A Wong Update Plus the Jason Varitek Quest for 1,500 (#1,001)

Today I have a bunch of Connor Wong cards to show off, plus a random TCDB trade.

Up first is a bunch or rarer Panini cards:

1.  2022 Donruss Optic Photon Prizm.  I have no idea what the purpose of this parallel is, but it is another Connor Wong card.

2.  2022 Panini Chronicles Contenders Optic Pink.  This took a weirdly long time to find, but I did eventually.  It is serial-numbered to 50.

3.  2022 Donruss Optic Rated Rookie Signatures Green.  This one is serial-numbered to just five.

4.  2022 Panini Prizm Navy Blue Kaleidoscope.  I had to get this one because I got a J.T. Realmuto card in a pack.  I can't have a card of another player when I should have the Connor Wong.

Here is the trade:

1.  Mookie Betts.  Yes, I still get Mookie Betts cards.  I still hold out hope that he will wear a Red Sox cap on his Hall of Fame plaque.  At this point, I still think he had more great years with the Red Sox (including his best season, 2018) than with the Dodgers.

2.  Matt Kinney.  Kinney was a sixth-round pick of the Red Sox in 1995 and was making some progress toward the Majors when he was traded in the 1998 deal to the Twins for Greg Swindell and Orlando Merced (two players who never got Red Sox cards).  Kinney spent parts of five seasons in the Majors with the Twins, Brewers, Royals and Giants.  He had a 19-27 record with a 5.29 career ERA.  

3.  Masataka Yoshida.  He won't challenge for a batting title this season as I predicted, but he has been on fire lately.  I would still like to see him put it all together, but I kind of suspect it may not be in a Red Sox uniform.  The outfield is starting to get crowded in Boston.

4.  Triston Casas.  Casas should be back soon from a rib injury.  He won't hit 30 home runs like I predicted, but it will be great to get him back.

5.  Jason Varitek.  Here is card #1,001 of Varitek, seen jumping into Keith Foulke's arms after the groundout that sealed the 2004 World Championship, Boston's first since 1918.

6.  Kyle Weiland.  Weiland was a third-round pick by Boston in 2008 and made it to the Majors in 2011, pitching in seven games (five starts) with a 0-3 record and a 7.66 ERA.  In 24.2 innings, he struck out 13 and walked 12.  He was part of the package sent to Houston (along with Jed Lowrie) for Mark Melancon, a trade that did not work out well for Boston.  He didn't do much better with Houston.

And more Wong cards:

1.  2022 Panini Absolute Tools of the Trade 2 Swatch Gold.  I had to grab this one serial-numbered to 10.  The swatches included a red stripe and a button.  Definitely a cool card.

2.  2022 Donruss Optic Red Prizm.  This card also took a weirdly long time to find.  It is serial-numbered to 60.

3.  2022 Stadium Club Chrome Orange Refractor.  And this one is serial-numbered to 25.

One of These Days I Will Catch Up

I am way behind on posts because I have had a lot of cases set for trial that I have almost worked my way through.  This post will be a couple of TCDB trades.

1.  Jarren Duran.  Duran has been one of the biggest stories on the team this season.  There were times two years ago that it looked like he would never be a regular Major Leaguer.  Last season he looked like he turned a corner, but then got hurt.  He has been one of the best players on the team this season and is coming off winning the All Star Game MVP.

2.  Justin Turner.  I probably have a One-Year Wonder post coming up on Turner.  I might wait to see if he possibly gets traded back to Boston this year though.  Turner hit .276/.345/.455 with 23 homers and 96 RBIs while playing DH primarily and filling it at each of the bases.

3.  Trevor Story.  One of my big misses on my pre-season predictions was Story who went down with a devastating injury early this season.  He looked poised for a big season.  There is a chance he could make it back by the end of this season though.

4.  Ceddane Rafaela.  Could we be looking at the AL Rookie of the Year here?  He leads in a number of offensive categories for rookies and his ability to play good defense at both shortstop and center field is rare.  At any rate, with his extension signed earlier, he should be in Boston for awhile.

5.  Rafael Devers.  It is just another great season for Devers.  He was named to the All Star team for the third time, though he declined to play due to a nagging shoulder.  He is closing in on his 200th career home run.

6.  Yoenis Cespedes.  Yes, it may be hard to recall, but Cespedes was a Red Sox player for a short time.  Acquired in a trade for Jon Lester and then dealt away for Rick Porcello, Cespedes was the link between two great pitchers for the Red Sox.  He hit just .269/.296/.423 with only five home runs and 33 RBIs in 51 games and there were questions about his work ethic.  He should have mashed in Fenway.

7.  Roger Clemens.  This card also features Kerry Wood and Bob Feller.  Other than being all right-handed power pitchers, I am not sure the link between these three.

1.  Andrew Benintendi.  The downturn in Benintendi's career has been shocking.  He has been a well-below average hitter for a few years now.

2.  Martin Perez.  Perez was basically a league-average pitcher for a couple seasons in Boston and there is something to be said for that.  He was 10-13 with a 4.65 ERA (102 ERA+) with 143 strikeouts and 64 walks in 176 innings.  

3.  Bret Saberhagen.  Saberhagen is a borderline Hall of Famer who won two Cy Young Awards.  He had been struggling with injuries prior to being picked up on low-risk, high-reward contract with the Red Sox before the 1997 season.  In parts of four seasons, Saberhagen was 26-17 with a 3.90 ERA with 205 strikeouts and just 50 walks in 335 innings pitched.

4.  Jim Leyritz.  I remember being excited when the Red Sox traded for Leyritz.  He played well for Boston, but was supposed to be a platoon player at both catcher and DH, but with the emergence of Jason Varitek, he was not playing at all behind the plate.  So, he was dealt to the Padres for Carlos Reyes, Dario Veras and Mandy Romero.  In Boston, he hit .287/.385/.519 with eight home runs and 24 RBIs in 52 games.

5.  J.D. Martinez.  We will see if anyone ever wins two Silver Slugger Awards in the same season as Martinez did for the Red Sox in 2018.  He took home one for outfield and DH.