I do not actually do a lot of hobby stuff on Twitter. 80% of my activities involve following the latest on the Red Sox, with the remaining being a mix of current events, heavy metal, tarantulas and Hall of Fame following. I have shared a few cards occasionally and watch for new releases, but I just made my first transaction on the site some time last year.
A guy posted on a vintage sell thread that he had a bunch of the Yawkey Red Sox singles from 1972. I jumped on it because this is a set I am trying to complete. For obvious reasons.
Up first though is some bonus stuff he sent, a few minor league cards from one of the Dunkin' Donuts sets.
1. Bruce Crabbe. Crabbe was a coach for Pawtucket at this point. I have never heard of the guy before. It appears he was at one point a first round draft pick of the Expos, but did not sign. He was eventually drafted by the Cubs in the 19th round in 1984 when he finally signed. That may have not worked out well for him. He never made it to the Majors, spending time in the Cubs, Braves and Blue Jays organizations. He did spend six years in Triple-A. He had been a manager in lower levels in the Red Sox organization.
2. Brian Bogusevic. Bogusevic never played with Boston, but did spend 2010-2015 in the Majors. He played for the Astros, Cubs and Phillies. He was a starting outfielder for Houston in 2012 and hit .203/.297/.299 with seven home runs, 28 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. He signed as a free agent with Boston in 2017, but spent the season in Pawtucket, hitting .278/.331/.467 with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs.
3. Heiker Meneses. I remember Meneses making appearances in Spring Training with the Red Sox, but he never played with the Major League team. He spent multiple stints in the Red Sox organization along with playing for the Twins and Phillies organizations, last appearing in 2018. He did make it to Triple-A, but could never take the next step, despite hitting .291 with Pawtucket in 2017 at just 25 years of age.
4. Ryan Court. Court was originally drafted by the Diamondbacks in the 2011 draft. He made it to Double-A in their organization before leaving and joining the Boston organization as a minor league free agent. He spent two seasons primarily at Pawtucket. In 2017, he hit .263/.347/.410 with ten home runs and 44 RBIs. Court eventually made it to the Majors with the Mariners in 2019, playing in 12 games. He hit .208, but hit a home run. That was pretty much it for his career.
Up next are the Yawkey Red Sox singles.
5. Tommy Thomas. Thomas had a 12-year career in the Majors as a pitcher with the White Sox, Senators, Phillies, Browns and Red Sox. He was a decent pitcher early in his career, winning 19 games in 1927 while leading the league in starts and innings pitched. He played in Boston in his final season, starting with the Browns, then being released and picked up by Boston. He pitched in nine games, going 0-2 with a 4.09 ERA, striking out four and walking four in eleven innings pitched.
6. Joe Gonzales. Southpaw Gonzales was a 22-year-old rookie for the Red Sox in 1937. He pitched in eight games, starting two of them. In 31 innings pitched, he struck out eleven and walked eleven. He had a record of 1-2 with a 4.35 ERA. Unfortunately, that was it for his Major League career. He was dealt to Cleveland the following year.
7. Ted Olson. Righty Olson was born in Quincy, MA. He pitched parts of three seasons with the Red Sox from 1936-1938, but never pitched more than eleven games in any of those seasons. He had a career record of 1-1 in 18 games, spanning 57.1 innings pitched. He had an unsightly ERA of 7.18, striking out 18 and walking 25. He pitched in the minors for a couple more seasons after 1938, but never pitched in the Majors again.
8. Joe Cascarella. Cascarella started his Major League career with the A's and had a 12-15 record with a 4.68 ERA in 1934. He was sold to Boston during the 1935 season. He stayed with the Red Sox into the 1936 season, pitching in a total of 16 games with 37.2 innings pitched. He had a record of 0-5 with a 6.93 ERA, striking out 16 and walking 20. During the 1936 season he was traded to the Senators for Jack Russell. Cascarella also pitched for the Reds and had a career record of 27-48 with a 4.84 ERA in five seasons.
9. Stew Bowers. "Doc" Bowers made his Major League debut in 1935 as a 20-year-old. He pitched in 15 games as a Major Leaguer for the Red Sox from 1935 to 1936. He was decent in 1935, but struggled the next season and was 2-1 with a 4.60 ERA as a Major Leaguer. In 29.1 innings pitched, he struck out five while walking 19. That just is not getting it done. He pitched in the minors for a few more years, but never made it back to the Majors.
10. George Pipgras. Pipgras was originally in the Red Sox organization, but he had not made it to the Majors when he was traded to the Yankees for Al DeVormer. Pipgras turned in to a decent pitcher with the Yankees and led the league in wins (24), innings pitched (300.2) and starts (38) in 1928 while pitching to a 3.38 ERA. Pipgras won 93 games for the Yankees from 1923 to 1933. He was sold back to Boston along with Billy Werber in 1933. Pipgras was with Boston from 1933-1935. He had a record of 9-9 with a 4.54 ERA. He pitched in 136.2 innings pitched over 29 games, striking out 58 and walking 53.
11. Walt Ripley. Ripley was the father of late 1970's Red Sox pitcher Allen Ripley. His only Major League experience came in 1935 with the Red Sox as an 18-year-old righty. Ripley pitched in just two games, with four innings pitched. He did not log a strikeout while walking three. He had an ERA of 9.00. He spent another couple of seasons in the minors with various organizations but never pitched in the Majors again.
12. John Kroner. Kroner was a utility infielder who made his Major League debut in 1935 by appearing in two games. The next season saw him turn in a decent season, hitting .292/.349/.443 with eight triples, four home runs and 62 RBIs. He was sold to Cleveland the next season and played for them the next two seasons, but never hit as well as he did in 1936. For Boston, his line was .291/.350/.440.
13. Bing Miller. Miller had a 16-year career in the Majors with the Senators, Athletics, Browns and Red Sox. He had some very impressive seasons, hitting over .300 eight times and driving in 90 or more runs three times. Miller spent his last two seasons with the Red Sox from 1935 to 1936 after being signed as a free agent. In 108 games and 210 plate appearances, he hit .303/.361/.443 with four home runs and 32 RBIs with the Red Sox. He hit .311 in his career.
14. Ben Chapman. Chapman is mostly famous now for being vilified in the Jackie Robinson biopic 42. But, there is truth to that as he admitted to using the type of language to rattle Robinson. Chapman was a pretty good player. He played 15 years in the Majors and had a .302/.383/.440 career line and led the league in stolen bases four times. He was a four-time All Star. Boston acquired him in 1937 in a deal with Washington along with Bobo Newsom for the Ferrell brothers and Mel Almada. This was one of the years he led the league in stolen bases. He hit .307 for Boston, adding 27 stolen bases to end the season with 35. The next season he was better, hitting .340/.418/.494 with 40 doubles, eight home runs and 80 RBIs. He was traded to the Indians after the season for Denny Galehouse and a prospect to make room for Ted Williams. With Boston, he hit .324/.405/.480 with 13 home runs, 137 RBIs and 40 stolen bases.
15. Jim Henry. Henry spent parts of two seasons with the Red Sox from 1936-1937. The righty pitched in 24 games, starting ten of them, and pitched 91.2 innings. He had a 5-1 record in 1936 and a 1-0 record in 1937. His ERA with Boston was 4.71 and he struck out 44 while walking 51. Henry's contract was sold to the Philadephia Phillies late in 1938. He made it into a few games with them the following season, but that was it for his Major League career.
16. Bill Cissell. Cissell was an infielder for several seasons with the White Sox, Indians, Red Sox, Athletics and Giants. He was a competent contact hitter, but did not walk much. Cissell was acquired by Boston in a deal with the Indians for Lloyd Brown before the 1934 season. With Boston, he primarily played second base and made it into 102 games. He hit .267/.315/.346 with four home runs, 44 RBIs and stole eleven bases. Before the 1935 season, he was sent to the minor league Portland team for Jack Wilson. He later made it back to the Majors with the A's and Giants.
17. Hy Vandenberg. Vandenberg was a journeyman right-hander who pitched in parts of seven Major League seasons for the Red Sox, Giants and Cubs. He was a 29-year-old rookie for the Red Sox in 1935. He made it into just three games with Boston, pitching 5.1 innings. He failed to be credited with a decision, but had an ERA of 20.25, giving up twelve runs. He struck out two batters and walked four.
18. Dusty Rhodes. Gordon "Dusty" Rhodes was a pitcher Boston acquired in a trade with the Yankees for Wilcy Moore. His stats in his first year with Boston in 1932 were ugly. He had a record of 1-8 with a 5.11 ERA. Rhodes improved the next year to 12-15. Over his four seasons with the Red Sox, he was 27-45 with an ERA of 4.63. He struck out 230 batters and walked 282 in 676.2 innings pitched. He also logged four saves. He was noteworthy though as the primary player Boston sent to the Philadelphia A's (along with quite a bit of money) for Johnny Marcum and some guy named Jimmie Foxx.
19. Johnny Welch. Boston brought former Cubs righty Welch over prior to the 1932 season. He spent the next five seasons with the Red Sox as a bit of a workhorse versatile pitcher who could start and come out of the bullpen. He had his best season in 1934 when he went 13-15 with a 4.49 ERA in 206.1 innings pitched. He logged 91 strikeouts and 76 walks. For his time in Boston, Welch went 33-40 with a 4.66 ERA in 583.1 innings pitched. He struck out and walked 242 batters. Welch was placed on waivers and selected by Pittsburgh in 1936 for whom he made his last Major League appearances.
20. Lee Rogers. Rogers, whose nickname was obviously Buck, pitched just one season in the big leagues, splitting time with the Red Sox and Dodgers. He came up with Boston as a 24-year-old rookie and pitched in 14 games, starting two. He had a 1-1 record with a 6.51 ERA. In 27.2 innings pitched, he struck out seven and walked 18. He was traded for Johnnie Chambers, who never played for Boston. Rogers finished his season in Brooklyn and had an 0-2 record and a 5.70 ERA in 23.2 innings pitched.
21. Dib Williams. Williams spent all but 75 games of his 475 game, six-year career with the Philadelphia A's. He was a utility infielder that split his time between second and short, with some third base thrown in. His best season saw him hit .289 with eleven home runs. Williams started his final season in 1935 with the A's before being sold to the Red Sox. In his 75 games with Boston, he hit .251/.319/.335 with three home runs and 25 RBIs. He split time between third and second with Boston. That was it for his career.
As you all can see, these are not exactly household names. I have a lot of the big-name players from this set. Only Ben Chapman and Bing Miller are really star players, and not really for Boston. But, that's the fun of this set. There are players in this set that cannot be found in Red Sox uniforms anywhere else.
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