Topps Now: April Random Cards

There have not been a ton of good Topps Now cards issued this year, but I've grabbed a few.

I already talked about the game that this card represents because it was the Road to Opening Day bonus.  Tanner Houck started off the season great and threw a complete-game shutout over Cleveland on April 17.  He struck out nine and gave up just three hits.  

My favorite Topps Now cards to grab are the ones with obscure players who have very few cards or are on their first Red Sox card.  Cam Booser made his Major League debut on April 19 after a whirlwind professional career.  He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Twins in 2013, pitched for a few years then retired from baseball in 2017.  He then returned, signing with the Diamondbacks in 2022.  Boston signed him as a minor league free agent in 2023 and he made it to the Majors as a 32-year-old rookie this season.  And he has had some good moments too.  He is the oldest Red Sox player to make his Major League debut since Tommy Fine in 1947.

And finally, Ceddanne Rafaela exploded with a seven-RBI performance on April 27 in a 17-0 win over the Cubs.  Rafaela had four hits in four at-bats with three runs scored.  He hit two doubles and a two-run home run and also stole a base.  Rafaela has been a very good player this season, but has some room to grow.  Boston signed him to a big extension, so it is clear he is in the future plans of the team.

A Bunch of Wongs and More

Yes, it's another random pickup post, with a number of Connor Wong cards.  Not much else to say about this.  Let's get going:

2022 Panini Capstone Artist Proof.  I had been looking for this one for awhile actually.  This is one of my favorite photos on a Panini card of Wong because it does not matter that Panini doesn't have an MLB license.  It is serial-numbered to 35.

1.  Reggie Smith.  It's always nice to add some vintage to the collection, even better when it is a guy like Reggie Smith.  I still believe it is time to re-evaluate Smith for the Hall of Fame.  His 64.5 WAR and 137 OPS+ show that he is one of the most underrated players in Red Sox history.  

2.  Trevor Story.  It finally looks like Story might start to make an impact.  He just had a three-hit game today and homered yesterday.  

3.  Nomar Garciaparra.  Story is not in any danger of making the impact Nomar Garciaparra did as a Red Sox shortstop.  Nomar was an amazing hitter for a shortstop and I would like to see his Hall of Fame case re-examined as well.

4.  Chris Sale.  Sale is finally healthy this season and looks like he might finally win that Cy Young Award that has eluded him to this point in his career, particularly in 2017.  Unfortunately, it is happening in Atlanta instead of Boston.

5.  Pedro Martinez.  Martinez was denied a few awards in his career himself.  He should have won the MVP in 1999 and the Cy Young Award in 2002 and possibly 2003.

6.  Carl Yastrzemski.  1967 was Yaz's best season, but what was his second-best?  It looks like 1970 when he hit .329/.452/.592 with 40 home runs and 102 RBIs.  He led the league in OBP, SLG, OPS, total bases and runs.  He played more games as a first-baseman that season.

7.  Xander Bogaerts.  Bogaerts is having a rough second season in San Diego.  I imagine that contract is going to look brutal in a few more seasons.

8.  Bobby Doerr.  Doerr had one of his best seasons in 1950, the year before back trouble forced him to retire early.  It's a shame because if he had played another five seasons or so, his numbers would have been terrific.  He still made it to the Hall of Fame, but he could have gotten in a lot sooner.

9.  Enrique Hernandez.  One player who there is no chance of a Hall of Fame conversation for is Hernandez.  He was a decent player some years, and his 2021 postseason will be what I remember him for.

10.  J.D. Martinez.  Martinez has an outside shot at 400 home runs.  If he makes that, he has a stronger case for Hall of Fame consideration, but being a DH for most of his career and being a late-bloomer hurt his chances.  Ultimately, I don't think he gets in.

11.  Rafael Devers.  Devers already has 200 career home runs and is just 27.  We are witnessing a special player here.

12.  Wade Boggs.  Of course Boggs is still the all-time best third-baseman in franchise history.  Among his accomplishments are five batting titles and seven straight 200-hit seasons.

13.  Xander Bogaerts.

14.  Chris Sale.

15.  Jackie Bradley Jr.  JBJ's best season ended up being 2016 when he hit .267/.349/.486 with 26 home runs, 87 RBIs and nine stolen bases.  He looked like a future star at that point, but never really came close to that again.

16.  Rick Ferrell.  There are some who speculate that voters got the wrong Ferrell when they voted Rick in.  His brother Wes was a terrific pitcher and should be in the Hall of Fame himself.  

17.  Trevor Story.

2022 Panini Diamond Kings DK Signatures Purple.  This is the parallel serial-numbered to 10.  I always like the Diamond Kings sets.

2024 Topps Silver Crackle Foil.  Non-serial-numbered parallel.

2022 Panini Mosaic Green Swirl.  This is serial-numbered to 12.  I paid way more than I should have on this.  For some reason my mind didn't register it was out of 12.  I thought it was a lot rarer.  Still, I had to add it.

2024 Topps Yellow Crackle Foil.  Serial-numbered to 50.  I am a little annoyed that Topps Series 1 is the only set Wong has appeared in so far this year.

2022 Panini Mosaic Gold.  I have been adding a lot of parallels from this set lately.  This one is serial-numbered to 10.

1.  Dustin Richardson.  Richardson was a fifth-round pick by Boston in 2006 and made it to the Majors for three games in 2009.  He made it into 26 games in 2010 with a 4.15 ERA in 13 innings, striking out 12, but walking 14.  He was traded in the offseason to the Marlins for Andrew Miller and never played in the Majors again.  Miller, of course, took a few years to become established but became one of the best relievers in the game in 2013 and continued for several years.

2.  Enmanuel Valdez.  I suspect Valdez is running out of time.  I thought initially he would be the better of the prospects Boston got from the Astros in the Christian Vazquez trade.  Wilyer Abreu has proven me wrong.

2023 Topps Chrome Update Aqua/Blue Lava Lamp.  Closing things out for today is this parallel numbered to 175 that took me a weirdly long time to pick up.  Probably because it is so similar to the Blue/Green Lava Lamp parallel.

Topp Now Road to Opening Day Bonus

The cool thing about getting the Road to Opening Day team set is the bonus cards if an individual player or team meets a certain accomplishment.  So far, there has only been one such case for the Red Sox and here it is:

Tanner Houck started off the season on fire and looked like a Cy Young contender for the first couple months of the season.  One of his best games was on April 17 when he tossed a complete game shutout against Cleveland.  Houck gave up just three hits and no walks while striking out nine and throwing just 94 pitches the entire game.  Houck has broken through this season and looks like a solid number two starter at the least going forward.  It has been unexpected because I thought he would probably best be served by becoming the team's closer.  This season has proven me wrong.

Another Random Pickup Post

Let's just dive into this.  No introduction is really necessary, these are just some more random additions to the collection.

This is the Magenta Refractor from 2023 Topps Chrome Update.  This is one of those cards that just kind of slipped my mind for a long time.  But, being the world's foremost Connor Wong collector, I had to circle back and grab it.

1.  Jason Bay.  One of these days I should do a post of the best deadline pickups.  Jason Bay would be very high on that list.  He did a fantastic job of making up for the lost offensive production of Manny Ramirez, who he was traded for.  Bay hit .293/.370/.527 with nine homers and 37 RBIs.  He was an All Star and won the Silver Slugger the next season.

2.  Jackie Bradley Jr.  JBJ was probably the greatest defensive center fielder the Red Sox have had during my fandom.  He really should have won more than one Gold Glove.  I still love looking at video compilations of his defense.  Too bad he wasn't a better hitter.

3.  Brandon Workman.  Workman had a strange career.  He made his Major League debut in 2013 and was decent enough to pitch seven games in the postseason, including three in the World Series in which he was 0-1 with a 0.00 ERA (hard to do).  He even had three at-bats.  The next season, he was 1-10 with a 5.17 ERA.  Then, injuries and ineffectiveness kept him out of the Majors until 2017 when he re-emerged as a quality bullpen arm.  Then, in 2019 he put together one of the greatest relief seasons in Red Sox history, going 10-1 with a 1.88 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 71.2 innings pitched with 16 saves.  That didn't last though and he was traded to the Phillies in 2020 for Nick Pivetta before returning in 2021.

4.  Mookie Betts.  I still think Mookie's best seasons have come with Boston.  It seems unlikely he will surpass those great seasons in LA, but at the end of his career he will have likely played more with the Dodgers.

5.  Triston Casas.  We will have to wait until 2025 for that Casas breakout season.  He will still be just 25.  Injuries have taken their toll on him this season.

6.  Andrew Benintendi.  Benintendi has gotten some power back this season (16 home runs), but is hitting just .222 right now.  His decline is mystifying.

7.  Wade Boggs.  Boggs was the second player I saw with the Red Sox to make the Hall of Fame (Dennis Eckersley was first), and the first to wear a Red Sox cap n his plaque.  He was an absolutely amazing hitter, and even though he did not have much home run power (other than 1987), he hit more than 40 doubles eight times which gave him decent slugging percentage rates.

8.  Pedro Martinez.  Martinez was the fourth Red Sox player to make it to the Hall of Fame (and second to wear a Red Sox cap on his plaque) that I got to watch.  Rickey Henderson was the third.

9.  Alex Verdugo.  Nice to see a lesser player shown in a City Connect jersey on a card.  The players Boston got in the Verdugo trade have shown some promise.  Greg Weissert has been a reasonably reliable bullpen arm and Richard Fitts made his ML debut on Sunday with 5.1 innings.

10.  Matt Strahm.  Speaking of lesser players shown in City Connect jerseys.  I wanted Strahm to re-sign with Boston after his impressive 2022 season.  He was an All Star this year with the Phillies.  Boston could have used him.  

This is the regular Bowman Chrome Rookie Autograph card.  Oddly, this was a redemption only card.  I bought the redemption card a year ago and it took a LONG time to get this in.  

That's it for today.  More to come.

Topps Now: Mar. 28, 2024

 

Opening Day 2024.  Tyler O'Neill, who had been acquired over the offseason in a trade with the Cardinals (who are really bad at trading players), homered for the fifth consecutive Opening Day.  That ties a Major League record.  O'Neill started the season blazing hot before cooling down for a bit.  He has a shot at 30 home runs this season, which would be the second time in his career.  Boston won the game 6-4 over the Mariners.  Brayan Bello got the win and Kenley Jansen the save.  Rafael Devers also homered.

2024 Topps Now Road to Opening Day Team Set

I buy this set every year, although it has been shrinking.  For the second year in a row, there are just ten cards in this set, along with a parallel.  Here is the set this year:

1.  Rafael Devers.  Of course Devers is in the set, as the biggest star on the team.  Devers has been hurt a bit, but has continued to put up big-time hitting numbers.  He has even improved defensively.  

2.  Masataka Yoshida.  This was my parallel and it is serial-numbered to 99, so that was not terribly exciting for me.  It is the most common parallel.  

3.  Triston Casas.  Unfortunately Casas has been dealing with a rib injury for most of the season.  He has been a decent, if not particularly great, hitter when he's been healthy.  Hopefully he bounces back next season.  There is still time for him to go on a hot streak this season though.

4.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  One of my favorite rookies, Rafaela signed an extension earlier this season.  Hopefully he can cut down on his strikeouts, but he is already an extremely valuable player.

5.  Masataka Yoshida.  It will be interesting to see if Boston hangs on to Yoshida next season.  He can hit, but doesn't add much else.  He does not seem to be a favorite of manager Alex Cora, who won't give him a chance in the outfield and benched him for several games at one point without any real explanation.  I really like Yoshida, but he doesn't offer much flexibility for the roster.

6.  Vaughn Grissom.  The biggest disappointment on the team is Grissom, who was acquired in a trade with Atlanta for Chris Sale, who looks like he will win the Cy Young this season.  Grissom has played in just 23 games with Boston and hit .148 with no power.  Hopefully he can turn it around next season, but David Hamilton turned in a nice season and probably deserves the second base job until Kristian Campbell is ready.

7.  Tyler O'Neill.  2021 was Hunter Renfroe.  2023 was Adam Duvall.  This year Tyler O'Neill could be a right-handed power-hitting outfielder that turns in just one season.  O'Neill has hit 27 home runs so far this season, but has been on the IL several times.  With Roman Anthony knocking at the door and an already crowded outfield with Wilyer Abreu, Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela, it doesn't make a lot of sense to bring O'Neill back next season.

8.  Trevor Story.  Story played just a handful of games, then went on the IL.  It was thought his season was over, but he made it back with about 20 games to spare.  Hopefully he can show enough to justify his spot next season.  He has had a lot of difficulty staying on the field in his three seasons in Boston.

9.  Brayan Bello.  Bello has been inconsistent this season.  At times he has looked like a future ace.  At others he has been maddening.  Bello signed a big extension, so he will be around for awhile, but he needs to work on his command and on not getting too worked up after a mistake.  He seems to get upset when something bad happens and fall apart.

10.  Wilyer Abreu.  Abreu should be one of the leaders in the Rookie of the Year vote, but he seems to be getting completely ignored.  He has been very good this season on both sides of the ball.  

11.  Jarren Duran.  More than anything, this has been the year of Duran.  He has become the best overall player on the team and currently leads the league in doubles and triples while putting up a 20/20 season.  He has an outside shot at 200 hits and a 10.0 WAR season.  He could also win a Gold Glove.  On top of everything, he won the All Star Game MVP.  He has had a simply incredible season.

Random Pickups

I have not totally brought myself around to checking how badly stuff was damaged from the water yet.  It doesn't appear that anything is a complete and total loss, but there are a number of cards that are severely damaged and many that will probably never be able to be removed from the binders.  But on to happier things, an attempt to get caught up on my recent additions.  This post will be a number of packages, including some Wong cards. 

1.  Rafael Devers.  Devers has been playing with a hurt shoulder for much of this season.  Despite this, he is currently hitting .279/.355/.544 with 28 home runs and 81 RBIs.  Devers is a beast on offense.

2.  Blaze Jordan.  Jordan has stumbled a bit in Double-A, but he continues to hit home runs.  It is tough to say if he will make the Majors or not, he has tumbled down the prospect list a bit.

3.  Trevor Story.  As I am writing this post, Story has made it back from a serious shoulder injury.  I don't know what to expect from him going forward, but his leadership was definitely missed.

4.  J.D. Martinez.  Martinez is currently 69 home runs shy of 400 for his career.  He has hit just 16 this season.  I kind of doubt he will be able to stick around long enough to make that number, especially since he is 36 now.  I would guess he has maybe two more seasons in him at this point.

This is the White Disco Prizm card from Panini Prizm.  It is serial-numbered to just five.  Wong has cooled off considerably the second half of the season and has struggled on defense.  I think he will go into next season as the starting catcher, but then possibly become more of a utility player/backup catcher after top prospect Kyle Teel makes the Majors.  He has played first base, second base and left field in recent weeks.  He can still be a valuable player that way and as long as he stays in Boston, I will still collect him.  I have some big stuff coming up to show off.

1.  Bobby Dalbec.  Somehow Dalbec remains on the 40-man roster.  I think it's a time for a change of scenery for him.  He has continued to hit well in the minors, but at 29 years of age, it is fair to ask if he will ever be able to remain in the Majors.

2.  Pedro Martinez.  From 1999 to 2003, Martinez was the best pitcher I have ever seen.  If he gave up a run, it was surprising.  He was incredible and I am so glad I was able to see him pitch.

3.  Gilberto Jimenez.  Jimenez made some noise as a prospect for a few years but just kind of fell apart at a certain point.  Missing out on the 2020 season due to the COVID season definitely did not help.  I think a number of prospects seriously suffered from not being able to play that year (Jeter Downs is one that comes to mind).

4.  Mo Vaughn.  Vaughn remains one of my favorite players of all time.  I still think he may have ended up in the Hall of Fame had he stayed in Boston.  In eight seasons with Boston, he was hitting .304/.394/.542 with 230 home runs.  Those are HUGE numbers.

5.  Chris Sale.  It is nice to see Sale return to his dominant form this season, it is just a shame it was not in Boston.  Still, it would be nice to see him get back on track to a Hall of Fame form.

6.  Enmanuel Valdez.  This is pretty cool.  This is one of those Golden Mirror SSP cards.  Valdez is probably running out of time to make an impact in Boston.  He can hit, but his fielding is so suspect that it is hard to put him anywhere.  

7.  Adam Duvall.  Duvall is an upcoming One-Year Wonder post.  Had he stayed healthy in 2022, he could have put up some big numbers.  He still hit 21 home runs in 92 games.

8.  Roger Clemens.  This is another one of those MVP cards just like in the 1975 set.

Here is the 2022 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary Gold Autograph card serial-numbered to 50.

1.  Ian Bladergroen.  Bladergroen was a prospect who was acquired from the Mets in exchange for Doug Mientkiewicz, surely the most letters in one trade that involved just two players.  Bladergroen never made it to the Majors and actually never even made it to Double-A.

2.  Bobby Dalbec.

3.  Bobby Dalbec.

4.  J.D. Martinez.

5.  Bobby Dalbec.  As you can see, I get a lot of Dalbec cards from people in TCDB trades, because no one wants them.

6.  Rafael Devers.

7.  Famous Rivals card.  This goes down as a Fenway Park card.

8.  David Hamilton.  Hamilton was acquired in the trade that sent Hunter Renfroe to the Brewers for Jackie Bradley Jr. and a couple prospects.  Hamilton was one of those.  I have really gotten to like Hamilton.  He recently went down with an injury and his season could be over, but he was hitting .248/.303/.395 with eight homers and 28 RBIs, and most impressively, 33 stolen bases.  Speed is his game.  He has also improved defensively. 

9.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Rafaela is probably my favorite rookie this season.  He should be in the conversation for Rookie of the Year at the end of the season.  He strikes out too much, but plays great defense at both shortstop and center field and has some big power.  He also has 17 stolen bases with 15 home runs, giving him a shot at 20/20 in his rookie season.