The Red Sox in Order

I made a recent trade with Tom over at Angels in Order.  All of the cards he sent were off of my wantlist.  Here are the cards he sent my way:

1.  Doug Mirabelli.  I am still not convinced this isn't Jason Varitek in the picture.  It just does not look like Mirabelli.  I note that he is wearing Mirabelli's chest protector, but that doesn't mean everything.  I am just not sure.  Mirabelli was a favorite of mine too, just not on the same level, obviously.  Mirabelli provided Boston an excellent backup catcher for several seasons.  He hit .281 with nine home runs in 2004 when Varitek hit .296 with 18 home runs.  That is excellent production from the catching platoon.

2.  Mike Lowell.  During Lowell's five-year stint with the Red Sox, he hit .290/.346/.468 with 80 home runs and 374 RBIs.  He was an All Star in 2007 and won the World Series MVP.  That year he finished fifth in the A.L. MVP vote.  Lowell was something of an afterthought when Boston acquired him along with Josh Beckett, but he was a great player during his time in Boston.

3.  Kevin Youkilis.  For a two-year span, Youkilis was one of the best hitters in the game.  From 2008 to 2009, he hit .309/.401/.559 with 56 home runs, 79 doubles, 190 runs scored, 318 hits and 209 RBIs.  He was an All Star both seasons (three total), and finished third and sixth in the MVP voting.  He also won the Hank Aaron Award in 2008.  

4.  Pedro Martinez.  This is a World Series Heroes insert from 2005 Upper Deck.  Martinez was of course coming off of the 2004 World Series victory over the Cardinals.  Martinez pitched Game 3 of the World Series and pitched seven innings of three-hit, scoreless ball.  He struck out six and walked two.  It was not his most dominant performance, but it was exceptional.  He won the game of course.  He would pitch two more World Series games, both with the Phillies against the Yankees, but he was nowhere near as good as his first World Series game with the Red Sox.

5.  Roger Clemens.  There were four Clemens cards in this trade.  I am missing a lot of Clemens cards from the mid 1990's when I was not as excited about him.  That's why I put my full wantlist together, to get some of those cards.  Clemens is tied with Cy Young for career victories with the Red Sox at 192.  

6.  Roger Clemens.

7.  Roger Clemens.

8.  Roger Clemens.

9.  Kevin Youkilis.

10.  Andy Yount.  Yount was Boston's first round pick in the 1995 draft, 15th overall.  Unfortunately, he suffered a bizarre injury and never made it close to the Majors.  Roy Halladay was selected two picks later.

11.  David Ortiz.  I have no idea what more there is to say about David Ortiz.  I am working on a post (or series) in which I look at every player I have more than 100 cards of.  Ortiz is the third-biggest player in my collection, behind only Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Varitek.

12.  David Eckstein.  I have covered Eckstein several times on this blog.  He never actually played with Boston, even though he was drafted by them.  He looked like a possible Major Leaguer, but Boston needed a third-baseman right away and re-acquired Lou Merloni.  In order to make room on the roster, they DFA'd Eckstein and he was claimed on waivers by the Angels.  They probably should have just kept Eckstein.

13.  Jarren Duran.  The newest card in the package is this Duran card.  I can't escape Duran.

14.  Josh Beckett.  I remember Beckett as maddeningly inconsistent from year to year in Boston.  He was second in the Cy Young race in 2007 and ninth in 2011.  He was an All Star three times.  He had a record of 89-58 with a 4.17 ERA with 1,108 strikeouts and 338 walks in 1,240 innings pitched.  He was the ALCS MVP in 2007.  If he is not yet in the team Hall of Fame, he should be.

Thanks Tom!