Recently, I found a seller on one of the forums who was breaking up a bunch of sets that he had put together. A lot of them were sets that I still needed some Red Sox cards from my want list. This deal was very successful for my collection, closing out 20 sets for me and making significant progress in several more.
1. Nomar Garciaparra. A Boston writer recently made a lot of enemies on Twitter when he posted an article explaining that Nomar was actually better than Jeter. For a period from 1997 through 2003, that is undeniably true. Unfortunately, injuries ruined Nomar. Yes, Jeter had the better career and certainly had longevity on his side, but Nomar's peak was better.
2. Troy O'Leary. Pedro Martinez gets all the credit for being a hero in Game 5 of the 1999 ALDS against the Indians, but he would not have won without O'Leary's heroics. Twice Indians pitchers intentionally walked Nomar to get to O'Leary, once to load the bases and once to put two runners on. Both times O'Leary homered.
3. Brian Daubach. Daubach came out of nowhere to have a very good rookie season in 1999 when he hit .294/.360/.562 with 21 home runs and 73 RBIs. He was a 27-year-old rookie who had spent several seasons bouncing around previously. He stuck in Boston for a little bit, turning in four straight 20 home run seasons.
4. Jose Offerman. By and large, Offerman's tenure in Boston was a bust, but he did have a very good season in 1999, making the All Star team and hitting .294/.391/.435 while leading the Majors in triples. It was widely derided at the time that Boston was essentially replacing Mo Vaughn with Offerman, but Offerman might have been a little more valuable than Vaughn. I am not saying that it was a good move, but it was not as bad as it was thought to be at the time. If Vaughn hadn't declined, it would have been much worse.
5. Butch Huskey. With the loss of Vaughn and Reggie Jefferson's decline, Boston needed some more offense in 1999 and acquired Huskey at the trading deadline. He hit seven home runs in 45 games, but had a slash line of just .266/.305/.484, not quite what Boston had in mind.
6. John Valentin. I have written a lot about how good Valentin really was. He is one of the most underrated Red Sox players of my lifetime. He was a steady defensive player who could play short, second and third, and a very good hitter. His 1995 season was terrific.
7. Pedro Martinez. I still think he should have been the 1999 AL MVP. But his 2000 season was probably even better. I am not sure I will ever see a more dominant pitcher, but Clayton Kershaw has definitely come close.
8. Mo Vaughn. No, Mo Vaughn probably did not deserve the 1995 AL MVP, but his time in Boston was very impressive as he had a line of .304/.394/.542 with 230 home runs. He is deserving of his team legend status.
9. Mike Greenwell. It is sort of odd to think about now, but there was a period of time when Greenwell was one of the best players in the game. He finished second in the MVP vote in 1988 when he hit .325/.416/.531 with 22 home runs and 119 RBIs. He also stole 19 bases. His power disappeared afterwards as he never hit more than 15 home runs again, but he maintained a good batting average, hitting .303 for his career.
10. Rafael Orellano. Yes, Bartolo Colon is on this card too, and he is the only one who had any kind of Major League career. Orellano was once part of a group of strong pitching prospects for the Red Sox that included Frank Rodriguez, Brian Rose and Carl Pavano, none of whom made much impact with Boston, though Pavano had some good seasons after being traded. Boston has an issue with developing pitching.
11. Tim Naehring. After Naehring became the full-time third-baseman, he started to break out and continued improving until a knee injury ended his career in 1997. It's a shame because he was finally starting to reach his potential and looked like he was having a career year.
12. Roger Clemens. The best year of Clemens's Red Sox career may have been one in which he did not win the Cy Young Award. In 1990, he was 21-6 with 209 strikeouts and a 1.93 ERA, yet he lost out on the award to Bob Welch, who won 27 games with a juggernaut A's team, even though his other numbers paled in comparison to Clemens.
13. Mo Vaughn.
14. Wade Miller. Signing Miller was a low-risk, high-reward signing in 2005. He was coming off an injury-plagued season and had been very good previously. Unfortunately, it did not work out as Miller pitched in just 16 games and failed to impress. Sometimes these things just do not work.
15. Fred Lynn. Lynn could be a Hall of Famer if he had spent his entire career in Boston. He was a decent player later in his career, but nothing like his .308/.383/.520 line. Those numbers are a great year for most players. That was seven years for Lynn.
16. Ted Cox. The only player whose name rhymes with "Red Sox", Cox was a hot prospect with Boston who hit very well in his short time with the team. After the season though he was part of the package sent to the Indians for Dennis Eckersley. And Cox never did a lot after that.
17. Bill Campbell. I talked before about how Campbell's season was nearly as impressive as Sparky Lyle's year, and Lyle won the Cy Young Award. Lyle had Campbell beat in a few categories, but it was a lot closer than one would have thought. It is probably telling that Campbell won the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award instead of Lyle.
18. Ellis Burks. Burks looked like a star after 1990, but injuries slowed his development. He would eventually reach his potential, but not until after leaving Boston. I was incredibly disappointed when he was allowed to leave as a free agent after 1992. Of all the players the team lost after that season, Burks had the most left in the tank. It would have been nice to have him in center field for the rest of the decade instead of the revolving door they had.
19. Carl Yastrzemski. This card celebrated the 3,000th hit of both Yaz and Lou Brock. Both players came into the Majors the same season, though Brock only played in four games that year. Brock would retire after 1979, but Yaz would hang around through 1983.
20. Joel Finch/Garry Hancock/Allen Ripley. This is not the most inspiring of prospect trios. Finch only pitched in 15 games in 1979. Hancock was a backup outfielder through the 1984 season, having one semi-successful season with Oakland. Ripley pitched through 1982 and mostly bounced around. None of them had anywhere close to a really good season.
21. Phil Plantier. Plantier was the first rookie sensation I remember, becoming a Red Sox fan in 1991. I remember his Upper Deck and Stadium Club cards used to be quite valuable. My understanding of his downfall in 1992 was his unwillingness to work on his defense and accept coaching when he struggled. This was from Lou Gorman's book. Thus, he fell out of favor and was traded for a seldom-used reliever named Jose Melendez (who was decent when he was healthy in 1993, which wasn't much). It was still a really bad trade though as Plantier hit 34 home runs in 1993 for San Diego. He never did much after that.
22. Roger Clemens. I really love this photo. That is John Marzano, who became Clemens's personal catcher in the photo.
23. Wade Boggs. As much as I like the Clemens photo, this one is even better. Boggs is the first Red Sox player who was active (and with the team) when I started paying attention to baseball to make the Hall of Fame. I wanted to go to the ceremony, but I was still in law school at the time and, well, did not really have money.
24. Carlos Rodriguez. One of four players with the surname Rodriguez to play with the Red Sox in the mid 1990's, Rodriguez was not really too bad of a hitter for a utility infielder. He had virtually no power though.
25. Rob Welch. None of the players here made any lasting impact in the Majors. Only Greg Hansell played for more than a year. Welch never made the Majors. He made it as far as High A ball.
26. Luis Ortiz. Ortiz was the least-successful of the players on this card even though he was the furthest along. Jason Giambi of course became a big star and won the MVP with the A's in 2000 before moving on to the Yankees. David Bell was a very good defensive third-baseman (like his father) and had some decent seasons while jumping from team to team. Arias mostly hung around for a few seasons, but played in 173 games. Ortiz though only played in 60 total games, most of them for Texas after being traded for Jose Canseco.
27. Tim Wakefield. I talked about low-risk, high-reward moves when I talked about Wade Miller. Wakefield was the ultimate pitching example of one that worked out in my lifetime. He had a highly successful rookie season with the Pirates in 1992, then struggled afterwards. Pittsburgh cut him loose and Boston took a flyer in 1995 where he thrust himself into the Cy Young discussion. He then went on to pitch for Boston through 2011. He was not always great, but he was reliable.
28. David Ortiz. I love the photo here of Ortiz in front of the Stars and Stripes. Ortiz of course was the ultimate example of the low-risk, high-reward Red Sox signing in my lifetime (or almost anyone else's lifetime for that matter). He was cut loose by the Twins after the 2002 season in which he hit 20 home runs. He was a bench player early in the 2003 season, but he just kept hitting (and Jeremy Giambi didn't), and quickly became the primary DH. Now, he looks like he will be elected to the Hall of Fame soon after leading the team to three World Championships, shattering the single season home run record, and all kinds of other feats.
29. Curt Schilling. I think it is likely that Schilling will be inducted into the Hall of Fame next year. He received 70% of the vote this year. I would love it if he had a Red Sox cap on his plaque, as a result of his high-profile status as part of the 2004 World Championship team, but I am realistic. He will likely go in as a Phillie.
30. Garin Cecchini. After highly impressive 2012 and 2013 seasons in the minors, Cecchini's numbers declined significantly. He made a couple of a stops in the Majors anyway, but never did much. After the 2015 season he played in the Brewers and Royals systems, but never made it back to the Majors.
31. John Otness. Otness looked like a prospect after hitting .331/.398/.461 in A-ball in 2005. Unfortunately that was the high point of his career. He stagnated in Double A. That's kind of the weird thing about Bowman cards. So many of the players never actually make the Majors.
32. David Ortiz.
33. Ryan Brasier. Brasier returned to the Majors after a four-year absence in 2018 to become a major part of the Red Sox bullpen. He pitched in 34 games with a 1.60 ERA and struck out 29 while walking just seven in 33.2 innings. He struggled at times in 2019, but remains a big part of the bullpen should the 2020 season ever start.
34. Rafael Devers. This is my 100th Devers card. I have no idea who the quickest to 100 was (though it is likely that it was Nomar Garciaparra). Devers was pretty quick though. And if he builds on his 2019 season, he could rise through the ranks quickly.
35. Edward Mujica. I had high hopes for Mujica, thinking he could do for the 2014 team what Koji Uehara did for the 2013 team, though not to the same degree obviously. He came to the team after an All Star season in St. Louis. He was not bad for Boston, but a 3.90 ERA is nothing to write home about for a reliever.
36. Kevin Youkilis. Youkilis was a terrific player for a few years for Boston and finished third in AL MVP voting in 2008 and sixth in 2009. He was one of the best hitters in the game and won the Hank Aaron Award in 2008 when he hit .312/.390/.569 with 29 home runs and 115 RBIs.
37. Marco Scutaro. Scutaro spent two seasons as the Red Sox shortstop and was an underrated performer. His best season was 2011 when he hit .299/.358/.423. He would eventually make his first All Star team with the Giants in his last full season.
38. Jonathan Papelbon. Papelbon is the team's career saves leader with 219. He was the runner-up for the Rookie of the Year in 2006 when he had a sparkling 0.92 ERA and 35 saves. He was a four-time All Star for the Red Sox and a part of the World Championship team of 2007.
39. Daisuke Matsuzaka. I choose to remember Dice-K's first two seasons with the Red Sox when I think of him. In those years he was 33-15 with a 3.72 ERA and 355 strikeouts. He finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year vote in 2007 and fourth in the Cy Young vote in 2008. Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there.
40. David Ortiz. There is quite the collection of talent on this card. Featuring no-doubt Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, recent inductee Derek Jeter, future inductee David Ortiz...and Prince Fielder who was really good for awhile.
41. Wade Miller. Two Wade Miller cards? Yep.
42. Manny Ramirez. If Ramirez ever makes the Hall of Fame, the cap will be essentially a coin flip between the Red Sox and Indians. For Cleveland, he hit .313/.407/.592 with 236 home runs. For Boston, he hit .312/.411/.588 with 274 home runs. The home runs are really the only big difference.
43. David Ortiz.
44. Coco Crisp. Crisp just was not very good in his three years in Boston. His numbers for the Red Sox included a line of .271/.330/.390 with 21 home runs and a 137 RBIs. He stole 70 bases. He was generally much better in his time with Cleveland and Oakland.
45. Team Card.
46. Mike Lowell. Lowell was a monster in 2007, finishing fifth in the AL MVP vote after hitting .324/.378/.501 with 21 homers and 120 RBIs. He was steady and dependable in his other seasons in Boston.
47. Curt Schilling.
48. Daisuke Matsuzaka.
49. David Ortiz.
50. Josh Beckett. Beckett was the ALCS MVP in 2007 when he was 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA, striking out 18 and walking just one in 14 innings. He was similarly dominant the rest of the post-season. Beckett was a beast in the post-season that year.
51. David Ortiz.
52. Daisuke Matsuzaka.
53. Craig Breslow. Breslow had two stints in Boston. In 2006 he pitched in 13 games with a 3.75 ERA but was claimed via waivers by the Indians. He was traded back to the Red Sox (by the Diamondbacks) in 2012 and was an important part of the bullpen through the 2015 season. His best season was 2013 when he was 5-2 with a 1.81 ERA and the primary lefty out of the pen.
54. Manny Ramirez.
55. Trot Nixon. I love this photo. Nixon was a hard-nosed player and this shot exemplifies that grittiness. He was one of my favorite players in the early 2000's and had a great three-year stretch.
56. Jantzen Witte. Witte is running out of time to make the Majors. He is now 29 years old and still in the minors. It is unlikely at this point that the 2013 draft pick ever will.
