Some Random Cards

Hey!  This post will not feature any Connor Wong cards.  I got these cards as extras thrown in in a package with a Connor Wong card.  There was a pile of Red Sox cards and I needed quite a few, because my team collection as a whole has kind of suffered as a result of the big focus on Wong cards.  Eventually I will probably start to catch up.  

1.  Juan Chacon.  Chacon was an international free agent back in 2019 and played in Sarasota in 2023.  He doesn't have much power, and hit just .241, but he did steal 20 bases.  He is the very definition of a lottery pick signee.  Unfortunately, I don't think there is much here.

2.  Alex Verdugo.  I am very disappointed with what happened with Verdugo this season.  He was my pick to break out in 2023 and for the first half of the season, he looked like he was doing just that.  Then, his bat went quiet and he seemed distracted the second half.  Twice, he was benched for not hustling or breaking team rules.  He also made some statements that make me question whether he wants to stay in Boston.  One of the things I liked most about him previously was how happy he seemed to be there, but that seemed to change over night.  He has one year left on his contract, and I do not see any way he will stay in Boston.  I think he will be traded this off-season in fact.  It is very disappointing after he came to Boston with a lot of talent.  I do think he should have won the Gold Glove though.

3.   Matt Barnes.  Barnes had a disappointing end to his career with the Red Sox.  He had some nice years in Boston.  Of course, his All Star season in 2021 was a highlight.  I do like this photo, with the camo hat.

4.  Enmanuel Valdez.  Valdez was one of the two prospects acquired in the Christian Vazquez deal, and the first to make the Majors.  Valdez can absolutely rake, but his defense leaves a lot to be desired.  So that makes it difficult to project where he will be in 2024.  He could be trade bait, he could be part of the second base solution, or he could find his way into the outfield mix.  

5.  Triston Casas.  After a brutal start to the season, Casas came around in a big way.  Only a late-season shoulder injury prevented him from making a true run at the Rookie of the Year Award.  Had he been healthy all season, he likely would have had the best offensive numbers of any rookie.  As it was, he finished third.

6.  Chris Sale.  At times in 2023, it looked like the old Sale was back.  Unfortunately, he is basically made of glass at this point and the slightest injury has a tendency of sidelining him for long stretches.

7.  Rick Ferrell.  Ferrell is often brought up when discussing the worst Hall of Famers.  I do not really understand that.  He was a catcher that was an All Star eight times and hit .281/.378/.363 for his career.  Yeah, he didn't have much power, but he hit over .300 four times and looks like he was very good defensively.  He was one of the best catchers of his time.  

8.  Pedro Martinez.  I do not have anything new to say about Pedro, simply one of the greatest pitchers I have ever seen.

9.  Jarren Duran.  Holy crap did his season come out of nowhere.  It's a shame he went down with an injury, because he finally looked like the player he was expected to be for the last few years.  He ended up hitting .295 with eight home runs, 34 doubles and 24 stolen bases in 105 games.  Hopefully, he will be healthy again in 2024 and can build on those numbers.

More Wong Cards

I am sure people are a little bored with Wong cards, but I am not, and it is my blog.  So there.

Topps Update Red Foil.  Serial-numbered to 199.

Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary Rookie Autographs Pink Refractor.  Sorry about the bad scan.  Autographed card numbered to 15.

Topps Update Orange and Black Foil.  One of the Halloween-themed parallels that dropped surprisingly in retail.  This is the most common one, and the least exciting.

Panini Capstone Holo Gold.  Serial-numbered to 20.

Topps Update Jack O' Lantern.  This is one of the other parallels.  I would love to get all of these.  Halloween is my favorite holiday.

Topps Update Gold Foil.

Topps Update Printing Plate Cyan.  It seems like all of my printing plates lately have been the cyan ones.  I'm not complaining, just observing.

Topps Father's Day Blue.  I snagged this one as an extra in an auction with another card, that I already had.  This was the much more interesting card, so I think the seller did himself a disservice by not listing this alone.

Topps Chrome Magenta Refractor.  Serial-numbered to 399.

Topps Chrome Rookie Autographs Purple Refractor.  Serial-numbered to 150.

Topps Chrome Logofractor Future Stars Red.  Serial-numbered to just five.  This randomly popped up on COMC and I grabbed it right away.

Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary Gold Refractor.  Serial-numbered to 50.

That's it for now.  As usual, there is more to come.

Once Again, I am Behind

I am not going to catch up all in one post.  There would be a lot to go through.  So, this may take a few posts, but I will work on it.  I will go until I get too tired.  Most of the cards are Connor Wong cards, though I have gotten some other stuff as extras.

Topps Chrome Rookie Autographs Printing Plate Cyan.  I admit, I spent a bit more on this than I should have, but I really could not bear the thought of it ending up in someone else's collection.  

Topps Update Rainbow Foil and Base.  I tried out another of those multi-case breaks, hoping to grab some rare parallels cheaply.  Unfortunately, my best card was the Vintage Stock, which I already had.  So, all I added were the Rainbow Foil and base card.

Topps Update Golden Rainbow SSP.  Apparently this was a full parallel set this time around.  Every card had a SSP version with a different photo.  

Topps Update Gold.  This is the gold standard (ha!) of parallels.  

Topps Chrome Sapphire Purple.  This card leaves me two cards short of finding all of the Sapphire parallels.  I need the Red and the Padparadascha (whatever that is).  

Panini Absolute Rookie Threads Retail Green.  Simple jersey swatch serial-numbered to 199.

Topps Update Independence Day.  Serial-numbered to 76.  I tried to grab these parallels right away, rather than searching for them later.

Panini Prizm Rookie Autographs Red Prizm.  This was more of one that I just kind of missed for awhile.

Topps Update Black.  A bad scan, that cut off part of the top.  Another one that I felt I better grab right away.  I'm still looking for the 2022 Black.

Topps Japan Jade.  Some of these parallels are a little difficult to come by.  I have three more to go, but they are all fairly typical parallels.  I like the ones that are specific to this set.  Not to say I won't get the others.

Topps Clearly Authentic Autographs Green.  This is kind of a weird one.  The scan is bad.  This card is all acetate and is transparent.  

That seems like a good stopping point for now.  Many more to come.