One-Card Wonder Pt. 34: Javy Lopez

During the 2006 stretch run, the Red Sox found themselves decimated by injuries.  The injury with the most repercussions was the injury to catcher Jason Varitek.  Combined with the less-than-stellar hitting of Doug Mirabelli, Boston was scrambling for catching help.  In early August, Boston acquired former All Star catcher Javy Lopez from the Orioles for a player to be named later, who eventually turned out to be Adam Stern.

Lopez had been an All Star three times while with the Braves and one year hit 43 home runs.  Unfortunately, he was well past his prime by the time that he joined the Red Sox.  He was not the answer the team was looking for to cure the catching woes.  Lopez played in just 18 games with the Red Sox and hit just .190/.215/.270 with no home runs and just four runs batted in.  He hit just five doubles and scored six runs.  Boston continued to flounder and eventually fell out of the race.

When Varitek returned from the disabled list, Lopez was released.  He did not finish out the season with the Red Sox and his only time spent with the team encompassed the approximately a month from early August to early September.  It is surprising then that he even had one card with the Red Sox.  But luckily, Upper Deck found a way to include him in its third series from the 2006 set.