how there were so many cards I did not have.

10-13.  Kevin Youkilis.

14-15.  Daisuke Matsuzaka. 

16.  Pedro Martinez. 

17-18.  Hideki Okajima.  Okajima was surprisingly good for a couple of seasons.  I do not think Boston realized quite what they were getting when he signed, but he was an extremely valuable member of the bullpen for about four seasons.  He was even an All Star in 2007. 

19.  Hideki Okajima.  Unfortunately, I realized after I scanned these cards, that I already had this one, it was mis-labelled in my collection list.

20.  Manny Ramirez.  I think I have complained about the Documentary set before.  The cards each highlight one game for the team, but the photos are not necessarily representative of the best player for the game, or the game itself.  There were about 10 or so pictures that were just re-used over and over and over again.  It was an interesting idea, but really bad execution.

21.  Johnny Damon.  A wantlist hit.  This is pre-Caveman Johnny Damon. 

22.  Kevin Youkilis.

23.  Mo Vaughn.  I swear I already had this card, but it is not on my collection list, and I have not been able to find it in my actual collection either. 

24.  Tomokazu Ohka.  This is one of those rare foil cards from MLB Showdown.  I do not have a lot of these because they were often pricey.  I liked Ohka and wished Boston had given him more of a chance before trading him.

25.  Dwight Evans.  This is the error version of this card.  Apparently, Topps forgot to put a diamond next to the italicized games-played in 1982 to show that he tied for the league lead.  I had the corrected version which had the diamond.  Not the most exciting error in the world.

26.  Josh Reddick.  I remember this game.  Reddick had singled to walk off a Red Sox win off of Mariano Rivera and the Yankees.  I remember thinking Reddick would become a pretty good player for the Red Sox.  Then he was traded to the A's for Andrew Bailey, a deal that did not work out for Boston.

27.  Nomar Garciaparra. 

28.  Jose Canseco.  I remember my dad looking at the paper one Sunday morning and asking me if Jose Canseco was a good player (he wasn't much of a baseball fan, college football is his sport).  I said he was really good a few years ago and asked why.  He told me because the Red Sox had traded for him.  My young mind was blown.

29-31.  Daisuke Matsuzaka.  More Dice-K cards.  I particularly like the Stadium Club card.  Those are not easy to find these days and I still need a lot of them.

Thanks for the trade Michael!  Your cards will be shipped very soon.  I apologize for the delay.

A JBJ Zippy-Zapping

After a winter full of trade rumors for Jackie Bradley Jr., he will be returning to center field for the Red Sox in 2020, assuming there is a 2020 season.  He will be a free agent after the season, so this could be his final one in Boston.  Again, assuming there is a season.  I would like to see him stay.  JBJ has been one of my favorite players since he arrived in Boston.  I can deal with his streakiness, just to see him play center field and his cannon for an arm. 

This card was a one-card mailday from Kenny, the Zippy-Zapper.  I always enjoy seeing packages from him in the mail.  Hope you are safe Kenny.  Thanks.

The Elephant in the Room

I have been avoiding talking about this on the blog and in real life.  I am absolutely crushed that Boston traded Mookie Betts.  I knew it was coming, but I still felt unprepared when it happened.  And with the somewhat unexciting return it was even worse.  Alex Verdugo is a fine player, but he's no Mookie. 

Oh well, I survived when Wade Boggs signed with the Yankees.  I survived when Roger Clemens signed with the Blue Jays.  I survived when Mo Vaughn signed with the Angels.  I survived when Nomar Garciaparra was traded to the Cubs.  I will survive this.  Time to pick a new favorite player.

By the way, this card was sent randomly by the Zippy-zapper himself.  Thanks Kenny.

Zippy Zapping Pt. 2

I stayed away from the Holiday boxes of Topps this year, figuring I would just trade for the cards I needed.  Luckily the major card I wanted came from a certain Luis Torrens super-collector.  This is Darwinzon Hernandez's Chrome rookie card.  I have mentioned a few times how much I like Hernandez on this blog.  Getting this card randomly was a nice surprise.

Thanks Kenny!

A Zippy Zapping #1

I am still working on catching up on cards I received some time ago.  Here we come to the first of two Zippy Zappings I received recently.  The highlights of this package were the Update cards that I needed of Nathan Eovaldi and Michael Chavis.  Eovaldi had a rough 2019 after signing a big free agent contract and a remarkable showing in the 2018 postseason.  Chavis was an early 2019 bright spot for Boston.  Sean Coyle was a prospect for the Red Sox at the beginning of the decade but never took the next step to the Majors unfortunately. 

Thanks Kenny!

Zippy Zapped Again

I have been Zippy-Zapped again.  I will have a package out to you soon.

No Zippy-Zapping would be complete without minor league cards and a Sega Card Gen.  I love the Pedroia photo.  The Buchholz is a wantlist hit, so that's great.  Of particular note though are the minor league issues.  Gilberto Jimenez is a name to remember.  He has been tearing up the league and is now Boston's #6 prospect.  Decker is also a pretty decent prospect.

Also included was this weird thing.  I have no idea why this was there, but okay.  Thanks Kenny!

2019 Factory Team Set

Mark Hoyle was extremely generous recently and sent me one of the packaged factory team sets.  I try to get these every year, but there are a few I am missing.

Here is this year's team:

Probably the biggest surprise from a player selection standpoint is Topps using both primary catchers.  Sandy Leon and Christian Vazquez are here.  Typically with just 15-20 cards, they don't use two spots for catchers.  Leon and Vazquez played in close to the same number of games though, so I guess it makes sense.  Another interesting note is the near total lack of relievers.  Matt Barnes is the relief pitcher here.  A card of Ryan Brasier would have been welcomed. 

Thanks Harry!

Zippy-Zapped from the Land of the Rising Sun

In the midst of the big flooding I received a package from the great Kenny, the Zippy-Zapper himself.  This one was full of a bunch of new stuff for me, including a few wantlist hits.  Just a terrific package.

The first three cards include a failed prospect in Lars Anderson (who has remained in the public eye with some truly funny musings on baseball for various sites), a refractor of Adrian Gonzalez, and a minor league card of an even bigger bust in Kolbrin Vitek, one of the worst first-round picks Boston has made in a long time.  The rest of the cards are the truly interesting part of the package.  You might notice the colors seem just a little bit off.  I did, and came across quite the shock after turning them over.  This is the back of the Pedro card:

Yes, all of the rest of the cards, and the first three in the next scan, are Topps cards from Japan.  Specifically listed as Kanebo cards.  I think these are my first Kanebo cards in my Red Sox collection.  That is what makes the Zippy Zappings so great is finding stuff like that in them that can only be found in Japan.

Here are the rest of the cards.  Among the highlights are minor league cards of Xander Bogaerts, Travis Shaw (who has turned into a nice player for the Brewers), Will Middlebrooks and Anthony Ranaudo.  And then there is Henry Owens who has washed out as well.

Thanks a lot for the package Kenny!

Trade With a Dodgers Fan

I have not been posting lately.  I apologize.  Things have been busy at work.  Working on a trial right now and going to be arguing in front of the state Court of Appeals in less than two weeks.  I have not been buying a lot of cards lately either and even fewer trades.  It has been a bit frustrating.  So that is why it came as such a nice surprise when Jason contacted me to set up a trade.  Jason is a Dodgers fan and is getting back into collecting after several years' absence.  As such it was fairly easy to hook him up with some Dodgers cards and he had a few of my 2019 Red Sox wantlist needs.

Here is what he sent:

Here we have a nice assortment of stuff, including a few inserts.  I love the 150 Years inserts.  This one celebrates Pedro Martinez's 2000 season.  It is nice to be able to say that I got to experience that season unfolding.  He truly was a marvel.  I like the 150 Years stamped cards too.  David Price is a player that I intend to pick up more cards of this year.  I was blown away by his postseason performance.  I hope he keeps it up.

And here is the rest of the stuff.  These are several base cards that I needed to complete my base team set.  I still have a few more out there to get, but Jason certainly helped where buying packs was simply not working out for me any more.  We have another nice World Series highlight card from new fan favorite Steve Pearce as well as base cards from Bogaerts, Moreland and Devers.

Thanks a ton for the trade, Jason!  Hope to deal with you again.

A Trade with ARPSmith

Recently Adam, from the terrific ARPSmith's Sportscard Obsession, contacted me on one of my posts complaining about the crappy breaks from 2019 Topps.  He wanted a few cards from my tradebait and offered up some random Red Sox cards from my wantlist.  I could not turn that down.  I was not sure what he would send, so the package was a nice surprise:

1.  2018 Topps Holiday J.D. Martinez.  It is kind of weird to see cards depicting Martinez in the field.  He was born to be a DH.

2.  2018 Topps Holiday Xander Bogaerts.  Bogaerts may be entering his final season in Boston.  I hope that is not true, but I guess I am preparing.

3.  2018 Topps Fire Fired Up Andrew Benintendi.  I hope to see Benny take the next step to stardom this season.  He has been damn good so far, but he could be the next Red Sox superstar.

4.  2018 Topps Holiday Craig Kimbrel.  Kimbrel is still out there trying to get a new contract.  I do not see Boston bringing him back, which would be a shame, but the team needs to find some way to re-sign its upcoming free agent stars like Betts, Sale and Bogaerts.

5.  2018 Topps Holiday Ian Kinsler.  This is probably the card I was happiest about.  Kinsler is destined to be a one-year wonder.

6.  2018 Topps Gallery Mookie Betts.  If the Red Sox can only sign one of their young stars to a long-term contract, I really want it to be Betts.  He has Franchise Player written all over him.

7.  2019 Topps 1984 Pedro Martinez.  I always liked the 1984 design.  It is one of my favorites from the 80's.

8.  2018 Topps Fire Pedro Martinez.  Martinez is working with Eduardo Rodriguez this Spring.  Hopefully that will pay big dividends for E-Rod.

9.  2017 Topps Update MVP Award Winner Roger Clemens.  Clemens won the AL MVP in 1986, still the only Red Sox pitcher to win the award.

Thanks for the trade Adam!

Red Sox Cards Come to Life

Bo Rosny of the amazing blog Baseball Cards Come to Life, contacted me recently with a message that he could help me out with some of my vintage needs.  After a couple of weeks in which I accidentally forgot about things (damn Supreme Court brief).  But anyway, it did eventually work out and he covered quite a few of my vintage needs.  And to say that some of these cards were well-loved is an understatement.  I don't know if it was Bo, or someone else that owned these cards, but someone made efforts to update the teams on some of these guys.

1.  1971 Topps Frank Howard/Tony Conigliaro/Boog Powell.  1970 was Conig's comeback season and he hit career highs in home runs (36) and RBIs (116).  Unfortunately, it went straight downhill from there.  His eye problems that began when he was hit with a pitch came back and he hit just six more home runs in his career.

2.  1973 Topps Luis Tiant.  Honestly, I had no idea I did not have this one.  Which is why I have a wantlist.  I don't have to keep track of these things.

3.  1976 Topps Luis Tiant.  Nice LCS highlight card here.  Tiant was a revelation in the 1975 postseason.  I would still love to see him in the Hall of Fame.  Hopefully next year.

4.  1977 Topps Don Zimmer/Team Card.  Zimmer was a decent strategist, but had a hard time relating to players of the 1970's, in particular Bill Lee, Ferguson Jenkins, Reggie Cleveland, Bernie Carbo, and a few others. 

5.  1968 Topps Gene Oliver.  Oliver had some decent years with the Braves and joined the Red Sox for the 1968 season.  He did not play much for Boston before being sold to the Cubs the same year.

6.  1970 Topps Sparky Lyle.  Next to the Tiant cards, this is probably my favorite card I received.  Lyle was turning into a pretty decent reliever with the Red Sox before being foolishly traded to the Yankees for Danny Cater and Mario Guerrero. 

7.  1970 Topps Syd O'Brien.  See what I mean about well-loved?  Someone was updating this card to show that O'Brien moved on to the White Sox and then Angels.

8.  1970 Topps Eddie Kasko.  Kasko had a long career with the Red Sox as a utility player, then as a manager, then as a scout, director of scouting, and then vice president of baseball operations.  All told, he was with the Red Sox from 1966-1994.  He is a member of the Red Sox Hall of Fame.

9.  1968 Topps Dalton Jones.  Not much to say about Jones.  He was a pretty non-descript ballplayer, though he had some nice moments in the 1967 season.

10.  1968 Topps Jose Santiago.  Santiago had some nice years with Boston and was an All Star in 1968.  He also homered in his first World Series at-bat in 1967.  Not bad for a pitcher.

11.  1968 Topps Russ Gibson.  Yikes, Gibson was a bad hitter.  Career slash line of .228/.267/.311.  Ouch.

12.  1968 Topps Dick Ellsworth.  Ellsworth's son Steve pitched for the Red Sox in 1988, twenty years after Dick pitched for them.  Ellsworth was a pretty good pitcher in 1968, going 16-7 with a 3.03 ERA.  It was the Year of the Pitcher, but still, Ellsworth had a damn good year.

That's it for the cards from Bo.  Thanks Bo!

All Red Sox All the Time

Ray from All Cardinals All the Time noticed my Topps Big League and Topps Fire breaks and offered up some Red Sox from my wantlist for some Cardinals cards.  More of you should be doing that.  Hint hint.

Here is my haul:

1.  2016 Topps Holiday Mookie Betts.  I forgot about this set.  I came close to completing it.

2.  2018 Topps Big League Dustin Pedroia.  I will probably stop buying Big League soon.  I am somewhat close to the team set.   I just need a few more to go.

3.  1994 Donruss Jeff McNeely.  Always nice to add a card from a couple decades ago that I still needed.

4.  2018 Topps Big League Xander Bogaerts.  Lost in the years that Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez are having is a terrific season by Bogaerts.  He will probably not win the Silver Slugger this year, but he is having a great season.

5.  2017 Donruss Marco Hernandez Rated Rookie.  This is the card I was happiest about.  As recently as a few weeks ago, I had no Hernandez cards in my collection.  Now, I have two. 

Thanks Ray!

Zippy Zapped

I'm pretty sure anyway.  There was no name on the package other than "SIY Fan", which I determined most likely stands for Staten Island Yankees Fan.  The other usual modus operandi were present, the cards were packed in a Bowman package with tons of prospects and some minor league cards.  It is the first Zippy Zapping since my return.  And here are the new cards:

1.  2018 Bowman Trending Chrome Michael Chavis.  Boston's top prospect was suspended for 80 games for PED violations.  He has been slow to get going since coming back.  Not a banner year for Red Sox prospects. 

2.  2017 Choice Tanner Houck.  Houck was the Red Sox first round draft pick in 2017.  He is starting to come around much more now that Boston has stopped messing with his delivery.  I was slightly unimpressed when he was picked, but I am coming around on him. 

3.  2017 Choice Brett Netzer.  I knew nothing about this guy.  The third rounder in 2017 is a contact hitter, a very good fielder, and has little to no power.  I do not have a lot of faith that he will make the Majors.

4.  2018 Bowman Rafael Devers.  Now here is a guy with power.  He already has 25 home runs in the Majors and he has yet to turn 22.

5.  2013 Bowman Draft Jordon Austin.  The sixth round pick in 2013 was released the next year. 

6.  2015 Bowman Draft Chrome Tate Matheny.  Mike Matheny's son was the fourth round pick in 2015 and is currently in AA, but struggling. 

Thank you Kenny.

Zippy Zapped Again

I recently received another Zippy Zapping from everyone's favorite Luis Torrens supercollector.  Actually the package was addressed from Torrens in San Diego, but I could see through that.  Torrens has not been given much game experience so far this year and it is likely San Diego will send him back to the minors next season for more seasoning, but they have to keep him up this year to avoid sending him back to the Yankees.

Anyway, on to the package:

1.  Roger Clemens.  This is from the All-Time All Stars insert set, which featured quite a few Red Sox cards.  Clemens won the 1986 All Star Game MVP, the same year he won the Cy Young Award and the AL MVP.  Unfortunately for Boston, he struggled a bit in the postseason.

2.  Xander Bogaerts.  Bogaerts has been struggling again of late.  He needs to figure out how to play well all season long.  He still has solid numbers but his power is way down from last year.

3.  Craig Kimbrel.  Kimbrel has been a beast.

4.  Chris Sale.  Sale is cruising toward his first Cy Young Award.  He has been amazing, which is good because I was apprehensive about giving up both Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech to get him.

5.  Xander Bogaerts.  

6.  David Ortiz.  With the way he has been appearing in sets this year, you would think he was still playing.  I wish he was, because Boston needs some power.

7.  Mookie Betts.  It has been a down season for Mookie.  Hopefully he will make the necessary adjustment and get back to his 2016 production.  I almost wonder if he has some nagging injury.

8.  Xander Bogaerts.  I saw this card in Zippy's clone break post.  When he approached me about a trade, I was hoping it would be included.

9.  Blake Swihart.  A couple of minor league cards made an appearance.  Swihart is trying to get back on track right now.

10.  Matt Barnes.  Barnes has been a big part of the Red Sox bullpen this year and has quietly turned in a nice season.

11.  John Valentin.  Nice wantlist hit here.  My wantlist is my primary focus at this point.

12.  Jagger Rusconi.  You can always count on Asian-only cards from these packages.  Rusconi's versatility is his strongest asset.  That will not likely help him make it to the Majors unless he can start hitting more.

13.  Tate Matheny.  Mike Matheny's son has put up solid, if unspectacular hitting numbers.

14.  Rafael Devers.  This, along with the Bogaerts purple parallel is the best card in the package.  Devers arrived in Boston ahead of schedule to solidify third base and looks like the real deal.

Thanks Kenny!

Highly Subjective and Completely Arbitrary

Recently, I came across Brian's blog Highly Subjective and Completely Arbitrary.  Brian is a Twins fan and he was showing off some boxes of cards from various teams along with a few random cards.  One of those cards caught my eye and I contacted Brian to start a trade.  Here is the package he sent:

1.  1979 Topps Jim Rice/George Foster.  Rice and Foster led their respective leagues in home runs in 1978.  Foster hit 40, Rice hit 46.  Rice was in the midst of the season that largely led to his induction into the Hall of Fame as he accumulated 406 total bases, an insanely high number.

2.  1990 Bowman Mike Rochford.  This was the last card I needed for this team set.  Rochford pitched in eight games over three seasons with the Red Sox and was 0-1 with a 9.58 ERA.  He struck out two and walked nine in 10.1 innings.

3.  2015 Leaf Heroes of Baseball Pedro Martinez.  This is the last card I needed for this set.  I love this set, just some nice-looking cards, despite the lack of an MLB license.

4.  2016 Donruss The Prospects Statline Yoan Moncada.  I am glad that Moncada was at least able to play a little bit in the Majors with the Red Sox.  It is disappointing that he was traded, though I look forward to Chris Sale pitching for Boston.

5.  2016 Topps Gypsy Queen Autographs Henry Owens.  Owens needs to show he can be a Major Leaguer this year.  I think it is his last chance in Boston, and that might not even be true with the number of left-handed starting pitchers ahead of him on the depth chart.

6.  2016 Bowman's Best Mirror Image Yoan Moncada/Jose Altuve.  Moncada's Red Sox numbers include 20 plate appearances over eight games.  He hit just .211/.250/.263 with a double and an RBI.  He struck out 12 times.

7.  2014 Topps 1989 Mini Dustin Pedroia.  Pedroia is the senior member of the team now, and as the next two posts will show, he is picking up steam in my collection.

8.  2016 Bowman's Best Top Prospects Rafael Devers.  After Benintendi graduates from prospect status, Devers will take over as the team's top prospect.  He has hit 29 home runs over three seasons in the minors so far.  He has impressive power.

9.  1996 Select Certified Jose Canseco.  Canseco is sneaking up on 100 cards in my collection.  This is #93.  Canseco was in the midst of one of his best seasons in 1996 when he went down with an injury.  He hit .289/.400/.589 with 28 home runs and 82 RBIs, despite missing the entire last month of the season.

10.  2016 Topps Bunt Nomar Garciaparra.  I am slowly adding these Bunt cards to my collection.  Somehow I completely missed out on them last year.

11.  2016 Topps Bunt Henry Owens.  Owens is getting quite large in my collection, which will be annoying if he never amounts to anything.

12.  2016 Topps Bunt Roger Clemens.  Clemens may finally make it into the Hall of Fame next year.

13.  2016 Topps Bunt Ted Williams.  A fairly typical photo of Williams here.

14.  2016 Topps Bunt Wade Boggs.  Boggs was my favorite player when I first started watching baseball.  He finally had his number retired last year by the Red Sox.

15.  2016 Topps Bunt Dustin Pedroia.  At this point in his career, Pedroia needs a few more seasons like 2016 to start to look like a lock for the Hall of Fame.  His numbers currently are .301/.366/.445 with 132 home runs, 1,683 hits, and four Gold Gloves.

16.  1953 Bowman Color Hoot Evers.  This is the card that started the trade.  This is my first 1953 Bowman card.  After several impressive seasons with the Tigers, Evers was traded to the Red Sox after one game in 1952.  It was the same deal that sent George Kell to the Red Sox and Johnny Pesky to the Tigers.  He hit .262/.318/.429 with 14 home runs and 59 RBIs.  He declined further in 1953 and was exposed to waivers and claimed by the Giants.  He never played as well as he had with the Tigers.

Thanks for the trade Brian!  I am still working on finding more cards for you.