Topps Now: May 18, 2026

 

I do not think I have made much of a secret about not liking Aroldis Chapman prior to him signing with the Red Sox.  Maybe not on this blog, but certainly in personal conversations I have had with people.  Chapman was suspended by Major League Baseball for violating the domestic abuse policies back in 2016.  As a defense attorney, I understand these things are often not black and white, so I do tend to be a little more open-minded about these kinds of things, and it is my understanding that no criminal charges were ever pursued, but it's still kind of concerning.  Plus, he was a Yankee.  

Nevertheless, over the two seasons he has been in Boston, he has impressed me with his apparent work ethic and there have not been any issues off the field.  Chapman has certainly put together a potential Hall of Fame career.  His two seasons in Boston have elevated that possibility as he has hit several career landmarks.  This card celebrates one of those landmarks.  Chapman moved into the top ten all time in saves.  He has since made it up to 400 career saves, which means he is now ninth all-time.  He has also broken the all-time career strikeouts record for a reliever. 

Topps Now: May 1, 2026

I have not done too many Topps Now cards this year yet.  For the first few months of the season, there was not much to be happy about.  

I admit I was kind of skeptical when Boston traded top pitching prospect Luis Perales to the Washington Nationals for Bennett.  But I figured the team knows more than I do.  And Bennett has been mostly great since coming up.  He made his Major League debut on May 1 against the Astros.  He pitched five innings for the win, giving up five hits and one run while walking two and striking out three.  The only run was a home run by Carlos Correa.

The Red Sox won the game 3-1 thanks to a three-run homer by Jarren Duran.  Roman Anthony had three hits as well.  Aroldis Chapman got the save.

First New Cards of a Couple Major New Red Sox (and a Bunch of Rafaelas)

I procrastinated too long on the Road to Opening Day sets.  Usually I figure they are going to be available right up until Opening Day.  That was not the case with the Red Sox set this year which sold out by the time I was going to buy it.  Presumably people were wanting to get the Roman Anthony cards which could be valuable cards if he lives up to his potential.  Unfortunately, that meant I had to try to find the singles on my own, and come to grips with the likelihood that I would not get the Anthony card.  I grabbed three of the singles from separate sellers.  All three will be in this post.

Willson Contreras.  Going into the offseason last year, it was clear Boston needed a big bat in their lineup.  I was hoping for Pete Alonso and was disappointed when Boston didn't really seem to engage with him.  I firmly believe he could have hit 50 home runs in Boston.  Instead, Boston acquired former catcher Contreras from the Cardinals in exchange for Yankee killer Hunter Dobbins and pitching prospects Yhoiker Fajardo and Blake Aita.  Contreras has actually been even better than Alonso this year.  He's had a few on-field issues, but has a 161 OPS+ and 23 home runs to date.  He is the thumper the team needed.

Here's a couple new Ceddanne Rafaela cards, including a relic card.  I don't get as many relics as I used to, but I still grab them depending on the player.  And Rafaela is a player I definitely go out and get.

Sonny Gray.  Another need for the team going into the offseason was some starting pitching depth and the team made another trade with the Cardinals for Gray, who has been a valuable starter for years with the A's, Reds, Yankees, Twins and Cardinals.  Gray cost Richard Fitts and Brandon Clarke.  He has also been terrific, leading the team in wins and ERA and being dependable every time out.

Here are several more Rafaela cards, including in the middle of the scan, the third Road to Opening Day card I grabbed.  Obviously I had to grab the Rafaela card.

Topps Now Maildays

I am showing off three Topps Now cards I received last week.

Officially this is listed as a team card, but I am going to call it just a Ceddanne Rafaela card.  After all, Rafaela delivered the winning hit that propelled the Red Sox into the postseason, a walkoff triple.  He seems to have a flair for the dramatic.  Unfortunately, it didn't carry over into the postseason.  He has things to work on this offseason, his numbers were better this year, but he seems to have stretches where he completely loses his approach.  He was named a finalist for the Gold Glove in center field and I am looking forward to finding out if he wins, which he should.

Payton Tolle was the team's second-round pick last year.  He made his Major League debut on August 29 against Paul Skenes and the Pirates and struck out eight batters.  His fastball is electric, but he needs to work on his secondary pitches or he will not be a starting pitcher.  

As great as Tolle's debut was, Connelly Early's was better.  Early carved up the A's, striking out 11 and tying a club record for a debut.  The Red Sox won 6-0.  Early was good enough that he pitched the decisive game in the Wild Card series against the Yankees.  Unfortunately, the defense let him down in the fourth inning because he had been pitching well.  Early should be in the rotation next season.

Topps Now: August 1, 2025

The biggest story for the Red Sox this season has been the emergence of Roman Anthony.  He looks like the real deal.  He was the top prospect in the game coming into the season.  The last time the Red Sox had the top prospect in the game was probably Yoan Moncada, and that really didn't work out.  Anthony was the second round pick of the Red Sox in 2022 out of high school and is already a regular in the Majors.

On August 1 in a game against the Astros at Fenway, Anthony had his first walkoff hit.  The score was tied 1-1 going into the bottom of the tenth after a great start by Cooper Criswell (who needs a card).  Boston's only run scored off of a sac fly in the seventh.  In the tenth inning, Wilyer Abreu started at second base as the ghost runner, then moved to third on a ground ball by Ceddanne Rafaela on which Houston failed to record an out.  Anthony then came up and smoked a single to deep center field that would have been a double at least had it not scored the winning run.

Anthony is currently on the IL and the offense has sputtered.  Hopefully he will be back soon.  I am looking forward to a full year out of him.

Topps Now: July 5, 2025

July 5, 2025

With a win over the Washington Nationals in our nation's capital over the 4th of July weekend, the Red Sox recorded their 10,000th win in their history.  They won 10-3 with Walker Buehler getting the win.  Ceddanne Rafaela homered and drove in three and Romy Gonzalez had a three-hit game.  I grabbed this card though for the two players shown.  We have Carlos Narvaez in catchers' gear, and this is just my second card of him.  The other guy is Jorge Alcala, and this is likely the only card he will have in a Red Sox uniform.  He was acquired in a trade from the Twins and had been doing well for a little while, then completely lost it and was DFA'd.  The Cardinals claimed him, so his Red Sox tenure lasted just under two months and 19 games.

Closing things out, we have some more Rafaela cards, including a relic.  The bottom two came together in a lot on Ebay.

Topps Now: July 11, 2025

Just prior to me making the post about the Rafael Devers trade, Ceddanne Rafaela endeared himself to me in a big way.

July 11, 2025

In a Friday night game against the Rays, Rafaela walked it off with a home run crushed over the Green Monster.  The Red Sox were down 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning with Pete Fairbanks, who had not given up a homer all year, on the mound.  There was one out with Roman Anthony on base after a walk and Rafaela came up and launched the ball.  This card marks my first Rafaela card in the new green City Connect uniforms.  Boston has now had five walk-off wins in these uniforms.

Here's a few more Rafaelas just to keep things going.  This gets me above 100 cards, making him just the second current Red Sox player to be above 100 cards (Connor Wong is obviously the other one).  I grabbed the Sepia Stadium Club parallel after a guy I was trading with removed it from a deal.  That trade is coming.  I was a little confused as to why he decided to remove that card.  I made it clear I wanted all of the Rafaelas in it.  I will talk about that more in a few days.

Closing things out for today is a Connor Wong card.  I decided I needed to keep grabbing stuff as long as he was still in Boston.  And he has started playing a bit better.  Maybe he will stay around after all.

Ceddane, Say Hello

I keep saying I am not going to super-collect him, and yet it has been very clear in my collection in the last few weeks (which will be shown in posts over the next couple of weeks) that Ceddanne Rafaela is the current focal point.  This post will show off a pile of cards of him, acquired through a number of means.

Up first, is a COMC order that I used to fill in some holes.

Most of the cards that I bought in this order were less than a dollar and just an attempt to add as many cards as possible.  The center card, the 2022 Bowman Chrome Prospects Black & White Raywave Refractor was the most expensive.  I like the insert cards as well (Finest Arrivals, Topps Heritage Rookie Performers, Topps 1989 and Topps City to City).

This is the rest from the COMC order.  The top right card was one of the Throwback Thursday online-only releases.  The middle right was from the Chris Berman-curated set.  

September 12, 2023

This was the last Topps Now card issued previously that I needed to get.  This was from Rafaela's first career home run at Fenway Park.  It was also his first career home run in the Majors anyway.  Appropriately, it came against the Yankees.  The Red Sox have had a number of players in recent years hit their first career home runs against the Yankees, including Xander Bogaerts and Jeter Downs.  It was the only run in a 4-1 loss.

Up next is a TCDB trade:

1.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  My first relic card of Rafaela came from this trade.

2.  Isaiah Campbell.  There were a couple of other firsts in the deal too.  This is my first Red Sox card of Campbell, who I expected to be a bigger deal in the bullpen.  He has good stuff, just not good results.

3.  Quinn Priester.  This is my first Priester card too.  Priester was acquired in a deadline deal in 2024 for former first-rounder Nick Yorke.  He pitched one game last year for Boston, throwing five innings of one-run ball and winning the game, striking out two and walking one.  Earlier this year, he was traded to Milwaukee for two minor leaguers and a compensation round draft pick.  He has since been great for the Brewers.  Boston may regret this trade, depending on how their prospects turn out.

4.  Naoyuki Uwasawa.  My second Uwasawa card, giving him as many cards in my collection as he had games pitched in Boston.

5.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Yes, this trade was centered around two Rafaela cards.

These cards came together as a lot and again, filled in some holes in the Rafaela collection.  The early part of a collection is fun, because there are still so many cards out there that are easy to find and add to the collection.

I have not gotten a Living Set card in a long time.  I kind of forgot that was a thing.  This card was released last year (I also need to go back and snag the Wilyer Abreu).  There have not been many Red Sox this season yet, just Garrett Crochet I think.

Closing things out is a group of cards I bought individually off Ebay.  I targeted that Youthquake card immediately.  I also really wanted the relic with the yellow City Connect.  He had his single greatest game in a yellow City Connect uniform.  

So, that's it for now.  The Rafaela collection is on a roll.

Topps Now: June 9, 2025

Another Topps Now post:

June 9, 2025

I should probably be picking up more Roman Anthony cards as well.  It seems likely that within the next year or so, he will be the biggest star on the team.  He has been that impressive.  Again, the power has not yet revealed itself, but he has an extremely impressive approach at the plate and is, at the very least, solid in every other aspect of the game.  June 9 was his debut and though he did not have a hit, he did drive in his first run of his career.  Boston ended up losing this game 10-8 in eleven innings.  Anthony also walked in the game.

Topps Now: June 11 and June 13

It's time for another Topps Now post.  

June 11, 2025

On a personal note: June 11 is my anniversary.  As of this year, my wife and I have been married 14 years.  On June 11, 2025, uber-rookie Marcelo Mayer celebrated my anniversary by having his first career multi-home run game.  Playing third base in place of the injured Alex Bregman, Mayer connected for a solo bomb off former Red Sox pitcher Zack Littell in the second inning and then victimized him again for a solo shot in the fourth.  They were the only two hits for Mayer that day, but helped power Boston to a 4-3 victory.  Jarren Duran and Abraham Toro also homered helping Walker Buehler to a victory.

June 13, 2025

There were lots of reasons to snag this one.  First of all, it is my first card of Carlos Narvaez, who seems to have wrestled the starting catcher job from Connor Wong, primarily due to his elite defense, but he has been hitting well as well.  Secondly, it is my first card featuring the new City Connect uniforms.  They still wear the yellows, but this is the new uniform, and I like them.  Third off, it is celebrating Narvaez walking off the Yankees with a wall ball in extra innings.  Garrett Crochet had a shutout going into the ninth, but the Red Sox had only scored one run on a second-inning single by Ceddanne Rafaela.  Crochet gave up a solo homer to Aaron Judge, which had the media going crazy (seriously I am sick of the media coverage of Judge).  But then in the tenth, Narvaez scraped a ball off the wall that scored David Hamilton.  

Topps Now: Ceddanne Rafaela Edition

Today, I am going to be showing off some Topps Now cards that I picked up of new favorite player Ceddanne Rafaela.  I will not be doing a full-on player collection of Rafaela, but I felt it was necessary to start adding some cards.  I only had about 16 when I decided he was now my favorite.  By the way, I am officially caught up to the point that all cards from this point forward were added to my collection after my post ranting about the Rafael Devers trade on July 12.  I have a pile of cards right now to still show off, but they are all new within the last month.

On June 4, 2025, Rafaela walked-off the game with a home run.  One of the things I like about Rafaela is his ability to come through in the clutch.  What made this particularly interesting was that it was one of the shortest walk-off home runs in history as Rafaela wrapped it just inside the Pesky Pole in right field, also impressive since Rafaela is a right-handed hitter.  This shot gave Boston an 11-9 win over the Angels in the bottom of the ninth inning.

For this card, I reached back to 2023.  I am not sure why I did not grab cards of Rafaela at the time.  I suspect I was frustrated with the team and they were obviously not making the postseason.  On August 28, 2023 Rafaela made his Major League debut, coming into the game late.  He singled in his only at-bat of a 13-5 loss to the Astros.  I suppose that might have been another reason I missed it, I just was not expecting it.

On May 14, 2025, one of the more bizarre plays I have ever seen was made in the outfield.  The Red Sox lost to the Tigers 6-5, but it could have been worse.  In the seventh inning, Kerry Carpenter hit a ball that would have been out, if not for the valiant effort of Wilyer Abreu.  Abreu was not able to hold on to it though, just deflect it back into the field of play, where Rafaela managed to grab it out of the air, recording the out.  What a weird play.

Topps Now and Wong Cards

This post is a way to get a bunch of stuff out of the way.  Most of the cards are either Topps Now cards or Connor Wong cards.  I am getting closer to catching up.

It is kind of odd that through nine full seasons with the Astros, Alex Bregman did not have a five-hit game, but just a few games into his time with the Red Sox, he did it for the first time.  It was a game against the Rays that the Red Sox won 7-4.  Among his five hits were a double and two home runs.  He scored two runs and drove in four.  

1.  2025 Topps Heritage Chrome Pink Sparkle Refractor.

2.  2025 Topps Heritage Dark Yellow Border.

On April 26, Jarren Duran stole home.  It is apparently the third steal of home in his career.  I am not sure of that personally, but have no reason to doubt it.  It was a straight steal of home off Cleveland pitcher Doug Nikhazy.  The next day, Romy Gonzalez stole home in a double steal.  Boston won this game 7-3.

3.  2025 Topps Heritage Color of the Year.  Serial-numbered to 76.

4.  2025 Topps Heritage Chrome Burgundy Sparkle Refractor.

5.  2022 Panini Immaculate Jumbo Hats Brand Logo.  Here we have the New Era logo on a card.  This is serial-numbered to just two.  This is, to date, the last really big Connor Wong buy I have made.  There are a few more Wongs coming, but this was kind of the last one of the player collection focus.  I will still continue to get cards of him, but I am starting to feel like he might not be in Boston much longer.

I am closing things out with this Alex Verdugo card that was thrown in as a freebie with the above Wong.  There were also cards of Jeter Downs and Mookie Betts, but I had both of those.  This seller apparently wanted to remind me of the Betts trade.

2025 Topps Now Road to Opening Day

I picked up this set again.  I had to.  Even though I have lamented the shrinking size of the sets over the years.  This year's set is ten cards with a parallel.  There were autograph options, but those sets were prohibitively expensive for me at a time when I had some massive car repairs.  So, who is in the set this year?

1.  Rafael Devers.  Of course he is in the set.  He came into the season as the biggest star on the team.

2.  Walker Buehler.  Buehler was expected to be the #2 man in the rotation, but he has struggled greatly this season.  Lately he has been better, but it has still been a rough year.

3.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Definitely a good choice for the set.  Rafaela looked like a potential future star after his rookie season, though with some flaws.  Again, this is my favorite player going forward.

4.  Trevor Story.  He is certainly a big name, but he only played in 26 games with the Red Sox in 2024.  He has been much better this season though.

5.  Masataka Yoshida.  Yoshida is another popular name, though he has not really lived up to his potential thus far.

6.  Garrett Crochet.  The team's biggest acquisition better be in the set.

7.  Jarren Duran.  Devers was the team's biggest star, but Duran had the best season in 2024.  He led the league in doubles (48) and triples (14), while hitting .285/.342/.492 with 21 home runs, 75 RBIs and 34 stolen bases.  It was an incredibly dynamic season.

8.  Triston Casas.  Like Story, Casas is a big name, but only played in 63 games in the season.

9.  Alex Bregman.  Bregman was the biggest free agent signing, so he better be in the set too.

10.  Aroldis Chapman.  I talked before about not being a big Bregman fan, so his signing was not something I was really clamoring for, well, Chapman is an even more extreme example of that.  He has had some issues off the field that I just was not a big fan, but he has been amazing this season.

11.  Alex Bregman.  My parallel was the green foil.  Unfortunately, this is the most common parallel, numbered to 99.

So, who is missing from the set egregiously?  

1.  Wilyer Abreu.  I am surprised by this because he was fourth in the Rookie of the Year vote in 2024 and won the Gold Glove.

2.  Tanner Houck.  He was an All Star in 2024.

3.  Brayan Bello.  He had an uneven season, but led the team in wins.

4.  Kristian Campbell.  I do think it was a surprise that he made the Opening Day roster, but Topps doesn't usually miss opportunities to do cards of hot prospects.

5.  Connor Wong.  He had a good year in 2024, hitting .280/.333/.425 with 13 home runs and 52 RBIs as a catcher.

6.  David Hamilton.  He stole 33 bases and looked like a really good player for awhile.

The First Few Topps Now Cards of 2025

I am getting closer to catching up.  This post will show off the first four Topps Now cards I have gotten this year.  Most of them are relatively new to my collection.

On March 29, Kristian Campbell hit his first Major League home run against the Rangers.  Campbell was the first of the new Big Three to make the Majors, and he started off hot, but cooled off considerably.  He was sent back to the minors, but looks like he could be recalled soon.

March 27 saw Campbell get his first Major League hit, in his Major League debut on Opening Day.  He singled and walked in four plate appearances.

On April 6, Alex Bregman hit his first home run as a member of the Red Sox.  Bregman spent his entire career with the Astros.  I was honestly not the biggest fan of Bregman, but I definitely saw the appeal of acquiring him.  Bregman is an elite defensive third-baseman and a great hitter.  He is on a potential Hall of Fame track.  I really hope at this point that Boston extends his contract and keeps him around.

Garrett Crochet was the biggest offseason acquisition for the Red Sox.  They gave up a lot of prospects to get him, but he has been everything the team hoped he would be.  On April 2, he won his first game with the Red Sox, in his second start, by throwing eight scoreless innings against the Orioles.  At the time, it was his career high.

Closing things out will be a Wong card, because there is just one before a much more obvious next post.

2025 Topps Heritage Chrome Light Blue Sparkle Border.  Parallels are getting out of hand.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.