Why I Don't Focus on Red Sox Prospects

I am a team collector, as if you could not figure that out.  I like to get as many Red Sox cards as I can.  I like cards of just about anyone as long as there is a Red Sox logo.  However, these days I do not focus as much on prospect cards as I used to.  In the early 2000's this was a major part of my collecting.  I would get as many cards of the big Red Sox prospects as I could.  Not to turn around and sell, I was never a prospector. No, just to have in my collection.

This stopped though after awhile.  Boston had the habit of trading their prospects before they even really played for Boston.  I would be left with a bunch of cards of players who hardly played for the Red Sox and it was frustrating.

These are three of those players, in order of least to most frustrating.

DAVID ECKSTEIN

Yes, David Eckstein was once in the Red Sox system.  He never played a game for Boston but he was very successful as a minor leaguer.  Eckstein was originally drafted by Boston.  He was supposed to be the second baseman of the future and showed promise with his contact-hitting ability and stealing 30+ bases.  So what happened?  Boston's third base problems in 2000 happened.  Eckstein was on the 40 man roster and Boston had to keep adding third basemen to have someone to play that position in the Majors.  Eventually they had to put Eckstein on waivers to get him off the 40 man roster to make room for new players.  Well he did not last long on waivers getting claimed by the Angels.

I have four Eckstein cards including that autograph card.

KELLY SHOPPACH

I was excited about Shoppach from the time he was drafted.  I saw him quite a bit as a catcher for Baylor because they were in the same conference as the Nebraska Cornhuskers.  Shoppach was an impressive collegiate catcher and looked like he had the same skill set as Jason Varitek.  So when he started getting cards in 2003 I picked up quite a few.  Shoppach played well in the minor leagues for the Red Sox.  Then in 2005 the trade rumors started.  Varitek had just been signed to a four year deal so if Shoppach was going to be a starter it would have to be with another team.  He was almost traded to the Rockies.  He made it to the Majors in 2005 and played just nine games.  He had 15 at-bats but no hits.  Then he was traded to the Indians in the Coco Crisp trade.  This one is alleviated somewhat by the fact that Shoppach played a half season with Boston in 2012.

I have 15 cards of Shoppach including the above autograph and a few more autos.

HANLEY RAMIREZ

This one hurt bad.  Ramirez was the Red Sox top prospect early on.  His cards were big in 2003 and I got a lot of them.  He looked like the real deal, a shortstop with power and speed.  He looked like a star.  He was going to finally take over as the best Red Sox shortstop since Nomar Garciaparra.  He made it into two games at the end of the 2005 season and struck out in his only two at-bats.  Then he was traded to the Marlins.  The Red Sox got Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell so it was certainly a worthwhile trade as those players played big roles in getting the 2007 World Championship but Ramirez turned into a star right away.  He has slipped in recent years but is still a good player.

I have 30 cards of Hanley Ramirez including the above autograph, almost every mini version from Topps 205, a printing plate, a bat card, and multiple autographs.  I spent a lot on Hanley Ramirez expecting him to be a big Red Sox star.  This is the number one reason I do not spend a lot on prospects anymore and why I do not have many cards of Xander Bogaerts yet.  

Underrated Player of the Year: 2009

In this series, I look at one player per year from 1991-the present who came out of nowhere or had a great year that no one really noticed or expected.

Boston usually has one really good season from a reliever that seems to come out of nowhere.  That is something of the case with Ramon Ramirez in 2009.  Though he did have a quality season in the Royals pen in 2008, it was somewhat surprising to see him do as well as he did in 2009.  Relievers are fungible and you can never really tell from one year to the next what you are going to get.

Ramirez was acquired in a trade with the Royals in which Boston gave up Coco Crisp.  In 2009, Ramirez was one of the most consistent members of Boston's bullpen, compiling a record of 7-4 with a sparkling 2.84 ERA in 69.2 innings.  His walks and strikeouts were not really anything to write home about, but he came in an got the job done.  Ramirez actually lead the team in pitching appearances that year.  

Of course, he did not pitch nearly as well in 2010 and was eventually dealt to the Giants, where he re-gained his touch for the eventual World Champions.

Some of My Cards

I don't have a scanner so I can't really get around to showing off some of my stuff.  But at one point that was different.  So I dug up my old photobucket account and I am going to show some stuff off once in awhile.

So here is the first scan:

From left to right, top to bottom:

1.  2004 Timeless Treasures Home Away Gamers Dual Jersey Ted Williams.  A dual jersey of Ted Williams.  This thing was not terribly cheap but who could pass up a dual jersey card of the greatest Red Sox ever?

2.  2004 Sweet Spot Sweet Threads Prime Manny Ramirez.  What a great-looking patch from Manny.  This is from the 100th Red Sox anniversary patch the team wore in 2001, I think.  I have a Trot Nixon jersey with this patch on the shoulder that was a gift from a former girlfriend.

3.  2004 Absolute Memorabilia Tools of the Trade Material Combo Manny Ramirez.  Nice Manny cards are reasonably inexpensive and I think I got this for under $20.00.  It has two jersey pieces, a bat piece, glove piece, and a shoe piece.  

4.  2003 Bowman Chrome Xfractor Autograph Kevin Youkilis.  Sometimes you have to get in before the player becomes a star.  I got it during his rookie season, it would have been a lot more later on.

5.  2003 Topps Tribute World Series Relics Carlton Fisk.  A great picture from his walkoff home run in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series complete with a bat piece and a piece of the Green Monster.

6.  2002 SP Legendary Cuts Autographs Billy Goodman.  I wanted a cut auto from Legendary Cuts for a long time but they were in very high demand.  So I had to narrow my focus to some lesser known players.  I ended up with this one, still my only one.  Goodman won the batting title in 1950 but never really had a permanent position.

7.  2003 Topps Pristine Yellow Printing Plate Hanley Ramirez.  I always liked printing plates for some weird reason and this was one of my first ones.  I also jumped on this before Hanley became a big star.  I have a lot of decent cards of Hanley which would have been better if he had more than two at-bats with Boston.  I was always disappointed that Boston moved him.

Red Sox Claim Max Ramirez

Link.

In the least surprising news of the offseason, Boston claimed Max Ramirez off waivers. Having traded for him last winter, sending Mike Lowell to Texas in return, a deal that was later rescinded based on Lowell's hip, I am not shocked at all that he was claimed when Texas put him on waivers earlier this week. Last year, the Rangers had three catching prospects: Taylor Teagarden, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Max Ramirez. Boston coveted all three of them, and now have two of them. We will have to wait and see whether Saltalamacchia and Ramirez can reach their potential.

Boxscore: August 8, 2006: Royals 6 vs. Red Sox 4

This is, to this date, the last Red Sox game I have attended. My friend from work and I went down to Kansas City to see the Red Sox take on the Royals. This was during a particularly cold streak for Boston and they could not win a single game against the Royals that series. Injuries had decimated the team and the pitching was particularly hurt.

Jon Lester started the game, but he was a rookie and was very wild. He pitched five innings, giving up four runs, three walks, and five strikeouts. Of course, the bullpen was pretty bad and Craig Hansen and Rudy Seanez each gave up a run. Julian Tavarez also pitched in the game.

The big bright spot for the game was Wily Mo Pena who hit a ball so hard that the outfielders did not even move. The ball landed on top of the concession stand and was one of the furthest hit home runs in Kaufman Stadium history. David Ortiz also hit a home run in the game, his 41st. Manny Ramirez, Alex Gonzalez, and recent pickup Javy Lopez each had two hits in the game. Mike Lowell and Kevin Youkilis also each had a hit. Ramirez, Lopez, Youkilis, and Gonzalez each had a double. Coco Crisp stole a base, and Mark Loretta and Alex Cora each had two hitless at-bats.

The Royals simply played better than the Red Sox that game.

Boxscore: May 26, 2006 Red Sox 8 vs. Devil Rays 4

This is the only game so far that I have attended at Fenway Park.

My parents took me to Boston as a gift for graduating from law school. We spent a long weekend there doing a bunch of tourist stuff. The main reason for going though was to see this game. We were lucky to see a game at all as it was raining pretty hard immediately before the game.

David Wells started the game and pitched pretty well for 4.1 innings until being taken out after a line drive caught him in the knee. He gave up five hits and one earned run on a home run to Carl Crawford. Julian Tavarez came in to pitch 2.1 innings to pick up the win. He gave up two more runs. Keith Foulke pitched .1 innings and gave up another run. Rudy Seanez then came in to pitch 1.2 innings and handed it off to Jonathan Papelbon, the rookie closer who saved the game, getting the last out. The Red Sox bullpen got the job done, but it was pretty ugly. That was not a good year for the bullpen other than Papelbon.

The offensive star was Mike Lowell who had three hits, including a home run and a double. He drove in two runs. David Ortiz also added a double and single, driving in four. The other two runs were driven in by Mark Loretta and Trot Nixon. Kevin Youkilis, Jason Varitek, and Wily Mo Pena each had a single and a run. Alex Gonzalez had three hits and a run. Manny Ramirez also had a single and Willie Harris appeared as a defensive replacement for Pena.

All in all, this was a great game and is still the only time I have been to Fenway Park.

Boxscore: May 20, 2001 Red Sox 10 Royals 3

This one ranks as my personal favorite Red Sox game I attended. A couple of friends and I decided after our sophomore years of college were over to do a road trip down to Kansas City to see the Royals take on the Red Sox on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. My friends were huge Royals fan so there was some good-natured banter going on during the drive down there.

Well, the Red Sox absolutely beat the Royals into submission that day. The final score was 10-3, and the Red Sox hit five home runs.

Jason Varitek was the star of the day, hitting three home runs himself and driving in seven of the Red Sox runs. He also had a run-scoring single to go 4-4 with three runs scored. He came into the game with only two home runs on the year. Varitek looked to be a breakout star that year, but he broke his elbow making a sliding catch before the All Star game and was out the rest of the year. This though, was one of his best games.

The game also featured home runs from Carl Everett and Manny Ramirez, in addition to doubles by Ramirez, Dante Bichette, and Brian Daubach. Trot Nixon drove in the other Red Sox run. Shea Hillenbrand also had two hits in the game and scored three times. Jose Offerman also had a hit and Mike Lansing, Darren Lewis, and Scott Hatteberg all appeared in the game. Offerman had a terrible day on defense committing two errors, and Bichette also had one in the outfield.

Frank Castillo started the game and had a great performance, pitching six innings and giving up one unearned run. He struck out three. Rich Garces and former Royal Hipolito Pichardo also appeared in the game, each surrendering a run.

Game-Used/Autograph Pack Pulls

I might as well go ahead and get this out of the way now. Over the years, I have only gotten seven game-used or autograph Red Sox cards in packs. Probably not the least of any team, certainly not the most. I do not have any real way of keeping track since I have sold or traded most of my other ones. I do know that only one of my Red Sox cards holds a candle to some of the other stuff I have pulled. I have gotten Barry Bonds and two Derek Jeter autograph cards. So here's a picture. If you click it, you can see a larger picture:1. TED WILLIAMS: 2002 FLEER CLASSIC CUTS (BAT) This was the very first game-used Red Sox card I pulled, and it's a great one. I bought a hobby box of 2002 Fleer at the local hobby shop, thinking it was inexpensive and I would probably get something decent out of it. I had no idea it would be a Ted Williams game-used bat card. I had not gotten a Williams game-used before because they were more expensive than I was willing to pay. This is my all-time favorite pull. 2. JIM RICE: 2003 FLAIR GREATS HOME TEAM CUTS (BAT) This one I kind of saw coming. I picked up one of the special Red Sox boxes of 2003 Flair Greats with the additional pack of all Red Sox. I knew I would be getting something. Jim Rice is a recent Hall of Famer, although he was not at the time I got this. The Home Team box was a great idea that I wish they would have done more with. 3. MANNY RAMIREZ: 2003 FLEER AUTHENTIX HOME TOWN HEROES (JERSEY) See above. Fleer Authentix did the same thing. This time, the players were currently active and I got Manny Ramirez. 4. GEORGE SCOTT: 2004 TOPPS ALL TIME FAN FAVORITES AUTOGRAPH (AUTOGRAPH) Fan Favorites is one of my favorite sets. After compiling the 2003 team set through retail blasters, I decided with the smaller team set in 2004 to just buy one hobby box. I also wanted a better shot at autographs. There was one autograph card each year that I really wanted for the Red Sox. In 2004 my pick was George Scott, I was shocked when I actually pulled it in a pack. 5. CARL YASTRZEMSKI: 2005 ARTIFACTS AL ARTIFACTS (JERSEY) I bought a hobby box of 2005 Artifacts. This was one of the big pulls, though not the biggest. With this Yaz jersey, I completed the trifecta of the major Red Sox left-fielders. 6. DAVID ORTIZ: 2005 FLEER CLASSIC CLIPPINGS GAME WORN JERSEY COLLECTION (JERSEY) This one was taken from a retail blaster. Each blaster had one in it, I was lucky to get a Red Sox in mine. 7. KRIS JOHNSON: 2006 BOWMAN STERLING (AUTOGRAPH) One day I decided to spring for a pack of 2006 Bowman Sterling. Incredibly expensive packs had something like two autos and a game-used. One of my autos was this 2006 draft pick. Johnson is doing reasonably well in the minors and may make it to Boston in late 2011.