1991 Topps #652: Kevin Romine

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

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

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

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

Wantlist Help from Burbank

Okay, hopefully this is the last huge post, because these things can be exhausting.  I am mostly kidding of course.  I love getting a huge package in the mail.  It does take a long time to do a post about them, but there is a ton of great stuff in this package.  Almost all of the cards are from my want list.  There are a few others as well, but for the most part this crosses a bunch of stuff off my list.  Still a long ways to go.

1.  Cecil Cooper.  This is from the SSPC set from 1976.  I keep meaning to add a bunch of cards from that set to my want list.  Unfortunately, the photography is pretty boring.  Just headshots all around.  Cooper was a young player Boston gave up on way too soon.  He was traded to Milwaukee for George Scott, who still had a couple decent seasons left, and Bernie Carbo, who had one.  Cooper became one of the best hitters in the league.

2.  Sammy White.  White was a decent-hitting catcher for the 1950's.  By no means a star, he got the job done for a few years and was even an All Star one year.  He was actually a pretty decent defensive catcher.

3.  Frank Sullivan.  Another largely forgotten key player from the Red Sox in the 1950's is Frank Sullivan, who was the team's top starter for several seasons.  He lead the league in wins in 1955 with 18 and was a two-time All Star.  Sullivan, who was 6'6", was traded for Gene Conley, who was 6'8", in one of the tallest trades ever.

4.  Pete Daley.  Daley was a backup catcher with some pop in his bat.  He never really got a chance to start though.  He was often stuck behind Sammy White on the depth chart.

5.  Carl Yastrzemski.  Yaz's 23-year career spent entirely with the Red Sox will likely never be equaled ever again, for any team.  He holds the all-time record for most games played for just one team in his career (3,308).

6.  Morgan Burkhart.  Burkhart had a decent 25 games in 2000.  Unfortunately he was never really given much of a chance any other time.  He was signed out of an independent league and performed well in the minors.

7.  Koji Uehara.  I just love the photo here: Uehara's follow-through and the throwback uniform from the mid 1970's.  Just a great photo.

8.  Jon Lester.  Lester did not quite last long enough to match Mel Parnell for most wins by a Red Sox left-hander.  Parnell won 123 while Lester finished with 110.  But Lester did have some great moments, his no-hitter in 2008 against the Royals and helping them to win two World Series championships.

9.  Dustin Pedroia.  There are going to be a number of Pedroia cards in this post.  He is getting closer to 300 cards in my collection.

10.  Dustin Pedroia.

11.  David Ortiz.  This will be Ortiz's final season in the Major Leagues this year.  Hopefully he can go out with a bang.

12.  Carlton Fisk.  Oddly, looking over Fisk's Baseball-Reference page, the only thing he ever led league in was triples in 1972, when he hit nine.  That is pretty strange for a catcher.

13.  Garin Cecchini.  Boston has a tendency to keep players in the minors for too long.  I am beginning to feel like Cecchini is another example of this.  Recently, Boston lost him to the Brewers on waivers.  That could be a nice sleeper pickup for Milwaukee.

14.  Yoenis Cespedes.  Unfortunately Cespedes was much better as a trade deadline pickup for the Mets than he was for the Red Sox.  He never really got going in Boston for some reason and he only hit five home runs for Boston in 52.  He played 57 games for the Mets, but hit 17 home runs.

15.  Wade Boggs.  I have mentioned that Boggs was my first favorite player several times.  Boggs was arguably the best hitter in the league in the 1980's, winning five batting titles and racking up 200+ hits seven years in a row.  He will finally have his uniform number retired by the Red Sox this year.

16.  Roger Clemens.  Despite winning three Cy Young Awards in other seasons for the Red Sox, Clemens's best Red Sox season was 1990 when he went 21-6 with a league-leading 1.93 ERA and 209 strikeouts.  But because Bob Welch won 27 games, despite inferior numbers everywhere else, he won the award.

17.  Johnny Damon.  I never could get used to seeing Damon with the Yankees, even though he really did not spend much more time with Boston than New York.  This card shows him with both teams side-by-side.

18.  David Ortiz.

19.  Jim Rice.  Rice is one of the more controversial Hall of Fame picks over the years.  It doesn't bother me at all, but then he is a Red Sox player.  Had he not declined so significantly after 1986, I think his case would have been a little more clear-cut.

20.  Erik Bedard.  Another trade deadline bust, Bedard won only one game down the stretch after he was acquired by Boston, though he did strike out 38 in 38 innings.  Boston gave up four prospects to get him, but Tim Federowicz turned out to be the only one to make an impact in the Majors, albeit as a backup catcher.

21.  Dustin Pedroia.

22,  Dustin Pedroia.

23.  Dustin Pedroia.

24.  Jed Lowrie.  I always liked Lowrie and was not happy about the trade to Houston when it happened.  It definitely did not work out for Boston as Lowrie turned in a good season and Mark Melancon struggled early in the season and Boston gave up on him much too soon.

25.  Michael Bowden.  This is a short-printed variation of the base card.  Bowden is another player that never really seemed to be given a decent shot in the Majors.  He has not appeared in the Majors since 2013.

26.  John Smoltz.  One of the rare Smoltz cards with the Red Sox.  Smoltz did not do too well in his short stint with the Red Sox.  In eight games, he was 2-5 with an 8.33 ERA.

27.  Mike Lowell.  Lowell was a very good hitter and a terrific defensive player in his time with the Red Sox.  He had his best season in 2007 when he was an All Star and the World Series MVP.  It was a terrific season that landed him in the Top 5 of the AL MVP race.

28.  Josh Beckett/Curt Schilling.  I love the Co-Signers dual player cards.  I wanted to add one of each of them.  I got most of them here.  Beckett and Schilling are combined because they were two of the top starters on the team.

29.  Daisuke Matsuzaka/Hideki Okajima.  I hate to imply that the only reason Topps put these two together is because they are both Japanese pitchers for the Red Sox, but that does appear to be the case.  Matsuzaka was a starter and Okajima a middle-reliever.  It would have been hard to predict that Okajima would be the one of the two of them to be the All Star.  Matsuzaka did finish fourth in the Cy Young vote in 2008.

30.  David Ortiz.  This should have been the dual card with Manny Ramirez, but I was sent the wrong card.  I still like this one, but I would have preferred the dual card.

31.  Jacoby Ellsbury/Dustin Pedroia.  These two were likely paired because they were both young players developed by the Red Sox at about the same time and played up the middle.  Both were contact-hitters with some speed and strong defense.

32.  Che-Hsuan Lin.  I always liked Lin coming up through the minors.  He never really got much of a chance in the Majors either.  He won the Futures Game MVP in 2008, but for some reason this is as close as he has ever had to a Major League card.  Lin was the first Taiwanese player to play for the Red Sox.

33.  David Wells.  To say Wells was a little out of shape would be a massive understatement.  But Wells managed to have a successful career despite his weight.  Wells pitched into his mid 40's, fairly impressive given his body.

34.  Abe Alvarez.  Alvarez was an interesting story.  Legally blind in his left eye, he wore his hat tilted to that side in order to balance the light.  Unfortunately he did not make much of a Major League impact.

35.  Luis Tiant.  Tiant was Boston's big pitching star from the 1970's.  I still think he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.  Hopefully one of these years he will be put in by the Veterans' Committee.

36.  Keith Foulke.  Foulke put everything he had into helping Boston win the 2004 World Championship and was never the same pitcher again.  He would have been a reasonable choice for MVP in either the ALCS or the World Series.  He was that good.

37.  Carl Yastrzemski.  This is from the set celebrating some notable teams througout the years.  I would love to see another set like it covering some of the more recent teams.  Get the 2004, 2007, and 2013 Red Sox teams some love.  Maybe the 1995 or 1997 Indians as well, for Sandy Alomar Jr.

38.  Carl Everett.  There are going to be a number of Everett cards in this post as well.  For some reason I was missing a lot of Everett cards.  It is not that I was actively avoiding them.  I really liked Everett during the 2000 season, until the headbutting incident.  Even that I thought was overblown.  And I never dislike a Red Sox player so much that I refuse to get cards of them.  So I guess the reason I had so many missing was just that I couldn't find them.

39.  Jose Offerman.  I really liked Offerman during the 1999 season, but for some strange reason he did not run nearly as often with the Red Sox as he had before.  He may have been a better player if he used his speed more in Boston.  The season before he came to Boston, he stole 45 bases.  His first year in Boston he stole just 18.  The next year: 0.  What happened?

40.  Trot Nixon.  This is just an awesome shot of Nixon diving to catch a ball.  Nixon was one of my favorite players in the early 2000's.  I even had a replica jersey that my then-girlfriend gave me.

41.  Darren Lewis.  Lewis was an excellent defensive outfielder with some speed, but he could not hit at all.  Particularly in his time with Boston, which lead to him being more of fourth outfielder in later years.  But he was a starter in 1999 and he was awful, hitting .240/.311/.309 with two home runs and 16 stolen bases.  But he was so good in the field that his WAR was 1.6.

42.  Carl Everett.  I like this action shot.  Pacific was pretty underrated when it came to photography.

43.  Dernell Stenson.  I have discussed Stenson's death on a number of occasions.  I have not given the details.  They are pretty gruesome.  Stenson died a terrible death, that was likely racially motivated.  Very sad.  If you want to look up the details, have at it.

44.  Paxton Crawford.  About the only thing notable about Paxton Crawford is that both of his names were surnames of former Red Sox pitchers: Mike Paxton and Steve Crawford.  Neither of whom were terribly interesting players themselves.  He also once cut his hand open after falling on a wine glass in the middle of the night.  That story might have been a cover up for something else.

45.  Carl Everett.  And we are on Everett card #3.

46.  Carl Everett.  #4.

47.  Troy O'Leary.  Here is another player with a number of cards in this post.  And this is a player that I really liked.  O'Leary was Boston's best outfielder for a few years and led the team in home runs in 1999 while driving in more than 100 runs.  Sometimes I just miss the cards.

48.  Carl Everett.  #5.

49.  John Valentin.  Valentin will go down as one of the most underrated Red Sox players ever.  He quietly put together an 8 WAR season in 1993, was a terrific defensive player that could play all over the field, and for his career had a higher WAR than well-known star and contemporary Mo Vaughn.  Most of that was due to his strong defense, but he was a pretty good hitter too.

50.  Wilton Veras.  Veras is just one of many top prospects for Boston in the late 1990's who failed to make an impact at the Major League level for a variety of reasons.  Veras was probably the biggest example.

51.  Steve Lomasney.  Here is another one.  Lomasney's problems stemmed from injuries.  He only ended up with one game in the Majors.

52.  Carl Everett.  #6.

53.  Donnie Sadler.  Sadler was a hyped player who turned into a utility infielder for a few years, but at least he had a Major League career for awhile.

54.  Troy O'Leary.

55.  Jose Offerman.

56.  Dernell Stenson.  For a player who never played with Boston, I have a lot of cards of Stenson.  That bothers me a little bit.  I wish players who actually played for the team would receive more cards though.

57.  Mo Vaughn.  I am very surprised at the number of Mo Vaughn cards I was missing from some of these sets.  Mo was my favorite player for a few years.  I suspect a lot of it has to deal with the fact that he left the team on bad terms, so I did not have a lot of desire to fill in those holes when I was trying to get a current player (Nomar Garciaparra) above him in number of cards.  At this point I don't worry about that.  I could seek out more than 300 more David Ortiz cards to get him above Jason Varitek, but by the time I do, he will retire and I will have to focus on someone else.  That is getting harder and harder with fewer sets out.

58.  John Valentin.

59.  Troy O'Leary.

60.  John Valentin.

61.  Mo Vaughn.

62.  Mo Vaughn.

63.  Steve Avery.  Ah yes, Steve Avery.  He was a reclamation project for the Red Sox at a time when they had some success with those (Tim Wakefield).  But he was signed to a pretty expensive contract.  Avery was pretty awful for Boston though.

64.  John Valentin.

65.  Jeff Frye.  Frye was a surprisingly good hitter for a player of his size.  He could also steal some bases and play just about anywhere.  His versatility made him a favorite player.  He had a very good year in 1997 that went pretty much unnoticed.

66.  Shane Mack.  This was another reclamation project for the 1997 season that did not work out.  At least Mack was only on a one year deal and did not cost as much.  He actually wasn't bad, but due to injuries he simply did not play much.

67.  Steve Avery.

68.  Reggie Jefferson.  This is a rare card showing him in the field.  Jefferson was born to be a designated hitter.  And the card even identifies him as a DH despite showing him in the field.  He does look awkward though.

69.  Mike Stanley.  His defense was pretty bad as a catcher, but he was a pretty good hitter too.  So Boston did the logical thing and made a first-baseman out of him.  He did two stints with the Red Sox and was traded away to the Yankees in the first stint for Tony Armas Jr., who was packaged along with Carl Pavano to Montreal for Pedro Martinez, who the Yankees also wanted.

70.  Bill Selby.  Not much to say about Selby.  He only played in 40 games with Boston in 1996, but wasn't too bad.  Not particularly good either.

71.  Troy O'Leary.

72.  Tim Naehring.  He was just getting to be really good when injuries prematurely ended his career.  He was one of my favorite players for a few years.

73.  Roger Clemens.  I found out that I already had this one.

74.  Dwayne Hosey.  Hosey was so good down the stretch in 1995 (.338/.408/.618) that he was handed the starting center field job in 1996.  His previous success did not carry over though.  He was the Rudy Pemberton of 1995-1996.

75.  Troy O'Leary.

76.  Carlos Rodriguez.  Rodriguez had a decent season in 1994 as a middle infielder playing in place of Scott Fletcher when he was hurt.  His success did not carry over into the next season either.  He had virtually no power though.

77.  Luis Alicea.  He only played one season with Boston but he was actually pretty good (.270/.367/.375).  Boston attempted to upgrade their offense at second the next season by acquiring Wil Cordero, who was something of a disaster in the field and later became a left-fielder.  Sometimes you shouldn't fix something that isn't broken.

78.  Mo Vaughn.

79.  Greg Harris.  Another underrated favorite player.  Harris was a terrific setup man in 1993 and set a then-record by pitching in 80 games.

80.  John Flaherty.  Flaherty turned into a decent player, of course that was after he was traded away for catcher Rich Rowland.  I don't really understand the reasoning behind trading one young catcher for another.  Rowland was decent for a year.  Flaherty was the better long-term player.  Flaherty did return to Boston one year, but retired before Spring Training was over because he could not handle the stress of catching Tim Wakefield's knuckleball.

81.  Roger Clemens.  What else is there to say about The Rocket?  Clemens should be a Hall of Famer.

82.  Ellis Burks.  Burks was one of my early favorite players.  He was a dynamic player among a bunch of one-tool players.

83.  Wade Boggs.

84.  Joe Hudson.  Yes, this is a minor league card, but it is my first card of Joe Hudson, who spent a couple of seasons in Boston's bullpen and was pretty decent, but never got a proper Major League card.

85.  Bob Stanley.  Most of Stanley's team records have been broken at this point.  He once held the single-season record for saves (broken by Jeff Reardon, then Tom Gordon), career record for games (broken by Tim Wakefield), and career record for saves (broken by Jonathan Papelbon).

86.  Jim Rice.

87.  Stan Papi.  This is the only Red Sox card I am aware of for Papi.  I had to get it.  Papi was actually a pretty terrible player for Boston, but he represents all that Boston got in exchange for the great Bill Lee.  Yes, that is how badly manager Don Zimmer wanted rid of Lee.  This was an awful trade.  Lee won 16 games for the Expos in 1979 with a 3.04 ERA while Papi hit .188/.221/.282 in 50 games as a backup middle infielder.  He was later traded for backup catcher Dave Rader.  Yeah.  An awful trade.

88.  Darrell Johnson.  Johnson was Boston's manager for the 1975 AL Champs.  Johnson was pretty lucky though and his inadequacies as a manager were exposed the next season and he was dismissed.  Johnson though is from Horace, Nebraska.  That makes him interesting to me.

89.  Bernie Carbo.  Carbo was one of the stars of the 1975 World Series.  His three-run pinch hit home run set the stage for the dramatic Carlton Fisk game-winning home run in Game 6.

90.  Denny Doyle.  Doyle was acquired partway through the 1975 season and helped spark Boston.  The team came into the season with Doug Grifffin as the second-baseman.  Griffin was solid in the field, but a zero with the bat.  Doyle was also good in the field, but he could actually hit.  Doyle did make two errors in Game 7 of the World Series though, which hurt the team.

And now I am tired of typing.

Swing and a Pepsi? and More

Recently Bert from Swing and a Pop Up picked up a bunch of the Score Pepsi Red Sox singles.  Luckily he got a few duplicates and knew that I have been chasing the two sets.  He sent me the cards I needed which brought me to within three cards from completion of the 1991 set.  Unfortunately I still have a long way to go on the 1990 set.  I only have three of those cards. 

I have a lot of fond memories of the 1991 team since it was the first team that I was a fan of.  So a lot of these players are important to my formation as a fan.

1.  Roger Clemens.  I just realized there is no Wade Boggs card in this set.  That is kind of odd, so Roger Clemens is the biggest name in the set.

2.  Tom Bolton.  One of the things I like most about this set is the action shots.  Bolton was one of two Red Sox players in my first pack of cards.

3.  Tom Brunansky.  Bruno was mostly a disappointment for the Red Sox, but he had a good 1992 season and was Boston's best hitter that year.  Bruno was a decent player for Boston, but unfortunately he cost them Lee Smith in trade.

4.  Jeff Gray.  Gray was developing into a pretty good setup man, until he suffered a stroke in 1991 prior to warming up, prematurely ending his career.

5.  Dennis Lamp.  Lamp was the other Red Sox player in my first pack of cards.

6.  Brock Holt.  This card was also sent in this package.  It is a nice-looking action shot as well of one of my favorite underrated players.

Thanks Bert.

I received a second package in the mail as well.  This was a trade from the forums:

1.  David Ortiz.  I have no idea how many Ortiz relics I have.  Quite a few though.

2.  Daisuke Matsuzaka.

3.  Daisuke Matsuzaka.  Yes I am still getting cards of Dice-K, even though he was a pretty big bust after his first two seasons.

4.  Carl Yastrzemski.  Yaz holds the Red Sox record for highest WAR in a single season (12.2) for his incredible 1967 season that saw him win the Triple Crown and play very well in left field.  That would have been quite the season to see.

5.  Dustin Pedroia.  Moments and Milestones was kind of an interesting set.  I kind of wish Sandy Alomar Jr. had been in one.  It might have been kind of fun to chase.

5.  David Ortiz.  This card celebrates Ortiz's walkoff home run to win the ALDS over the Angels in 2004.

Red Sox With No Cards: 1995

1995 is where things got really out of hand.  Card companies were no longer interested in producing large sets with lots of players represented.  Inserts became the primary focus and including as many cards as possible of the superstars like Ken Griffey Jr. and Frank Thomas.  Topps cut the size of the Red Sox team set by a third from 1994 to 1995, and most other sets followed suit as well.  It did not help that the Red Sox made almost daily transactions.  A number of players were called up that only spent a few games with the Red Sox.  So there were a large number of players who never got a card produced of them with the Red Sox.  Some were long-time Major Leaguers making a brief stop in Boston, others were players who played very little.  The one thing they all had in common: no Major League card with the Boston Red Sox.

BRIAN BARK

The Major League career of Brian Bark consisted of just three games pitched with the Red Sox in 1995.  Bark had come up through the Braves system, as shown by the minor league card shown, but he was released in early June of 1995 and picked up by the Red Sox.  The left-hander made his Major League debut in July and pitched in two games before being sent back down.  He was recalled in September but only pitched in one game.  All told, his career numbers were 2.1 innings, with just one walk and a 0.00 ERA.  He never made it back to the Majors after 1995.

JUAN BELL

There was a time when Juan Bell was expected to step in and move Cal Ripken Jr. off of the shortstop position in Baltimore.  That of course did not happen.  The younger brother of former Blue Jays slugger George Bell bounced from team to team for a few years until landing in Boston in 1995.  Just 27 years old, he only made it into 17 games in his final Major League season.  He did hit a home run, but managed just three other hits in 29 plate appearances.  He played every infield position except first base.  Bell did spend the 1996 season in Boston's system but did not make it back to the Majors with any other team after 1995.  Bell does have a couple of cards with the Pawtucket Red Sox.

CHRIS DONNELS

Chris Donnels managed to play in 35+ games every year in the Majors from 1991 through 1995.  He just never quite found a way to stick.  Donnels played almost every infield position with the Mets and Astros until he was sent to Boston in 1995 after playing in 19 games with Houston.  Donnels could hit a little bit, contributing a .253/.317/.385 line with two home runs and 11 RBIs in 40 games for Boston.  He even hit a home run in the final game of the season, which would prove to be his last Major League home run until he returned to the Majors from Japan in 2000.

ERIC GUNDERSON

As a left-handed reliever, Eric Gunderson was brought in to Boston for one thing: to get lefties out.  Gunderson played only a handful of games each season until 1995.  But in 1995, he was given a chance to be a left-handed specialist out of the bullpen.  He was successful with the Mets at the beginning of the season with a 3.70 ERA in 30 games before being placed on waivers.  He was picked up by Seattle, put on waivers again, and Boston snagged him.  He made it into 19 games down the stretch, but his ERA ballooned to 5.11 and he walked as many as he struck out.  Gunderson made it back to Boston in 1996, and will be featured in one of these posts again.  It was not until he joined Texas in 1997 that he re-emerged as a good lefty out of the pen.

MIKE HARTLEY

Mike Hartley was a somewhat successful bullpen arm for a few years with the Dodgers, Phillies, and Twins who spent a year in Japan in 1994.  He came back to the U.S. with the Red Sox in 1995 but only pitched in five games with the Major League team and spending most of the year in Pawtucket before being released and picked up by Baltimore.  He pitched only seven innings, gave up seven runs, and only walked and struck out two.  Hartley does have a Minor League card in the Red Sox system.

DAVE HOLLINS

Here is a former All Star who slipped by unnoticed by card companies with the Red Sox.  Dave Hollins was the starting third-baseman for the Phillies team that made it to the World Series in 1993.  He was an All Star that season and looked like a star for years to come.  Unfortunately injuries set in and Hollins was rarely healthy in 1994 and 1995.  In July, the underachieving Hollins was traded to Boston for the similarly struggling Mark Whiten in a challenge trade.  Philadelphia won.  Whiten rediscovered how to hit while Hollins played in just five games due to continuing injury problems.  He had just two hits in 17 at-bats and left after the season to join the Twins.  He resurrected his career in Minnesota and played for several more seasons and in 1996 he was traded from the Twins to the Mariners for some guy named David Arias, who later became known as David Ortiz.  Yes, that David Ortiz.

JOE HUDSON

One of the more aggravating snubs is Joe Hudson because he actually appeared in three seasons with the Red Sox and was a reasonably successful reliever at times.  Hudson came up through the Red Sox minor league system and actually has multiple minor league cards over several seasons.  He also has a postcard with the Major League team in a team-issued set, but that does not qualify.  Hudson made his Major League debut with the Red Sox in 1995 and pitched in 39 games with a 4.11 ERA.  He was 0-1 with a save and struck out 29 while walking 23 in 46 innings.  He will be covered again.

CHRIS JAMES

Chris James is another long-time Major Leaguer who spent a brief amount of time with the Boston Red Sox that was not documented by card companies.  James was once considered a rising star with the Phillies and had a very successful rookie season with the Phillies in 1987.  He was part of the trade that sent Sandy Alomar Jr. from the Padres to the Indians for Joe Carter.  In 1995, James started the season with the Royals.  In August he was traded to the Red Sox in exchange for Wes Chamberlain.  James played in 16 games down the stretch, but only hit .167/.200/.208.  It was his final Major League season.

JOEL JOHNSTON

After a fairly successful season with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1993 at the age of 26, Johnston looked like he could have been a good reliever for a long time.  He had come up through the Royals system and was the major piece in the deal that brought Jose Lind to the Royals.  Johnston was good in 1993, but only managed to pitch in four games in 1994 and had a 29.40 ERA.  Johnston showed up for four games with the Red Sox in 1995 and was marginally better, with an 11.25 ERA and one loss.  Johnston was released but never made it back to the Majors.  

KEVIN KENNEDY

Managers were one of the casualties of the decrease in size of card sets.  Topps first doubled them up in 1993, then cut them out entirely in 1994.  Kevin Kennedy was the only Red Sox manager whose entire stint as the team's manager came when Topps was not making manager cards.  This is a shame because Kennedy was actually a fairly successful manager.  In his first season, he lead the Red Sox to the AL East division title.  He helped the team overcome a dreadful start in the 1996 season to end with a winning record.  But that was it for Kennedy and he later became a commentator on ESPN baseball games.

DEREK LILLIQUIST

Formerly a left-hander starter for the Braves, Derek Lilliquist had been moved to the bullpen with the Indians in 1992 and found success.  He pitched in 71 games with a 1.75 ERA that first season as a LOOGY.  Lilliquist continued to be successful the following season before faltering in 1994 a little bit.  Lilliquist was non-tendered after the 1994 season and was picked up by Boston ostensibly to replace Tony Fossas as the primary lefty out of the pen.  Unfortunately he was not very successful and he was released in July.  He pitched in 28 games for the Red Sox and was 2-1 with a 6.26 ERA.  Lefties did not hit him real hard, but with the emergence of Rheal Cormier as a good southpaw out of the pen, Lilliquist became redundant.  He pitched briefly in 1996 with the Reds and was done.

BRIAN LOONEY

Another southpaw that spent a brief amount of time in Boston, Brian Looney pitched in four games over two seasons for the Montreal Expos before being sent to Boston in 1995.  Looney pitched in three games, starting one, though he only lasted 1.2 innings, giving up five runs in a loss to the Angels.  Looney ended the season at 0-1 with a 17.36 ERA in 4.2 innings.  He was later the player-to-be-named in the deal that brought Pat Mahomes, another player with no Red Sox cards, to Boston.

RON MAHAY

After the strike in 1994, and with the baseball season in 1995 in jeopardy, teams started turning to players languishing in the minors to try and start a baseball season without the regular players.  A number of these replacement players eventually made it back to the Major Leagues, though not without some controversy.  Ron Mahay was one of the first players I remember to make it to the Major Leagues despite being a replacement player.  One of the consequences of being a replacement player was that said players were not members of the Major League Baseball Players' Association, so most card companies could not produce cards of them.  Mahay was an interesting player.  He spent parts of three seasons with the Red Sox.  He is most known for being a decent southpaw reliever, but he started out in Boston as an outfielder.  Mahay played in five games for Boston in 1995 and managed to hit a home run and drive in three runs.  He would not make it back to Boston until 1997, but by that time he was a pitcher.  He does have some minor league cards with the Red Sox organization and the same postcard as Joe Hudson, but no real cards with Boston.

MATT MURRAY

Once considered a top pitching prospect for the Braves, Matt Murray was sent to the Red Sox as player-to-be-named in the deal that also brought Mike Stanton to Boston.  Murray was in the midst of a strong 14-3 season in AAA.  He made it into four games for the Atlanta Braves prior to the trade and then two with the Boston Red Sox after the trade.  Murray ended up going 0-1 with an 18.90 ERA for the Red Sox.  That was it for his Major League career though. 

ALEJANDRO PENA

As a young Dodgers pitcher in 1984, Alejandro Pena led the league in ERA (2.48) and shutouts (4).  Injuries disrupted his career though and he was soon moved into the bullpen, where he flourished.  Pena put together several good seasons out of the bullpens for the Dodgers, Mets, Braves, and Pirates before joining the Red Sox in 1995.  Pena was one of three pitchers involved in no-hitter for the Braves against the Padres.  Pena finished off the game in relief of Kent Mercker and Mark Wohlers.  Pena joined the Red Sox shortly before the 1995 season but only pitched in 17 games with a 7.40 ERA before being released and joining the Marlins.  On the plus side he did pick up more than a strikeout per inning for the Red Sox.  

JEFF PIERCE

Like Brian Bark above, Jeff Pierce's only Major League action came in a short stint with the Red Sox in 1995.  Pierce originally came up through the White Sox system but made his Major League debut with Boston, pitching in 12 games, going 0-3 with a 6.60 ERA.  He struck out 12 in 15 innings, but walked 14.  Pierce stayed in the Red Sox system for one more season and does have a minor league card with the Red Sox organization.

TUFFY RHODES

Karl "Tuffy" Rhodes is mostly known for hitting three home runs on opening day for the Cubs in 1994.  Prior to that, Rhodes had been one of a trio of good prospects for the Houston Astros in the early 1990's.  Rhodes had trouble sticking in the Majors though, but finally looked like he was ready to break out in 1994.  He ended that season with just eight home runs in 95 games and started the next season with the Cubs.  It was clear he was still not ready to be a regular and was placed on waivers.  Boston picked him up and he played in just 10 games for the Red Sox, spending most of the season in Pawtucket.  Rhodes hit just .080/.179/.210 with Boston.  It was his last Major League action, though he went on to a very successful career in Japan.

KEITH SHEPHERD

Once one of the Rockies' expansion draft picks, Keith Shepherd was never really able to crack into the Majors for very long.  He was traded to the Red Sox in a minor league trade for Brian Conroy in 1994.  He did not pitch in the Majors again until 1995 when he appeared in two games for Boston.  He pitched one inning with an ERA of 36.00.  He did not strike out anyone and walked two.  Boston released him and he appeared in 13 games for the Orioles in 1996.

TERRY SHUMPERT

The Royals are the closest team to me geographically, so I have always paid a little bit of attention to them.  I remember Terry Shumpert being a pretty terrible-hitting second baseman for the Royals in 1991 when he hit .217/.283/.322.  He was not really THAT good in the field either.  Shumpert was never a regular with Kansas City again and was largely absent from the Major Leagues in 1992 and 1993.  He wound up in Boston in 1995 and hit just .234/.294/.298 in 21 games.  He did steal three bases and played second, third, and short in his brief stint with Boston.  He later became a halfway decent player for the Rockies.  Shumpert's nephew has been far more successful with the Red Sox though.  His name: Mookie Betts.

MATT STAIRS

I have covered Matt Stairs in the past in a similar post.  Stairs had been a well-regarded hitting prospect for the Expos in the early 1990's but only played in 19 games over two seasons.  He was picked up by the Red Sox in 1994 and spent the entire season in the minor leagues, but made it to Boston in 1995.  Stairs played in 39 games for the Red Sox, hitting .261/.298/.398 with one home run and 17 RBIs.  Stairs actually made an appearance in the Division Series against the Indians, but struck out in his only at-bat.  The next season, he hooked on with Oakland and hit 10 home runs in a short stint there, but turned into a fan favorite the next season when he hit 27.  Stairs went on to a long career, playing with the Athletics, Cubs, Brewers, Pirates, Royals, Rangers, Tigers, Blue Jays, Phillies, Padres, and Nationals.  The Red Sox and Padres are the only teams Stairs does not appear with on a Major League card.  He does have a minor league card with the Red Sox organization.

1995 was definitely a big year for missing Red Sox players.  Most of the players above played briefly with Boston, but there were a few that played a decent-sized chunk of the season.  Players like Joe Hudson, Derek Lilliquist, Chris Donnels, and Matt Stairs likely would have been included on cards had companies been releasing sets the size of those that came out in the early 1990's.  As a kid, I was most disappointed that Dave Hollins had no Red Sox cards.  Joe Hudson and Ron Mahay are pretty egregious snubs as well due to their three seasons each with the Red Sox.  And of course not having a manager card of Kevin Kennedy is a pretty big deal.  I look back on it now though and Matt Stairs is probably the player I most want a card of with the Red Sox.

My First Moncada and a Bunch of Packages in One Day

Lots of stuff to show off here.  My local retailer finally got Donruss in stock, but it has been pretty difficult to pull Red Sox so far.  And I had a number of new packages coming in.  Let's get started here:

1.  Mookie Betts.  So far, out of more than 100 pack-pulled Donruss cards, this Betts is the only Red Sox card.  I have pulled duplicates of the Studio insert of Michael Conforto, but only one base Red Sox card.  That is simply ridiculous.

2.  Dustin Pedroia.

3.  Dustin Pedroia.

4.  Clay Buchholz.

5.  Adrian Gonzalez.

6.  Adrian Gonzalez.

7.  Chet Nichols.  Yes it's a buyback.  But I like buybacks.

8.  David Ortiz.

9.  David Ortiz.

10.  Yoan Moncada.  Yes, this is where things get interesting.  Moncada is Boston's top prospect after signing a huge deal coming over from Cuba.  He may make it to the Majors next season.

11.  Wade Boggs.  This is one of the Berger's Best reprints.  It would be nice if Topps would stop making reprints over and over again.

12.  David Ortiz.  Albert Pujols appears on this card as well, but it is a Big Papi card.

13.  Henry Owens.  Owens will likely start the season in the minors but could give Boston three (possibly four) left-handers in the Red Sox rotation (David Price, Eduardo Rodriguez, and possibly Roenis Elias).

14.  Rusney Castillo.

15.  Xander Bogaerts.  Bogaerts and Betts are two players I feel are somewhat underrepresented in my collection.  I would like to see both players above 100 by the end of the season.

16.  Xander Bogaerts.

17.  Mookie Betts.

18.  Mookie Betts.  This is quite the look on Mookie's face.  Very serious.

19.  Xander Bogaerts.

20.  Mookie Betts.

21.  Mookie Betts.  They are well on their way.

22.  Jonathan Van Every.  Van Every played parts of three seasons with the Red Sox as an outfielder, but oddly pitched in two games over that time period as well.

23.  Jimy Williams.  The Red Sox manager from 1997 through part of 2001 was very successful, leading the team to the postseason twice.

24.  Tony Fossas.

25.  Mike Napoli.  This card celebrates the best beard in the Majors.

26.  Hanley Ramirez.  I love this insert set.  This is my first card from it but celebrating the players' debuts is a fun concept.  I am most excited about the Josh Reddick card.

27.  Vicente Padilla.  My favorite Padilla moment was when he called Mark Teixeira a woman.  Just a creepy guy.  He is the baseball version of Danny Trejo.

28.  Terry Francona.  Easily the manager I have the most cards of.  I have nearly 30 cards of Francona.  Of course it helps that he is one of the most successful Red Sox managers of all time.

29.  Josh Beckett.  A rare bat card of a pitcher here.

30.  Mo Vaughn.  This is a Top 10 hit.  This is the last regular Diamond Kings insert I needed.

31.  Jacoby Ellsbury.

32.  Craig Breslow.  I have four autos of Breslow now.

33.  Dernell Stenson.  Stenson was unfortunately murdered before he could make an impact in the Majors.  I always felt that Boston held him back for far too long.  He spent four seasons languishing in Pawtucket without a Major League callup.  He finally made it to the Majors after being traded to the Reds.  And was murdered the next Spring.

34.  Josh Beckett.

35.  David Pauley.  Pauley was acquired along with Jay Payton and Ramon Vazquez for Dave Roberts.  He made a couple of brief stints with the Red Sox.

36.  Kyle Weiland.  Weiland was rushed to the Red Sox in 2011, struggled, and then was shipped to Houston along with Jed Lowrie for Mark Melancon in a trade that did not work out well for Boston.

37.  Tommy Hottovy.

38.  Shane Victorino.

39.  Hanley Ramirez.

40.  Daniel Nava.

41.  Cody Ross.  Ross had a very good season for the Red Sox in 2012 but had very few cards issued for that stint.  Even more annoying, only one card was not photoshopped.

42.  Ryan Kalish.  Kalish had some nice action shots and looked fairly promising.  Unfortunately injuries wrecked his potential.

43.  Kevin Youkilis.  This is a nice action shot of Youkilis.

44.  Hanley Ramirez.

45.  Troy O'Leary.

46.  Dusty Brown.  Brown, like Van Every, played in just 14 games for Boston over two seasons, but, like Van Every, also pitched an inning in a blowout loss.

47.  Josh Beckett.

48.  Hanley Ramirez.  Ramirez is a player that is increasing quickly in my collection.

49.  Pablo Sandoval.

50.  Jamie Brown.  Brown pitched in just four games for Boston in 2004.  I have 10 cards of him.  Andrew Miller pitched in 157 games for the Red Sox over four seasons.  I have 0 cards of him, nor was there one made of him with the Red Sox.  Sometimes these things make no sense.

51.  Bryan Barnowski.  And Barnowski never played for the Red Sox.  I have three cards of him.  It is strange.

MLB Showdown, Conlon, and More

Keeping up with player selection being my current primary goal, I found a store with a ton of MLB Showdown and Conlon cards.  I had several holes in my collection from these two sets, both of which had a large number of lesser-known players.  Of course I picked up some other stuff as well.

1.  Frank Malzone.  This is the All Star card from the 1959 Topps set, a team set I am working on completing.  Malzone was one of the few bright spots for the Red Sox in the late 1950's and won three Gold Glove Awards.

2.  Pablo Sandoval.  Hopefully Sandoval will have a much better 2016.  His bat has come alive in Spring Training.

3.  Hanley Ramirez.

4.  Mookie Betts.

5.  Jay Payton.  Payton was one of three players acquired from the Padres for Dave Roberts.  Payton was expected to be the right-handed part of a platoon in 2005, taking over for Gabe Kapler, but he complained about his lack of playing time and was traded for Chad Bradford.

6.  Doug Mirabelli.  Mirabelli was part of the best catching tandem in the early to mid 2000's with Jason Varitek.

7.  David Wells.  It always surprised me that Wells came to Boston.  He had frequently made his disdain for Fenway Park pretty clear.

8.  Bronson Arroyo.  I was a little surprised I had so few cards of Arroyo.  He was a big part of the 2004 World Champions and had a good year in 2005.

9.  Matt Clement.  Until he was hit in the head with a line drive, Clement was having a successful season and was named an All Star in 2005.

10.  Matt Mantei.  This was the primary card that lead me to this store.  Mantei was one of several corpses of relievers Boston tried to revive for their bullpen in 2005 (John Halama, Mike Stanton, Mike Remlinger, etc.).  The Ice Man had previously been one of the best relievers in the game, but was ineffective for Boston in 2005.  This is only my third Mantei card.  He shared a Topps Total card with Blaine Neal.

11.  Johnny Damon.

12.  Rickey Henderson.  The greatest leadoff hitter in history spent only one season in Boston.  He was well past his prime.  It would have been interesting to see what he could have done during his prime.

13.  Sun-Woo Kim.  I always liked Sunny Kim.  He was one of the few Korean imports that Duquette signed that actually made it to the Majors.  I was not thrilled when he was traded away.

14.  Johnny Damon.

15.  Hideo Nomo.  Like Rickey Henderson, Nomo is one of my favorite players who played a single season with the Red Sox.  He was another player I liked quite a bit as a kid.

16.  Derek Lowe.  Lowe is one of just a handful of players to save 40 games in one season and win 20 games in another.

17.  Carl Everett.

18.  David Cone.

19.  Troy O'Leary.  Surprisingly he lead the Red Sox in home runs in 1999.

20.  Pedro Martinez.

21.  Jose Offerman.  After a decent season in 1999, Offerman was a wasted contract for a few years.

22.  Trot Nixon.  Nixon is one of my favorite underrated players from the Red Sox.  His seasons from 2000 through 2003 were surprisingly good.

23.  Tim Wakefield.

24.  John Valentin.

25.  Mike Stanley.

26.  Pat Rapp.  Rapp was one of two starting pitchers that were dreadful for the Red Sox in 1999.  Lack of pitching was the primary reason they did not make it far in the postseason.

27.  Mark Portugal.  Portugal was the other primary pitching problem.

28.  Trot Nixon.

29.  Butch Huskey.  Huskey spent just the second half of the 1999 season with the Red Sox after being acquired at the trading deadline.

30.  Rod Beck.  Just look at that glorious mullet.  Beck was awesome, it was a sad day when he died.

31.  Mike Stanley/Trot Nixon.

32.  Jose Offerman.

33.  John Wasdin.  Wasdin was acquired from the A's for Jose Canseco in 1997 and gave up so many home runs, he was given the nickname "Way Back" Wasdin.

34.  Bret Saberhagen.

35.  Darren Lewis.

36.  Damon Buford.

37.  Troy O'Leary.

38.  Tim Wakefield.

39.  Butch Henry.  Henry was part of a bad 1997 bullpen.  He had some moments, but was largely a disappointment.

40.  Tom Gordon.  He still holds the team's single season saves record.

41.  Rudy Pemberton.  Pemberton parlayed a terrific September in 1996 into a starting job in 1997, but then promptly came back down to Earth.

42.  John Valentin.

43.  Aaron Sele.

44.  Rudy Pemberton.

45.  Bill Selby.  Selby spent a brief amount of time with Boston in 1996, but managed to hit three home runs.  Unfortunately he did not make it back to the Majors until 2000 with the Indians.

46.  Tim Naehring.

47.  Tony Fossas.

48.  Andre Dawson.

49.  Lefty Grove.

50.  Asby Asbjornson.  This is what I love about Conlon.  A bunch of players who played very little or shown in unusual uniforms.  This is Asbjornson's first card despite playing in the 1920's.

51.  Fabian Gaffke.  Also getting his first card in 1992 Conlon is Fabian Gaffke who was a top prospect in the 1930's who missed.

52.  Wes Ferrell/Rick Ferrell.  One of just a few pairs of brothers who played for Boston at the same time.  The Conigliaros are the other ones that come to mind.

53.  Bill Wambsganss.  Wambsganss was a pretty decent second-baseman for the Indians who turned a triple play at one point.  He was a decent player for a bad Red Sox team in 1924.

54.  Pinky Higgins.  He holds the record with 12 consecutive hits, but as a manager, was partially responsible for Boston not integrating until 1959.

55.  Bill Carrigan.  A decent catcher, Carrigan also managed the Red Sox for two World Series championships.

56.  Jack Russell.  Russell was a talented pitcher, cursed to be on some historically bad Red Sox teams, leading to a couple of seasons when he lost 18 and then 20 games.

57.  Tris Speaker.

58.  Hugh Duffy.  This is another example of what is so great about Conlon.  Despite discussing Hugh Duffy's triple crown, he is depicted as manager of the Red Sox.  He was a manager when Ted Williams was a rookie.

59.  Harry Hooper.  One of the more anonymous Hall of Famers, Hooper was a big part of the Red Sox teams of the 1910's that won four World Series championships.

60.  Howard Ehmke.  Like Wambsganss, Ehmke was one of just a few bright spots for the Red Sox in the 1920's.

61.  Ernie Shore.  This card celebrates Shore's no-hitter that was started by Babe Ruth.  Ruth walked the first batter, complained about the call and punched the umpire then was promptly thrown out.  Shore relieved Ruth.  The first batter was thrown out trying to steal, and Shore set down the next 26 batters in a row.  Very close to a perfect game.

62.  Dutch Leonard.  Leonard holds the all-time single season record for best ERA in a season with an astounding 0.96 in 1914.

One-Card Wonder Pt. 26: Guillermo Mota

You will not find Guillermo Mota's name when searching through the annals of players who played for the Boston Red Sox.  There is a pretty simple reason for this: Mota never played for Boston.  Not even in Spring Training.  This card was produced during the very short period of time after Mota was acquired by the Red Sox from the Marlins, and before he was traded to the Indians.

Mota was part of the trade that brought Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell to Boston in exchange for Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez, and a couple of other minor leaguers.  Mota was expected to step into the bullpen for the Red Sox, an area of weakness in 2005.  But before Spring Training even started, Boston was in need of a center fielder after Johnny Damon defected to the Yankees.  So Mota, catcher Kelly Shoppach, and another player Boston acquired earlier in the offseason only to never appear in a Major League game with the Red Sox, Andy Marte, were all shipped off to Cleveland in exchange for Coco Crisp, Josh Bard, and David Riske.

And that was it for Guillermo Mota in Boston.  Just over two months.  Obviously this card is photoshopped as Mota never once appeared in a Red Sox uniform.

One-Year Wonder Pt. 24: Grady Sizemore

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.

There was a period of time when Grady Sizemore was one of the best all-around players in the game.  He could hit for power, steal bases, hit for a decent average, and was a great defensive center-fielder.  He was a three-time All Star, finished in the Top 10 in MVP balloting, won two Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger, and was a member of the 30/30 club.  Unfortunately, a variety of injuries did him in and his career looked to be over after the 2011 season.

Sizemore did not even play in the majors in 2012 or 2013, and Cleveland did not resign him after he was granted free agency after the 2012 season.  Suddenly there was talk that he was finally healthy and ready to return to the Majors in 2014.  He found a contract with the Red Sox that was a low-risk, high-reward deal with a lot of incentives.  He came into Spring Training with low expectations, but began tearing the cover off the ball.  Sizemore forced his way into the conversation for the Major League team even though they already had Daniel Nava, Shane Victorino, Mike Carp, Jonny Gomes, and Jackie Bradley Jr. for the outfield.  Sizemore was so impressive in the Spring that Boston decided to name him their starting center fielder for opening day.

On Opening Day 2014, Sizemore did indeed start in center field, and he even managed to collect two hits, including his first home run since 2011.  After the first ten games of the season, he was hitting .343/.395/.571 with two home runs, four RBIs, and a stolen base.  Unfortunately, that was the high point for Sizemore and his numbers declined dramatically after that.  

Sizemore would play in 52 games for the Red Sox in 2014 and only hit .216/.288/.324 with just the two home runs and 15 RBIs.  The experiment ended in mid-June.  Boston released him and ended up going with Mookie Betts, a decision that worked out well for Boston.  Sizemore found a job fairly quickly though.  He signed with the Phillies and his numbers improved somewhat.  His days of being a great player are over, but Sizemore has proven to be a useful player in his time since leaving Boston.

Those Pesky Autographs

This is my third Johnny Pesky autograph.  Pesky is one of my favorite all-time players and one of the team's most underrated stars.  Pesky always did whatever was best for the team, hitting second and moving runners, moving to third when Boston acquired Vern Stephens, and so much more.  He also spent years in Boston after his playing career was over, whether as a coach, manager, or even just a roving minor league instructor.  Pesky deserved to have his uniform number retired due to his tireless efforts to work with the team.

This is a particularly interesting card since it is a cut autograph.  Pesky died recently so it is not possible for him to sign new cards.  This is obviously cut from a check he wrote.  It is an extremely interesting concept.

Well, I figure I will use this opportunity to segue into a topic that does not come up often on this blog anymore, a book:

Some time ago I was on a big kick about finding books about the Red Sox, and in particular focusing on underrepresented topics.  So when I saw a biography about Johnny Pesky, I decided to jump on it.  Pesky was featured in David Halberstam's The Teammates, but this was the first book focused entirely on his career that I came across.  Pesky was a very interesting player, leading the league in hits each of his first three Major League seasons, and spending some time in service of the U.S. in World War II.  He was a very good player and an excellent #2 hitter.  The book is interesting enough, but it is not terribly in-depth.  It is a quick and easy read and covers the major portions of his life and career.  It is just not as detailed as some books I have read, in particular the ones about Ted Williams.  I liked it fine, but it did not feel truly complete to me.  The book was also written before Pesky's death, so it truly was not complete in that sense.  The author Bill Nowlin has written a number of books about baseball, and in particular the Red Sox.  I am jealous of his career.  I would love to do something like that.