Some Chrome Refractors and a Bowman Platinum Blaster

A couple of trades brought in some colored refractors from Topps Chrome.  I always liked the sepia refractors and there were two of them added here.  Hanley Ramirez is having a terrific bounce-back season this year after a terrible year last year, and just hit another home run as I was typing this.  Rusney Castillo is unfortunately a bust, and with Andrew Benintendi ready to become a full-time Major Leaguer next season, I doubt he will get much more of a chance in Boston.  In a separate trade I picked up this green refractor of Dustin Pedroia, who is also having a terrific season.

Later on that same day, I decided to pick up a blaster of Bowman Platinum in search of a card of my personal favorite pitching prospect who appears in a Major League set for the first time here.  Unfortunately I did not get the card of that pitcher, but I did pull two Red Sox, another Dustin Pedroia and Henry Owens, who has struggled quite a bit this season.

Red Sox with No Cards: 2003

Boston returned to the postseason in 2003 for the first time since 1999 and took the Yankees to extra innings of Game 7 of the ALCS before Aaron Boone ended their season.  There were not too many Red Sox who did not appear in cards thanks to Topps Total and Upper Deck 40 Man.  Dave McCarty, Andy Abad, Bill Haselman, Damian Jackson, Steve Woodard, Ryan Rupe, Rudy Seanez, and Bob Howry all had very few cards, but still had some, unlike these next few guys.

HECTOR ALMONTE

After spending ten years in the Florida Marlins organization, including a brief 15 game stint at the Major League level, Almonte left the only organization he had ever known and joined the Boston Red Sox.  He actually pitched reasonably well in his 1999 Major League tenure, going 0-2 with a 4.20 ERA and eight strikeouts in 15 innings.  He did not pitch nearly as well for the Red Sox in 2003 as he had for the Marlins.  He made it into just seven games in June, 2003 and pitched poorly.  He was 0-1 with an 8.22 ERA and struck out six while walking seven in 7.2 innings.  He was granted free agency in July and was picked back up by the Marlins and pitched marginally better in 28 games for them.  He bounced around from team to team afterwards, but never made it back to the Major Leagues.  Almonte does appear in Red Sox minor league sets.

ADRIAN BROWN

After several seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, including two in which he was a regular player in his mid 20's, Brown was signed as a free agent with the Devil Rays after the 2002 season.  Tampa Bay left him off of their 40 man roster though and the Red Sox selected him in the 2002 Rule 5 Draft.  He was returned to the Devil Rays when he did not make the Major League team, as per the draft's rules, but then was released and Boston signed him as a minor league free agent.  So it was a pretty convoluted way that Brown ended up with Boston.  Brown had been a pretty good player earlier with Pittsburgh, hitting .315/.373/.432 in 2000.  He was an All Star for Pawtucket in 2003, hitting .282/.347/.359 with five home runs, 32 RBIs, and 34 stolen bases.  Boston was pretty stacked with position players in the Majors though, so there was no room for him on the roster until September.  He played in just nine games with Boston, hitting .200/.250/.200.  He did steal two bases.  He signed as a free agent with the Angels after the season and appeared in just five games with them.  Then he showed up with the Rangers in 2006 for a 35 game stint.  That was it for Brown at the Major League level.  Brown does have cards in Pawtucket sets.

BRUCE CHEN

Somehow, Bruce Chen managed to have a 17 year Major League career.  He played for eleven teams in that period, having most of his success with the Royals toward the end of his career.  His early career was characterized by a lot of bouncing around, obviously.  He made his Major League debut at 21 with the Braves, then played with the Phillies, Mets, Expos, Reds, and Astros before being picked up on waivers with the Red Sox in May, 2003.  He pitched in just five games for the Red Sox in May of that season, starting two.  He was 0-1 with a 5.11 ERA in 12.1 innings.  He struck out 12 and walked just two.  He was sent to the minors and did not make it back to the Majors that season despite some decent numbers.  Later on he played for the Orioles, Rangers, Royals, and Indians.  

LOU COLLIER

Like Adrian Brown, Lou Collier was once a promising prospect with the Pirates.  Also, like Brown, Collier was a minor league All Star with the Pawtucket Red Sox in 2003.  Collier came up with the Pirates in 1997 and was their regular shortstop in 1998, despite subpar numbers.  He was placed on waivers and picked up by the Brewers after the season.  After a couple of uninspiring seasons with the Brewers, he plated with the Expos in 2002 and signed a minor league contract with the Red Sox.  Collier hit .293/.354/.469 with 14 home runs and 69 RBIs with Pawtucket in 2003, while playing a variety of positions.  Like Brown, Collier was a late-season call-up and made it into just four games, mostly as a defensive replacement.  He had just one at-bat and was hitless.  He joined the Phillies the next season for another short stint, but did not appear in the Majors again.  He did spend a couple of years in Japan.  Collier also has a couple of Pawtucket Red Sox cards.

TODD JONES

Once an All Star closer with the Tigers, and winner of the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award in 2000 when he tied (with Derek Lowe) for the league lead in saves with 42, Jones was seemingly past his prime when he joined the Red Sox.  In 2001, Jones started his downfall and saved just 13 games while splitting the season between the Tigers and Twins.  In 2002, he was with the Rockies but was ineffective.  This continued in 2003.  He pitched in 33 games with the Rockies, but had an 8.24 ERA before being released.  He was picked up by the Red Sox, and was marginally better in 26 games.  He was 2-1 with a 5.52 ERA and 31 strikeouts versus 13 walks in 29.1 innings.  Jones left as a free agent after the season but eventually worked his way back into being a top-flight closer, saving more than 35 games in three straight seasons with the Marlins and the Tigers, again, from 2005 through 2007.  His Red Sox stint was a blip on his comeback trail, but showed he still had something in the tank.

SCOTT SAUERBECK

Yet another former Pirate to play for the Red Sox in 2003, Sauerbeck was a mid-season acquisition that was highly sought-after.  Sauerbeck had had a successful season in 2002 but was pitching with a 4.05 ERA when he was traded to Boston to shore up their left-handed pitching along with Mike Gonzalez for Brandon Lyon and Anastacio Martinez.  Unfortunately, Lyon had some issues with his shoulder and the Pirates complained.  Boston agreed to take Lyon and Martinez back, along with starter Jeff Suppan in exchange for returning Mike Gonzalez and sending top prospect Freddy Sanchez.  Both trades worked out poorly for Boston.  Sauerbeck made it into 26 games with Boston down the stretch with a 6.48 ERA.  He struck out 18 and walked 18 in 16.2 innings.  Sauerbeck was left off the postseason roster.  He pitched a couple more seasons with the Indians and Athletics after the season.

MATT WHITE

Matt White was a 15th round draft choice by the Cleveland Indians in the 1998 draft.  He did not make it to the Majors and was not on Cleveland's 40 man roster when he was selected by the Red Sox in the 2002 Rule 5 draft.  White was a southpaw pitcher and Boston took a chance on finding a diamond in the rough.  It did not work out.  White pitched in three games for Boston, giving up 11 earned runs in 3.2 innings, for a 27.00 ERA.  He walked three and did not pick up a single strikeout.  White was traded in June to the Mariners for Sheldon Fulse, who did not make the Majors, but who has a card with the Red Sox in the 2004 Bowman set.  White was not much better with the Mariners.  He appeared again in 2005 with the Nationals for a single game, which he lost.

There were some interesting names appearing on this list.  Several players had long careers in the Majors.  Several players had some success in the Majors.  Yet none of these players appeared on a card with the Red Sox.  Scott Sauerbeck and Todd Jones each played in 26 games with the Red Sox, though Sauerbeck pitched fewer innings on account of being a lefty specialist.  Todd Jones is likely my favorite player without a card in 2003, and he probably deserved one.

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.

Red Sox in Cooperstown Pt. 24: Orlando Cepeda

ORLANDO CEPEDA
Years in Boston: 1973 (.289/.350/.444, 20 home runs, 86 RBIs)
Best Year in Boston: 1973 (.289/.350/.444, 20 home runs, 86 RBIs)

A major change occurred in baseball in 1973.  The American League decided to create a new designated hitter position to take the place of the pitcher's spot in the batting order.  The designated hitter would not play in the field but just go up to hit.  Boston signed Orlando Cepeda as a free agent pretty much exclusively with the idea that he would serve the team as their designated hitter, and in fact, Cepeda did not play in the field the entire season.

Cepeda was Boston's opening day designated hitter in 1973 and was preceded at the position only by New York's Ron Blomberg, Boston's opponent that day.  Cepeda would have to settle for winning the award given out at the end of the season for the best DH of the season, which is now known as the Edgar Martinez Award.  At the time, it was simply Designated Hitter of the Year.

Cepeda had a very good year in 1973, hitting .289/.350/.444 with 20 home runs and 86 RBIs.  It was the last productive season of his Major League career.  The 35-year-old had been slowing down offensively for a few years and was never really a very good defensive player in the first place.  Boston likely felt that he might be able to bounce back slightly if he could focus just on offense, and they would have been correct.

During Spring Training of 1974, Cepeda was released as Boston had a number of candidates to play DH, including Carl Yastrzemski, Bernie Carbo, and Cecil Cooper.  Cepeda was picked up by the Royals, but didn't play much and was ineffective.  Cepeda's last good season of his career was with the Red Sox.

Your 1981 Red Sox Pt. 1: Gary Allenson

In this series, I will look at each player who played in 1981, the year I was born.  Because, why not?

Boston regrettably lost Carlton Fisk as a free agent in December of 1980 after not sending him a contract in time.  Fisk left for Chicago and Boston's catching was in flux.  Gary Allenson had played in 108 games in 1979 due to injuries to Fisk, who DH'd for a chunk of the season, but was not terribly impressive hitting .203/.264/.299 in his rookie season.  He played in just 36 games as the third-string catcher to Fisk and Dave Rader in 1980.

Boston did have their catcher of the future make his debut in 1980 but Allenson was promoted to the primary backup catcher.  Rich Gedman was now the starting catcher.  Allenson had a solid season for the Red Sox, hitting .223/.335/.388 with five home runs and 25 RBIs.  His ability to get on base was a large part of his value.  He was not terribly impressive defensively, which is part of why he remained a backup, along with the upside of Gedman.

Gary Allenson would go on to play in more than half of the games at catcher in both 1982 and 1983, due mostly to injuries to Gedman, but he was not much with the bat in those seasons.  He continued to prove that he could get on base, despite not hitting much and he improved a bit defensively, but he was always more of a stopgap than the answer at catcher, hence the acquisition of Jeff Newman in 1983.  Gedman broke out in a big way in 1984 and Allenson was again relegated to backup duty.  He left Boston as a free agent after the season and spent just one season with the Blue Jays, making it into just 14 games.

Unknown Heroes Pt. 42: Daniel Nava

- Just 4'8" and 70 lbs. in his freshman year of high school and grew to just 5'5" and 150 lbs. by his senior year of high school.

- A walk-on for his college baseball team but did not make the team and became the team's equipment manager.

- Signed with an independent team after going undrafted from college.

- His contract was purchased by a Major League team for $1.00.

- Hit the very first Major League pitch he saw for a grand slam home run.

- A major contributor for a World Championship team.

Seriously, this sounds like the kind of stuff you would see in a feel-good movie about a young man overcoming a bunch of obstacles to become a Major League baseball player.  A true underdog story.  But yet, all of these things actually happened to Daniel Nava, one of the more interesting baseball stories in a very long time.

Nava came up with the Red Sox as explained above and made his Major League debut in 2010, hitting a grand slam off of the Phillies' Joe Blanton.  It was his only home run that year but he played in 60 games and hit .242/.351/.360.  He was actually placed on waivers, but was not claimed, before returning to the Majors in 2012.  That year he was brought back as the Red Sox outfield was in shambles due to injuries and ineffectiveness.  Nava hit .243/.352/.390 with six home runs.

In 2013, he broke through, playing in 134 games and hitting .303/.385/.445 with 12 home runs, including a dramatic game-winning home run in the team's first home game after the Boston Marathon bombing.  He also performed surprisingly well defensively.

He had a less productive season in 2014, hitting .270/.346/.361 with four home runs and 37 RBIs and then continued to decline in 2015 before being placed on waivers.  The Rays picked him up and he has bounced around ever since.  But, his short Red Sox career and his fascinating story make him an Unknown Hero.  If Jim Morris can have a movie made about his career, Daniel Nava can too.

Red Sox From Nebraska

Nebraska is not really a hot-bed for Major League talent.  There have only been 113 players in Major League history that were born in the State of Nebraska.  Hall of Famers from Nebraska include Grover Cleveland Alexander, Bob Gibson, Richie Ashburn, and a few others.

I spent some time working at the Nebraska Major League Baseball Hall of Fame located in St. Paul, Nebraska when I was a lawyer in that town.  I was actually the Chairman of the Board for a year there.  It was one of the most rewarding, interesting things that I have ever done, and is one of the reasons that I regret leaving St. Paul.  I helped procure items for the museum, including a bobblehead figure of Alex Gordon in his Lincoln Southeast high school uniform that was a stadium giveaway at Rosenblatt Stadium, then the home of the Omaha Royals.  I also met former Major League stars such as Bob Cerv and Russ Snyder, both of whom played in the 1950's, when we brought them to town as honored guests for the town's weekend festival, called the Grover Cleveland Alexander Days (Alexander was from the nearby town of Elba, Nebraska).

There have been only five native Nebraskan Major League players and one manager to appear for the Red Sox.  Below will be a very quick profile of each player:

LES NUNAMAKER:

I unfortunately do not have this card.  Nunamaker was a native of Malcolm, Nebraska, a town near the capital of Lincoln.  He was a backup catcher for the Red Sox from 1911 into the 1914 season.  He did not have much power in that time, never hitting a home run, and hitting no more than five doubles in any of those seasons.  He was a decent defensive catcher but he was never really given a chance in Boston.  The Red Sox sold him to the Yankees in 1914 where he blossomed.

Red Sox stats: .247/.307/.326, 34 RBIs, 14 doubles.

DARRELL JOHNSON:

The manager of the pennant-winning 1975 Red Sox team was born in Horace, Nebraska, a tiny, unincorporated community in central Nebraska.  Johnson had been a catcher in the Major Leagues with the Browns, White Sox, Yankees, Cardinals, Phillies, Reds, and Orioles, never really playing much in any year.  He had been the Red Sox Triple A minor league manager before being promoted in 1974.  He had a decent year in 1974, but then Boston cruised to the AL East division crown in 1975, swept the A's in the ALCS, and then took the Big Red Machine up to a seventh game in the thrilling 1975 World Series.  Unfortunately, Boston struggled in 1976 and he was dismissed midseason.

Red Sox record: 220-188.

BUDDY HUNTER:
Hunter is the only University of Nebraska alumni to be drafted by and make it to the Majors with the Boston Red Sox.  Unfortunately, his career was so short that he never even had a baseball card made, not even a minor league card.  Hunter's Major League career consisted of three non-sequential years (1971, 1973, 1975) in which he spent 8, 13, and 1 games at the big league level.  He had just five hits in 24 plate appearances, two of which were doubles.  Hunter was born in Omaha.

Red Sox stats: .294/.478/.412, 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, 3 runs.

WADE BOGGS:

Boggs was also born in Omaha, though he grew up in Florida.  I don't have to do much to introduce Boggs, the third-baseman was one of, if not the, best hitter in the 1980's.  He had seven straight seasons of 200 hits and won five batting titles.  He is a member of the 3,000 hit club and was inducted into the Hall of Fame with the Red Sox.  This year, he had his number 26 finally retired by the Red Sox.  Boggs was one of the best players when I first started watching baseball and he was my first favorite player.  Boggs also won six Silver Sluggers and was an All Star eight times.

Red Sox stats: .338/.428/.462, 85 home runs, 687 RBIs, 2,098 hits, 1,412 walks.

JEFF RICHARDSON:

Richardson was a native of Grand Island, which was 20 miles south of St. Paul and is located pretty much right in the center of the state.  Richardson was a utility infielder that spent only a part of one season with the Red Sox.  He played in 15 games with the Red Sox in 1993, playing second, short, third, and designated hitter.  He was flawless in the field, yet deeply flawed at the plate.

Red Sox stats: .208/.240/.298, 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, 3 runs.

KIP GROSS:

Finally, Scottsbluff native Kip Gross was also a Cornhusker who played for the Red Sox.  Gross came up with the Reds and played with the Dodgers, and then spending several years pitching in Japan before joining the Red Sox in 1999.  Gross pitched in just 11 games with the Red Sox.  His stint was too short to warrant a baseball card.

Red Sox stats: 0-2, 7.82 ERA, 9 strikeouts, 8 walks in 12.2 innings.

NOTE:
Three Major League Nebraska natives played in the minors with the Red Sox, all three were catchers.  Those three were Jerry Zimmerman (Omaha), Todd Pratt (Bellevue), and B.J. Waszgis (Omaha).

I don't have this card either, but would love to.

Catching Up on Maildays

Getting back to work on Tuesday after a holiday weekend, I was happy to see a number of packages in my post office box.

The first trade package brought me two cards off of my wantlist:  

The first is a Rusney Castillo card from last year's High Tek set which is autographed.  This is my second autograph of Castillo, who unfortunately has proven to be a pretty expensive bust at this time.  And he is running out of time to make an impact.  With Andrew Benintendi ready to play in the Majors full-time, Castillo may have to be traded to see daily action, but his contract likely precludes that.  The second card is an Archives insert of David Ortiz, who we will see multiple times in the coming scans.

The next package contained multiple cards from my wantlist, including the #3 card on my most wanted list.

This is the first of three scans from the package and contains some nice stuff, including the aforementioned #3 card which is the 2011 Topps Heritage SP that contains headshots of Red Sox rookie outfielders Daniel Nava and Ryan Kalish.  Nava had a nice career for a few years and was a major contributor on the 2013 World Championship team.  Kalish looked promising in his first season and led the team in stolen bases in 2010.  Unfortunately, injuries wrecked his career.  I also really like the Future Stars cards although Mookie Betts is a major star right now.

This is the second scan and contains a bunch of random refractors from this year's Chrome.  The last card is the Diamond King card of David Price from Donruss Optic, a rip-off of Chrome.  Price has turned things on of late and looks like the high-priced free agent that Boston signed.  I always liked the Diamond Kings subset, even with no MLB license.

This is the final scan with a few base cards from Donruss Optic, as well as a parallel of the Price Diamond King.

The next trade contained a bunch of low-end inserts, and increased my David Ortiz collection quite a bit.  He is getting close to 600 in my collection.

I really like the Curt Schilling card, a rare Polo Grounds insert from Throwback Threads.  This was one of the mind-boggling parallel sets released by Donruss the last few years of their MLB license.  The two Dustin Pedroia cards are actually different, though they do not appear to be so from the front.  A change in color on the front would be helpful.

Here is the second scan from that package.  We have a card celebrating Ortiz's walk-off home run in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS, one of the greatest Red Sox moments of all time.  The Mike Napoli is the variation of the regular base Gypsy Queen card that year.  Those were hard to keep track of.  I'm not thrilled by the Ted Williams card.  If I had known there was no picture, I likely would not have targeted that card.  On the other hand, I love the Tris Speaker card.  Speaker is one of the great players of the early 20th century and unfortunately does not get nearly the hobby love he deserves.

And this is the last scan, although the last card was actually in a different package.  I love these Bowman inserts showing sons of former Major Leaguers with their fathers.  Tate Matheny is the son of former Cardinals catcher and current Cardinals manager Mike Matheny.  Tate has had a decent year but is too old for his current level.  It is hard to tell how good he could be.  He profiles as a fourth outfielder.

1991-2016 All-Underrated Team: Catcher

I have been watching baseball for 26 years now.  In that time, I have been obsessed with under-the-radar players.  These are my picks for an All-Underrated Team.  I have picked one player for each position and their best season.

JARROD SALTALAMACCHIA: 2013
Saltalamacchia was named the Red Sox starting catcher in 2011 after Victor Martinez left as a free agent.  He had a decent season, hitting 16 home runs.  Then in 2012, he shockingly led the team with 25 home runs.  Other than his power however, Saltalamacchia was not really a good hitter, typically hitting under .250 and an on-base percentage under .300.

Until 2013.  Saltalamacchia's home run power decreased significantly from his team-leading prior season, but his overall hitting numbers were vastly improved.  Saltalamacchia hit .273/.338/.466 with 14 home runs and a surprising 40 doubles, which broke the team record for doubles by a catcher previously held by both Carlton Fisk and Jason Varitek (39).    

Saltalamacchia made just six errors on the season and was second in number of runners caught stealing, although he also allowed more stolen bases than any other league catcher.  He also had a terrific postseason moment when he hit a walkoff single to score the winning run in Game 2 of the ALCS.

It was Saltalamacchia's team doubles record and his improved overall offensive performance that makes him the catcher on this underrated team.

Loyalty and Longevity Pt. 1: Bobby Doerr

In this series, I look at players who played their entire Major League career with the Red Sox, as long as said Major League career lasted at least ten years.

It has not been too long since I covered Bobby Doerr in a post, though that one was focused on his Hall of Fame career.  Here, I am more concerned with the fact that he had a reasonably long career spent entirely in Boston.  Doerr was purchased from the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League in 1935 and made it to Boston during 1937.  He became the starting second baseman the next season and spent every season there until the end of the 1951 season.  He served in World War II in 1945 and did miss that season.

Doerr was somewhat rare for a second-baseman, able to hit for power and high batting averages.  He also drove in a lot of runs, breaking the century mark six times in his career.  Doerr played in the 1946 World Series and was the only Red Sox hitter to have a successful Series.  He hit .409 with a home run, double, and nine RBIs in the seven-game Series.  Back problems in 1951 ended his career prematurely.  His power numbers had been gradually increasing over the previous seasons until his injury and he was just 33 years old when he retired.

For his career, Doerr hit .288/.362/.461 with 223 home runs and 1,247 RBIs.  He was an outstanding second-baseman who was named to nine All Star games and twice finished in the Top 10 for the AL MVP voting.  Doerr was named to the Hall of Fame in 1986 and had his number 1 retired by the Red Sox.

Maildays

I have been able to make a handful of trades again recently, finally.  My wantlist is getting out of control lately.  None of these cards help out with that, but having new cards coming in is always welcome.

1.  2016 Topps Throwback 1979 Highlights: Carl Yastrzemski/Wade Boggs.  This card celebrates two longtime Red Sox in the 3,000 hit club.  Technically, only Yaz picked up his 3,000th hit with the Red Sox.  Wade Boggs was with the Devil Rays when he got his.

2.  2016 Topps Now Mookie Betts/Ted Williams.  Only two Red Sox have hit three home runs in a game twice in one season.  Mookie Betts joined Ted Williams in this exclusive club.

3.  1995 Donruss Press Proof Rich Rowland.  Rowland was a 30 year old rookie in 1994, though he had brief stints in the Majors in each of the previous four seasons.  He became Boston's backup after Dave Valle was traded to Milwaukee and hit nine home runs, though those were his only home runs in the Majors.

4.  1995 Pinnacle Museum Collection Ken Ryan.  Ryan also broke through in 1994, as a the team's closer after Jeff Russell was traded to Cleveland.  He picked up 13 saves and a 2.44 ERA, but promptly lost the job in 1995 when he struggled and was replaced by Rick Aguilera.

5.  2008 Bowman Chrome Refractor Curt Schilling.  Schilling did not actually pitch in 2008.  Injuries prematurely ended his career.

6.  2016 Stadium Club Black Henry Owens.  Owens has stalled a bit in his production, but he is still young and still has a chance to make an impact in the Majors.

Red Sox with No Cards: 2002

The combination of Topps Total and Upper Deck 40 Man eliminated a number of players that otherwise would not have appeared on cardboard with Boston.  Players like Willie Banks, Darren Oliver, and Bob Howry only appeared in one of those two sets.  A number of other players like Rey Sanchez, Doug Mirabelli, Lou Merloni, and Dustin Hermanson were rare, but managed to appear occasionally.  As such, there were not a lot of players that did not get cards in 2002, and even fewer that made any sort of an impact.

BENNY AGBAYANI

A fan favorite with the Mets, Benny Agbayani had some decent seasons around the turn of the century.  He had slowed down though during the 2001 season and only played in 91 games.  The Mets traded him to the Rockies in a three team deal before the 2002 season that also resulted in the Rockies getting Todd Zeile, the Mets getting Jeromy Burnitz, and the Brewers getting Glendon Rusch among several other players for each team.  Agbayani struggled in 48 games with his new team though and was placed on waivers in August.  Boston put in a claim and he played in 13 games for the Red Sox down the stretch.  He actually hit reasonably well though, hitting .297/.395/.324 with eight RBIs.  Agbayani was released before the 2003 season due to a lack of room on Boston's roster and bounced around a bit afterwards.  But he never played in the Majors again.

SHANE ANDREWS

Shane Andrews was once a top prospect with the Montreal Expos, and though he never quite rose to his expectations, he had a few nice seasons.  He hit 25 home runs as the third-baseman in 1998.  The strikeouts and low on-base percentages are ultimately what did Andrews in.  He was traded to the Cubs in 1999 and then suffered injuries that derailed his career.  He spent all of 2001 in the Cardinals minor league system when he was not hurt.  Andrews was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox before the 2002 season but spent most of the year in Pawtucket where he hit 22 home runs.  He was  rewarded with a call-up to Boston in September.  He played in 13 games but only picked up one hit, a double, in 15 plate appearances.  He was let go as a free agent after the season and signed with the Twins, but like Agbayani, never played in the Majors again.  Andrews did appear in a minor league set for the Red Sox.

KEVIN BROWN

No, not that Kevin Brown.  This Kevin Brown was a catcher who came up with the Rangers in 1996.   He played in only a few games in 1996 and 1997 before becoming Toronto's backup catcher in 1998.  He performed reasonably well in that role.  The next year though, he was back to playing very little in the Majors.  He played for the Brewers for two seasons after leaving Toronto.  He started the 2002 season in the Rays system but did not make it back to the Majors.  He spent most of the season in Pawtucket before getting called up as catching depth late in the season.  He played in just two games for Boston, once as a defensive replacement.  He was flawless in the field but hitless in his only at-bat.  He too, never appeared in the Majors after 2002.  Brown did appear in a Pawtucket Red Sox set.

WAYNE GOMES

Formerly a Phillies reliever, Wayne Gomes was yet another player who was heading towards the end of his career when he showed up in Boston in 2002.  Gomes had been a frequently-used, if not terribly impressive reliever in Philadelphia.  He even picked up 19 saves in 1999, though he walked almost as many hitters as he struck out.  He appeared in a career-high 73 games that season.  Gomes appeared in 55 games with the Phillies and Giants in 2001 and combined for a 6-3 record, though with a 5.29 ERA.  That was enough to get him a trial with the Red Sox in 2002 after he was released just prior to the season.  Gomes made it into 20 games for the Red Sox with a 1-2 record, a 4.29 ERA, and one save.  He still walked almost as many as he struck out though.  He was a free agent after the season and bounced around the league, though never again making it to the Majors.

CHRIS HANEY

Chris Haney had been a starter on some very bad Kansas City Royals teams in the mid 1990's.  He finished 10-14 with a 4.70 ERA in his best year in 1996 with the Royals.  But it was downhill from there and Haney barely appeared in the Majors in 1999 and 2000, and did not appear at all in 2001.  Haney was released by the Rangers during the 2002 Spring Training and was signed by Boston a few days later.  Haney appeared in the most games of all of the pitchers in this post, though he still only played in 24, all in relief.  The Red Sox experimented with him as a lefty reliever, but left-handed batters actually hit him better than right-handers.  Haney ended up pitching in 30 innings with a 4.20 ERA.  He had no record, but did pick up a save.  He struck out 15 and walked 10.  Haney was released in August and hung it up for good.  Haney does appear in a Pawtucket Red Sox set.

BRY NELSON

It took Bry Nelson nine years to make the Majors.  In that time, he played for five organizations.  But finally, in 2002 Nelson made it.  Nelson was originally a 44th round draft pick by the Houston Astros in 1993.  The baseball draft does not even go that high anymore.  So it was extremely unlikely that Nelson would ever make it.  He did not have a lot of power, and he did not have a lot of speed, but he was versatile and he could hit over .300.  Eventually, that was enough to bring him to Boston for 25 games in 2002, frequently as a defensive replacement.  Nelson played at second base and all three outfield positions.  He actually performed reasonably well at the plate, hitting .265/.342/.353 with three doubles and two RBIs in 39 plate appearances.  Unfortunately that was it for his Major League career.  He bounced around a little bit after being let go as a free agent.  As of this date, Nelson is still playing at the age of 42 in independent leagues.  Nelson does appear in a Pawtucket team set.

None of these players played more than 25 games, so none were egregious absences.  None of the six had been prior All Stars, though Agbayani and Andrews could be characterized as fan favorites for their first teams.  Nelson played in the most games.  If I had to pick one player that is the most disappointing miss, it would be Agbayani who is a player I kind of enjoyed watching on the Mets teams of the turn of the century.

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.

It's About Damn Time

Three cards arrived in my mail box today.  For those that don't know, I get my cards mailed to my office address so I get stuff right away in the morning, instead of having to wait until I get home at night.  That way it can be a nice pick-me-up before heading into work.  Today, I received three cards, but one in particular was a card I had been eagerly anticipating for quite some time.

Up first was a one-card trade that brought me a pink refractor of Brian Johnson who, to this point, has only pitched one game for the Red Sox:

Johnson has dealt with some hardships this year.  He was car-jacked at gunpoint last October and has been dealing with anxiety issues stemming from the incident.  He has been pitching well of late and a return to the Majors could be in the cards in the near future.

Up next is a Topps Now card commemorating Mookie Betts and Daniel Murphy being named their league's respective Players of the Month Awards:

Mookie has emerged as a potential MVP candidate as he has made it to 30 home runs and is closing in on 100 RBIs.  He also plays terrific defense and has 21 stolen bases.  Betts is a five-tool player.

And finally, the card I am very excited about:

This is the very first card of Steven Wright with the Red Sox.  Wright was initially acquired in a minor trade with the Indians for Lars Anderson in 2012 and made his Major League debut with the Red Sox in 2013.  He has pitched in 49 games to date in the Majors over the past four years, and yet, this is his very first card of him with the Red Sox.  The knuckleballer has been extremely impressive this season, being named to the All Star Game and winning 13 games to date.  He also pitched this complete game shutout of the Dodgers.  I expect Wright to be in Topps Update later this year, and you can bet I will be seeking out every single card of him.  He is one of my favorite stories of the season.

Red Sox in Cooperstown Pt. 23: Luis Aparicio

LUIS APARICIO
Years in Boston: 1971-1973 (.253/.303/.320, 7 home runs, 159 runs, 133 RBIs, 22 stolen bases)
Best Year in Boston: 1973 (.271/.324/.309, 49 RBIs, 56 runs, 13 stolen bases)

Luis Aparicio is one of a number of players who spent just a short amount of time with the Red Sox.  Aparicio was at the end of his career when he joined the Red Sox.  He spent three seasons with Boston and was released prior to the season in 1974.  That was the end of his Major League career.

"Little Looie" was well-known for his time with the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles.  He had been an All Star seven times with those two teams and led the league in steals nine times in a row to start his career.  He was the Rookie of the Year in 1956 and won the Gold Glove nine times.  He was second in the MVP vote with the White Sox in 1959.  It was Aparicio's legs and his defense that led him to the Hall of Fame.

In 1970, Boston's middle infield was made up of Rico Petrocelli and Mike Andrews, but management decided to go for a more defensive-minded middle infield, sacrificing some power.  Andrews and Luis Alvarado were sent to the White Sox to acquire Luis Aparicio.  Petrocelli was consulted and agreed to move to third base to make room for Aparicio.  Boston also acquired Doug Griffin to take over at second base.  And thus Boston had a new middle infield.

Aparicio was definitely past his prime in Boston but put up a couple of decent seasons.  He was an All Star in both 1971 and 1972 and even picked up some MVP votes in 1972.  He had his best season for the Red Sox in his final Major League season.  Aparicio never had much power, his career high was 10, and he only hit seven home runs over his three seasons with Boston, and none in his last season.  He did steal nearly as many bases as he had in previous seasons, his high with Boston was 13.  

Unfortunately, his time in Boston is remembered for more ignominious moments, both of which occurred in 1972.  That season he went 44 at-bats without a hit, one at-bat away from the record.  In what would have been the record-tying at-bat, he hit a grand slam.  Then, late in the season Aparicio stumbled trying to score on an extra base hit by Carl Yastrzemski and had to return to third.  Yaz was also arriving at third and was tagged out.  Boston lost that game and lost the division by half a game in a strike-shortened season.

Aparicio was at the end of his career with Boston.  The three seasons he spent with them were his last in the Majors.  He still had decent seasons, but nothing quite like the seasons that got him into the Hall of Fame with the White Sox and Orioles.

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.

Red Sox with No Cards: 2001

2001 was not a great year for the Red Sox.  It started promisingly enough.  Before the season Boston signed Manny Ramirez to a massive eight-year contract with two option seasons.  Unfortunately, Nomar Garciaparra was hurt before the season due to an injury he sustained after being hit by a pitch on the wrist.  Nomar was out for all but 21 games.  Pedro Martinez would also go down with an injury early on, come back, then go back down.  Jason Varitek was lost to a season-ending elbow injury in June.  Despite all of that, Boston was playing well until completely folding in the second half, culminating in the firing of Jimy Williams and the hiring of Joe Kerrigan as manager.  There were not a ton of players to wear a Red Sox uniform who did not appear on a piece of cardboard for them.

CARLOS CASTILLO

A former third-round draft pick of the White Sox in 1994, Castillo spent a few seasons with Chicago as a reliever.  He was at his best in 1998 when he appeared in 54 games and had a 6-4 record.  Castillo was never a closer, but more of a long man out of the pen.  Castillo was released by the White Sox before the 2000 season and was picked up by the Marlins, though he never appeared for them.  He was picked up by the Red Sox in June, but spent most of his stint in the Boston organization in the minors.  He finally made an appearance with Boston in 2001, but appeared in just two games.  He pitched three innings and gave up two runs for a 6.00 ERA.  He was released in September.  Castillo does appear in a minor league set with the Red Sox.

TODD ERDOS

Boston tried out a ton of bullpen options over the course of the 2001 season, and a lot of them did not pan out, obviously.  Todd Erdos pitched in 36 games for the Yankees and Padres during the 2000 season with a high ERA.  It is fairly surprising then that he was given another opportunity, but Boston picked him up before the 2001 season.  He spent most of the season in Pawtucket and pitched surprisingly well.  For that he was given a chance out of the Red Sox bullpen and he made it into 10 games down the stretch.  He pitched 16.1 innings with a 4.96 ERA, striking out seven while walking eight.  He was back in the Red Sox minor league system in 2002 and then bounced from organization to organization, never making it back to the Majors.  Erdos also appears in a Red Sox minor league set.

BRYCE FLORIE

Bryce Florie was in his third season with the Red Sox, and still, no Red Sox cards.  Florie was coming off of his serious injury after taking a line drive to the face.  Florie made it into just seven games with the Red Sox in 2001, giving up 11 runs in 8.2 innings.  He struck out seven, but also walked seven.  He was released in July and was picked up by the Tigers, the team that traded him to Boston.  He never made it back to the Majors but did spend a few more seasons bouncing around from organization to organization.

CRAIG GREBECK

"The Little Hurt", a nickname given Grebeck by White Sox announcer Ken Harrelson, had been a longtime ChiSox middle infielder.  He was a decent contact hitter and walked quite a bit.  Combined with his impressive defense, Grebeck should have been given more chances for a starting spot.  But the White Sox had Ozzie Guillen and Joey Cora in the middle of their infield for most of Grebeck's tenure.  After leaving Chicago, Grebeck jumped from team to team.  He was brought to Boston in 2001 at the beginning of the season to cover for Nomar Garciaparra's injury.  He had just hit .294 the previous season with Toronto.  Unfortunately, Grebeck was washed up as a Major Leaguer.  Through 23 games and 43 at-bats, Grebeck only had two hits.  He scored a run, doubled, and drove in two runs, but ended up with an ugly line of .049/.093/.073.  That was it for Grebeck's career.  

MARCUS JENSEN

Marcus Jensen appeared in just one game for the Red Sox.  The catcher rarely even rose to the level of a backup catcher throughout his career.  He appeared in more than fifty games just once in his career, in 2000 with the Twins.  Jensen played for seven teams over the course of his seven years in the Majors.  Boston had some catching problems in 2001.  Starter Jason Varitek suffered a season-ending elbow injury in June and backup Scott Hatteberg could not throw well enough to be a starting catcher.  The Red Sox eventually solved their problem by trading for Doug Mirabelli but before doing that, they tried out Jensen in early June.  Jensen played the whole game and hit a single in four at-bats.  He was given the unenviable task of catching Tim Wakefield in that one game.  He was waived by Boston shortly thereafter and picked up by Texas, for whom he played 11 games.  Jensen does appear in a Red Sox minor league set.

JAMES LOFTON

Nomar Garciaparra's injury had Boston scrambling to find a shortstop all season.  Craig Grebeck, John Valentin, and Lou Merloni all struggled in the spot.  Mike Lansing started the most games at the position.  Nomar came back very briefly, only to go back on the shelf.  James Lofton, no relation to Kenny, was given a chance late in the season and played in seven games.  Lofton batted .192/.214/.231 with a double out of five hits in 28 plate appearances.  He did steal two bases.  Lofton never had a Major League card of any type, of course he only appeared in the Majors with the Red Sox in 2001.  He does have a minor league card with the Red Sox organization.

ALLEN MCDILL

Another relief pitcher given a brief tryout by the Red Sox was Allen McDill, who had never pitched in more than 13 games at the Major League level prior to 2001.  He had just 23 games over the course of three out of the previous four seasons and had pitched for the Royals and the Tigers.  The southpaw appeared in 15 games for the Red Sox from late August to the end of the season.  He actually had decent strikeout numbers, striking out 16 versus just seven walks in 14.2 innings.  Unfortunately, his ERA was an unimpressive 5.52 on the season.  Naturally he was better served pitching only against left-handed batters.  He bounced around from organization to organization after his appearance in Boston but never appeared in the Majors again.  McDill is another player that does appear in a minor league set for the Red Sox.

HIPOLITO PICHARDO

After a successful first season in the Boston bullpen in 2000, the longtime Royals reliever Pichardo was brought back to be a major piece in Boston's bullpen in 2001.  Unfortunately he was not nearly as successful.  Pichardo pitched in almost as many games, but only slightly more than half as many innings.  His ERA was a less impressive 4.93 and he had a 2-1 record.  Most of his rate stats were slightly worse in 2001 than they were in 2000 as well.  Pichardo was injured in August and did not make it back to Boston.  He signed as a free agent with Houston the next season but only appeared in one game, pitching just one-third of an inning.  Annoyingly, Pichardo has an Astros card from the Upper Deck 40 Man set, but no Red Sox cards despite appearing in 68 games for Boston over two full seasons.

BILL PULSIPHER

At one time Bill Pulsipher was part of a trio of great young pitching prospects for the Mets.  They were all supremely talented and heavily hyped.  Unfortunately, none of the trio, which included Jason Isringhausen and Paul Wilson, quite lived up to their expectations.  Isringhausen had some very good years out of the bullpen for the Athletics and Cardinals.  After several years of being tried out as a starter with the Mets and Brewers, the Red Sox attempted to use Pulsipher out of the bullpen.  He pitched in 23 games for the Red Sox in 2001, exclusively in relief.  His ERA was a disappointing 5.32 but he did exhibit some signs of becoming a decent reliever.  The lefty pitched in 22 innings over those 23 games with no record and 16 strikeouts versus 14 walks.  In August, Boston gave up on the experiment and placed him on waivers.  The White Sox picked him up and he finished the season in Chicago.  He did not appear in the Majors again until 2005 with the Cardinals, ironically reuniting with Isringhausen.  Pulsipher somehow has a card with the Devil Rays, despite never appearing in a Major League game with them, but none with the Red Sox.  Pulsipher does have minor league cards for the Red Sox organization.

As mentioned before, there are not a lot of 2001 Red Sox with no cards.  There really are not any glaring omissions.  Hipolito Pichardo pitched in the most games with Bill Pulsipher not too far behind him.  Craig Grebeck appeared the most amongst the position players, but nobody appeared in more than 30 games.  Bryce Florie and Pichardo had both been in Boston the previous season.  If I had to pick one player I would have liked to have seen get a card, it would probably be Grebeck.  He had an interesting career and was actually expected to help out after a pretty decent season with the Blue Jays the year before.  Grebeck also played in the no-hitter pitched by Hideo Nomo.