Second 2019 Diamond Kings Blaster

Up next is the second Diamond Kings blaster I have bought this year.  I already explained why in the other post I like this set so much.

Here are the Red Sox:

Two, once again.  But in a box with just 35 cards, that is pretty decent.  I love the Jimmie Foxx card.  Another reason I like Diamond Kings so much is the use of retired players.  

Here are the updated team totals:

NEW YORK YANKEES: 5
DETROIT TIGERS: 4
WASHINGTON NATIONALS/MONTREAL EXPOS: 3
BOSTON RED SOX: 2
HOUSTON ASTROS: 2
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 2
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 2
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 2
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 2
ATLANTA BRAVES: 1
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 1
CHICAGO CUBS: 1
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 1
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 1
COLORADO ROCKIES: 1
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 1
MINNESOTA TWINS: 1
NEW YORK METS: 1
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 1
TEXAS RANGERS: 1
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 0
CINCINNATI REDS: 0
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 0
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 0
MIAMI MARLINS: 0
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 0
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 0
SEATTLE MARINERS: 0
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 0
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 0

Ugh, FIVE Yankees.  That's way too high of a percentage for these things.  That's just absurd. 

Here are the updated totals:
ATLANTA BRAVES: 50
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 49
BOSTON RED SOX: 48
HOUSTON ASTROS: 44
NEW YORK YANKEES: 39
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 37
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 35
WASHINGTON NATIONALS/MONTREAL EXPOS: 35
CHICAGO CUBS: 34
NEW YORK METS: 32
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 32
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 31
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 31
COLORADO ROCKIES: 28
DETROIT TIGERS: 28
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 28
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 27
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 27
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 27
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 26
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 26
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 25
MINNESOTA TWINS: 25
SEATTLE MARINERS: 25
CINCINNATI REDS: 24
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 23
MIAMI MARLINS: 23
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 23
TEXAS RANGERS: 23
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 17
OTHER: 2

The top three are now neck and neck.  The Yankees move back into the Top 5.  The Tigers made the biggest jump.

2019 Topps Big League Blaster

There are two cards that I really want from Topps Big League.  The first is a Highlights card of Brock Holt, celebrating his cycle in the ALDS against the Yankees.  The second is the first Red Sox card of Gorkys Hernandez, who has yet to actually play in a game with the Red Sox and might end up being a zero-year card.  With these two cards in mind, I bought my second Big League blaster.

No Hernandez and though I did pull a Holt card, it was not the right one.  Still, this was a hell of a good blaster for my Red Sox collection.  

Six cards, including an insert of Mookie Betts and a blue parallel of J.D. Martinez.  I love the photo on the Holt card.  Dustin Pedroia makes an appearance and it seems more and more unlikely that he will ever return from injury.  There are also appearances from David Price and Eduardo Nunez.

So, how did the Red Sox do?  Here's the breakdown:

BOSTON RED SOX: 6
CHICAGO CUBS: 5
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 4
HOUSTON ASTROS: 4
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 4
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 4
NEW YORK METS: 4
WASHINGTON NATIONALS/MONTREAL EXPOS: 4
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 3
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 3
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 3
CINCINNATI REDS: 2
COLORADO ROCKIES: 2
DETROIT TIGERS: 2
NEW YORK YANKEES: 2
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 2
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 1
ATLANTA BRAVES: 1
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 1
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 1
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 1
MIAMI MARLINS: 1
MINNESOTA TWINS: 1
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 1
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 1
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 1
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 1
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 0
SEATTLE MARINERS: 0
TEXAS RANGERS: 0

Boston finishes first.  Damn impressive. 

Here is the updated total:
ATLANTA BRAVES: 49
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 49
BOSTON RED SOX: 46
HOUSTON ASTROS: 42
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 36
NEW YORK YANKEES: 34
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 34
CHICAGO CUBS: 33
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 32
WASHINGTON NATIONALS/MONTREAL EXPOS: 32
NEW YORK METS: 31
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 31
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 29
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 27
COLORADO ROCKIES: 27
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 26
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 26
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 26
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 26
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 25
SEATTLE MARINERS: 25
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 24
CINCINNATI REDS: 24
DETROIT TIGERS: 24
MINNESOTA TWINS: 24
MIAMI MARLINS: 23
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 23
TEXAS RANGERS: 22
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 22
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 15
OTHER: 2

A little interesting stuff going on at the top.  The Angels have tied the Braves for first.  The Red Sox make some gains here. 

2019 Donruss Hanger Pack

Here is a hanger pack of 2019 Donruss.  I was still hoping for that Brock Holt Highlights.  It has not happened yet:

Technically, I pulled two Red Sox, but the other one was a duplicate.  It still gets counted for the breakdown though. 

Here is the breakdown:
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 3
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 3
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 2
ATLANTA BRAVES: 2
BOSTON RED SOX: 2
HOUSTON ASTROS: 2
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 2
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 2
CHICAGO CUBS: 1
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 1
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 1
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 1
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 1
MINNESOTA TWINS: 1
NEW YORK METS: 1
NEW YORK YANKEES: 1
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 1
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 1
SEATTLE MARINERS: 1
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 1
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 0
CINCINNATI REDS: 0
COLORADO ROCKIES: 0
DETROIT TIGERS: 0
MIAMI MARLINS: 0
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 0
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 0
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 0
TEXAS RANGERS: 0
WASHINGTON NATIONALS/MONTREAL EXPOS: 0

The Pirates and Rays are the surprise winners this time around.  Once again, Boston came in a tie for second place.  Lots of teams failed to gain ground.

Here is the updated breakdown:
ATLANTA BRAVES: 48
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 45
BOSTON RED SOX: 40
HOUSTON ASTROS: 38
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 35
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 33
NEW YORK YANKEES: 32
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 31
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 30
CHICAGO CUBS: 28
NEW YORK METS: 28
WASHINGTON NATIONALS/MONTREAL EXPOS: 28
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 26
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 26
COLORADO ROCKIES: 25
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 25
SEATTLE MARINERS: 25
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 24
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 23
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 23
MINNESOTA TWINS: 23
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 23
CINCINNATI REDS: 22
DETROIT TIGERS: 22
MIAMI MARLINS: 22
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 22
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 22
TEXAS RANGERS: 22
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 18
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 14
OTHER: 2

The top seven teams all stayed in the same place.  The Rays leapfrogged the Blue Jays, and very little else changed all that much. 

2019 Diamond Kings Blaster

Over the next few days, I will have posts up for more pack breaks.

Up first is a 2019 Diamond Kings blaster.  This has been one of my favorite sets for the last few years and I usually have some decent luck with packs.  This was my first attempt at the set this year. 

Here are the Red Sox:

For a box with just 35 cards, two Red Sox is pretty decent.  The Betts is an insert, so that is even better. 

Here is the team-by-team breakdown:
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 3
NEW YORK YANKEES: 3
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 3
WASHINGTON NATIONALS/MONTREAL EXPOS: 3
BALTIMORE ORIOLES/ST. LOUIS BROWNS: 2
BOSTON RED SOX: 2
HOUSTON ASTROS: 2
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 2
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 2
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 2
SEATTLE MARINERS: 2
COLORADO ROCKIES: 1
DETROIT TIGERS: 1
NEW YORK METS: 1
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 1
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 1
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 1
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 1
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 1
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 1
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 0
ATLANTA BRAVES: 0
CHICAGO CUBS: 0
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 0
CINCINNATI REDS: 0
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 0
MIAMI MARLINS: 0
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 0
MINNESOTA TWINS: 0
TEXAS RANGERS: 0

A lot of teams failed to get a card, including the Braves.  The Yankees, Angels, Cardinals and Nats combined for the lead.  Boston came in one slot below them.

So here is the updated breakdown:
ATLANTA BRAVES: 46
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 43
BOSTON RED SOX: 38
HOUSTON ASTROS: 36
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 34
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 32

NEW YORK YANKEES: 31

TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 29
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 28

WASHINGTON NATIONALS/MONTREAL EXPOS: 28

CHICAGO CUBS: 27
NEW YORK METS: 27
COLORADO ROCKIES: 25
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 25
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 24
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 24
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 24
SEATTLE MARINERS: 24

BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 23

CINCINNATI REDS: 22
DETROIT TIGERS: 22

LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 22

MIAMI MARLINS: 22
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 22
MINNESOTA TWINS: 22
TEXAS RANGERS: 22
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 21

PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 19

CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 17

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 14

OTHER: 2

The Angels made a little headway on the Braves, as did the Red Sox, though they lost ground on the Angels.  Lots of teams failed to do much.

Bowman and Big League Breaks

This is the last catch-up post for now.  I bought two jumbo packs of Bowman and a blaster of Big League.  Here are the Red Sox:

As you can obviously tell, there are no Bowman cards.  I did not pull a single Red Sox card from the Bowman packs.  It is made-up for somewhat in the Big League pulls with four Red Sox, though three of those all came in one pack.  So, it was a little frustrating.  That being said, I absolutely love the Mitch Moreland Nicknames card here.  Exactly the kind of card I love pulling.  An insert of a player without a lot of cards.  With the two Mookie cards, he is now at 200 cards in my collection.  An impressive feat. 

Here is the team breakdown:
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 10
ATLANTA BRAVES: 8
CINCINNATI REDS: 7
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 7
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 7
MINNESOTA TWINS: 6
COLORADO ROCKIES: 5
MIAMI MARLINS: 5
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 5
BOSTON RED SOX: 4
DETROIT TIGERS: 4
HOUSTON ASTROS: 4
NEW YORK YANKEES: 4
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 4
CHICAGO CUBS: 3
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 3
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 3
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 3
SEATTLE MARINERS: 3
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 3
WASHINGTON NATIONALS: 3
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 2
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 2

CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 2

KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 2

MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 2

NEW YORK METS: 2

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 2
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 1

TEXAS RANGERS: 1

The Padres had a huge breakthrough, mostly on the strength of a very strong Bowman showing.  They do have a ton of prospects, so that was not terribly shocking.  Boston finished in the middle of the pack.  Not a great showing, but much better than I thought after the awful Bowman break.

Here are the updated totals:

ATLANTA BRAVES: 46
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 40
BOSTON RED SOX: 36
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 34
HOUSTON ASTROS: 34
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 29
NEW YORK YANKEES: 28
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 28
CHICAGO CUBS: 27
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 27
NEW YORK METS: 26
WASHINGTON NATIONALS/MONTREAL EXPOS: 25 (24 Nationals/1 Expo)
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 24
COLORADO ROCKIES: 24
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 24
CINCINNATI REDS: 22
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 22
MIAMI MARLINS: 22
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 22
MINNESOTA TWINS: 22
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 22
SEATTLE MARINERS: 22
TEXAS RANGERS: 22
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 21
DETROIT TIGERS: 21
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 20
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 20
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 18
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 17
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 13

OTHER: 2

I don't understand this Braves thing.  What the hell is going on?  Boston stays in third, but loses ground to the Angels.  The Padres made a huge leap out of the cellar, leaving the poor Giants in the dust.  

Lin Card #100...and More

I finally made some more progress toward my Tzu-Wei Lin collection.  This is card #100, and it is a pretty exciting one for the milestone:

Nice 1/1 and my first Lin printing plate.  I was thrilled to add this card, particularly as it was a bit of a bidding war.

And here are cards 101 and 102:

Here we have the Panini Chronicles Purple parallel, which is numbered out of 99.  This was one of the last parallels I needed from that set.  And then this is the base version of the Legacy of Baseball autograph.  Cards are getting hard to find, unless I want to add a bunch of the Rize cards.  These may be the last Lin cards for awhile.

And last, but certainly not least, card #103:

This is actually the mini Red Refractor, serial-numbered to 10.  So, this has been some legitimate progress toward the Bowman Chrome rainbow.

I am concerned about Lin's future with Boston, particularly in light of Michael Chavis's emergence as a potential star.  Chavis will likely take the bulk of the at-bats at second going forward, with Dustin Pedroia attempting to come back.  Lin suffered a rather poorly-timed injury.  I doubt he will be back in the Majors right away when he comes back.  Hopefully he will find some roster space later this season and stick around for awhile.

Gypsy Queen and Donruss Breaks

One of these days I will get caught back up.

A few weeks ago, I bought a blaster of Donruss and two jumbo hanger packs of Gypsy Queen.  The Gypsy Queen breaks consisted of a lot of duplicates, because, well...Topps.  I'm still hoping to pull a Brock Holt Highlights card.  No luck so far.

Here are the Red Sox:

For simplicity sake, I included the duplicates of J.D. Martinez.  I LOVE the JBJ picture.  I remember that play pretty well last season.  He is having a terrible season at the plate so far this year, but this is a reminder of how much fun he is to watch in the field.  

As for the Donruss cards, Sale and Benintendi are the base versions and Devers is the variation.  

So, no truly exciting pulls for the Red Sox.  The JBJ is a parallel, but not a particularly rare one.

Here are the team-by-team totals for pulls:

HOUSTON ASTROS: 8
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 8
NEW YORK METS: 8
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 8
ATLANTA BRAVES: 7
BOSTON RED SOX: 7
COLORADO ROCKIES: 6
MIAMI MARLINS: 6
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 6
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 5
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 5
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 5
WASHINGTON NATIONALS: 5
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 4
CINCINNATI REDS: 4
DETROIT TIGERS: 4
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 4
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 4
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 4
TEXAS RANGERS: 4
MINNESOTA TWINS: 3
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 3
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 3
CHICAGO CUBS: 2

CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 2

NEW YORK YANKEES: 2
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 2
SEATTLE MARINERS: 2
OTHER: 2
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 1

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 1

The Red Sox tie for second.  I counted duplicates because it was easier.  The Yankees and Dodgers surprisingly did pretty terribly.

Here is the updated list:
ATLANTA BRAVES: 38
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 33
BOSTON RED SOX: 32

HOUSTON ASTROS: 30

CLEVELAND INDIANS: 27
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 25
CHICAGO CUBS: 24

NEW YORK METS: 24

NEW YORK YANKEES: 24
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 24
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 23

TAMPA BAY RAYS: 23

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 22
WASHINGTON NATIONALS/MONTREAL EXPOS: 22 (21 Nationals/1 Expo)
TEXAS RANGERS: 21
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 20
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 20
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 19

COLORADO ROCKIES: 19

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 19
SEATTLE MARINERS: 19
DETROIT TIGERS: 17
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 17

MIAMI MARLINS: 17

MINNESOTA TWINS: 16
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 15

CINCINNATI REDS: 15

PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 15

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 11

SAN DIEGO PADRES: 10

OTHER: 2

The Braves are pulling away with things.  Boston is in third and the Yankees have fallen off the pace a little.

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!

Small COMC Order

A few weeks ago, I came across a card that I needed for my non-Red Sox player collection.  You can see it on the Sandy Alomar Jr. blog.  The card was on COMC which kind of has outrageous shipping cost if you are only ordering one card.  So, I decided to add a couple of Red Sox cards to make it a little more bearable.

Up first is a 2015 Topps Allen & Ginter Signature Framed Autograph card of reliever Matt Barnes.  Barnes came into the season as the favorite to win the closer's role available after Craig Kimbrel was not re-signed.  Despite some excellent numbers, Barnes has not been the closer most of the time.  He has just two saves, second on the team behind Ryan Brasier's six.  But Barnes has a 2.08 ERA and an astounding 26 strikeouts in just 13 innings.

Up next is just an MLB Showdown card of current Phillies manager Gabe Kapler, who played with the Red Sox from 2003 through 2006 and was on the 2004 World Series roster.  Kapler was a nice player as a backup outfielder, but he was expected to be so much more when he was coming up with the Tigers and then Rangers.  I always liked MLB Showdown for their outstanding player selection.  Kapler is  good example as he had very few cards when he was playing for Boston.

That's it for now.

2019 Donruss Hanger Pack

I have been gone awhile.  I know.  It happens.  Things get busy at work, and I don't have time to always scan things.  So, I will work on catching back up.  I have several posts to do.  I have not been buying a lot of cards lately, so there will not be a ton, but I will get there.

Up first is a 2019 Donruss Hanger Pack.  I was looking forward to this set, though I don't really know why. 

Up first are the Red Sox.  And there are three of them:

Well, that pretty much covered the top superstars on the team.  Chris Sale has struggled quite a bit early this season.  J.D. Martinez and Mookie Betts are doing about what we expected from them.  Nothing terribly exciting here, until you do a little digging.  I do believe that there are variations of all three cards.  And both Sale and Martinez are the variations.  I doubt there is a price jump on any of them, but that is sort of exciting.  I guess.

Okay, now for the team-by-team breakdown.

HOUSTON ASTROS: 5
ATLANTA BRAVES: 3
BOSTON RED SOX: 3
CHICAGO CUBS: 3
COLORADO ROCKIES: 3
MIAMI MARLINS: 3
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 3
TEXAS RANGERS: 3
CINCINNATI REDS: 2
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 2
DETROIT TIGERS: 2
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 2
NEW YORK METS: 2
NEW YORK YANKEES: 2
PITTSBUGH PIRATES: 2
SEATTLE MARINERS: 2
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 2
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 1
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 1
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 1
MINNESOTA TWINS: 1
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 1
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 1
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 1
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 0
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 0
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 0
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 0
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 0
WASHINGTON NATIONALS: 0

Odd how close every team is.  The Astros stand out with five cards.  Seven teams, including the Red Sox, had three cards.  Nine teams had two cards.  Seven teams had one.  And six teams had no cards. 

Update on the year:

ATLANTA BRAVES: 31
BOSTON RED SOX: 25
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 25
CHICAGO CUBS: 22
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 22
HOUSTON ASTROS: 22
NEW YORK YANKEES: 22
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 22
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 20
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 18
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 17
SEATTLE MARINERS: 17
TEXAS RANGERS: 17
WASHINGTON NATIONALS/MONTREAL EXPOS: 17 (16 Nationals/1 Expo)
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 16
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 16
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 16
NEW YORK METS: 16
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 15
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 15
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 14
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 13
COLORADO ROCKIES: 13
DETROIT TIGERS: 13
MINNESOTA TWINS: 13
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 12
CINCINNATI REDS: 11
MIAMI MARLINS: 11
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 10
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 7

The Braves retain the lead.  The Red Sox are now tied for second.  Getting better.  The team is too now.

Opening Day and Heritage Pack Breaks

I was bored the other day and was itching to open up some packs.  I am still looking for Donruss.  For some reason the Walmart near me does not seem to be getting it in.  That's unfortunate.  If anyone has any versions of the Brock Holt Highlights card, I really want that one.

Well onto the breaks.  First up was two jumbo packs of Opening Day.  Those resulted in three Red Sox cards, including two parallels:

Now, I am not a big collector of the mascot cards or ballpark cards.  I keep them in my collection when I get them, but I do not go out of my way to get them.  Porcello was the only base card I received.  I really like this Pedro Martinez insert showing him hoisting the 2004 World Championship trophy.

Up next was a hanger pack of Heritage:

Once again, three (actually four but one was a double) Red Sox cards.  It included this cool insert of Yaz and Mookie Betts.  It also included a World Series Highlight card of Steve Pearce and a League Leaders card with J.D. Martinez on it.

The highlight of the day though was this:

I have been pretty lucky with packs this year.  This is the third auto or relic I have pulled and I really have not been buying much.  And they have all been pretty good too.  An Albert Pujols relic, the Bud Selig rare auto that I recently traded, and now this.  Once again, I am holding out for something decent for my Red Sox collection, but it is available.

Here is the team-by-team breakdown from the breaks:

BOSTON RED SOX: 7
ATLANTA BRAVES: 6
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 5
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 5
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 4
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 4
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 4
NEW YORK METS: 4
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 4
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 3
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 3
HOUSTON ASTROS: 3
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 3
MIAMI MARLINS: 3
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 3
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 3
TEXAS RANGERS: 3
WASHINGTON NATIONALS: 3
CHICAGO CUBS: 2
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 2
MINNESOTA TWINS: 2
NEW YORK YANKEES: 2
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 2
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 2
CINCINNATI REDS: 1
DETROIT TIGERS: 1
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 1
SEATTLE MARINERS: 1
COLORADO ROCKIES: 0
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 0

The Red Sox came out on top for the second time in a row.  That is nice to see after having so many struggles with Topps Series 1.

Here is the updated team-by-team breakdown for the year:
ATLANTA BRAVES: 28
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 24
BOSTON RED SOX: 22
NEW YORK YANKEES: 20
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 20
CHICAGO CUBS: 19
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 19
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 18
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 18
HOUSTON ASTROS: 17
WASHINGTON NATIONALS/MONTREAL EXPOS: 17 (16 Nationals/1 Expo)
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 16
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 16
SEATTLE MARINERS: 15
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 15
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 15
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 14
NEW YORK METS: 14
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 14
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 14
TEXAS RANGERS: 14
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 12
MINNESOTA TWINS: 12
DETROIT TIGERS: 11
COLORADO ROCKIES: 10
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 10
CINCINNATI REDS: 9
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 9
MIAMI MARLINS: 8

SAN DIEGO PADRES: 7

With two straight strong showings, the Red Sox have vaulted their way into third place.  The Braves are just insane this year.  The Padres will likely make up ground once Manny Machado cards find their way into packs.  I always seem to pull a bunch of cards of him.  

And Here it Is

As promised, this is the monster.  I traded my Bud Selig autograph I pulled from Heritage awhile ago for all of the cards yesterday and this one.  This is an amazing autographed patch card of David Price, who I still think should have been the World Series MVP last season.  Price made me a huge fan with his postseason performance.  I love this card.

A Monster at the End

Here we have Part 1 of a two-part trade.  The monster is coming in Part 2 tomorrow.  Part 1 is a whole bunch of wantlist hits, including a bunch of prospects, at least some of whom may never end up playing for the Red Sox.

Here is the first scan:

Of particular note in this scan is three of the Red Sox' top five prospects.  I expect Michael Chavis to be called up to Boston at some point during the season.  Bobby Dalbec is probably another year away with the possibility of getting the call late in the season.  Jay Groome needs to start showing some results after being a potential #1 overall pick a few years back.

Here we have a number of pitching prospects who could make appearances in Boston at some point during the season, including Darwinzon Hernandez, Tanner Houck, Durbin Feltman, Bryan Mata and Mike Shawaryn.  Triston Casas was Boston's first-round pick last year.

And here we have Josh Ockimey and some other prospects.  We also have a Hall of Famer and a couple of current stars.

And here is the last scan for now.  Just wait until tomorrow...

Throwback to 1954

Just a one-card post today.  This is a trade I did on the forums recently:

This is one of those Throwback Thursday cards.  It is always nice to find someone trading these because you have to buy them from Topps in sets of five and they cost $20 each.  This is a 1954 Topps design with hopeful 2019 breakout Rafael Devers. 

Topps Now Postseason Auto

I have done four autograph team sets for Topps Now.  The first two times, I received Chris Sale autos, which I am happy about, but I would have liked someone else the second time through.  Then I got a Brock Holt auto from the World Championship set.  This set had three auto possibilities: Sale, Andrew Benintendi and David Price.  Honestly, I wanted Price. 

And I got...

Yep, my first David Price auto.  Though not my last.  Wait until you see something coming in the next few days.  I am thrilled with this card.  Price was electrifying later in the postseason last year.  I hope he keeps it up this season.

Finally

I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to get this.  I placed an order for the autograph version of the Red Sox postseason Topps Now set back in early October.  I got the World Championship set back in like December, but still had not received this one until last week.  So here is the basic set, and I will get to the autograph card tomorrow:

No real huge surprises with the player selection there.  Brock Holt and Ian Kinsler are mildly surprising, though I am thrilled both were there.  Kinsler will go down as a one-year wonder and Holt is a big fan favorite.

And here are the rest.  I am a little surprised at Nunez being there.  I feel it may have made a little more sense to get a bullpen guy or two in the set.  Someone like Matt Barnes, or even better, Ryan Brasier would have been welcome additions.  I'm just glad the set finally arrived.

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!

Time to Catch Up

In the last few weeks, I have had a three-day trial, argued in front of the Nebraska Court of Appeals, drafted my fantasy team, and then escaped the flooding that has affected the entire Northeastern corner of Nebraska.  Yes, I'm safe, and so are my cards.  And so now, it is time to play catch-up again.  Here is a package I received earlier in the week.

This was the main card in the package and the only one I expected:

This is card #99 in my Tzu-Wei Lin collection.  This is the Gold version of the Legacy of Baseball autograph set that is still the only card he has in 2019.  I was hoping he was going to be in Heritage, but that did not work out.  I figured he would not be in Donruss, which I still need to find.

Then there were a bunch of extra Bowman's Best singles from last year and lo and behold two of them were Red Sox.  Since I did not have any of the Bowman's Best cards from last year, that's two new Red Sox cards.  Awesome.

We have Andrew Benintendi, who I still have issues recognizing without his long hair, and J.D. Martinez.  So two good ones.  I will have a few more posts coming up very soon.

2019 Heritage Blaster

I was looking forward to new releases.  Pulling Red Sox out of Topps Series 1 was like pulling teeth.  I do not really know why.  So I got frustrated after a little while and decided to stop buying.  So when Heritage dropped, I decided to jump on it.  I was a little disappointed by the checklist.  Heritage has usually been my go-to set for good player collection.  This year it seems a little too into the stars on the team.  The only non-stars on the checklist are Mitch Moreland, Brock Holt, Christian Vazquez, Steven Wright, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Steve Pearce.  No Sandy Leon.  No Matt Barnes.  No Ryan Brasier.  No Nathan Eovaldi.  And perhaps most importantly, no Tzu-Wei Lin.

Well, this break worked out pretty well for the Red Sox.  Here is the new damage:

Well it certainly helps that there were a bunch of World Series and postseason highlights cards.  I pulled three Red Sox that way.  I also pulled a base Mookie, an insert Mookie, and the short-printed Xander Bogaerts.  Not too shabby. 

Here is the tradebait:

A Chrome Refractor of new Phillie Jean Segura, a couple of short-prints, a cloth Kershaw, and a Nolan Ryan insert.

Then there was this:

Yep, a Bud Selig autograph.  I don't know if anyone has interest in it, but I am definitely willing to move it for a Red Sox auto.  It is apparently pretty rare though, so come strong.

Here is the breakdown by team for pulls:
BOSTON RED SOX: 6
ATLANTA BRAVES: 4
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 4
NEW YORK YANKEES: 4
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 4
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 4
WASHINGTON NATIONALS: 4
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 3
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 3
NEW YORK METS: 3
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 3
SEATTLE MARINERS: 3
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 3
TEXAS RANGERS: 3
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 3
CHICAGO CUBS: 2
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 2
CINCINNATI REDS: 2
COLORADO ROCKIES: 2
HOUSTON ASTROS: 2
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 2
MINNESOTA TWINS: 2
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 1
DETROIT TIGERS: 1
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 1
MIAMI MARLINS: 1
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 1
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 1
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 0
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 0

So, Boston wins this time.  Like I said, the postseason highlights definitely helped.  Here is the updated yearly totals:

ATLANTA BRAVES: 22
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 20
NEW YORK YANKEES: 18
CHICAGO CUBS: 17
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 16
BOSTON RED SOX: 15
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 14
HOUSTON ASTROS: 14
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 14
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 14
SEATTLE MARINERS: 14
WASHINGTON NATIONALS/MONTREAL EXPOS: 14 (13 Nationals/1 Expo)
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 13
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 13
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 13
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 12
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 12
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 11
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 11
TEXAS RANGERS: 11
COLORADO ROCKIES: 10
DETROIT TIGERS: 10
MINNESOTA TWINS: 10
NEW YORK METS: 10
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 9
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 8
CINCINNATI REDS: 8
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 7
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 6
MIAMI MARLINS: 5

The Red Sox move up quite a bit but are still well behind the leading team, which is oddly the Braves right now.

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.