One-Card Wonder Pt. 46: Ken Poulsen

Recently I did a post about a set covering the 1967 Red Sox Impossible Dream season.  Unfortunately, not every player who played for the team that year made it into the set.  It was missing Tony Horton, Bill Landis and Ken Poulsen.  Horton appears in some oddball sets for the Red Sox, but Landis does not.  At first, I thought Poulsen also did not have any cards, until I came across this Fritsch One Card Winner, an oddball set devoted to adding cards of players who did not previously appear on cardboard.  I love this set, and I have Merlin Nippert from it as well. 

Poulsen's Major League career consisted of five games with the Impossible Dream Red Sox.  He doubled in five at-bats.  After the season Poulsen bounced around the Yankees system for a few years, but never again made the Majors. 

One Card Wonder Pt. 46: Jerry Sands

As with the last player in this series, Andy Morales, Jerry Sands never actually played with the Red Sox, and his only card with the Red Sox is an autograph, making this a zero-year autograph card. 

Sands was once a top prospect in the Dodgers system.  He was an outfielder with huge power that hit more than 25 home runs in the minors three seasons in a row.  He made it to the Majors for the first time in 2011 and played in 61 games, hitting four home runs.  In 2012, he played in just nine games in the Majors, but hit .291/.368/.512 with 26 home runs and 108 RBIs in the minors.  Sands was one of two players sent to the Red Sox after the regular season to complete the massive trade the Dodgers and Red Sox completed in August.  Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett, and Nick Punto were sent to the Dodgers for James Loney, Ivan DeJesus, and Allen Webster.  Sands and Rubby De La Rosa were sent to the Red Sox after the season since they were on LA's 40 man roster and would have had to be exposed to waivers in order to get them to Boston.  Since Sands was still 24 and having a huge season, it was pretty likely that he would be claimed.

But Sands was not the property of Boston for very long.  Just two and a half months later, he and DeJesus, along with Stolmy Pimentel and Mark Melancon were sent to the Pirates in a deal for Joel Hanrahan and Brock Holt.  In fact, none of the players Boston received in the Dodgers deal did much for the Red Sox, it was a deal more about getting payroll relief.  The Pirates deal did not do much for the Red Sox either as Hanrahan would get injured early in the season and be out the rest of the year.  Melancon turned into an All Star.  Holt though has turned into a solid utility player who was also an All Star.

Since being traded to Pittsburgh, Sands has appeared in the Majors for the Rays, Indians, and White Sox, never playing more than 50 games in a season in the Majors.  His minor league numbers have also declined.  He was in the Giants system in 2018.

This card is of course a sticker autograph and the picture is clearly an artistic rendering.  Sands likely never actually wore a Red Sox uniform.  And yet, here it is.

One Card Wonder Pt. 45: Andy Morales

In the 1990's there started to be an influx of players defecting from Cuba and coming to the U.S. to play.  Rene Arocha, Livan Hernandez, and Orlando Hernandez had varying levels of success.  That resulted in more players coming over.  One of these players was Andy Morales, a contact-hitting third-baseman with a little bit of power.  Morales attempted to defect once before managing to successfully defect in 2000.

After the success of Orlando Hernandez, the Yankees decided to take another chance on a Cuban defector and signed Morales and assigned him to the minor leagues.  However, it was eventually discovered that Morales lied about his age.  He was actually three years older than originally thought and it is a completely different thing for a 26-year-old player coming from another country and hitting .231 in AA than a 29-year-old.  The Yankees attempted to void his contract but eventually just released.

The Red Sox took a chance on him and signed him for the 2002 season.  He played for Trenton in AA and hit .231/.348/.282 with no home runs and two RBIs in 16 games.  Boston also released him.  Somehow, he received a card, despite playing just 16 games in the organization and none above AA.  Stranger still, his only card with the Red Sox is an autograph.  How often does that happen?

One-Card Wonder Pt. 44: Billy Hall

I have no idea how this card happened.  Hall, not related to Bill Hall who played for Boston in 2010, never played in the Majors at all.  He came up through the Padres system and was mostly known for his speed, though he would occasionally hit for high batting averages as well.

He was selected by the Red Sox in the 1993 Rule V Draft and must have made it to Spring Training with the team, or this picture would not exist.  Whether that happened or not, he was definitely returned to the Padres prior to the regular season because he never played a regular season game in the Red Sox system.  He had a very good season in the Padres system in 1994, yet oddly did not get called up.

Hall continued to have a few decent seasons in the minors, but never got the call for some reason.  I have no idea how this card exists.  I miss the big sets of the 1990's when things like this were possible.  I should note that I do have the parallel version of this card as well, but parallels do not count for the purposes of this series.

One-Card Wonder Pt. 43: Kelly Johnson

Technically, I have two cards of Kelly Johnson, but since one of them is a parallel of this card, I am still counting this.

Johnson is one of two players to play for every team in the American League East (current Red Sox lefty-masher Steve Pearce is the other), and he did so in descending alphabetical order.  He was once a rising star with the Braves who had some big power for a second-baseman.  He was then traded to Arizona where he was even better, hitting 26 home runs in 2010.  The Diamondbacks then exchanged second-basemen with Toronto, sending Kelly for Aaron Hill, another future Red Sox.

At this point in his career, Johnson became a journeyman, always hitting for some power, but not much else.  From 2011 to 2016, Johnson played for eight teams, including three teams in 2014.  It was in 2014 that he showed up in Boston.  He started the season with the Yankees before being sent to Boston at the trading deadline in a very rare trade between the two rivals.  Boston sent Stephen Drew to New York.

In his very short time in Boston, Johnson appeared in just ten games and appeared at every infield position except shortstop and also played left field and designated hitter.  He did not produce at all, hitting .160/.160/.200 with no home runs and one double.  He had just one RBI.  He was then shipped off to Baltimore along with Michael Almanzar for Jemile Weeks and Ivan DeJesus, his stint in Boston being ultimately forgettable.

And that is why it is so shocking to see this card.  He played for three teams in 2014, starting with the Yankees and finishing with the Orioles, and yet he has this Topps Update card commemorating his time with the Red Sox.  I am thrilled it exists, but it makes me wonder how he gets a Red Sox card, but Andrew Miller, who played three and a half seasons in Boston, does not get one.

Johnson played two more seasons, splitting each one between the Braves and Mets.

One-Card Wonder Pt. 42: Carlos Peguero

I have no idea how this happened.  Of all the players over the years to play for the Red Sox, how did Topps decide to include a card of Carlos Peguero?  Andrew Miller never received a card with the Red Sox.  Scott Atchison never received a card with the Red Sox.  Scott Podsednik never received a card with the Red Sox.  Yet, Carlos Peguero, a player who played all of FOUR games appeared on a Topps card.  He had SIX plate appearances.  He did though have a hit, a walk, and a run.  And hey, if he is only going to have one card with the Red Sox, they picked a damn good picture.

One-Card Wonder Pt. 41: Nate Spears

I recently read the book about Terry Francona's time managing the Red Sox from 2004 to 2011, written by Francona and Dan Shaughnessy.  One rather minor moment that stuck out to me was when Francona was talking about coming back for the 2012 100th anniversary of Fenway Park after his divorce from the team.  He talked about being moved to tears to see Nate Spears on that team.  Spears had been with the Red Sox organization since 2010 and been up to Spring Training several times, yet could not crack the roster.  He was apparently a favorite of Francona's from Spring Training and Francona was very happy to see him on the team that day.

Spears was originally drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the fifth round of the 2003 draft, but he did not make his Major League debut until 2011 with the Red Sox.  He generally played well in the minor leagues, yet he just could not seem to catch a break.  In 2010 he started the season in Double A with the Red Sox organization and hit 20 home runs, earning a call to Triple A and then to the Majors in 2011.  He played in just three games with the Major League team and did not have a hit in four at-bats.  He appeared at second base and left field.

He spent most of the 2012 season in the minors with the Red Sox organization, except for a four game stint that happened to coincide with that anniversary.  He again failed to record a hit, striking out three times in four at-bats.  He played at second base, third base, and left field in the Majors.  Spears never appeared in the Major Leagues again, though he did play in a few other organizations.

Somehow, Spears managed to appear on a 2012 Topps Heritage card, one of the things I love about Heritage.  Interestingly, future Red Sox pitcher Drew Pomeranz is also on this card.

One-Card Wonder Pt. 40: Rudy Seanez

Middle relievers just do not get enough cards these days.  Seanez had a long 17-year career and he has fewer than 80 cards, and yes, that includes all of the parallels of him.  He spent parts of two seasons with the Red Sox and only appears on this card (and all of the parallels).

Seanez made his Major League debut with the Indians in 1989 at just 20 years old.  He would eventually pitch for nine Major League teams and had his best seasons with the Braves in the late 1990's.  He was primarily a setup man.  He never started a game in the Majors and never saved more than three games in any season in his career.

The Red Sox signed Seanez as a free agent in May of 2003, but spent most of the season in the minors.  He appeared in just nine games with Boston, but was 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA.  He struck out nine, but walked six in 8.2 innings.  After the season, he bounced around a bit more, but returned to the Red Sox in 2006.

Seanez was a big part of the Red Sox bullpen in 2006, appearing in 41 games until he was released in August.  He was 2-1 with a 4.82 ERA and finished 16 games, though he did not pick up any saves.  His strikeout rate was still impressive, striking out 48 in 46.2 innings, but he walked 26.  He was released and ended up in San Diego.

I remember Seanez pretty well because he pitched in both games I saw in 2006, including the only game I have seen at Fenway so far.  He picked up a hold in that game, pitching 1.2 innings with a strikeout, though he gave up three hits.  The second game was not as impressive, he gave up a home run in a loss to the Royals in 1.2 innings.  He gave up two hits and a walk.  

One-Card Wonder Pt. 39: Kevin Jarvis

I have mentioned before that Topps seems to find one outside-the-box choice for the Red Sox almost every year for the Update set.  Players like Daniel Bard in 2013 (2 games), Carlos Peguero in 2015 (4 games), and Kelly Johnson in 2014 (traded to the Orioles at the end of August) are all odd choices for inclusion.  Not to say I am upset about their inclusion, well maybe Bard who I think should have been replaced by Andrew Miller who never got a Boston Red Sox card even though he was one of the team's top relievers early that year.  The weirdest one for 2006 was one of the weirdest ones of all time.

Kevin Jarvis appeared in just four games for the Red Sox in 2006.  He started the season with the Diamondbacks and appeared in just five games for them.  He was 0-1 in five games for Arizona, starting one, and had an 11.91 ERA in 11.1 innings.  He was sent to the Red Sox at the August trading deadline as part of a conditional deal.  He started three of the four games he pitched in for Boston at a time when the Red Sox starting rotation was in shambles as the team was desperately trying to stay in contention.  It did not really work out.  Jarvis was slightly better for Boston, pitching 16.2 innings with a 4.86 ERA.  He struck out seven and walked six.

Jarvis was also an odd pick because he never really had much success in his Major League career, which lasted 12 years.  His best season was 2001 with the Padres when he was 12-11 with a 4.79 ERA, but he led the league in home runs allowed that season.  That was one of only two seasons he had a winning record (he was 1-0 in 2004) and one of only two seasons he won more than four games (he was 8-9 in 1996).  And it is not as if he has primarily been a reliever.  He started 118 of his 187 career games.

Topps's decision to include Kevin Jarvis in the 2006 Topps Update set was definitely a bizarre one, but as someone who wants to see as many Red Sox players as possible on cardboard, it was a welcome one.

One-Card Wonder Pt. 38: Terry Adams

I used to count team cards when determining how many cards of each player I had.  It got to be too tedious.  I had to keep track of everybody somewhere and I had to spend a lot of time trying to identify each and every player on each card.  That got to be too difficult.  So when I somehow deleted my page that had my tallies at one point I decided to stop doing it.  I still count team cards in my Sandy Alomar Jr. collection, but that one is much easier because I only have one player to keep track of, instead of more than 25.  But sometimes there is an exception and this card is one.

This team card identifies each and every person on it, which is so much easier and appreciated.  And where this becomes especially interesting is that one of the players on it is Terry Adams, who never had another card issued of him with a Red Sox logo.

Here he is, fifth from the left in the second row:

I can not figure out how to make that picture any bigger without screwing up the resolution beyond recognition, so that is it.

Adams had primarily been a relief pitcher with the Cubs and Dodgers until he had a 12-8 season for LA splitting time between starting and relieving in 2001.  He was eventually returned to the bullpen, though mostly in middle relief.  He began the 2004 season with Toronto and was 4-4 with a 3.98 ERA and three saves when he was traded to the Red Sox to solidify their bullpen in late July for minor leaguer John Hattig.  Hattig eventually became the first Major League native of Guam, though he did not play long in the Majors.

He made it into just 19 games with the Red Sox for 27 innings.  He was 2-0 with a 6.00 ERA and struck out 21 while walking just six.  He got hit hard but his record and strikeout-to-walk ratio were both pretty decent.  Adams was not on the Red Sox postseason roster and was granted free agency after the season.  This team card is the only card that acknowledges his brief stint with the Red Sox.  He played for the Phillies in 2005, but struggled and did not appear in the Majors again.

One-Card Wonder Pt. 37: Pedro Ciriaco

What is even worse than the fact that Pedro Ciriaco only has one card issued with the Red Sox (other than parallels) is that you can not even tell if he is wearing a Red Sox uniform in his one card.  In fact it is very likely that this picture shows Ciriaco wearing a Pirates road uniform though he only played in 31 games with the Pirates over two seasons.

Ciriaco was signed as a minor league free agent in January 2012.  No one knew it at the time, but Ciriaco would make an impact on the Red Sox in the Majors.  Due to a rash of injuries and short-sightedly trading both Jed Lowrie and Marco Scutaro, Boston had need of a utility infielder, particularly after trading Nick Punto to the Dodgers.  Ciriaco provided depth by playing second, short, and third and also playing all three outfield positions at least twice.  He ended up playing in 76 games for the Red Sox and was basically a regular player after his call-up in July.

Despite playing in 76 games, Ciriaco provided a spark by being second on the team in stolen bases (16).  He managed to produce a decent batting line, despite only walking eight times all season.  Ciriaco hit .293/.315/.390 and picked up 15 doubles, two triples, and two home runs.  He was particularly effective against the Yankees, against whom he had two four-hit games and two three-hit games.

Ciriaco returned for the 2013 season but only made it into 28 games before he was shipped off to San Diego.  His numbers declined significantly and he was replaced by Brock Holt and Jose Iglesias.  Ciriaco bounced around after that and last played in the Majors with the Braves in 2015 for whom he appeared in a career-high 84 games.

One-Card Wonder Pt. 36: Paul Byrd

Paul Byrd was a lot of fun to watch.  His wind-up was a throwback to a bygone era.  Byrd would swing both arms behind his back while taking a step back then bringing the glove and ball together in front of himself and lift his front leg before throwing a pitch.  Byrd pitched for seven teams over a 14 year career and was an All Star while pitching for the Phillies in 1999 when he won 15 games.  He won 17 games for the Royals in 2002.  It was that season that he developed his unique wind-up.

Byrd spent parts of two seasons with the Red Sox.  He was picked up in a trade with the Indians in August of 2008.  He had been with the Indians and pitched a game against the Red Sox in the 2007 ALCS.  Despite pitching well, he lost the game.  Boston sent minor leaguer Mickey Hall to the Indians to complete the trade.  Byrd made it into just eight games down the stretch for the Red Sox, starting all of them and finishing with a record of 4-2 with a 4.78 ERA.  He struck out 26 and walked 10 in 49 innings.  He pitched one game in the ALCS against the Rays that season, giving up four runs in 3.1 innings.  After the season he was granted free agency.

But the 38-year-old Byrd did not hook on with another team.  So, in August of 2009, Byrd signed a contract to return to the Red Sox.  Byrd was 1-3 with a 5.82 ERA in seven games, starting six of them.  He struck out 11 and walked 11 in 34 innings.  He did not appear in the Majors after 2009.

Byrd's only card with the Red Sox is from the 2009 Topps Heritage High Numbers.  It is not surprising that he did not appear much in card sets.  He did after all only appear in 15 games over two seasons.  But at least he appeared once.  That is better than a lot of other players can say.

One-Card Wonder Pt. 35: Casey Kotchman

Casey Kotchman was once one of the hottest prospects in baseball.  He was the 13th overall pick in the 2001 draft by the Angels and made his Major League debut in 2004.  Unfortunately, he never quite lived up to those expectations.  He had some decent seasons, but took a few years before he became a regular player.  He did hit .296/.372/.476 with 11 home runs and 68 RBIs for the Angels in his first full season in the Majors.  He was having a decent season in 2008 before he was traded to the Braves in the deal that brought Mark Teixeira to the Los Angeles.

He started the 2009 season with the Braves and was hitting .282/.354/.409 with six home runs when he was traded to the Red Sox in a deadline deal for Adam LaRoche, who Boston had just acquired the week before.  Boston had been suffering from some injury problems, particularly to third-baseman Mike Lowell.  The Red Sox had to move Kevin Youkilis to third and get creative at first base.  They used rookie Jeff Bailey there, but needed a more permanent solution.  So, first they acquired LaRoche, and then flipped him for Kotchman.

Kotchman did not produce much with the bat in his short stint with the Red Sox, but he was a good defensive first-baseman, as per his reputation.  He only hit .218/.284/.287 with just one home run and seven RBIs in 39 games.  Kotchman's playing time started getting squeezed by Victor Martinez and Mark Kotsay.  He was on the postseason roster, but was used primarily as a defensive replacement.  He had just one at-bat and was hitless.

After the season, Kotchman was on the move yet again, this time traded to the Mariners in exchange for utility man Bill Hall.  The Mariners also helped pay Hall's contract.  It was a trade that worked out well for the Red Sox.  Kotchman continued to bounce from team to team.

Kotchman's only card with the Red Sox is from the Topps Update set in 2009, a set that has been quite good to Boston players over the years.

One-Card Wonder Pt. 34: Javy Lopez

During the 2006 stretch run, the Red Sox found themselves decimated by injuries.  The injury with the most repercussions was the injury to catcher Jason Varitek.  Combined with the less-than-stellar hitting of Doug Mirabelli, Boston was scrambling for catching help.  In early August, Boston acquired former All Star catcher Javy Lopez from the Orioles for a player to be named later, who eventually turned out to be Adam Stern.

Lopez had been an All Star three times while with the Braves and one year hit 43 home runs.  Unfortunately, he was well past his prime by the time that he joined the Red Sox.  He was not the answer the team was looking for to cure the catching woes.  Lopez played in just 18 games with the Red Sox and hit just .190/.215/.270 with no home runs and just four runs batted in.  He hit just five doubles and scored six runs.  Boston continued to flounder and eventually fell out of the race.

When Varitek returned from the disabled list, Lopez was released.  He did not finish out the season with the Red Sox and his only time spent with the team encompassed the approximately a month from early August to early September.  It is surprising then that he even had one card with the Red Sox.  But luckily, Upper Deck found a way to include him in its third series from the 2006 set.

One-Card Wonder Pt. 33: Quilvio Veras

Quilvio Veras?  Yep, Quilvio Veras.  But, don't go poring over his career statistics looking for how he did in Boston.  You will not find anything.  Veras never played a single game with the Boston Red Sox.

Veras began his career with the Florida Marlins and led the league in stolen bases in his rookie season.  After a disappointing season in 1996, he was traded to the Padres where he continued to hit for a reasonable batting average while stealing a bunch of bases from the leadoff position.  After three seasons with the Padres, he was traded again to the Braves.  He spent about a season and a half in Atlanta where he was plagued by injuries.  He was released by the Braves in early August of 2001.

Shortly after his release, Veras was snatched up by the Red Sox and continued to rehab.  He ended up playing three games in Pawtucket and never saw action with the big league club.  He was allowed to leave as a free agent to the Dodgers after the season, but never saw Major League action again.

One-Card Wonder Pt. 32: Bob Howry

Like Willie Banks, Bob Howry is a reliever who would not have a Red Sox card were it not for Upper Deck 40 Man.  Howry had been the White Sox closer in 1999, saving 28 games as a 25 year old in his second season.  Despite this, he did not return to that role.  Maybe some White Sox fans have a better idea of what happened with that.

In 2002, Howry was traded to the Red Sox at the trading deadline for minor league pitchers Byeong-Hak An and Frank Francisco.  Francisco would go on to a 10 year Major League career, mostly with the Rangers.  He was a closer for a few seasons himself.  Howry was expected to help out in the bullpen, but he ended up 1-3 with a 5.00 ERA.  He did have 14 strikeouts as compared to just 4 walks in 18 innings, but he was definitely not the bullpen savior Boston had hoped for.

In 2003, Howry was one of the players expected to fill out the disastrous bullpen-by-committee experiment at the beginning of the year.  But after four bad outings in which he blew a save on April 1 and had a 12.46 ERA before being hurt.  He did not make it back to the Majors with the Red Sox.

Howry's career continued for several seasons with five more teams.  He never had a chance to close again but he did not have a few productive seasons, particularly with the Cubs.

One-Card Wonder Pt. 31: Willie Banks

I have mentioned before how much I loved Upper Deck 40 Man.  Without it, we would never have a Red Sox card of players like Willie Banks here.  This was right at the time when very few sets were concerned about player selection.  There were a few larger sets such as Topps, Topps Heritage, and Fleer Tradition that had a bunch of cards for each teams, but unless the player was a regular or a rookie, they were not getting a card.  So, middle relievers, backup catchers, utility infielders, and short-term callups were left out in the cold.  That always bothered me because I have always liked getting a variety of players.

That brings us to Banks here.  Willie Banks was a top prospect for the Twins in the early 1990's and was a part of the Twins World Championship team in 1991, though he did not play in the postseason.  Banks had his first full-time season in 1993 and went 11-12 with a 4.04 ERA.  The next year, he was traded to the Cubs and was 8-12 with a 5.40 ERA in the strike-shortened season.  After that however, his career stalled.  He bounced from team to team for several years but never played more than 10 games until 1998.    That year, he found full-time work in Arizona's bullpen.

The next year, Banks found himself in Japan briefly before returning to the U.S.  He did not make it back to the Major Leagues until 2001 when he re-emerged briefly in Boston's bullpen.  He made it into five games late in the season with a 0.84 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 10.2 innings.  That showing was impressive enough to get him to stay in Boston for the majority of the 2002 season.  Banks was an important member of the bullpen that season, pitching in 29 games with a 2-1 record and a 3.23 ERA.  He picked up one save in a 22-4 drubbing of the Rays in which he pitched the last four innings of the game, giving up just two hits and no runs.  He was released during Spring Training of 2003 and never made it back to the Majors.

Banks had a brief stint with the Red Sox, but he was a major bullpen contributor in 2002.  If it were not for 40 Man, he would not have any cards with the Red Sox.

One Card Wonder Pt. 30: Ed Sprague

When we were growing up, my little brother was a Toronto Blue Jays fan.  He stopped paying attention before becoming a teenager, for reasons that I don't really know.  Maybe it was tough to be a Blue Jays fan in the mid to late 90's.  He went through a number of different favorite players: Roberto Alomar, Joe Carter, and John Olerud, before being a Carlos Delgado fan.  One of his other favorites was third-baseman Ed Sprague.

Sprague had some decent years with the Blue Jays, in particular in 1996.  That year, he hit 36 home runs and drove in 101 runs.  But other than power, Sprague was simply not a very good hitter.  He was eventually traded to the Athletics in 1998, which was one of the last years that my brother followed the team.  At that point, Sprague started bouncing from team to team with varying levels of success.  He was an All Star with the Pirates in 1999 when he turned in a decent year.  In 2000, he started the year off with the Padres.  He also finished the year with the Padres, but he spent a brief amount of time in the middle of the season with the Red Sox.

In 2000, the Red Sox were coming off of two straight seasons of making the postseason, but they were having some difficulties, particularly with regard to pitching and third base.  Incumbent third-baseman John Valentin was dealing with nagging injuries that limited him to 10 games that season.  Top prospect Wilton Veras was proving to be a bust.  Even Sean Berry was given a one-game shot.  Finally, Manny Alexander was a utility player at best.  Boston attempted to fill their hole at third by acquiring Sprague from the Padres for shortstop prospect Cesar Saba and pitching prospect Dennis Tankersley.  Sprague was not the answer either.

Sprague spent less than two underwhelming months with the Red Sox, playing in just 33 games and hitting .216/.293/.306 with two home runs and nine RBIs.  It was a disappointment and did not help Boston with their problems.  Eventually, their problem was solved when Lou Merloni was brought back as he had the best season in his career.  So, Sprague was no longer necessary and he was released shortly thereafter.  Sprague returned to the Padres.

Luckily, neither of the players that Boston gave up in the Sprague deal did anything.  Saba never made it to the Majors, despite being a highly touted prospect.  Tankersley had brief stints in the Majors over three seasons, but never did much and finished with a 7.61 ERA and a 1-10 record.  However, getting to Merloni meant that Boston had to make some room on the 40 man roster and they were not quite ready to give up on Sprague, so they had to place a young infielder named David Eckstein on waivers.  And that is how Eckstein ended up with the Angels, a fairly big blunder.

Despite Spragues's short tenure in the middle of the season, Topps Heritage saw fit to include him as a short-printed card pictured with the Red Sox, even though he finished the season with San Diego.  I was shocked by this when I found it out, and I had to add Sprague's only Red Sox card to my collection.

One-Card Wonder Pt. 29: Tim Young

Tim Young's Major League career consisted of just 18 games over two seasons, spread across three years.  He was originally drafted by the Montreal Expos in 1996, yet managed to move quickly through their system, making his Major League debut in 1998.  He did not pitch well in 10 games and did not make it back to the Majors until 2000, after he had signed on with the Red Sox.

Young pitched in eight games with the Red Sox, mostly in May.  Again, he did not pitch well.  The southpaw pitched seven innings, giving up five runs.  He struck out six and walked just two over those seven innings, but gave up seven hits as well.

After the season, Young was sold to the Hiroshima Carp of Japan.  He signed back with the Boston organization before the 2002 season, then bounced around from team to team, never making it back to the Majors.  As a left-handed pitcher though, he was a valuable commodity, even if he didn't make it back to the big leagues.  He left baseball after the 2004 season.

Somehow he managed to appear on a Major League card with the Red Sox, despite sharing it with Israel Alcantara.  He did have a few cards with the Expos previously as well.

One-Card Wonder Pt. 28: Tim Harikkala

Tim Harikkala is the definition of journeyman pitcher.  Originally drafted in 1992 by the Mariners, he actually made his Major League debut in 1995.  He pitched in one game that year and one game the year after.  After that, it was not until 1999 that he made it back to the Major Leagues, this time with the Red Sox.

Harikkala made it into seven games with the Red Sox, all as a relief pitcher.  He pitched in 13 innings, giving up 15 hits, walking six, and striking out seven.  He ended up with a 6.23 ERA.  Somehow, he made it onto this card, despite such a short stint in Boston.  He was allowed to leave as a free agent after the season.

After his time with Boston, Harikkala signed with the Brewers, though he did not make it back to the Majors.  He made it back to the Major Leagues with the Rockies in 2002 and actually spent a large part of the season as a somewhat dependable reliever, making it into 55 games.  The following year he was back to shuttling between the minors and majors with the Athletics.  He returned to the Rockies in 2007.  And that was the last time he appeared in the Major Leagues.

This is one of just a small handful of Major League cards of Harikkala, and the only one with Boston.  Oddly he does not appear on a card with the Rockies, despite that being the only team for whom he spent any significant amount of time.