2017 Topps Fire Hobby Box Break

I am going to start doing something new.  I have always believed that Yankees cards are seeded in packs at a higher rate than any other team.  I honestly do not know if that is merely because I dislike pulling Yankees cards so much that I notice when I get more of them than Red Sox cards.  It just seems like I pull a lot more of them than the Red Sox.  So I wanted to start counting them when I open packs.  But I am not going to stop there, I am going to count every team from now on to get an idea of what I have.  I will also scan cards.  I will be open to trading any card that is not a Red Sox card of course, so this will make it easier to hold trades.  You will know what I have.

Topps Fire is the most 1990's set to not come out of the 1990's ever.  Featuring bright colors and crazy insert sets, it calls to mind sets like Circa and Metal Universe.  This box is 20 packs with six cards per pack (unless there is a relic in it).  There will be 118 to 120 cards total.  There should be two hits.  I bought it because I did not yet have a single Red Sox card from the set, so any Red Sox should be new.

These are the Red Sox from my wantlist that I am hoping to make a dent in:

2017 Topps Fire: Andrew Benintendi, Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr., Xander Bogaerts, Johnny Damon, Nomar Garciaparra, Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz, Henry Owens, Dustin Pedroia, Drew Pomeranz, David Price, Chris Sale, Ted Williams, Steven Wright, Carl Yastrzemski

2017 Topps Fire Flamethrowers: Craig Kimbrel, Chris Sale

2017 Topps Fire Golden Grabs: Andrew Benintendi, Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts

2017 Topps Fire Monikers: Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens, Bill Lee, David Ortiz, Carl Yastrzemski

Of particular note is the Monikers card of Bill Lee.  If I had to pick one card I wanted above any other card from this set, that would be it.

So without further ado, let's break into the packs:

PACK 1:

Steve Carlton (Phillies: 1)
Roberto Clemente (Pirates: 1)
Roberto Osuna Red Flame (Blue Jays: 1)
Rougned Odor (Rangers: 1)
Jose Abreu (White Sox: 1)
Steven Wright (Red Sox: 1)

These cards are definitely colorful.  This was not a truly exciting pack, but I am happy about the Steven Wright card.  He is one of my favorite players as long as he is healthy, notwithstanding his earlier issues this year.

PACK 2:

Aaron Judge (Yankees: 1)
Lou Brock (Cardinals: 1)
Gary Carter Monikers (Expos/Nationals: 1)
Kyle Seager (Mariners: 1)
Aroldis Chapman (Yankees: 2)
Carlos Gonzalez (Rockies: 1)

And this is what I am talking about.  Two Yankees out of a six-card pack, including an Aaron Judge RC.  We also get the first Monikers card.  I am holding out hope for the Lee card at some point.

PACK 3:

Andrew Miller (Indians: 1)
Andrew McCutchen (Pirates: 2)
Billy Hamilton Golden Grabs (Reds: 1)
Michael Fulmer (Tigers: 1)
Didi Gregorius (Yankees: 3)
Evan Longoria (Rays: 1)

I like the Golden Grabs insert.  I wish I could see what was going on a little bit better though.

PACK 4:

Babe Ruth (Yankees: 4)
Ivan Rodriguez (Rangers: 2)
Jharel Cotton Green (Athletics: 1)
Miguel Cabrera (Tigers: 2)
Sean Newcomb (Braves: 1)
Noah Syndergaard (Mets: 1)

PACK 5:

Phil Niekro (Braves: 2)
Ernie Banks (Cubs: 1)
Chris Sale Flamethrowers (Red Sox: 2)
Mookie Betts (Red Sox: 3)
Maikel Franco (Phillies: 2)
Nolan Arenado (Rockies: 2)

Here we go: two Red Sox cards including a nice Chris Sale insert.  Mookie Betts makes an obligatory appearance.

PACK 6:

Yulieski Gurriel (Astros: 1)
Alex Bregman (Astros: 2)
Fergie Jenkins (Cubs: 2)
Addison Russell Orange (Cubs: 3)
Ichiro (Marlins: 1)
Kyle Hendricks (Cubs: 4)

PACK 7:

JaCoby Jones (Tigers: 3)
David Ortiz (Red Sox: 4)
Tony Perez (Reds: 2)
Kris Bryant Fired Up (Cubs: 5)
Seung-Hwan Oh (Cardinals: 2)
Stephen Strasburg (Expos/Nationals: 2)

PACK 8:

George Brett (Royals: 1)
Aledmys Diaz (Cardinals: 3)
Jonathan Villar Purple (Brewers: 1)
Yoenis Cespedes (Mets: 2)
David Price (Red Sox: 5)
Gregory Polanco (Pirates: 3)

PACK 9:

Omar Vizquel (Indians: 2)
Trey Mancini (Orioles: 1)
Carlos Correa Red Flame (Astros: 3)
Roberto Osuna (Blue Jays: 2)
Carlos Correa (Astros: 4)
Jonathan Villar (Brewers: 2)

PACK 10:

David Dahl (Rockies: 2)
Jackie Robinson (Dodgers: 1)
Jeff Hoffman (Rockies: 3)
Jharel Cotton Orange (Athletics: 2)
Luis Severino (Yankees: 5)
Daniel Murphy (Expos/Nationals: 3)

PACK 11:

Manny Margot (Padres: 1)
Dennis Eckersley (Athletics: 3)
Nelson Cruz Monikers (Mariners: 2)
Lorenzo Cain (Royals: 2)
Gary Sanchez (Yankees: 6)
Kenta Maeda (Dodgers: 2)

Here is another Monikers card.  I had no idea Nelson Cruz had a nickname.

PACK 12:

Ryne Sandberg (Cubs: 6)
Willie Stargell (Pirates: 4)
Randy Johnson (Mariners: 3)
Andrew Benintendi Golden Grabs (Red Sox: 6)
Henry Owens (Red Sox: 7)
Julio Urias (Dodgers: 3)

Two Red Sox in a pack again, including a Golden Grabs.  I initially assumed this was from the Rays game in Tampa Bay in which Benintendi almost tumbled over the wall robbing a home run, but that looks like Fenway in the background, maybe.

PACK 13:

Willie McCovey (Giants: 1)
Harmon Killebrew (Twins: 1)
Rickey Henderson (Athletics: 4)
Andrew Miller Red Flame (Indians: 3)
Manny Machado/Chris Davis Dual Autographs (Orioles: 2)
Javier Baez (Cubs: 7)

The Machado/Davis is the first hit and is unlikely to be beaten as the best card in the break.  This is serial-numbered to 20.  I'm going to hold it out for something really big for the Red Sox.  Two Andrew Miller cards now, which is two more cards than he has showing him with the Red Sox.  I'm pretty bitter about that.

PACK 14:

Robert Gsellman (Mets: 3)
Tyler Austin (Yankees: 7)
Edgar Renteria (Cardinals: 4)
Max Scherzer Orange (Expos/Nationals: 4)
Wade Davis (Cubs: 8)
Xander Bogaerts (Red Sox: 8)

Shockingly, Xander Bogaerts makes an appearance.  I think I pull fewer Bogaerts cards than any other Red Sox card.

PACK 15:

Alex Reyes (Cardinals: 5)
Hank Aaron (Brewers: 3)
Bo Jackson (Royals: 3)
Carl Yastrzemski Monikers (Red Sox: 9)
Edwin Encarnacion (Indians: 4)
Giancarlo Stanton (Marlins: 2)

Red Sox Monikers card, but not Lee.  Now I am thinking I will not pull it.  What are the odds I get two Red Sox Monikers cards in the same break?

PACK 16:

Mark McGwire (Athletics: 5)
Jim Edmonds (Cardinals: 6)
Paul Konerko (White Sox: 2)
Bill Lee Monikers (Red Sox: 10)
Jackie Bradley Jr. (Red Sox: 11)
Yu Darvish (Rangers: 3)

Apparently, really damn good.  I am thrilled to pull this card.  It was absolutely the one card I really wanted from this break.  Also, Jackie Bradley Jr. makes an appearance, because of course he does.  The Red Sox are way ahead of any other team in the break.

PACK 17:

Adrian Beltre (Rangers: 4)
Jonathan Villar Red Flame (Brewers: 4)
Noah Syndergaard Fire Relics (Mets: 4)
Willson Contreras (Cubs: 9)
Max Scherzer (Expos/Nationals: 5)

Here is the other hit.  Nothing terribly exciting.  This is my second Mets hit of the year after pulling a Darryl Strawberry auto recently.  Jonathan Villar is at three cards from the break.  There are several TEAMS that are not that high.  And they are all different cards too, no duplicates.

PACK 18:

Addison Russell (Cubs: 10)
Aaron Sanchez (Blue Jays: 3)
Felix Hernandez Flame Throwers (Mariners: 4)
Andrew Miller (Indians: 5)
Robinson Cano (Mariners: 5)
Kyle Schwarber (Cubs: 11)

Andrew Miller makes it three cards.  Of course two are the same base card.  The Cubs come back and tie the Red Sox for most cards in the break.

PACK 19:

Jharel Cotton (Athletics: 6)
Tom Glavine (Braves: 3)
Yoan Moncada (White Sox: 3)
Carlos Correa Walk it Off (Astros: 5)
Francisco Lindor (Indians: 6)
Zach Britton (Orioles: 3)

Jharel Cotton ties Jonathan Villar and Andrew Miller for most cards in the break oddly.  Again, lots of teams are not that high and the Diamondbacks and Angels have yet to show up at all.  I love the Walk it Off insert.

PACK 20:

Lou Gehrig (Yankees: 8)
Frank Thomas (White Sox: 4)
Dan Vogelbach (Mariners: 6)
Andrew McCutchen Red Flame (Pirates: 5)
Dellin Betances (Yankees: 9)
Jon Lester (Cubs: 12)

Closing things out, the Yankees pull into third with two cards, and the Cubs pull into first.  The Angels and Diamondbacks get shut out.

So here is the team breakdown:
Chicago Cubs: 12
Boston Red Sox: 11 (four inserts)
New York Yankees: 9
Cleveland Indians: 6 (three Andrew Miller cards)
Oakland Athletics: 6 (three Jharel Cotton cards)
Seattle Mariners: 6
St. Louis Cardinals: 6
Houston Astros: 5
Pittsburgh Pirates: 5
Washington Nationals/Montreal Expos: 5 (one Expo, four Nationals)
Chicago White Sox: 4
Colorado Rockies: 4
Milwaukee Brewers: 4 (three Jonathan Villar cards)
New York Mets: 4
Texas Rangers: 4
Atlanta Braves: 3
Baltimore Orioles: 3 (one very big dual auto card)
Kansas City Royals: 3
Detroit Tigers: 3
Los Angeles Dodgers: 3
Toronto Blue Jays: 3
Cincinnati Reds: 2
Miami Marlins: 2
Philadelphia Phillies: 2
Minnesota Twins: 1
San Diego Padres: 1
San Francisco Giants: 1
Tampa Bay Rays: 1
Arizona Diamondbacks: 0
Los Angeles Angels: 0 (no Mike Trout cards is weird)

So that is the break.  I am thrilled with the Lee card which is my favorite card from the break.  I am willing to trade anything here other than the Red Sox of course.  The dual auto is going to be held out for something big though.  The Red Sox finish second highest in the break, so it was an incredibly successful one.  Surprisingly, the Yankees finished third.

Topps Chrome Blaster

I complained earlier that I had horrible luck with packs last year.  Well on Friday I decided to see if my luck had changed with the new year.  Spoiler alert: Yes.

1.  Koji Uehara.  The first pack yielded a base card of Koji Uehara, one of my current favorite players.

2.  Xfractor Xander Bogaerts RC.  Damn nice pull if I do say so myself.  A terrific parallel of the X-man.

3.  David Ortiz.  Now up to 489, 11 to go to meet my goal.

4.  Purple Refractor Jon Lester.  I will miss Lester.  He has been a big part of the team since he was drafted in 2002.  I remember when he was almost traded to the Rangers along with Manny Ramirez for Alex Rodriguez.

And here is the tradebait:

As usual, I am taking offers for Red Sox I need.  Mookie Betts is a priority right now, as well as anything on my wantlist.  Of course Sandy Alomar Jr. cards would also help.

A Bunch of Wantlist Hits and Some 2014 Bowman

Two packages came in this weekend that knocked off almost 30 cards from my wantlist.  That is pretty impressive.

The first trade got me one card, the first one in the below scan.  All of the rest came in a second trade:

1.  2014 Topps Opening Day Stars Dustin Pedroia.  Pedroia is heating up this year.  It should be another good season for the second baseman.

2.  2014 Topps Heritage Stephen Drew.  Still out there as a free agent.  But Xander Bogaerts is beginning to show signs of breaking out.

3.  2014 Topps Heritage Mike Napoli/Jonny Gomes WS.  Nice shot of the beard tug here.  I am counting this as both players.

4.  2014 Topps Heritage John Lackey.  He is having an exceptional year this year.

5.  2014 Topps Heritage Ryan Dempster.  He had an impressive postseason last year but decided to take this year off.  Not really sure why.

6.  2014 Topps Heritage Edward Mujica.  Don't give up on him yet.  Remember Mark Melancon?

7.  2014 Topps Heritage Koji Uehara/David Ross WS.  Another one I am counting for both players on it.

8.  2014 Topps Heritage Jon Lester WS.  With this card I just need a few SPs and the Jake Peavy for the team set.

9.  1969 Topps Ken Harrelson AS.   Harrelson had a great year in 1968, leading the AL in RBIs.  He is clearly wearing an Athletics jersey in this picture.  Topps for some reason never got around to getting a picture of Harrelson with the Red Sox despite him playing parts of three seasons in Boston.

10.  1981 Donruss Tom Burgmeier.  An All Star in 1980 as a left-handed closer.

11.  1981 Donruss Glenn Hoffman.  Trevor's older brother.

12.  1981 Donruss Jim Dwyer.  I know next to nothing about Dwyer.

13.  1981 Donruss Tony Perez.  One of many future Hall of Famers who spent some decline seasons with the Red Sox, joining such players as Heinie Manush, Al Simmons, Lou Boudreau, Juan Marichal, Tom Seaver, Andre Dawson, and Rickey Henderson.  Perez lead the team in home runs and RBIs in 1980 and it was downhill from there.  This card finishes off the 1981 Donruss team set.

14.  1982 Donruss Frank Tanana.  Once a dynamic left-hander, he was in the midst of a transformation into more of a crafty lefty at this point.  The results were not there yet.  

15.  1982 Donruss Jerry Remy.  The second half of his Red Sox career was unfortunately marred by injuries.

16.  1982 Donruss Julio Valdez.  His ML career was basically finished when he was arrested in the dugout during a game for statutory rape.

17.  1982 Donruss Steve Crawford.  Nice, rare action shot for early Donruss.  And with that, I have completed the 1982 Donruss team set.

18.  1983 Donruss Rick Miller.  Decent role player for a long time in Boston.

19.  1983 Donruss Bruce Hurst.  One of the top left-handers of all time for Boston.

20.  1983 Donruss Jim Rice.  Of course Rice is a Hall of Famer.

21.  1983 Donruss Tom Burgmeier.  Another Burgmeier.

22.  1983 Donruss Chuck Rainey.  See Jim Dwyer.

23.  1983 Donruss Carney Lansford.  Won the AL batting title in 1981.  Had some surprising speed.  But he lost playing time in 1982 to upcoming star Wade Boggs and was expendable.  Was traded for Tony Armas, among others.

24.  1983 Donruss Roger LaFrancois.  I'm pretty sure Roger LaFrancois did not actually exist.

25.  1987 Donruss Jim Rice.  

26.  1987 Donruss Spike Owen.  Believe it or not, "Spike" is not a nickname.  His real name is Spike Dee Owen.  One of the great baseball names.

27.  1987 Donruss Ed Romero.  Your average utility infielder.  Hit .210 in 233 at bats in 1986.

Next up, I bought some Bowman.  The Trey Ball is mine.  Anyone want anything else shown:

28.  2014 Bowman International Trey Ball.  Boston's top draft pick since Trot Nixon was also taken seventh overall in 1993.  Looks like a good southpaw.

The rest of the cards are up for trade.

A Few Trades and a 63 Fleer Tito Francona to Trade

A few trade items have come in that have gradually made me feel a little bit better about 2014 Topps, now that I am getting a few more cards here and there:

1.  2014 Topps Upper Class Wade Boggs.  I have said it several times, Wade Boggs was my first favorite player.  I was heartbroken when he signed with the Yankees.  It was one of the first things that made me hate the Yankees.  I know now that Boston did not really make an effort to retain him, but I was 11 at the time.  I did not really understand that.

2.  2014 Topps 1989 Mini Fred Lynn.  If Lynn had stayed with the Red Sox, would he be in the Hall of Fame now?  I think there is a chance that would have happened.

3.  1995 Leaf Gold Stars Jose Canseco.  I still like getting Canseco cards with the Red Sox.  Canseco was my older brother's first favorite player and he stopped watching baseball shortly after Canseco was traded to the Rangers.

4.  2005 Reflections Blue Edgar Renteria.  I was so disappointed when Renteria turned out to be a bust in Boston.  I liked Renteria from the time he came up with the Marlins and liked watching him with the Cardinals.  I do wonder if he would have done better the next season if he had not been traded.

5.  2014 Topps Wal Mart Blue Shane Victorino.  I love this action shot of The Flyin' Hawaiian.  Looking forward to seeing what he can do this year.

6.  2014 Topps David Ortiz WS.  A shot from the World Series celebration.  Love it.

7.  2014 Topps Power Players Clay Buchholz.  I had some luck in last year's interactive program so I will try again this year.  I would love to get a nice online-only Red Sox piece.

8.  1963 Fleer Bill Monbouquette.  One of the few bright spots in the 1960's for the Red Sox, Monbo was a pretty good pitcher.  I got this as well as the below card and the previous three for a George Brett commemorative patch.  A pretty good trade if you ask me.

Does anyone want this?  Does anyone possibly have the Lou Clinton?  This is Terry's father.  I picked this because there was a big discrepancy between my Brett card and the Monbo earlier and I did not want to pass up a chance to get it.  So I took a card I did not have a lot of interest in that I figured I could flip for something I do want.  I would love to trade it for the 1963 Fleer Lou Clinton first, but then anything from Topps of the same general period.

A Fantastic Catch Plus Some Random Stuff

I know, I know.  Very slow to post lately.

I worked out a trade with Weston from Fantastic Catch.  He contacted me to tell me that he had one of my Top Ten Most Wanted cards and wanted to work out a deal.  The cards he sent are the first four in this scan:

1.  2010 Upper Deck Season Biography Jacoby Ellsbury.  Commemorating his straight steal of home against the Yankees, this was one of my favorite Yankees-Red Sox moments.  Some day I should do a post about that.

2.  2004 Upper Deck Famous Quotes Carl Yastzemski.

3.  2013 Topps David Ortiz SP VAR.  This was THE card I wanted from last year.  Just a terrific looking card, with the American flag background.  I remember watching this moment on TV.  A terrific game too.

4.  2010 Upper Deck Season Biography Jon Lester.  I hope Boston extends Lester.  Especially after his postseason performance last year.

5.  2014 Topps Jarrod Saltalamacchia.  I bought a rack pack, this was my only Red Sox pull.

6.  2013 Topps Blue Sparkle Jackie Bradley Jr. RC.  My newest JBJ addition.

And now for the tradebait:

My First JBJ Auto and 2014 Topps Blaster

I had been looking forward to 2014 Topps for awhile now.  I have not been buying packs lately because there are so few sets out there where I need a lot of Red Sox, so I had to look forward to the new sets.  I bought a blaster yesterday which went less than ideally:

1.  2013 Select Jackie Bradley Jr. RC AUTO.  I bought this off of Ebay.  It is my first autograph of JBJ.

2.  2014 Topps Super Veteran David Ortiz.  This was in the first pack, so I thought things were going to go well.  Nope.

3.  2014 Topps Junichi Tazawa.  My only base card from the set was one that I was excited about.  It's great to see Tazawa get some cards.  That was it for my Red Sox though.

Here's the tradebait.  Anyone want anything?  Anyone able to help me with my Wantlist?  Hit me up.

Mail Call!

Just two packages to show off here, neither one of them terribly big.

This first one is for a couple of '13 A&G minis, a couple of infielders:

1.  2013 Topps Allen & Ginter Mini Black Border Bobby Doerr.  Hall of Fame second baseman.  Some have said that his numbers make him a borderline case, and that is possibly true, but he also missed some time due to service in WWII and retired young due to back problems.  Even so, he was a terrific offensive second-baseman.

2.  2013 Topps Allen & Ginter Mini Black Border Will Middlebrooks.  Middlebrooks has been hitting very well of late, though he has stumbled a bit in recent games.  He could turn into a star yet.

The next trade had me sending a game-used card of Erik Bedard for 15 inserts/parallels.  I felt pretty good about it, especially since eight of them were Red Sox.

3.  2011 Topps Chrome Refractor Kevin Youkilis.  I was shorted this card in an earlier trade and I hate it when that happens.  

4.  2012 Topps Update Target Red Kelly Shoppach.  Shoppach, in his second tour of duty with Boston, played well but got caught up in the scandal involving Bobby Valentine and was traded off.

5.  2012 Topps 1987 Mini Jon Lester.  Lester is re-emerging as an ace of the Red Sox staff.

6.  2005 Playoff Prestigious Pros Orange Manny Ramirez.

7.  2008 Bowman Blue Manny Ramirez.

8.  2009 Topps Wal-Mart Black J.D. Drew.

9.  2012 Bowman Gold David Ortiz.  Ortiz is making a case for a Hall of Fame career.

10.  2011 Bowman Platinum Gold Carl Crawford.

Finally, here are the rest of the cards I got in this trade.  All of which are up for trade.  Let me know if there is anything you want:

Zippy Zappy Comes Through and an Ill-Fated A&G Pack

I recently posted the disappointing results of an A&G blaster.  There were a couple of A-Rod cards in there, a player whom I loathe these days, for pretty obvious reasons.  Well Kenny, aka Zippy Zappy still wanted them so I shipped them off and received the below package in return.

1.  2012 Sega CardGen Adrian Gonzalez.  He hit a home run off of Jake Peavy on Sunday, but the Red Sox won anyway so it was okay.  I liked Adrian Gonzalez quite a bit even though he was only there for a season and a half.

The rest of the cards will not make it into my Red Sox collection.  I had the Hanrahan and the other two are Team USA cards, though they are both Red Sox prospects.  They are still very much appreciated.

Thanks Kenny!

I picked up a rack pack of A&G yesterday to try my luck again and was once again met with failure.  No Red Sox and these were the inserts:

Blech.  If anyone wants anything, let me know.

Mailday and an A&G Break

A couple of forum trade packages to show off today and then I bought an A&G Blaster.

Up first is a trade for some Bowman Platinum stuff.

1.  2013 Bowman Platinum Top Prospects Matt Barnes.  Barnes is struggling a little this year, but he is currently in Portland.  If he turns things around, which he should, he could get to Boston as soon as late next season.

2.  2013 Bowman Platinum Cracked Ice Blue Will Middlebrooks.  It is nice to see Middlebrooks is back and hitting in Boston.  He hit his first home run since his return on Sunday.  If he can cut down the strikeouts and increase the walks he could still develop into a star.

3.  2013 Bowman Platinum Cracked Ice Blue Jacoby Ellsbury.  He is having a nice season this year.  I am torn.  I want Ellsbury back but I also want Jackie Bradley Jr. in Boston next year.  Something has to give.

The next trade practically depleted my Pirates tradebait.

4.  2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Mini Jed Lowrie.  Lowrie could always hit but I think Boston got tired of waiting for him to be healthy.  Now he is getting a chance to prove himself.

5.  2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Mini Tris Speaker.  The Grey Eagle was the first superstar that Boston developed.  Unfortunately he had his best seasons with Cleveland after being traded in 1916.  And his Hall of Fame plaque sports a C on his cap.

6.  2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Mini Cy Young.  I love this picture.  Those old Boston uniforms were really interesting.

7.  2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Framed Emerald David Ortiz.  I always liked these framed Gypsy Queen cards.  Ortiz is having another terrific season.  He could be a Hall of Famer yet.

8.  2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Framed Emerald Jon Lester.  He pitched well against the Giants yesterday.  Hopefully he can keep it up.  Boston needs good pitching to contend for the postseason.

9.  2010 Topps Legendary Lineage Victor Martinez/Carlos Santana.  V-Mart had a great stint with Boston but I definitely understand why they did not want to take the risk and bring him back for a long contract for a lot of money.

10.  2011 Topps Gypsy Queen The Great Ones Cy Young.  Another great card of the great pitcher.

11.  2011 Topps 60 Years of Topps Carlton Fisk.  Fisk is second to Varitek of my favorite catchers, but I definitely love adding cards of him.

12.  2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Framed Relic Josh Beckett.  This was the highlight of the trade.  I do not really have a lot of good Beckett cards.  Strange.

13.  2012 Bowman Chrome Prospects Boss Moanaroa.  Nice wantlist hit here.  Moanaroa will likely never make the Majors, but he is an interesting story.

The last trade package netted me one of my favorite new players of the year.

14.  2013 Topps Gypsy Queen Mini Black Border Jonny Gomes.  Gomes exemplifies the "Boston Strong" theme the team has taken this year.  He has also been an invaluable clutch hitter.

Finally, my A&G Blaster was less than exciting personally.  I don't care a lot for this product because I don't like all the non-baseball cards personally.  So I don't buy much of it, but I typically pick up a blaster or two.  My luck ran out with this blaster.  I did not get many Red Sox and I did not get many really good cards to trade.  Up first is the Red Sox card.

15.  2013 Topps Allen & Ginter Jacoby Ellsbury.  I do like the wide shot here.  Unfortunately this was my only Red Sox card.

And here is all the tradebait.  I would love to move some of this for Red Sox cards.  

I should note, the Schmidt, Ethier, and A-Rod cards are A&G backs.  Please email or comment if you want something.

Huge Catch Up Post Featuring a Hot Corner Trade, Platinum Break, and Tradebait

I was on vacation for several days and when I came back the customary large number of packages were waiting for me.  So I have been a bit behind.  Well let's get into it.

Up first was a trade from the forums.  I gave up some Bryce Harper cards that I had no use for and some other stuff for a couple of nice 90's inserts.

1.  1997 Sports Illustrated Extra Edition Roger Clemens.  This is from the cover subset and is serial-numbered to 500 because it is the parallel set.  I had one of these once a few years ago that was also Roger Clemens, but since it had a Blue Jays logo on the back it did not find its way into my Red Sox collection.  I actually have the issue of the magazine that this card is a reprint of.  I used to collect the occasonal magazine with Red Sox on the cover.  Clemens was one of the biggest Red Sox stars when I first started collecting.

2.  1996 Ultra Diamond Producers Mo Vaughn.  This is a nice insert of The Hit Dog.  Mo Vaughn was a favorite player of mine for several years.  He was the rare power hitter who struck out a lot, yet still hit over .300 pretty much every year.  I was heartbroken when he left, even moreso than Wade Boggs or Roger Clemens.  Much of the reason for this is probably due to the fact that I got to watch him develop into a star.  Boggs and Clemens were already stars when I started collecting.

Up next is an Ebay win:

3.  2009 SP Legendary Cuts Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd.  This was #1 on my Top 10 Most Wanted.  I was very excited to find this on Ebay.  I have wanted it for a long time.  Boyd had a few nice seasons for Boston.  Of course it is his nickname that has really made him memorable.

Another forum trade:

4.  2013 Topps Target Red Border Felix Doubront.  His last two starts have been pretty bad, but he has had a nice season.  I got this for a Mets Bowman parallel.  Not bad one for one trade.

And another forum trade:

5.  1976 Topps Ted Williams.  It is a nice vintage card of The Splendid Splinter.  It's from 1976 so it is not real old, but I consider stuff from before my birth vintage personally.  I got this for a Tigers Chrome orange refractor of Justin Turner.

And for the last forum trade of the day, I gave up a bunch of A's cards for this nice group:

6.  2004 Leaf Certified Cuts Marble Blue Trot Nixon.  The original dirt dog.  I liked these parallels.  I have a lot of Variteks from this set, but not much from other players.  I figured it was about time to add something.

7.  2005 Absolute Memorabilia Marks of Fame Luis Aparicio.  Yes Louie played for Boston for the last three years of his career.  He made the All Star team a couple of times for them too, but he was clearly past his prime.  Around 2004 to 2005 though Donruss/Leaf/Playoff made a ton of cards of him for the Red Sox for some bizarre reason.  But I won't argue, it's fun getting Hall of Famer cards.

8.  2009 UD A Piece of History Franchise History Turquoise Jason Varitek.  The rare Varitek that I did not already have.  I have the non-parallel version, but I go for as many Variteks as I can possibly get.  It seems unlikely but possible that I could get to 1,000 different cards of him.  Currently I am at 874.

10.  1993 Select Chase Rookies Bob Zupcic.  These cards were highly valued at the time they came out.  I had forgotten this existed.  Zupcic did not have a long career, but he had a couple of nice seasons in 1992 and 1993 for Boston.  I saw him play once when he was with the White Sox.  I did not see my first Red Sox game in person until 1997.

While I was on vacation I had a box of 2013 Bowman Platinum in my hand at Wal Mart in Wyoming.  I decided against buying cards on vacation, but it was a difficult decision.  Sometimes I like to try my luck at places away from home to see if I am any luckier.  When I got home I did buy a blaster.  It was a smart move:

11.  2013 Bowman Platinum Prospects Xander Bogaerts.  He was called up today.  Bogaerts is the most highly-anticipated Red Sox prospect since Hanley Ramirez.  Hopefully Boston will hang on to him.

12.  2013 Bowman Platinum Prospects Autograph Keury De La Cruz.  Wow.  I actually pulled a Red Sox autograph out of this blaster.  I did not expect that.  This is only the third Red Sox autograph I have pulled out of a pack.  De La Cruz is developing into a decent prospect.  Time will tell if he makes it.  I loved this blaster break.

13.  2013 Bowman Platinum Prospects Matt Barnes.  And another top prospect for Boston.  Barnes is Boston's top pitching prospect.

Next was a trade with Patrick from Hot Corner Cards.  I noticed he had a particular autograph that I wanted and I have built up a surplus of Tigers cards.

14.  2013 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autograph Ellis Burks.  I now only need the Lynn auto.  Next to the Dennis Boyd, this was the autograph I wanted the most.  Burks was one of my early favorite players.  And this is the first Red Sox auto of him.  He did not even have a game-used card before.

15.  2013 Topps Opening Day Jarrod Saltalamacchia.  I was very happy to see this card.  I have been looking for it for awhile.  Salty has so few cards.  I try to get them when I can.

16.  2013 Topps Heritage John Lackey.  Lackey has been pitching well this season.  This was the last non-SP I needed from this set.

17.  Vintage Sports Cards Game-Used Manny Ramirez.  I have no idea what this thing is.  I am happy to add it to my collection though.

Thanks Pat!  Hope to trade again. 

And finally another Ebay win:

18.  2001 Aramark Jimmy Collins.  These cards were available one per game in Spring Training 2001 and are kind of hard  to find.  There are 16 in the set covering some of the biggest stars in franchise history, and I previously had a few.  Collins was one of the first Boston stars and was their first manager.  He is also in the Hall of Fame.  

19.  2001 Aramark Johnny Pesky.  This was the card that lead to me buying these three cards.  I was reading a biography on Pesky while on vacation.  He was a fascinating player, a singles hitter who lead the AL in hits his first three seasons.  

20.  2001 Aramark Dom DiMaggio.  Joe's younger brother was a standout himself for Boston in center field.  He could have been a Hall of Famer had he not missed three seasons in WWII service.

The last mail package is a non Red Sox card.  I won this Trevor Bauer autograph on Topps's Chase promotion.  I am not sure when.  I wish it had been a Red Sox, but no big deal.  I would love to trade it for a nice Red Sox auto, particularly if anyone has the Shane Victorino or other harder-to-find Red Sox cards.

And finally the tradebait from the Bowman Platinum Blaster.  If anyone sees anything they like, let me know.   I am always willing to trade for Red Sox.