Every year Topps sells sets for each of the postseason teams for a ridiculous price. Yet, I still end up getting them. Last year was no different. The set was only ten cards this year.
1. Bobby Dalbec. As the hot team rookie in 2021, of course Dalbec was going to be in the set. Dalbec though, barely played, primarily due to the acquisition of Kyle Schwarber. He made it into eight games, getting 12 at-bats. He failed to register a single hit or walk and struck out five times.
2. Nathan Eovaldi. Eovaldi started and won the Wild Card game against the Yankees, pitching 5.1 innings, giving up just one earned run while striking out eight. He pitched five innings against the Rays, again striking out eight, but taking a no-decision. He struggled a bit more in the ALCS, pitching three games, but starting two. He got the win in Game 2, but losses in Games 4 and 6. He had a 6.97 ERA in the ALCS, but he added nine more strikeouts.
3. Christian Vazquez. Vazquez was a star in the ALDS after sitting out most of the Wild Card game. He played in four of the five games and hit .375. He drove in four runs and had one of the biggest moments of the series, homering to walk off the Rays in Game 3. He drove in two in the ALCS while playing in each of the six games.
4. Xander Bogaerts. Bogaerts was one of the big hitting stars for Boston throughout the postseason. He homered and drove in two runs in each of the rounds. All told he hit .261, but that number was depressed by a lackluster showing in the second half of the ALCS, like most players not named Rafael Devers.
5. Rafael Devers. Speaking of Devers, he is quickly becoming one of the most impressive and prolific Red Sox hitters in postseason history. In 2021, all he did was .295 with five home runs, eleven runs scored and twelve RBIs. He already has eight home runs in his postseason career. Not bad for a player who is just 25 years old.
6. J.D. Martinez. Martinez played in just three of the ALDS games, but hit .467 with a home run and four RBIs. He also hit a couple of home runs in the ALCS against the Astros with six RBIs. One of those home runs was a grand slam. Not bad for a player whose participation in the postseason was at risk due to an ankle injury.
7. Hunter Renfroe. Renfroe struggled for most of the postseason. He had some decent moments in the ALDS and was involved in a weird play in which a fly ball bounced off the wall, off of him, and then over the wall for a ground-rule double. He had just two doubles among his seven hits and only drove in one run.
8. Kyle Schwarber. Schwarber was the big trade deadline acquisition in 2021. He was acquired to add another power bat to the lineup, and he lived up to it. He homered once in each round, including a grand slam in the ALCS. He drove in six runs in the postseason and even stole a base.
9. Alex Verdugo. Verdugo got to play in the postseason for the first time in 2021 and made the most of it, hitting .310 in the three rounds. He homered in the ALDS against the Rays and drove in six total runs. He also stole a base, scored five runs and walked five times as opposed to three strikeouts.
10. Chris Sale. Sale was injured most of 2021, coming back from Tommy John surgery. He struggled in his first game in the ALDS, giving up five runs in just one inning, but pitched significantly better in the ALCS. He started two games, pitching eight innings with nine strikeouts and three walks. He had an 0-1 record, but a 3.38 ERA.
There were some notable absences from this set. The biggest one was one of the biggest stars of the postseason: Enrique Hernandez. He hit five home runs and drove in nine runs and might have been the ALCS MVP had Boston moved on. Very little of the pitching staff was represented either. Nick Pivetta had a huge performance, as did Eduardo Rodriguez. And Garrett Whitlock was Boston's best rookie and held down the late innings. So, this set should have been a little bigger. I did get the autographed version of the set, and my card came earlier this year. I will show it off eventually.
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