1991 Topps #792: Mike Greenwell

In this series, I will look at my first team set: 1991 Topps. This was the set I started my baseball card collection with.

Finally, I am at the end of this series.  Mike Greenwell was the fourth Red Sox card I received in a pack, and my fifth card overall.  He was also the first card of a very good player I got in my Red Sox collection (Dennis Lamp, Tom Bolton, Dana Kiecker, and Greg Harris came in before this card).  He was also my first position player.  

Greenwell was coming off of a bit of a disappointing season in 1991.  Greenwell had been an All Star in 1988 and 1989, but he was not chosen for the game in 1990.  He struggled early on in the season and it wasn't until heating up in the second half that he was able to get his stats back up to a more acceptable level.  He ended up hitting .297/.367/.434 with 14 home runs and 73 RBIs.  He also stole just eight bases after hitting double digits the previous two seasons.  His numbers were certainly not bad, but after the previous two seasons of output, it was a bit of a disappointment.

Unfortunately, this was the real Mike Greenwell.  A batting average around .300, around 15 home runs, and around 75 RBIs.  When he was healthy, these were the numbers he would put up.  Greenwell was no longer an elite player, but merely a good player, an above-average regular that was seldom great.  There is nothing really wrong with that.

1991 Topps #763: Dana Kiecker

In this series, I will look at my first team set: 1991 Topps. This was the set I started my baseball card collection with.

One of the strengths of the 1990 Red Sox team was the pitching staff, which helped lead Boston to the AL East division title.  Roger Clemens and Mike Boddicker came into the season as the clear favorites to lead off the rotation, but after those two, it was not settled who would make up the rest of the starters.  But Boston lucked out and benefited from surprisingly strong seasons by Greg Harris, Tom Bolton, and Dana Kiecker.

Kiecker was the biggest surprise as the 1983 8th round draft pick was 29 years old in 1990 and had never played in the Majors.  He made his Major League debut on April 12 out of the bullpen and pitched four innings.  By mid-May, Kiecker had stepped into the starting rotation and he stayed there for the better part of the season.  He finished the year 8-9 with a 3.97 ERA, solid numbers for a back of the rotation starter.  He struck out 93 and walked 54 in 152 innings.     

Kiecker started one game in the ALCS against the Athletics, pitching 5.2 innings in Game 2, giving up just one earned run.  He struck out two and walked one.  Unfortunately the bullpen gave up the tie-breaking runs and the Red Sox lost.  They were swept in the ALCS.

1991 was Kiecker's second, and final, season in the Major Leagues.  Injuries and ineffectiveness ended his career just as quickly as he started.

This Dana Kiecker card was my third Red Sox card, ever.  It came in the second pack of cards I ever bought.  My first pack included both Dennis Lamp and Tom Bolton.

1991 Topps #761: Larry Andersen

In this series, I will look at my first team set: 1991 Topps. This was the set I started my baseball card collection with.

The most infamous deal Boston has made since the Babe Ruth sale to the Yankees was the deal in which the Red Sox acquired Larry Andersen.  Of course that is not because Boston picked up Andersen but because of who they gave up when they got him: Jeff Bagwell.  

In hindsight of course the trade looks absolutely terrible.  Boston gave up a slugging first baseman who is a borderline Hall of Fame candidate in order to get an aging middle reliever who they ultimately only had for 15 games.  Boston was in contention in 1990 but was having some difficulties with their bullpen due to injuries to closer Jeff Reardon and ineffectiveness of other pitchers.  So they needed to get a good arm in the bullpen.  And Andersen fit the bill.  He pitched in 15 games with a 1.23 ERA, striking out 25 and walking just three in 22 innings.  He picked up a save.  Andersen pitched in three games in the postseason, and did lose one of those games.  He left as a free agent to the Phillies after the season.

On the other side was Bagwell.  At the time, Bagwell was a third baseman in AA ball, but Boston already had Wade Boggs at the position and expected him to be there for a couple more years at least.  They also had Scott Cooper ahead of Bagwell on the depth chart for third base.  I do not know why Boston did not consider moving him to first base, but they probably should have.  Bagwell did not have much power in the minors, but he would certainly not be the only player to develop power at the Majors.  It is likely that Boston simply did not know what they had with Bagwell.

Ultimately, this was not a good trade.  But that does not mean that it did not make sense at the time.  

1991 Topps #731: Jeff Gray

In this series, I will look at my first team set: 1991 Topps. This was the set I started my baseball card collection with.

It is a little surprising that Jeff Gray's first Major League cards are in 1991 sets.  He appeared briefly for the Reds in 1988, pitching in five games and pitching fairly well.  Sets featured a lot of cards back then, so it is kind of odd that not one of them included Jeff Gray.

Gray kind of came out of nowhere in 1990.  He had returned to the minor leagues in 1989 and then was traded to the Phillies as the player to be named later in a July trade.  He was released by the Phillies before the season and Boston picked him up soon after.  Gray was called up to Boston in June when the Red Sox needed a little bit of help with their bullpen.  Gray quickly became the primary setup man and stepped in as closer in August when Jeff Reardon went down with an injury.  He was an impressive find, going 2-4 with a 4.44 ERA, striking out 50 while walking just 15 in just over 50 innings.  He also picked up nine saves and pitched twice in the postseason.

Unfortunately, just as Gray was establishing himself as one of the top setup men in the game in 1991, he suffered a stroke in July.  He was 2-3 at the time with a 2.34 ERA.  Gray spent the rest of the season and the 1992 season recovering and then attempted to return to the Majors, but was not able to do so.  The stroke ended a promising career.  

1991 Topps #702: Tim Naehring

In this series, I will look at my first team set: 1991 Topps. This was the set I started my baseball card collection with.

Though he was not the most heralded rookie in 1990, Tim Naehring would actually go on to have the best career of all of the players to make their Major League debuts with Boston that season.  Phil Plantier was the rookie that received the most fanfare, and with good reason at the time.  But Naehring was impressive in his own rights.  Naehring was an eighth round draft pick in 1988 and moved quickly through the system.  It would take him a few years to make the Majors for good due to injuries and ineffectiveness, but he had a good start to his career.

Naehring played in 23 games for Boston, coming up in July to provide some middle infield depth.  He spent most of the time in 1990 at shortstop which was his expected position early on.  He hit .271/.333/.412 with two home runs and 12 RBIs.  His impressive output positioned him to be the starting shortstop on Opening Day in 1991.  Unfortunately he did not play well, and was injured and Luis Rivera reclaimed his job.

Naehring became a regular 1994, mostly playing second base in place of Scott Fletcher, but he also played shortstop and third base.  In 1995, Naehring was the starting third-baseman, which is where he stayed until suffering a career-ending knee injury in 1997.  He had been a productive and consistent player until that time.   

1991 Topps #675: Tom Brunansky

In this series, I will look at my first team set: 1991 Topps. This was the set I started my baseball card collection with.

Tom Brunansky was acquired early in the 1990 season in a somewhat unfortunate trade.  Despite having Lee Smith as a closer, Boston made the somewhat baffling decision to also sign Jeff Reardon as a free agent prior to the season.  Predictably this caused a little bit of friction, and despite the fact that Smith was having a better season early on, he was traded to St. Louis for Brunansky.

Brunansky had hit 20 home runs for eight consecutive seasons coming into the 1990 season, but he would never hit 20 home runs again.  Smith would have a terrific season in 1990 and finish second in the Cy Young vote in 1991.  Brunansky was decent enough in 1990, but not the power hitter Boston thought they were getting.  He hit .267/.342/.438 with just 15 home runs and 71 RBIs.  He did make a terrific catch in the final game of the 1990 season which clinched the division title though, so there is that.  

Brunansky's average tumbled in 1991, but hit 16 home runs.  1992 was his last season with Boston in his first stint and he was the the best hitter on the team that season, hitting .266/.354/.445 and lead the team with 15 home runs and 74 RBIs.  He left after the season as a free agent and signed with Milwaukee.

In 1994, Brunansky was again acquired by the Red Sox in a trade, this time for Dave Valle.  Brunansky hit 10 home runs in 48 games for Boston in his final season.

1991 Topps #652: Kevin Romine

In this series, I will look at my first team set: 1991 Topps. This was the set I started my baseball card collection with.

Kevin Romine spent his entire career with the Red Sox.  He was mostly a backup outfielder and only once played more than half of the games during the season.  Romine is one of the lesser-known players in the 1991 Topps set and he was never a particularly good hitter.

Romine made his Major League debut in 1985 and bounced up and down between the Majors and the Minors for a few years.  1989 was the season he appeared in the most games, when he played in 92, hitting .274/.327/.332 with one home run and 23 RBIs.  Romine's best season came in 1990 when he hit .272/.331/.368 with two home runs and 14 RBIs, as well as four stolen bases.  That was done in 70 games.  Romine started the season as the starting right-fielder for the Red Sox, but quickly lost that job when Tom Brunansky was acquired.  Romine settled back into his backup role.

Romine played one more season with Boston and was released in August 1991.  He left the game at that point.  He has two sons: Austin and Andrew who have both appeared in the Majors in recent years.

1991 Topps #629: Wes Gardner

In this series, I will look at my first team set: 1991 Topps. This was the set I started my baseball card collection with.

This is certainly not the most exciting of photos from this set.  Here we have just a profile shot from Spring Training.  Gardner was not the most exciting of pitchers in Boston either.  Gardner was acquired in the same trade that brought Calvin Schiraldi over from the Mets.  Boston sent Bob Ojeda and others to New York in that deal.  

Gardner typically pitched in relief while with the Red Sox, though not typically with a lot of success.  In 1990, Gardner was 3-7 in 34 games, starting just nine of them.  His ERA was a less-than-good 4.89 and his WHIP was a frightening 1.448.  

Boston apparently grew weary of Gardner not reaching his potential and traded him to the Padres in December for two minor leaguers who never made it to the Majors.  Gardner did not last long in San Diego either and was released in May.  He caught on with the Royals, continued to not pitch well and was done as a Major Leaguer.

1991 Topps #605: Jeff Reardon

In this series, I will look at my first team set: 1991 Topps. This was the set I started my baseball card collection with.

Jeff Reardon was coming off of his first season as the Red Sox closer.  I am not quite sure why they signed Reardon as a free agent when they already had Lee Smith installed as closer.  Smith had a couple of decent seasons as the closer and did not much care for the fact that Boston now had two closers, so he requested a trade.  Boston moved him to St. Louis in exchange for Tom Brunansky and Reardon was now the sole closer on the team.

Reardon finished the 1990 season with a 5-3 record, a 3.16 ERA, and 21 saves.  It was a decent season, but Smith had a terrific season after moving to St. Louis.  Reardon went on to more success over the next two seasons, saving 40 games and appearing in the All Star Game in 1991 and setting the all-time saves record in 1992.  

I liked Reardon right away because I really liked closers early on.  And Reardon was a pretty good one.  Unfortunately his life since baseball has not been nearly as positive.

1991 Topps #574 John Marzano

In this series, I will look at my first team set: 1991 Topps.  This was the set I started my baseball card collection with.

John Marzano was once a highly touted prospect.  He was the 14th overall pick in the 1984 draft by the Red Sox.  And that was just a few years after he was drafted in the 3rd round by the Twins but did not sign.  Marzano also played on the Olympic baseball team in 1984 with Mark McGwire.  His first baseball card comes from 1985 Topps and depicts him with Team USA.  He had a couple of nice seasons in the minor leagues, but for some reason he could not quite harness that talent in the Major Leagues.

Marzano made his Major League debut for Boston in 1987 and played fairly well for 52 games.  Then in 1988 and 1989, he only played in 17 games total.  Boston had a catching platoon in those two years of Rich Gedman and Rick Cerone.  In 1990, Marzano finally got his chance, albeit in a backup role as Cerone had left as a free agent and Gedman was traded to the Astros.  Marzano was the backup for starter Tony Pena and would remain in that role through 1992.

1991 Topps #542 Rob Murphy

In this series, I look at my first team set: 1991 Topps. This was the set I started my baseball card collection with.

It may seem strange, but I really like action shots of left-handed pitchers.  I have no idea why.  It does not seem like that impressive of a thing, but a decent action shot of a southpaw really appeals to me.  This was one of the first ones I really remember.

Rob Murphy was a lefty reliever acquired by the Red Sox in the same trade that brought Nick Esasky from the Reds.  Murphy was a valuable member of the bullpen in 1989, finishing with a record of 5-7 with a 2.74 ERA and 107 strikeouts in 105 innings.  He also saved nine games as a second closing option to Lee Smith.  Unfortunately, 1990 was a complete bust for Murphy.  His record was a terrible 0-6 and his ERA ballooned to 6.32 and his innings slipped to 57.  He did save seven games though.  A tired arm may have had something to do with it as his 1989 innings count was a career high.

After the 1990 season, Murphy was allowed to leave as a free agent to the Seattle Mariners. 

1991 Topps #530 Roger Clemens

In this series, I look at my first team set: 1991 Topps. This was the set I started my baseball card collection with.

I have been neglecting some of my ongoing series for a long time.  I am going to try to get back into them.  This is yet another example of a great photo from this set.  We have the Rocket standing in front of the Green Monster next to the words "Strike Out".  A great-looking picture.

Clemens was one of the best pitchers in the game at this time.  He should have won the Cy Young Award in 1990, which would have been his third award.  Bob Welch of the A's took it home though, almost exclusively due to his 27 wins.  Welch was 27-6 with a 2.95 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 238 innings.  Clemens, on the other hand, was 21-6 with a league-leading 1.93 ERA and 209 strikeouts in 228.1 innings.  Other than the victories, Clemens was pretty obviously the better pitcher.

He would go on to win his third Cy Young Award in 1991 though.  It would be his last with the Red Sox, though he would win four more in his career with three other teams.  The less said about those years, the better.

1991 Topps #496 Marty Barrett

In this series, I look at my first team set: 1991 Topps. This was the set I started my baseball card collection with.

There were a lot of great photos in the 1991 Topps set.  We have already seen the Dwight Evans (my personal favorite), Roger Clemens, and Wade Boggs.  Well this is another one.  Marty Barrett has a lot of great-looking cards and was an early favorite player of mine to pick up just because of the terrific-looking cards he had.  This 1991 Topps issue is probably my favorite of the bunch.

Barrett's career was coming to a premature end when this card was released.  He injured his knee in 1989 and the injury was misdiagnosed.  Barrett played in just 62 games in 1990 and lost his job as the second-baseman to Jody Reed.  In 1991 he appeared in 12 games for the Padres and that was it.  He successfully sued his doctor which was probably very little consolation to losing his career.

1991 Topps #474 Phil Plantier

In this series, I look at my first team set: 1991 Topps. This was the set I started my baseball card collection with.

At one time, this was the most valuable card in the 1991 Red Sox team set.  Phil Plantier enjoyed a massive hobby following in 1991.  Plantier was a highly-touted outfield prospect.  He had a brief call-up in 1990, but it was not until the 1991 season that Plantier began to get the hobby following that made his cards so valuable.  His Upper Deck and Stadium Club cards were his most highly-desired.

Plantier was called up in June 1991 and made a big impact.  Playing mostly right field and left field, Plantier hit .331/.420/.615 with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs in just 53 games.  His performance had him expected to be a big part of the Red Sox team in 1992.  Unfortunately it did not really work out for him.  Plantier struggled a bit in 1992 and was not the player he was expected to be.  Boston then traded him to San Diego for Jose Melendez, a trade that did not work out for Boston as Plantier hit 34 home runs.  But he quickly declined after that.

1991 Topps #450 Wade Boggs

In this series, I look at my first team set: 1991 Topps. This was the set I started my baseball card collection with.

This was the card that was staring at me on the front of the team set package when I picked it up.  The Boggs card is one of the greatest cards from this team set.  The background with the cloudy sky makes this card one of the more interesting cards in the entire set.  This was not my first Wade Boggs card, in fact it was my third, I had the Donruss and Score cards from 1991 first, but it was definitely one of my early favorites and possibly had a large part to do in making Boggs my first favorite player.

Boggs of course was an outstanding hitter, but he was coming off his worst season to date in 1990.  Boggs hit just .302/.386/.418 with six home runs and 63 RBIs.  A good season by most players' standards, but not by Boggs.  He was still an All Star though and had a decent season.

Boggs would come back to have his last great season with the Red Sox in 1991 before having his worst season in 1992.  After the season he signed with the Yankees as a free agent.  It took a long time before I forgave him for that.  This card though represents a better time.

1991 Topps #375 Tony Pena

In this series, I look at my first team set: 1991 Topps. This was the set I started my baseball card collection with.

I have always liked catchers.  I was aware that Tony Pena was the Red Sox catcher coming off of the 1990 season.  I previously had one card of Pena, a 1990 Topps Big card.  This is the first card of Pena that I got that featured him in his catcher's gear.

Pena had been an All Star catcher and Gold Glove winner for the Pirates and Cardinals before joining the Red Sox as a free agent.  He actually received some MVP votes in 1990, finishing 21st in the balloting.  It was his intangibles, his veteran leadership, and his ability behind the plate that helped the team the most and got him his recognition in the MVP vote.  He only hit .263/.322/.348 with seven home runs and 56 RBIs in 1990, not bad numbers for a catcher, but not particularly good either.

Pena would win the Gold Glove award in 1991, the second Red Sox catcher to do so.

I do like this card quite a bit.  Mostly because of the catchers' gear, but it appears this is after a play at the plate or a wild pitch.  There is some dust that has been kicked up and Pena looks pretty intense.

1991 Topps #356 Mike Marshall

In this series, I look at my first team set: 1991 Topps. This was the set I started my baseball card collection with.

I would bet that most people had no idea that Mike Marshall, the one-time Los Angeles Dodger slugger, ever played for the Red Sox.  But he did, for about 52 games over two seasons.  Marshall was not that far-removed from being a productive player.  He was just 30 years old in 1990 and had hit 20 home runs in 1988.  He declined significantly in 1989 and then was traded to the Mets in a deal for Juan Samuel.

In 1990, Marshall started the season with the Mets and then a few days before the trading deadline, the Red Sox sent three minor leaguers to New York to add some pop to their offense.  Marshall hit reasonably well for Boston that season.  He finished his time in Boston with a line of .286/.316/.464 but hit just four home runs and drove in 12.  He also struck out 26 times versus just four walks.  1991 saw him hit .290 with no walks in 22 games and then he was released.  

Mike Marshall is one of the players I have the fewest cards of from the 1991 Topps set.  That is mostly due to his short stint in Boston.  Still a nice picture though.

1991 Topps #338 Luis Rivera

In this series, I look at my first team set: 1991 Topps. This was the set I started my baseball card collection with.

If you had asked me back in 1991 who my least favorite player on the Red Sox was, I might have said Luis Rivera.  I have no idea where that came from.  I was a kid and pretty irrational.  He was a fairly weak hitter, but a good fielder and was probably miscast as a regular.  In 1990 he hit just .225/.279/.344 for an OPS of .623.  Ouch.  He became the starting shortstop due to the career-threatening injury to Marty Barrett.  Jody Reed moved from shortstop to second base.  

As I matured and my irrational dislike of Rivera passed, I looked into his stats a little closer.  He did have some pop in his bat, hitting seven home runs in 1990 and eight in 1991.  He did not hit a lot, but when he did, he could hit it pretty hard.  And of course he was good defensively.  Something had to keep him in the lineup.  Boston was not able to find a replacement for him until John Valentin.

Of course, least favorite player or not, I still picked up as many Luis Rivera cards as I could.  And he did have some nice-looking ones since he was a middle infielder.  This one though is a little boring.

1991 Topps #303 Mike Boddicker

In this series, I look at my first team set: 1991 Topps. This was the set I started my baseball card collection with.

I was kind of annoyed the other day.  I was browsing through stuff about the Red Sox and came across an article about the worst in-season trades the team ever made.  I can not even find the article anymore and it was written quite a while ago.  He listed the trade that the Red Sox made giving up Brady Anderson and Curt Schilling for Mike Boddicker pretty high on his list.  Now while it is true that Boston gave up two eventual All Stars in the deal for Boddicker, the writer dismissed Boddicker's contributions to the Red Sox entirely and basically said he was awful for two-plus years.  That is certainly not true.

Mike Boddicker was picked up during the 1988 season to be another veteran arm on the staff and he produced.  He was a former Cy Young contender, winning 20 games for the Orioles in 1984, leading the league in wins and ERA.  Boddicker went 7-3 with a 2.63 ERA in helping Boston reach the ALCS in 1988. In 1989 he went 15-11 as the number two starter, then in 1990 he went 17-8 with a 3.36 ERA.  Those are solid numbers.  Boddicker was a very effective number two starter to Roger Clemens for more than two years.  He also won the Gold Glove in 1990 for the Red Sox, making him the only Red Sox pitcher to win the award to date.  He then signed a free agent contract with the Royals after the season where he declined significantly.

Yes, Brady Anderson was a long-time good player for the Orioles, making three All Star teams, with his first occurring in 1992.  And yes Curt Schilling seems like a decent candidate for the Hall of Fame, although he did not even begin pitching well until a couple of teams later.  But Boddicker was certainly a solid pickup and really helped the team in his time there.  This is one of the best examples of a trading deadline deal.  Boston got significantly better in the short-term and Baltimore picked up two solid future players.

1991 Topps #269 Joe Hesketh

In this series, I look at my first team set: 1991 Topps.  This was the set I started my baseball card collection with.

Joe Hesketh was never a player I had a ton of cards of.  I think that is more due to the fact that there just were not many cards of him.  This was my first one.  There were not a lot of cards of him made in 1991.  Hesketh only appeared in Topps in 1991.  He did get into most of the sets in 1992 but that was due to his outstanding 1991 season.

Boston was Hesketh's third team in 1990.  He also played for the Expos and Braves.  Hesketh appeared in 12 games for the Red Sox, starting two of them.  He struck out 26 in 25.2 innings and was a productive southpaw for Boston for parts of five seasons.