More TCDB Mailday Madness

I have a couple more packages to show off today.

1.  Xander Bogaerts.  I do not get a ton of relics these days, but this came as part of this trade package and I am not going to turn it down.  I just don't target them as much, except in rare occasions.

2.  Bob Stanley.  This is a Topps Tiffany card.  Stanley was a subject of my Loyalty and Longevity series as he played his entire 13-year career with the Red Sox and retired as the team career leader in games pitched and saves.  He is still the career leader in games pitched (637), and that appears safe for the foreseeable future.

3.  Dave Valle.  For awhile, it seemed like every year Boston acquire a player who was a big disappointment.  Valle was one of these as he hit just .158/.256/.250 in 30 games before he was traded for the return of Tom Brunansky.  Other players that were disappointing were Matt Young, Ivan Calderon, Mark Whiten, Mark Portugal, Jeff Fassero, Dustin Hermanson and Tony Clark.

4.  Jose Canseco.  If only Canseco would have been healthy the entire time he was in Boston.  His Red Sox tenure is something of an afterthought now, but he hit .298/.389/.571 with 52 home runs in 198 games.  His .960 OPS and all three slash numbers were higher than with any other team.

5.  Roger Clemens.  Clemens will be up for possible induction in the Hall of Fame again in December, 2025 for the 2026 induction.

6.  Aaron Sele.  Sele was the first big prospect I remember making it to the Red Sox.  He was a first-round draft pick in 1991 and made it to the Majors in 1993.  He was great to begin with and looked like he might contend for the Rookie of the Year before fading down the stretch and ultimately finishing third.  He had a solid 1994 season and was pitching well in 1995 before suffering a season-ending injury.  He never really recovered with the Red Sox and was traded to Texas after the 1997 season where he resurrected his career.

7.  Troy O'Leary.  O'Leary's most underrated season was probably 1997 when he hit .309/.358/.479 with 15 home runs and 80 RBIs.  It was his career high for average and one of only two times he hit above .300.  He was a solid player for the Red Sox for several seasons.  

8.  Jose Offerman.  Offerman was great his first season in Boston after signing a big free agent deal.  He was the subject of a lot of jokes as he was signed shortly after Mo Vaughn left, but Offerman hit .294/.391/.435 with 107 runs scored, 96 walks, 37 doubles and a league-leading eleven triples.  Unfortunately, he went downhill after that.

9.  Jerome Gamble.  I wonder if Gamble is the largest player in my collection that never played in the Majors.  I have 21 cards of him.  He was on the 40 man roster in 2004, so he got a ton of rookie cards made even though he did not actually make it to the Majors.  He was a fourth-round pick in 1998 and underwent Tommy John surgery in 2001.  Boston lost him to the Reds in the Rule V Draft, but was returned to the Red Sox.  He reinjured his elbow in 2003 and that pretty much killed his chances of making the Majors.

10.  Troy O'Leary.

11.  Mike Shawaryn.  Shawaryn was a fifth-round pick by the Red Sox in 2016 and made it to the Majors in 2019, pitching in 14 games, but with a 9.74 ERA.  That was his only Major League experience.

12.  Jose Vinicio.  Vinicio was a highly-touted international free agent signed to a big contract.  His bat never caught up to his glove at shortstop though and he stalled out in the minors.  He made it to Pawtucket in 2016, but was released after the season.  He bounced around after that, but never made it to the Majors.

13.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Boston is putting a lot of hopes into Rafaela.  His defense has been great, but he has struggled at the plate.  He had a big game last Saturday though when he drove in seven runs.

14.  Jackie Bradley Jr.  JBJ is kind of the template for what Boston is hoping Rafaela will be.  A great fielder with an average bat.  JBJ had a couple of very good seasons at the plate though and was an All Star in 2016.

15.  Pedro Martinez.  One of my big regrets is not being able to see Martinez live in person.  I never seem to get to see Boston's aces, or if I do, it's before the pitcher becomes an ace.  

16.  Enmanuel Valdez.  Boston recently sent Valdez to the minors after he failed to impress with the bat this year.  It's strange because he has always hit well before.

17.  Blake Loubier.  It's strange to see Loubier in a 2023 set since he was released prior to the season.  The 13th-round pick from the 2019 draft struggled in the pros.

1.  Dustin Pedroia.  It's sort of weird to see Pedroia showing up in retired player sets.  

2.  Pedro Martinez.  I loved Upper Deck 40 Man.  Too bad we don't have anything like that now.

3.  Shea Hillenbrand.  I am not a big fan of minor league cards, but this trader insisted on adding this.  I did like Hillenbrand though, who was an All Star in 2002.  He hit .293/.330/.459 with 18 home runs and 83 RBIs that season.

4.  Rafael Devers.  One of the many players who has had injury problems this season for Boston.  They have been teetering on the edge of disaster for awhile, but have held it together.  I love this card.

5.  Rafael Devers.

6.  J.D. Martinez.  Martinez has finally made it back this year after some injury problems with the Mets.

7.  Tris Speaker.  Speaker was the first massive talent Boston traded away in his prime, though that is somewhat forgotten since Ruth was sold so soon thereafter.  Speaker was traded to Cleveland for a package including Pinch Thomas and Sad Sam Jones and some money.  Jones was a reliable starter for a few years and a 20-game winner in 1921.  Thomas hit .257 in 44 games as a backup catcher.