The Week in Red Sox Cards

I have fallen behind again.  It has been a long, rough week at work.  Boston has not been playing particularly well lately, but that does not really stop me from accumulating cards.  This week I have received a number of trade packages, I have also picked up a box of Topps Series 2, and even added some Jason Varitek cards to my collection:

This first scan mostly consists of some Panini needs.  What is interesting is that a couple of these lesser-known players actually made it back to the Majors recently.  Deven Marrero has been playing the infield a little but lately as Travis Shaw has been slumping and to get some rest for Dustin Pedroia and Xander Bogaerts.  Bryce Brentz was recalled for the first time since 2014 due to injuries to Brock Holt, Blake Swihart, and Chris Young.  Guess that Rusney Castillo assignment was a little short-sighted.

And some more stuff.  I got two of the Archives cards with the 1991 design, and they do not disappoint, particularly the Ted Williams which is actually a different photo.  And of course I really like the Xander Bogaerts Diamond King.  I have always enjoyed the Diamond Kings.  Bogaerts is a worthy choice.

And this closes out the first batch of trades with some nice parallels of lesser favorite players Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Tom Gordon, and an awesome insert of Jacoby Ellsbury.  I liked these Starting Points inserts.  A nice look back at the origins of some good players.

My Topps Series 2 blaster did not produce too many Red Sox.  Future Star cards of Blake Swihart and Eduardo Rodriguez, two players that have had more downs than ups recently.  Also this duo checklist card of David Ortiz and David Price.

And today's new cards includes a couple of wantlist hits, including top prospect Yoan Moncada, who could be knocking at the door of the Majors soon.  And then, four new Jason Varitek cards.  I was surprised I did not have any of these honestly.  I now have 888 Varitek cards.  Not bad at all.

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.

A Pile of 2016 Cards and Topps Now

A couple of trade packages came in the last two days, as well as two Topps Now cards.  Boston has been slipping a little bit of late, but hopefully they will get back on track.

I love the Topps Archives Xander Bogaerts card.  I have mentioned before how much I like the 1991 Topps subset.  The photography is excellent, and this Bogaerts card shows why.  If you look a little closer, the bat has actually broken, but has not completely separated yet.  I also really like the Diamond Kings cards, this Betts card has a decent action shot.

I love the fact that Panini has included Dom DiMaggio in the Diamond Kings set.  Panini has included a number of lesser-known players from eras gone by.  DiMaggio, of course, still holds the team's record for longest hitting streak, despite being challenged this year by Jackie Bradley Jr.

After that, we have two Topps Now Mookie Betts cards that were released on consecutive days.  On Day 1, Mookie became the first Red Sox leadoff batter to hit three home runs in a game.  The next day, he hit two more home runs, tying a record for five home runs in consecutive games.

Topps Now: May

Somehow this one beat two other Topps Now cards that were released before it.  Hopefully those other two will make it soon.  This card shows the two Players of the Month for May.  Jackie Bradley Jr. won it for the American League, mostly on the strength of his 29 game hitting streak and hit eight home runs for the month.  Daniel Murphy did some stuff too, but I don't pay as much attention to the National League.

A New Starting Lineup and a Carlos Quintana Oddball

It was kind of a weird day today.  I received two packages in the mail, both of which contained items for a couple of my favorite under-the-radar players from the teams from the late 1980's and early 1990's, when I became a fan.

Up first is this oddball Carlos Quintana:

This is a Pre-Production Sample of Quintana, who is the player on the right (Bob Zupcic is on the left).  This picture was not used in the regular Topps set, instead it was a more focused shot of Quintana catching a pop-up.  Something that is really strange about this card, that I cannot explain, is that I have a Pre-Production Sample, but the color scheme is the same as the regular Topps set.  This one has the orange triangle containing the player name.  I have no explanation for the difference, but I don't really care either.  This is a new Quintana card for my collection.  I have mentioned many times that Quintana was one of my favorite players early on, despite the fact that he was nowhere close to being a star.  

And then we have this:

I don't pick up as many Starting Lineups these days anymore, but I will make an exception for unusual players, and Jody Reed definitely qualifies.  This one was more of a regional release and was hard to find around here.  Adding to the appeal is the fact that this contains two cards.  Jody Reed was another underrated favorite player.  Reed was a steady defensive middle infielder who had some doubles power and was a prototypical #2 hitter.  He hit 40 doubles three seasons in a row, including tying for the league lead in 1990.  He was a pretty good player that played in the shadows of his more famous teammates.

Red Sox in Cooperstown Pt. 20: George Kell

GEORGE KELL
Years in Boston: 1952-1954 (.305/.383/.451, 18 home runs, 123 RBIs)
Best Year in Boston: 1953 (.307/.383/.483, 12 home runs, 73 RBIs)

Another player that spent just a brief amount of his Hall of Fame career in Boston was third-baseman George Kell.  Third base is an under-represented position in the Hall, but Kell is a borderline selection at best anyway.  He had his best seasons with the Tigers, a team itself that is somewhat under-represented, and was traded to Boston at the age of 29.  He was acquired during the season in 1952, along with Dizzy Trout and others for Red Sox fan favorites Johnny Pesky and Walt Dropo, plus a few other players.  Previously, Kell was mostly known to Red Sox fans for barely beating out Ted Williams for the batting title in 1949, costing him his third Triple Crown.

Kell was acquired after playing 39 games with the Tigers in 1952.  He made the All Star team that first season and he hit .319/.390/.453.  Kell was never really known for his power.  He hit seven home runs for the season, with six of them coming for Boston.

1953 was Kell's best season with the Red Sox and represented his career high in home runs, the only time he hit double digits.  Kell garnered some minor MVP consideration and made the All Star team again as he hit .307/.383/.483.  He hit 12 home runs and drove in 73 runs.  He also hit 41 doubles, the second most he hit in his career.  Always difficult to strike out, Kell was punched out just 22 times over the season, while he walked 52 times.

Kell started the 1954 season slowly, hitting just .258 with no home runs in 26 games before he was traded to the White Sox for Grady Hatton and some money.  Kell rebounded somewhat and ended up making the All Star team again.

George Kell is one of three Red Sox third-basemen in the Hall of Fame, and he is the most borderline of the three candidates.  Kell played parts of three seasons for the Red Sox, but only one full season.  That season was impressive enough and was one of his better seasons, but most of his productive seasons came with the Tigers.

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.  

Topps Now: May 24, 2016

With so many of these dropping lately, I honestly forgot about this one.  I was surprised to see it in the mail box.  This card celebrates Jackie making it to the halfway point for the all-time hitting streak record.  Unfortunately, he would only make it to one more game.  Bradley's streak ended at 29 games.  I never expected him to make it to Joe DiMaggio's record, but I was hoping he would be able to break the team record.  Dom DiMaggio's 34 game streak still stands as Boston's best.

"You Keep Using That Word. I Do Not Think it Means What You Think it Means."

That quote of course comes from The Princess Bride, one of the few decent chick flicks ever.  But I am not talking about the meaning of "inconceivable" here, I am specifically calling Topps out on their Fan Favorites autograph insert set.  And my evidence is this:

That's right: Carl Everett.  This is the red parallel and is numbered to 50.  Everett is the only Red Sox card in the Fan Favorites autograph set.  I applaud Topps for thinking outside the box here.  I never would have guessed Carl Everett would appear in this set.  Nevertheless, it is a new Red Sox card, a player I don't see much on cardboard anymore, and therefore, I had to get something.  Still, I would have preferred to see someone like Jason Varitek.

Everett spent two years in Boston from 2000 to 2001.  I was early in my college years at that time and I remember his stint very well.  And I have to say, he was pretty much the exact opposite of a fan favorite.  Now, I was something of a Carl Everett apologist, but even I could not keep coming to his defense, because it seemed that every few weeks, something else was going on.  He was missing the bus in Spring Training, getting into fights with teammates, coaches, managers, or reporters, headbutting umpires, and just generally making an ass of himself.  All of that could have been forgiven if he was hitting, but apart from a terrific first half of the 2000 season which saw him named to the All Star team, Everett was not hitting enough to make up for the issues.  He was eventually traded to the Rangers in a trade of bad contracts for Darren Oliver, who could not even finish his one season with Boston.  Everett did have one good season in 2000, and that is how I prefer to remember him, but it is very hard to forget "Jurassic Carl".

Two Archives Blasters

I was bored the other day and decided to spend some money.  Archives had come out the week before and I always enjoy this set.  This year though, there was some added incentive.  Sandy Alomar Jr. appears on a number of cards, including an insert and a Fan Favorites autograph.  Unfortunately I was not able to pull any Alomar cards.  I did pull these Red Sox cards:

There are three sets that Topps is using for the cards this year: 1979, 1953, and 1991.  All three sets can be seen in the above scan.  The 1979 design is not one of my favorites, but the 1953 set is considered a classic, and I am a huge fan of the 1991 set.  The 1953 cards in this set are mostly headshots, so they are kind of boring.  The 1991 cards are my favorites as they often have action shots.

Boston has a number of players in this set and I did reasonably well in pulling cards.  I would like to see Topps think outside the box a little and put in some lesser known players like Jason Varitek or Tim Wakefield.  They are fan favorites after all.  I also pulled 15 different Yankees cards.  Ugh.  Unfortunately I did not get my Alomar cards, and my only Red Sox were base cards.

Topps Now: May 20, 2016

There have been a lot of these lately.  One of the joys of this season has been watching some of Boston's young players develop into stars.  Jackie Bradley Jr. has always been a terrific defensive outfielder.  It has always been said that even if he can hit .250 with a little power, his defense would keep him in the lineup.  Well, he is doing much more than that.  He recently had his 29 game hitting streak snapped, but it was still going on the date this card celebrates.

Topps Now: May 14, 2016

On May 14, David Ortiz was a one-man wrecking crew against the Astros.  He hit a home run in the third inning.  He tied the game with a triple in the bottom of the ninth inning.  And to top it all off, he doubled home the winning run in the 11th.  This picture came from the celebration after the game-winning hit.  It was one of two times Ortiz came close to the cycle.  He was just missing a single in this game.

Topps Now: May 12, 2016

Up next from the Topps Now set comes this card featuring four of the Red Sox hottest hitters from a week that saw the team set a number of records for offense.  As the caption says, the Red Sox were the first team since 1950 to score 11 runs in four consecutive games.  Jackie Bradley Jr., Hanley Ramirez, Dustin Pedroia, and Xander Bogaerts were all big parts of the team's success.

Red Sox With No Cards: 1998

Pacific helped avoid a lot more players appearing on this list.  Online featured the only cards available of players like Mark Lemke, Brian Shouse, Mike Benjamin, Rich Garces (though he would later appear in more sets), and Jim Corsi.  Butch Henry appeared in two different Pacific sets.  Unfortunately, not everyone could appear in Online and there were a few players to not appear on cardboard with the Red Sox.

BILLY ASHLEY

This long-time Dodgers prospect-in-waiting was gifted with a ton of power, but he could just never crack through the lineup for any significant amount of time.  The most games he ever played in was 81 in 1995.  He hit eight home runs that year, and nine the next year.  Just prior to the 1998 season, the Dodgers gave up on him and released him.  Boston signed him for some bench depth.  He made it into 13 games for Boston, hitting .292/.346/.792 with three home runs, three doubles, and seven RBIs.  Not bad for such a short stint.  That was it for his Major League career though.

KEITH JOHNS

Johns was a journeyman infielder who played for a number of organizations, but only made it to the Major Leagues in one season.  He played in just two games in 1998 with the Red Sox, but only had one plate appearance.  He did draw a walk in that plate appearance though.  Johns played two innings at second base in one of the games with an assist, a double play, and a put-out.  He continued to bounce around after 1998.

RON MAHAY

1998 was Mahay's third season with the Red Sox, and his second as a lefty out of the bullpen.  Mahay pitched in 29 games, his career high to this point, and again pitched fairly well.  He was 1-1 with a 3.46 ERA.  Unfortunately he walked more batters than he struck out and he gave up a hit per inning pitched.  Ultimately Boston cut ties with him because he was just not effective enough.  He was placed on waivers just prior to the 1999 season and was claimed by the A's.  He bounced around quite a bit after that.

ORLANDO MERCED

The long-time Pirates star (by default since Pittsburgh purged their roster of most good players after 1992) spent a very short amount of time in Boston.  He was acquired at the trading deadline along with fellow No Card member Greg Swindell for a few minor leaguers from the Twins.  Swindell was the player Boston really wanted though.  Merced appeared in nine games with the Red Sox, with 12 plate appearances.  He did not get a single hit.  He walked twice, though he did have two RBIs.  He was released a month later and picked up by the Cubs, his third team of the year.

KEITH MITCHELL

Kevin Mitchell's cousin did not have the same level of talent.  Mitchell was never quite able to crack into the Majors for good, or for more than one season at a time.  After short stints with the Braves, Mariners, and Reds, it was time for him to try his hand with the Red Sox (one of three teams for whom both he and his cousin played).  Mitchell made it into 23 games and hit reasonably well.  His slash line was .273/.400/.333, and he drove in six runs.  Despite being just 28, Mitchell never made it back to the Majors.
 
CARLOS REYES

A lot of Boston's mid-season trade acquistions were denied cards.  Reyes was picked up in a trade with the Padres along with a couple of players yet to come in this post.  Jim Leyritz was sent to the Padres in the deal.  Reyes was the best of the players the Red Sox received in this trade.  He pitched in 24 games with a 3.52 ERA.  After the season though, he returned to the Padres, and had a pretty good year.

MANDY ROMERO

Romero was one of the other players to be acquired from the Padres in the Leyritz trade.  Romero was a backup catcher for the Red Sox and played in just 12 games.  He hit .231/.375/.308.  He hit one double among his three hits.  The next season he was traded to the Mets for Kelly Ramos, a minor league catcher who never made it to the Majors.  Romero would resurface in the Majors with the Rockies in 2003.  Romero did appear in some minor league sets in 1999.

CHRIS SNOPEK

After a few seasons as a backup infielder for the White Sox, Boston picked up Snopek in a minor deal in which they gave up former first round pick Corey Jenkins.  Snopek played in just eight games with the Red Sox though, spending almost equal time at second, third, and designated hitter.  He had two hits and two runs batted in over 14 plate appearances.  1998 was his last year in the Majors, despite playing for a number of other organizations.

GREG SWINDELL

Once an All Star starting pitcher for the Cleveland Indians, Swindell enjoyed a career renaissance as a relief pitcher in the mid 1990's.  The southpaw was acquired from the Twins in the same trading deadline deal as Merced above.  Swindell was the primary piece Boston wanted and he pitched fairly well down the stretch.  He pitched in 29 games and had a 2-3 record with a 3.38 ERA.  He made it onto the postseason roster and pitched an inning and a third of scoreless relief.  After the season, he was signed to a free agent deal with the Diamondbacks.

CARLOS VALDEZ

Valdez previously appeared in just 11 games with the Giants in 1995.  He pitched in just four games for the Red Sox in 1998 and did not allow a run.  He had a 1-0 record and struck out four while walking five in 3.1 innings.  He pitched in Japan in 1999.  Valdez did appear on some minor league cards with the Red Sox organization.

DARIO VERAS

The last of the three players Boston acquired in the Leyritz deal, Veras was another relief pitcher.  He was the least-used of the three players.  He pitched in just seven games, and with a 10.13 ERA, it is not hard to see why that may have been.  He gave up 12 hits and walked seven in just eight innings, while only striking out two.  He played all over the world after 1998.

DAVID WEST

West was a well-traveled left-hander who returned from Japan to the  Majors in 1998.  1998 was his last appearance in the Majors and he made it into just six games.  He had a 27.00 ERA over two innings as a lefty reliever.  He did strike out four, but walked seven.  The West experiment did not work out and was abandoned quickly.

Of these players, I would most like to have seen Swindell get a card.  He was a valuable bullpen piece and even played in the postseason with the Red Sox.  I liked Swindell a little bit when I first started following baseball too.

One-Year Wonder Pt. 27: Rey Sanchez

Every once in awhile, the Red Sox pick up a veteran player for a year, or just the stretch run that was a star at one point that I become fascinated with. It's a player that is basically only a role player at that point in their career, but may show flashes of their old brilliance. It's so unusual to see them as a member of the Red Sox, that I try to find as many of their cards as possible. This series will be about some of those players.

Rey Sanchez was a very good-fielding middle infielder who did not hit a lot.  He came up with the Cubs and played mostly shortstop for them for several years.  He moved over to second base after Ryne Sandberg retired.  Sanchez bounced around a little bit after that, playing with the Yankees, Royals, Giants, and Braves.  He solidified his reputation as a good defensive player while hitting just enough to stay in the lineup.  

Boston signed him prior to the 2002 season to solidify second base after purging the roster of Mike Lansing, Jose Offerman, Lou Merloni, and Chris Stynes the previous season.  He proved to be everything he was advertised to be as he hit .286/.318/.345, decent numbers, but certainly not dazzling.  But he was once again terrific in the field.  He never hit for much power, but he managed to hit his first home run since 2000 that season.  For the season, he was a 1.4 WAR player, much of that coming from his defensive prowess.

Sanchez was allowed to leave as a free agent after the season.  Boston decided to go with a more offensive player at second base, picking up Todd Walker, himself only lasting one season.  But where Walker was better with the bat, he was a significant step down with the glove. 

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.

Topps Now May 8, 2016

The next Topps Now card features David Ortiz and Carl Yastrzemski.  On May 8, Ortiz hit two home runs, the first to tie Carl Yastrzemski's Red Sox home run mark, and the next one passed him.  Ortiz is now #2 on the Red Sox all-time home run record.  If Ortiz does indeed retire this year, he will not have a chance to break Williams's mark.  As of today, Ortiz has hit 456 home runs with the Red Sox.  Williams hit 521.  So Ortiz is still quite a way off from the all-time team record.

Red Sox in Cooperstown Pt. 19: Lou Boudreau

LOU BOUDREAU
Years with Boston: 1951-1952 (.265/.350/.393, 5 home runs, 49 RBIs)
Best Year in Boston: 1951 (.267/.353/.396, 5 home runs, 47 RBIs)

Another player who was past his prime when he was acquired by Boston was longtime Cleveland Indians shortstop and player-manager Lou Boudreau.  Boudreau had long been a tormentor of the Red Sox, having guided his team to a one-game playoff win over Boston in 1948.  He was named MVP that year and was a one-man wrecking crew in the one-game playoff, hitting two home runs in four hits.  He was also one of the managers to utilize the shift against Ted Williams.

Boston acquired him in late 1950 largely with an eye towards him taking over as manager.  Boudreau did not play a lot in 1951, his first year with Boston.  Johnny Pesky was still going strong as the shortstop, with Vern Stephens also still in the fold.  Steve O'Neill had taken over as manager the previous season after Joe McCarthy was fired.  Boudreau was reasonably productive in 82 games, hitting .267/.353/.396 with five home runs.

The next season, Boudreau was named player-manager, though he did not play very often.  He appeared in just four games, without a hit.  He would manage the team through the 1954 season, attempting to bring in an infusion of youth.  He alienated many of the team's stars, leading to the retirements of Bobby Doerr and Dom DiMaggio and the trade of Pesky.  His managerial record with Boston was 229-232.

Boudreau is in the Hall of Fame for his time with the Indians.  He was a great player with Cleveland and won the MVP in a terrific 1948 season.  His time in Boston is not terribly relevant to his Hall of Fame career, and his managerial stint is best forgotten.

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.   

Red Sox With No Cards: 1997

1997 was a little bit better from a card standpoint.  Oddly, most of the players who have no Red Sox cards are players who have appeared in one of these posts before.  So a number of these players have actually been with the Red Sox spanning multiple years.  Yet, they have no cards.

TOBY BORLAND

Borland had been a fairly important part of the Phillies bullpen for several years coming into the 1997 season.  The year before, he pitched in 69 games with a 7-3 record and a 4.07 ERA.  The Phillies traded him to the Mets prior to the 1997 season with Ricardo Jordan for Rico Brogna.  He appeared in 13 games for the Mets before being traded to the Red Sox for fellow No Card Member Ricky Trlicek.  Borland pitched in just three games for Boston, with a 13.50 ERA.  He never pitched in more than 18 games again after 1997.  Toby Borland was not related to former Red Sox pitcher Tom Borland.

MARK BRANDENBURG

1997 was Brandenburg's second season with the Red Sox and his last season in the Major Leagues.  He was used frequently by Boston, pitching in 31 games, but was inconsistent at best.  He finished the season 0-2 with a 5.49 ERA.  The side-arming reliever did pick up 34 strikeouts versus 16 walks in 41 innings.  After the season, Brandenburg was traded back to the Rangers along with Aaron Sele and Bill Haselman for Jim Leyritz and Damon Buford, though he did not pitch in the Majors for them.

KEN GRUNDT

After a one-game stint with the Red Sox in 1996, somehow Ken Grundt made it back to the Big Show in 1997.  This time, he pitched in two games, but he wasn't much better than he had been the previous season.  He pitched three innings, compared to the 0.1 inning he pitched in 1996, though with a 9.00 ERA.  Grundt pitched one more season in the minor leagues in 1998 before hanging it up.  Despite pitching for four organizations, Grundt only ever pitched in the Major Leagues with the Red Sox, and never had a Major League card.

JOE HUDSON

Hudson's third season with the Red Sox was his best one yet.  Yet, he still did not get a proper Major League card with Boston.  He pitched in 26 games with a 3-1 record and a 3.53 ERA.  He did have a little trouble with the free pass, walking 14 while also striking out 14 in 35.2 innings.  Hudson did not pitch in the Majors for the Red Sox in 1998, despite staying in the organization.  He was traded at the trading deadline to the Brewers for Eddy Diaz in a very minor trade.  Diaz never played for Boston and Hudson made it into just one game for Milwaukee.  That was his last appearance in the Majors.

KERRY LACY

For a short amount of time in 1997, it looked like Kerry Lacy might emerge as the Red Sox closer.  He picked up three saves over the course of about 12 days.  That was his save total for the season though.  Lacy's opportunity arose as a result of Heathcliff Slocumb's ineffectiveness.  Lacy was also in his second season with the Red Sox after being acquired in the same trade as Mark Brandenburg (for Mike Stanton).  Unfortunately, Lacy's overall season was not very impressive.  He had a 6.11 ERA over 45.2 innings and issued more walks than strikeouts.  He never appeared in the Majors again after 1997.

RON MAHAY

After a season away from the Majors, Mahay made it back to Boston in 1997.  This time, he was a left-handed relief pitcher after transitioning away from the outfield.  Mahay was very impressive in his first season as a reliever, showing up in 28 games, oftentimes as a lefty specialist.  His ERA was a sparkling 2.52 and he was 3-0 with 22 strikeouts versus 11 walks in 25 innings.  Mahay would bounce back and forth between the minors and majors over the next couple of seasons but would eventually have a long Major League career as a lefty reliever.  Mahay did not appear on many cards over his career, which had more to do with his status as a former replacement player than it did as a reliever.

PAT MAHOMES

The longtime Twins pitching prospect made the Opening Day roster for the Red Sox in 1997 after a coming over from Minnesota toward the end of the 1996 season.  Mahomes pitched in ten games over the first month of the season before being sent to the minors, and eventually Japan.  Mahomes was 1-0 with an 8.10 ERA.  One of the major things that sunk his season was giving up 10 walks in just 10 innings and only striking out five.  He would make it back to the Majors in 1999 with the Mets, for whom he turned in a good season.  He would then pitch in the Majors for a few more years.

WALT MCKEEL

McKeel played a bit more often than he had in his debut season in Boston in which he appeared just once, as a defensive replacement.  He still appeared as a defensive replacement a couple of times, but he actually accumulated three at-bats.  Four of his games were as a catcher, with one as a first-baseman.  McKeel did not get a hit in his three at-bats and struck out once.  He would resurface with the Rockies in 2002 and actually pick up four hits in 13 at-bats.

CURTIS PRIDE

Pride was always an interesting player.  He was the first deaf player in Major League baseball since 1945.  He was coming off a fairly successful season with the Tigers in 1996 and played reasonably well again for Detroit in 1997.  He was picked up as a free agent in late August by Boston and made it into two games for the Red Sox, both as a pinch hitter.  In one of those at-bats, he homered.  Pride would bounce around a bit over the next several seasons, and even returned to Boston in 2000.  He was a fascinating story.

RICKY TRLICEK

Making his second appearance on one of these posts, Trlicek last appeared for Boston in 1994.  Since that time, he bounced around several organizations, playing in the Majors for the Mets in 1996.  Trlicek began the 1997 season on the Opening Day roster for Boston and pitched in 18 games for the Red Sox, going 3-4 with a 4.63 ERA.  Not good, but not terrible either.  He walked 18 though and just struck out 10 in 23.1 innings, which was definitely not good.  Trlicek was eventually traded back to the Mets for Toby Borland and pitched in nine games with an 8.00 ERA.  That was his last appearance in the Majors.

If I had to pick just one player from this group who I would most like to see in a Red Sox uniform on a card, I would pick Curtis Pride.  His story is inspirational.  Deaf from birth, he had to overcome a lot to make it to the Major Leagues.  And in just two pinch-hit at-bats with Boston, he picked up a home run.  I would have liked to see bullpen stalwarts like Mark Brandenburg, Joe Hudson, Kerry Lacy, and Ron Mahay as well, and we likely would have had 1997 been more like the early 1990's when companies were producing cards of many more players.  Someone like Ken Grundt or Walt McKeel likely would never have seen any cards.  Their Major League careers consist of just a few games each.