Season in Review: 2017

The Red Sox repeated as AL East champs in 2017 with a record of 93-69.  Unfortunately, for the second season in a row, they failed to advance past the ALDS, this time losing to the Houston Astros three games to one.  Manager John Farrell was fired after the season and replaced by Astros bench coach Alex Cora, a member of the 2007 World Champions.

FIVE FAVORITE PLAYERS

Mookie Betts

In some respects, Betts's season was a disappointment.  His average tumbled significantly and he just never seemed to get going offensively.  But his power numbers were still there and he still picked up another Gold Glove Award.  Betts finished the year at .264/.344/.459 with 24 home runs, 102 RBIs, and 26 stolen bases.  Decent numbers, but not quite like his 2016.

Craig Kimbrel

In Kimbrel's second season with Boston, he returned to being one of the best closers in the game, with an absolutely insane 13.0 k/9 rate.  He was virtually untouchable most of the time with a 5-0 record and a 1.43 ERA while saving 35 games.  Kimbrel struck out 126 in 69 innings while walking just 14.

Drew Pomeranz

In his first full season with the Red Sox, Pomeranz reached career highs in wins (17) and innings (170.2).  Pomeranz emerged as the #2 starter on the staff, behind only new acquisition Chris Sale.  Pomeranz also had a 3.32 ERA and struck out 174 while walking 69 in 173.2 innings.  He helped solidify the staff.

Dustin Pedroia

It was a decent season for Pedroia, though injuries still limited him to just 105 games.  He was mostly productive when he was on the field however, hitting .293/.369/.392 with seven home runs and 62 RBIs.  He continued to play impressive defense from second base however.

Christian Vazquez

Somehow, Vazquez emerged as the primary catcher for the Red Sox when Sandy Leon predictably struggled.  Vazquez played in 99 games and surprised with the bat, hitting .290/.330/.404 with five home runs and 32 RBIs.  A couple of his home runs were huge in clutch situations.  Vazquez also had a 42% caught-stealing percentage.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Joe Kelly

The Red Sox bullpen was surprisingly effective in 2017 with Kelly leading the charge as the primary setup man, pitching to a 2.79 ERA and a 4-1 record.  He struck out 52 in 58 innings over 54 games.  Kelly had a reasonably impressive 1.19 WHIP.

Matt Barnes

Barnes was another impressive bullpen arm with a 7-3 record and a 3.88 ERA while striking out 83 in 69.2 innings.  Barnes struggled with his command at times, but he appeared in the most games among Red Sox pitchers, with 70.

Eduardo Rodriguez

E-Rod continued to make some improvements while still not quite taking the next step toward reaching his full potential.  The 24-year old southpaw finished the season with a 6-7 record and a 4.19 ERA but he amassed 150 strikeouts in 137.1 innings while talking 50. 

FAVORITE ACQUISITION

Chris Sale

No one comes close.  One season after David Price, himself a new acquisition in 2016, broke Jon Lester's team record for strikeouts by a southpaw, Sale blew the number away while nearly catching up to Pedro Martinez's team record of 313 strikeouts.  Sale ended up with 308 and finished the season 17-8 with a 2.90 ERA and was the runner-up for the Cy Young Award.  Only a late-season slump kept him from winning the award.

FAVORITE MID-SEASON ACQUISITION

Eduardo Nunez

Nunez was acquired from the Giants in late July to shore up the Red Sox positional depth.  He was an immediate impact player, and hit .321/.353/.539 with eight home runs and 27 RBIs, while stealing six bases in 38 games for Boston.  Nunez was a versatile player, appearing in games at second, third, and designated hitter.

FAVORITE ROOKIES

Andrew Benintendi

Yep, he appears here for the second time in as many years.  Benintendi was officially a rookie in 2017, finishing second in the ROY race to the amazing season Aaron Judge had.  Benintendi was pretty good in his own right though, having a 20/20 season and hitting .271/.352/.424 and driving in 90 runs.

Rafael Devers

He was just too good for the minors and made it to Boston quite a bit ahead of schedule.  Devers made GM Dave Dombrowski look very smart for holding onto him and hit eight home runs in his first 20 games.  He finished the season at .284/.338/.482 with 10 home runs and 30 RBIs in 58 games.  

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS

Xander Bogaerts

A number of Boston's best hitters struggled in 2017, most notably Bogaerts, who hit just .273/.343/.403 while his home run total was cut in half.  His RBIs also dropped to just 62.  It was not a terrible season, but after winning the Silver Slugger Awards each of the previous two seasons, it was a big step backwards.

Jackie Bradley Jr.

Another young star that struggled, JBJ continued to wow with his defense, but hit just .245/.323/.402.  He did manage 17 home runs and 63 RBIs, but he was greatly disappointing at the plate.

Hanley Ramirez

And yet another big hitting star in 2016 crashed in 2017.  Ramirez had a decent season in the power department, hitting 23 home runs, but his line was just .242/.320/.429 and his RBI total dropped to just 62.  

POSTSEASON HERO

Rafael Devers

Devers was the only player to truly perform well in another lost postseason for the Red Sox.  He played in all four games, hitting .364/.429/.909 with two home runs and five RBIs.  One of his home runs was an inside-the-park job late in the final game of the series.

Got Some Work to Do

It has been a very long time and I am going to slowly work my way back into things.  These scans have been sitting on a draft of a post for a long time.  Unfortunately, I do not really remember how I acquired all of these cards.  I will gradually catch up with all of my newer cards in the next few days.

I am pretty sure this one was a trade on one of the forums:

1.  2017 Topps Bunt Hanley Ramirez.  Topps Bunt is a set that I liked quite a bit for its player selection.  I want to complete the team set.  This Hanley card is a nice start.  Hanley was a player that I enjoyed when he was going well, but was frustrated with when he was not.  Unfortunately his stint in Boston was more of a bust, other than his terrific 2016 season.

2.  2017 Topps Archives Hanley Ramirez.  Archives is another set I have a lot of work to do on.

3.  2017 Topps Archives Rick Porcello.  This helps a little bit.  Porcello was of course the Cy Young Award Winner in 2016 for the Red Sox and is having a nice season this year, most of the time.

4.  2017 Topps Bunt Infinite Drew Pomeranz.  This was one of the reasons that I was most interested in the Bunt set.  Some great inserts with some very good player selection.  Pomeranz won 17 games for Boston in 2017 and should have a lot more cardboard out there.

5.  2017 Topps Bunt Programs Jackie Bradley Jr.  Unfortunately JBJ is having a rough season this year, but his defense never slumps.

6.  2017 Topps Bunt Perspectives Xander Bogaerts.  Bogaerts is having a nice season, hard to believe that he is not among the top five best offensive shortstops in the league despite his .276/.341/.504 line with 13 home runs so far.

Pretty sure this was another trade (though it could have been the same one) of mostly older needs:

1.  2000 Skybox Dominion Nomar Garciaparra.  Again, this trade was mostly holes from years ago.

2.  2000 Skybox Dominion Wilton Veras.  I remember when this guy was the top prospect for the Red Sox.  He was a gigantic bust.  He was decent in 1999 in little work with a .288/.323/.398 line in 36 games but was .244/.278/.299 in 49 games in 2000, and never made it back to the Majors.

3.  2000 Skybox Dominion Jose Offerman.  After a decent 1999 season, Offerman was another huge free agent bust, never coming close to the numbers he put up with the Royals.  He was particularly disappointing since he was the major free agent signing after Mo Vaughn defected to the Angels.

4.  1998 Leaf Rookies & Stars Derek Lowe.  Lowe was a fan favorite for most of his Red Sox tenure.  He made All Star games as both a closer and a starter and finished third in the Cy Young vote in 2002.  He also won the deciding Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS and Game 4 of the 2004 World Series. 

5.  2013 Topps Opening Day David Ortiz.  Nice throwback uniform on Ortiz here.

6.  2011 Bowman Platinum Dustin Pedroia.  Hopefully Pedroia will make it back from his injury.  He played very briefly this year before heading back to the DL.  He needs a few more quality seasons to seal his HOF chances, but he is running out of time.

7.  2008 Topps Heritage Jonathan Papelbon.  Papelbon is the all-time leader in saves for the Red Sox with 219.  No one else is particularly close.  Craig Kimbrel has 91, so he has a ways to go.

8.  2004 Upper Deck Diamond Collection Nomar Garciaparra. 

9.  2000 Ultra Nomar Garciaparra.  This trade was obviously filled with Nomars.  I have a lot of cards of Nomar on my wantlist.  Player selection is a big deal to me and I just do not like to get the same players all the time, even if they are one of my favorites, as Nomar was for a long time.

Up next is a Topps Now card, to date the last one I have bought, other than a team set.

2017 Topps Now Doug Fister.  Fister had some good games for the Red Sox after being acquired to shore up the pitching staff, and this one-hitter was the biggest.  I had to add this card with the concern that it would be his only Red Sox card.  It wasn't, though I still do not have the other one.

This was a one-card trade, but once one of my favorite players:

2005 Topps Gold Kevin Youkilis.  It is a shame that Youkilis declined so much in his last two seasons in Boston.  He was a huge part of the team for many years.  He was a three-time All Star and finished third in the MVP race in 2008. 

Another trade to fill in some more holes:

1.  1964 Topps Frank Malzone.  The highly underrated third-baseman was nearing the end of his career when this card was released.  Had he not started so late, Malzone might have been a borderline Hall of Famer.  He was coming off an All Star season when this card was released and would go to the 1964 game as well, his sixth and last.  He declined quickly after that.

2.  2013 Topps Allen & Ginter Across the Years David Ortiz.  Boston has finally found a hitter worthy of following in David Ortiz's footsteps in J.D. Martinez.  Ortiz will present a very interesting Hall of Fame debate.

3.  2014 Topps Spring Fever Dustin Pedroia.  Pedroia is the current active player of whom I have the most cards.

4.  2016 Topps Spring Fever Dustin Pedroia.

5.  2016 Bowman's Best Xander Bogaerts.  I figured out after I made this scan that I already had this card.  Whoops.

6.  2016 Bowman's Best Mookie Betts.  Will Mookie win the MVP this year?  Hopefully so.

7.  2016 Bowman's Best David Ortiz. 

8.  2017 Topps Allen & Ginter Johnny Damon.  I have noticed a lot of sets including retired players in the sets lately.  I like this trend quite a bit because I still like getting cards of players who have been gone for awhile.  Weirdly, they seem to pick a handful every year to show in multiple sets.  2017 was the year of Johnny Damon with the Red Sox apparently.

9.  2017 Topps Allen & Ginter Chris Sale.  Will Chris Sale finally win the Cy Young Award this season?  Hopefully so, but probably not with the way Luis Severino has been pitching.

10.  2017 Topps Allen & Ginter Mookie Betts. 

11.  2017 Topps Allen & Ginter David Ortiz.

12.  2017 Topps Gypsy Queen Jackie Bradley Jr.

13.  2017 Topps Archives Pedro Martinez.  Pedro appears in a lot of sets recently too.

14.  1961 Topps Gary Geiger.  Geiger was the Red Sox center-fielder in the early half of the 1960's, who might have had a better career had he not been so injury-prone.  He had his best full season in 1961 when he hit .232/.349/.407 with 18 home runs and 16 stolen bases.  He was acquired in a deal with Cleveland along with Vic Wertz for Jimmy Piersall.

15.  2017 Topps Gold Label Chris Sale.  This is the Class 1 version. 

16.  2017 Topps Gold Label Mookie Betts.  This is the Class 3 version.

And finally, the last forum trade that I have made to date:

1.  2017 Topps Chrome Negative David Ortiz.

2.  2017 Topps Chrome Negative Jackie Bradley Jr.

3.  2017 Topps Chrome Negative Dustin Pedroia.

I will have several more scans in the coming days.  My collecting has definitely slowed, but I am way behind.  Lately, I have really only been buying packs.  I have updated my wantlist, which took several days and will be updating my tradelist as well.  This may take awhile.

A Big Trade

Sorry I have not been posting much lately.  I have had a lot of other things going on these days.  

Anyway, here is a pretty big trade I worked out recently:

1.  2009 Topps Heritage Chrome Dustin Pedroia.  Good to have Pedroia back in the lineup.  Eduardo Nunez has been good, but Pedroia's defense is terrific.

2.  2012 Donruss Elite Extra Edition Elite Series Deven Marrero.  Marrero does not hit much, but his defense makes him a decent backup infielder.

3.  2014 Topps Heritage Chrome Refractor Jon Lester.  I still think Boston made a mistake in trading Lester away.

4.  2015 Donruss 1981 Press Proof Dustin Pedroia.

5.  2015 Donruss Elite Series Dustin Pedroia.  As you can see, I added some nice Pedroia cards in this deal.

6.  2015 Panini Prizm Camo Xander Bogaerts.  Bogaerts needs to be more consistent.  He goes through extremes and it gets frustrating.

7.  2015 Panini Prizm Black and White Checker Xander Bogaerts.

8.  2015 Panini Prizm Blue Pedro Martinez.  Pedro is still the most recent Red Sox Hall of Famer.  Hopefully someone will join him next year.

9.  2015 Topps Heritage Chrome Yoenis Cespedes.  Cespedes just did not work out well for the Red Sox.  But he was traded for Rick Porcello who had a Cy Young season last year, so there is that.

10.  2016 Donruss Optic Cyan David Price.  Price has not been as advertised for much of his stint in Boston either yet.

11.  2017 Donruss 1983 Magenta Back Mookie Betts.  Mookie is heating up and just the right time.

12.  2017 Donruss 1983 Season Stat Line Mookie Betts.

13.  2017 Donruss Variation Mookie Betts.  This one is a photo variation of Mookie.

14.  2017 Donruss All Stars Mookie Betts.

15.  2017 Donruss Elite Dominator Mookie Betts.  Lots of Mookie cards here too.

16.  2017 Donruss Elite Dominator Rick Porcello.  Here is last year's Cy Young winner, who has struggled quite a bit this season.

17.  2017 Donruss Elite The Elite Series Hanley Ramirez.  Another player who has struggled quite a bit this season, but the power is still there.

18.  2017 Donruss Optic Chris Sale DK.  For awhile, Sale looked like the runaway Cy Young winner this year.  I think Kluber for the Indians will probably come away with it.

19.  2017 Donruss Optic Jackie Bradley Jr.  He has to win the Gold Glove this year, right?

20.  2017 Stadium Club Mitch Moreland.  Moreland has been a great defensive first-baseman with some decent pop.  He is not likely to be back in Boston next season though.

21.  2017 Stadium Club Dustin Pedroia.

22.  2017 Stadium Club David Ortiz.  Love the photo here.

23.  2017 Stadium Club Contact Sheet Mookie Betts.

24.  2017 Stadium Club Scoreless Streak Chris Sale.

25.  2014 Donruss Elite Elite Series Xander Bogaerts.

26.  2017 Donruss Optic Andrew Benintendi.  I have always loved the old Rated Rookie logo.  Benintendi will finish second in the AL ROY race.

27.  2017 Topps Allen & Ginter Mini Relics Mookie Betts.  I was not originally supposed to get this card, but the other trader was very late in sending the cards and gave me a couple of extras for my patience.  Patience is a virtue.  He did not have to do that and I had no idea he was doing it, but I am very grateful.

28.  2017 Donruss Diamond Collection Yoan Moncada.  This was another throw-in.  I am even happier about this one.

29.  2017 Donruss Optic Prizm Chris Sale DK.  And we end with a nice Sale card.

Topps Now: Aug. 4, 2017

Boston seems like they have played an inordinate number of extra-inning games this season.  The nice thing is that that leaves lots of room for walkoff victories.  And that was the case on Aug. 4 against the White Sox.  First-baseman Mitch Moreland delivered a walkoff home run in the 11th inning against the unfortunately-named Aaron Bummer.  Moreland appears on his first Topps Now card with the Red Sox.

Topps Now: July 26, 2017

Yes, in just his second Major League game, Rafael Devers already went deep.  He would prove to be a very valuable addition to the Red Sox lineup, bringing in some much-needed power.  And of course, he would appear on a lot more Topps Now cards.

Topps Now: July 25, 2017

Rafael Devers already has a lot of Topps Now cards.  It helps being the top prospect for a major market team who just made his Major League debut.  It also helps that he has played quite well since arriving in the Majors.  This is the MLB debut card.  Devers started at third base and was the youngest Red Sox starting position player since Luis Alvarado in 1969.

Topps Now: August 8, 2017

I really could not resist this one.  This is my first card of Eduardo Nunez with the Red Sox.  Nunez is the biggest in-season acquisition of the year to this point.  He will likely be featured in Topps Update later on, but I had to jump at a chance to add one earlier.  Nunez was on a tear early in his Red Sox career and tied the record for most hits by a player in his first ten games with a team.  He has cooled off since, but remains a very good hitter.

Topps Now: August 1, 2017

This was a wild game.  Chris Sale and Carlos Carrasco were the pitchers and a pitching duel was expected.  No one expected what happened.  Sale apparently has issues with the Indians and they rocked him for seven runs in five innings.  Meanwhile, Carrasco gave up five in 1.2 innings.  Boston was in the lead going into the top of the ninth, but Kimbrel gave up two runs and the Indians were in the lead.  It came down to Christian Vazquez with two runners on, and he delivered the game-winning home run.  Vazquez does not get a lot of cards, so a Topps Now card was welcome.

Topps Now Road to Opening Day Bonus

Part of the appeal of the Topps Now Road to Opening Day sets (other than the autograph, the Chris Sale I got it is a big deal) is that there would be bonus cards issued throughout the year if a member of the team made a certain milestone or if the team was in first place in its division at the All Star Break.  Well, no Red Sox player has hit for the cycle or thrown a no-hitter yet (hopefully one of those things will happen, I would love another bonus card), but the team did finish in first place at the All Star Break, so I got this card of the three dynamic outfielders in the middle of their Win-Dance-Repeat tradition after games.  I will take it.

The Jason Varitek Quest for 1,000: #927

This is the Orange foil, Black and White parallel of Varitek from Stadium Club.  I still do not have the regular base version and I am also missing several parallels.  At some point I will probably be going back and filling in a bunch of new holes.  There are several Varitek cards from this year that should be easy to find that I just have not taken the time to locate yet.  That should make it easy to increase the numbers though.  As it stands, I need 73 more to get to 1,000.

The Jason Varitek Quest for 1,000: #926

This is the 2016 Topps High Tek Gold Rainbow card, serial-numbered to 60.  I now have ten variations on the 2016 High Tek card.  That is nowhere near the number that I have of 1998 Tek Sandy Alomar Jr. cards, but it is impressive in its own right.

Topps Gold Brock Holt

It is very disappointing that Brock Holt is struggling as much as he is this year.  He has had some injury issues, including a concussion and vertigo, so perhaps that is the reason.  His numbers are way down and he has been a liability at the plate.  Nevertheless, Holt is one of my favorite players due to his versatility.  He was an under-the-radar All Star in 2015, Boston's only All Star that season.

The Jason Varitek Quest for 1,000: 925...And More

Not many trades bring in new Jason Varitek cards for me, but this one did.  It also provided a bunch of other new cards.

1.  2014 Topps Update Gold Koji Uehara.  Koji will go down as one of my favorite relief pitchers during my lifetime.  He was a blast to watch and had some great numbers for the Red Sox.  He had a relatively short stint with Boston (four years), but he was so much fun.

2.  1997 Pinnacle Passport to the Majors Mo Vaughn.  This one folds to look like a passport on the front.  But that's boring, so I elected to show this shot of the inside.

3.  1969 Globe Imprints Tony Conigliaro.  I am not sure of the story behind these cards, but anytime I can add a Tony C. vintage card, I am there.

4.  2010 Bowman 1992 Throwback Kevin Youkilis.  Youk is another of my personal favorites from his time in Boston.  For a couple of years (2008-2009), he was quite possibly the best hitter in the league.

5.  2013 Topps Tier One On the Rise Autographs Felix Doubront.  For a brief period, I had a mini-player collection of Doubront.  Somehow I never added this one.  

6.  2011 Topps Diamond Anniversary Factory Set Limited Edition Jason Varitek.  Finally, the new Varitek.  This is from a factory set and I honestly did not know it existed.  I could have added several other players, but let's be honest, the Varitek is the key for me.

7.  1976 SSPC Carlton Fisk.  All I need now is the Yaz for this set.  I really want to start getting the later SSPC set, but those are really hard to find.

8.  2002 Topps Archives Reserve Wade Boggs.  We are well into a bunch of random wantlist needs.

9.  1974 Topps Carl Yastrzemski.  This is just a classic-looking shot of Yaz.  He was starting to decline, but was still productive enough to stay in the lineup for several more years.

10.  1974 Topps Bernie Carbo.  This is one of the cards that it is obvious the player changed teams before the season.  Carbo was a big World Series hero in 1975 for Boston.

11.  1974 Topps Rick Miller.  Miller had a couple of stints with Boston.  He was mostly a backup outfielder, but he pretty valuable to the team.  He had some speed and he was a great pinch hitter.

12.  1971 Topps Gary Peters.  Peters had a couple of good seasons as a starting pitcher for the Red Sox in the early 1970's.

13.  1969 Topps Russ Gibson.  And here we have the final card from the trade, a vintage Topps card of a Red Sox catcher.  Gibson was mostly a backup catcher and did not hit much in his three years with the Red Sox.

More Wantlist Hits

1.  2017 Topps Heritage David Ortiz.  Starting things off with an SP.  I have not been very good about getting all of the short prints from Heritage.  I still need four more of these.  There were a lot for the Red Sox.

2.  2017 Topps 5 Tool Yoan Moncada.  Sale was beaten last night, but Moncada is hitting just .182 in 26 games with the White Sox.

3.  2017 Topps Heritage New Age Performers Mookie Betts.  I always like the New Age Performers insert set, but for some reason there have never been many Red Sox cards in those sets.  In fact, Betts is the first one since 2014.

4.  2017 Topps Heritage 1968 Game Mookie Betts.  I have all of the original 1968 Game Cards.  This is the last one I needed for this 2017 insert set.

5.  2017 Bowman 1948 Yoan Moncada.  This is the card that led to the trade.  Moncada will always be a curiosity in my collection, a player signed to a huge deal before becoming pro that was traded before he had a chance to live up to it.

6.  2017 Topps Gold Steven Wright.  I have not been getting as many Wright cards this year.  He had a great season last year, but this season was completely lost to injury.

7.  2017 Topps Memorable Moments Babe Ruth.  This card celebrates the first home run of Ruth's illustrious career.  It was hit in 1915, his second season.  It was the Deadball Era and he was a pitcher.

8.  2017 Topps Golden Glove Mookie Betts.  Will Betts be a Gold Glover again this year?  Most likely.  Although I would bet money on JBJ.

Wantlist Trade

I was briefly very active on one trading forum and worked out a number of deals for some wantlist hits, mostly from this season.  This one is kind of all over the place.

1.  2017 Bowman's Best Xander Bogaerts.  Bogaerts continues to make a push.  Among the current team, Bogaerts is currently third-most, behind Dustin Pedroia and Mookie Betts.  It had been pretty close between Betts, Bogaerts, and Jackie Bradley Jr. for awhile, but Betts pulled away and now Xander is pulling away from JBJ.

2.  2017 Bowman Chrome Rafael Devers.  Devers has proven he belongs in the Majors.  He is the next big star of the team after his game-tying home run in the ninth inning off a 103 mph fastball by Aroldis Chapman.

3.  2017 Bowman Chrome 2017 ROY Favorites Andrew Benintendi.  Benintendi has emerged from his slump and hit three home runs against the Yankees last weekend and he has continued his hot hitting.  Any other year he would be a top contender for the Rookie of the Year, but Judge, despite his recent struggles, has had too good of a year.

4.  2017 Diamond Kings Hanley Ramirez.  This is a short-printed card and I really like the Diamond Kings set.  It would be nice if Hanley would hit down the stretch this year the way he did last year.

5.  2017 Diamond Kings Originals Pedro Martinez.  An insert from the same Diamond Kings set.  Martinez is still the most recent Red Sox player to go in to the Hall of Fame with a Boston hat on.  Curt Schilling or Roger Clemens may get in soon.

6.  2017 Donruss Rookies Yoan Moncada.  I am still disappointed Boston traded Moncada, but getting Sale was a huge help to the team, and quite frankly, I would rather have Sale.  Certainly right now, but we'll see in the future.

7.  2017 Topps Bunt Programs Rick Porcello.  Porcello has struggled a bit this year, but his record is worse than his year would suggest.  He really has not been THAT bad.

8.  2017 Topps Allen & Ginter Hand-Drawn Art Xander Bogaerts.  I'm not really sure what these cards are.  The back almost suggests it is something like a relic.  Still, another Bogaerts.

Ortiz Silver Slugger

Just a one-card mailday today.  This is the Topps insert showing David Ortiz as the Silver Slugger Award Winner for designated hitter last year.  Not real exciting today, but Ortiz had one of the greatest final seasons in history.  He hit .315/.401/.620 with 38 home runs and 127 RBIs.  He led the league in doubles (48), RBIs, slugging percentage, and OPS (1.021).  He finished his career with an impressive .286/.380/.552 with 541 home runs and 1,768 RBIs. He was a nine-time All Star, won eight Silver Sluggers, a Home Run Derby championship, and both the ALCS and World Series MVP.  He was a part of three World Championship teams in Boston.  He is a good candidate for the Hall of Fame.

Bowman Platinum Trade

Nothing much to see here, just a quick three-card Bowman Platinum trade:

Craig Kimbrel, Xander Bogaerts, and Chris Sale are the new acquisitions in this trade.  Bogaerts is making a big push in my collection of late and Kimbrel is steadily moving along.  Chris Sale is the big card in this group.  Sale is having an outstanding season and looks to be the favorite for the Cy Young Award.  He may even be making a push for MVP.

The Jason Varitek Quest for 1,000: #924

And we keep on rolling for the goal.  With the increase in more modern buybacks this year, it became possible to add Jason Varitek buybacks.  I will not get into the absurdity of having buybacks that are less than ten years old, but I am always happy to add more Varitek cards.  This one has gold foil stamping.  I am not familiar with the rarity of the various colors, but gold seems like it would be somewhat rare.  I have only seen two of these.

Zippy Zapped Again

I recently received another Zippy Zapping from everyone's favorite Luis Torrens supercollector.  Actually the package was addressed from Torrens in San Diego, but I could see through that.  Torrens has not been given much game experience so far this year and it is likely San Diego will send him back to the minors next season for more seasoning, but they have to keep him up this year to avoid sending him back to the Yankees.

Anyway, on to the package:

1.  Roger Clemens.  This is from the All-Time All Stars insert set, which featured quite a few Red Sox cards.  Clemens won the 1986 All Star Game MVP, the same year he won the Cy Young Award and the AL MVP.  Unfortunately for Boston, he struggled a bit in the postseason.

2.  Xander Bogaerts.  Bogaerts has been struggling again of late.  He needs to figure out how to play well all season long.  He still has solid numbers but his power is way down from last year.

3.  Craig Kimbrel.  Kimbrel has been a beast.

4.  Chris Sale.  Sale is cruising toward his first Cy Young Award.  He has been amazing, which is good because I was apprehensive about giving up both Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech to get him.

5.  Xander Bogaerts.  

6.  David Ortiz.  With the way he has been appearing in sets this year, you would think he was still playing.  I wish he was, because Boston needs some power.

7.  Mookie Betts.  It has been a down season for Mookie.  Hopefully he will make the necessary adjustment and get back to his 2016 production.  I almost wonder if he has some nagging injury.

8.  Xander Bogaerts.  I saw this card in Zippy's clone break post.  When he approached me about a trade, I was hoping it would be included.

9.  Blake Swihart.  A couple of minor league cards made an appearance.  Swihart is trying to get back on track right now.

10.  Matt Barnes.  Barnes has been a big part of the Red Sox bullpen this year and has quietly turned in a nice season.

11.  John Valentin.  Nice wantlist hit here.  My wantlist is my primary focus at this point.

12.  Jagger Rusconi.  You can always count on Asian-only cards from these packages.  Rusconi's versatility is his strongest asset.  That will not likely help him make it to the Majors unless he can start hitting more.

13.  Tate Matheny.  Mike Matheny's son has put up solid, if unspectacular hitting numbers.

14.  Rafael Devers.  This, along with the Bogaerts purple parallel is the best card in the package.  Devers arrived in Boston ahead of schedule to solidify third base and looks like the real deal.

Thanks Kenny!

How About Some Red Sox Tek?

Of course my big goal with 1998 Topps Tek is to track down the remaining eight patterns I need to have all 90 Sandy Alomar Jr. cards.  But I also like to occasionally add Red Sox.  This is just my second Mo Vaughn pattern, joining three Pedro Martinez patterns and four Nomar Garciaparra patterns.  Mo Vaughn was one of my early favorite players and was an offensive force in the mid 1990's for the Red Sox.  His career declined rapidly after he left Boston.

Topps Now: July 16, 2017

This is the first Jackie Bradley Jr. card I have seen from Topps Now this year, and it celebrates a fantastic defensive play.  JBJ leapt at the center field wall to steal a home run from Aaron Judge of the Yankees in a game the Red Sox eventually won.  It was a terrific play and one of the best catches I have seen all year.

2017 Bowman Platinum Pack Breaks

I bought a few random packs the other day, including two Bowman Platinum packs.  The Bowman Platinum packs really paid off.

1.  Jason Groome.  Boston's top pitching prospect at the moment and the most promising Red Sox pitching prospect since Roger Clemens.  Groome was drafted 12th overall last year and has been impressive in the minors.

2.  Andrew Benintendi.  A lengthy slump has taken some of the shine off of his rookie season, but he will get it going again.  He is too good a hitter not to.

3.  Rafael Devers.  This is the card I am most happy about.  It is an insert and Devers has been extremely impressive since being called up from the minors.

I do not even remember what the other packs were.  They did not produce Red Sox cards, so they must not have been too interesting.

Your 1981 Red Sox Pt. 10: Garry Hancock

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

What is the record for number of times one player was drafted?  I have no idea of the answer to that question, but I have to believe that Garry Hancock is up there.  He was drafted six times from 1970 through 1976, including three times in the first round, before he finally signed with the Cleveland Indians.  The Indians actually drafted him twice.  Nevertheless, they still traded him to the Red Sox in 1977 for Jack Baker.

Hancock had been a top prospect for the Red Sox in 1979 when he hit .325/.361/.505 with 15 home runs and 58 RBIs for Pawtucket after a brief stint in the Majors the previous season.  In 1980, he had a decent run with Boston again and was expected to stay in the Majors in 1981.  Unfortunately, injuries decimated his season as he appeared in just 26 games.  He managed to hit just .156/.191/.222 with three RBIs.  It was a disappointing season for a once promising prospect.

He would never really get it going in Boston.  He returned to the minors in 1982 after his lost 1981 season, where he had a fine season, and then appeared in just eleven games with Boston.  He was part of the trade to the Athletics the next season that brought Tony Armas to the Red Sox and he had his only full season in the Majors.  The next season, he struggled once again and was released by Oakland.  That was it for his career.  

Hancock died in 2015.

Slightly More than One-Year Wonder Pt. 4: Don Baylor

I had not originally planned on making one of these posts today, but unfortunately, Don Baylor passed away today.  So I felt it was an appropriate time for a tribute.

Don Baylor spent about a year and a half with the Red Sox, but he was a big part of the 1986 team.  He was brought over in a rare challenge trade between the Red Sox and Yankees involving each team's designated hitter.  Both teams got a decent deal, but for different reasons.  Baylor was more of a pure power hitter while Easler was more of a contact hitter.  Baylor was the AL MVP for the Angels in 1979 when he hit .296/.371/.530 with 36 home runs and a league-leading 139 RBIs.

In 1986, Baylor helped lead the Red Sox to the AL pennant with a very good year, hitting .238/.344/.439 with 94 RBIs and a team-leading 31 home runs.  Baylor was a veteran presence in the lineup and a calming influence in the clubhouse for a mostly young team.  He won the Silver Slugger Award and even picked up some MVP votes.  Baylor was also a well-known postseason performer and hit .346 in the ALCS before slumping in the World Series.

Baylor started out the 1987 season as the team's starting DH, and was on the verge of a similar season to his 1986 campaign as he was hitting .239/.355/.404 with 16 home runs and 57 RBIs when he was traded to the Twins on September 1 for the stretch drive.  Boston received a minor leaguer named Enrique Rios in the deal, who never made it to the Majors.

After playing one more season with the Athletics, Baylor's playing career came to an end.  He was able to become a Major League manager for several years, first with the expansion Colorado Rockies, and later with the Cubs.  Baylor was a well-regarded personality and popular with teammates and players.

A Couple of Packs and a Team Set

I have not talked much about my job on this blog.  I think a few readers might have an idea, but many others probably don't know, and many probably don't really care.  Well, my job recently led me back to my hometown and a chance to go to the card shop I used to frequent growing up.  I am a criminal defense attorney and I currently work in a more rural area.  Last week, I had to go back to my hometown to meet with a client in the prison in preparation for a sexual assault trial.  This part of my job is not ideal and oftentimes it is nice to take my mind off of things a bit.  And now for the distraction:

Up first I bought a few loose packs.  I was mostly looking to pull an autograph, and lo and behold, I did, just not a Red Sox auto.  Here are the Red Sox:

1.  2017 Stadium Club Johnny Damon.  I love this shot.  This is from one of Damon's two home runs in Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS.  That is the Johnny Damon I prefer to remember.

2.  2017 Topps Archives Blue Nomar Garciaparra.  This was a very nice pull.  This card is serial-numbered to just 75.

And now for the auto:

Meh.

I picked up the 2017 Topps team set, with a number of new cards:

It did finally add the Topps rookie card of Yoan Moncada, which was the big missing piece.  I am more interested in the Chris Young, Brock Holt, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Steven Wright cards.  These are players that are somewhat underrepresented in my collection, so I love adding cards of these guys.  

It was not the most productive trip to the LCS, but I got some nice stuff.  I love the Nomar card in particular.