Two Big Wantlist Trades

Oh boy.  I was very excited about these two packages in the mail.  I made two big trades that knocked off a bunch of wantlist needs, and quite a bit more.  

I am not going to spend much time talking about it, let's take a look:

1.  2010 Topps Heritage Manny Ramirez.  This card celebrates Manny winning the 2004 World Series MVP Award.  For some reason Mike Lowell does not have a similar card despite winning the Award in 2007.

2.  2014 Topps Gypsy Queen Xander Bogaerts.  Yes, he appears to be throwing left-handed.  This is the reverse negative variation and is a very rare card.  Xander is the MVP of this package, as you will see.

3.  1993 Stadium Club 1st Day Matt Young.  Young was a huge bust in Boston, his big "highlight" being an eight-inning no-hit loss to Cleveland.  It is not recognized as a true no-hitter as he did not go the full nine innings since Cleveland was the home team and won the game.

4.  1997 Bowman Chrome International Donnie Sadler.  I remember Sadler coming up and being compared to Nomar.  He may have been a better defensive player and a faster runner, but he was no Nomar.

5.  2012 Topps Gold Sparkle Matt Albers.  This was not on my want list, but Albers only has the base and parallels of this card for his stint with the Red Sox despite being a pretty good reliever for a while.

6.  2014 Topps Yellow Jake Peavy.  Peavy was a good midseason acquisition for Boston in 2013 and did just what was needed to help the team to the postseason and beat the Cardinals in the World Series.

7.  2001 Fleer Genuine Paxton Crawford.  This was at a time when Boston was really terrible at developing pitching.  When Tomokazu Ohka is the best pitcher a team can develop during a five year period, there is a problem.

8.  2001 Fleer Genuine Sun-Woo Kim.  Here is Exhibit #2 of that.

9.  2005 Ultimate Collection Ted Williams.  This is one of many higher-end set singles from this trade.

10.  2005 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes Jimmie Foxx.  There will be a lot of Foxx cards in this post.

11.  2006 SP Authentic Curt Schilling.  Schilling is one of those players that I got tired of adding so much at one point.  So my wantlist has a lot of Schilling cards on it now that I am not too concerned about that issue.

12.  2013 Bowman Sterling The Duel Matt Barnes/Tyler Austin.  I did not realize this card existed.  Barnes is the better of the two players here, settling in as a good setup man for the Red Sox while Austin was traded to the Twins earlier this season after not reaching his potential with the Yankees.

13.  2013 Bowman Sterling The Duel Xander Bogaerts/Taylor Guerrieri.  Only Bogaerts is still in the Majors of this card.

14.  2013 Topps Opening Day Play Hard David Ortiz.  A rare Ortiz card showing him doing something on the basepaths.  There is a pretty good reason for that.

15.  2014 Bowman Platinum Cutting Edge David Ortiz.  I always like die-cut cards.

16.  2015 Finest 1994 Finest David Ortiz.  I like these cards using old Finest designs.  Unlike Topps Archives, these look just like the old design.

17.  2016 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball Legends Carl Yastrzemski.  The second-greatest Red Sox player of all time.

18.  2017 Bowman 1951 Bowman Xander Bogaerts.  Based on the 1951 set.

19.  2017 Bowman 1992 Rafael Devers.  He looks so young here.

20.  2017 Bowman 1992 Xander Bogaerts.  I love the shot here.  1992 Bowman had a lot of photos of players not in uniform, so this is a very realistic throwback card.

21.  2018 Topps MLB Opening Day Andrew Benintendi.  Benny is another player with a ton of cards in this post.

22.  2012 Bowman Sterling Travis Shaw.  I liked Shaw quite a bit when he came up as a rookie.  Boston made a mistake in dealing him.  But Devers should be able to make up for it.

23.  2014 Elite Xander Bogaerts.  Not much to say here, just another Xander.

24.  2014 Topps Museum Collection Xander Bogaerts.  Same here.

25.  2013 Topps Triple Threads Jimmie Foxx.  Foxx card #2 in the post.

26.  2013 Topps Museum Collection Ted Williams.  Classic photo here and definitely over-used.

27.  2014 Topps Museum Collection Jim Rice.  Rice was the third Hall of Fame left-fielder in the three-person line between 1939 to 1989.

28.  2012 Topps Tribute Carlton Fisk.  I do not have enough Carlton Fisk cards.  I need to add many more.

29.  2012 Topps Tribute Jacoby Ellsbury.  Ellsbury was once one of my favorite players due to his game-changing speed, but I always felt that he was definitely not staying in Boston.  That proved to be correct.  Unfortunately I am beginning to feel the same way about Mookie Betts.  I love watching Mookie, but the longer it takes for Boston to lock him up long-term, the more likely it seems that he will be leaving Boston when he is a free agent.

30.  2013 Topps Tribute Carlton Fisk.  How about some shots of him in action behind the plate?

31.  2016 Topps Tribute Ted Williams.  Hey, a photo of Williams I have not seen before.  What are the odds?

And here is the second trade:

1.  2018 Donruss Optic Rafael Devers.  I still love the Rated Rookie logo.

2.  2017 Bowman Platinum Top Prospects Black Jay Groome.  Hopefully Groome will develop into the top-flight starter he is projected to be, but the injuries have hurt his development.  This card is serial-numbered to 10.

3.  2017 Donruss The Prospects Rafael Devers.  Another Devers card.

4.  2017 Bowman Platinum Top Prospects Rafael Devers.  And another.

5.  2017 Bowman's Best Dean's List Rafael Devers.  And another.  Devers looked like the MVP of this package early on but will give way to someone else.

6.  2018 Bowman Platinum Top Prospects Gold Cole Brannen.  This card is serial-numbered to 25.  I gave up quite a bit to get this package and the Brannen and Groome helped make it worthwhile.

7.  2018 Finest Cornerstones Andrew Benintendi.  Another player with a big breakthrough in this post.

8.  2018 Finest Andrew Benintendi.  Benny has turned into a star this year.  He is having a very good, underrated season.

9.  2018 Topps Heritage Then & Now Chris Sale/Catfish Hunter.  Sale is the MVP of this package.  Before this package, I really did not have THAT many Sale cards.  Afterwards, he seems a little more reasonable, though there is a long way to go.

10.  2018 Donruss Mookie Betts DK.  I do wish they would go back to illustrations for the Diamond Kings subset.  This is just not the same.

11.  2018 Topps Silver Pack Andrew Benintendi.  I tried picking up a pack of these once, I pulled two Yankees and two Orioles in my pack.  What a waste.

12.  2018 Topps Chrome 1983 Refractors Chris Sale.  Another Sale card.

13.  2018 Topps Superstar Sensations Mookie Betts.

14.  2018 Topps Chris Sale LL.

15.  2018 Bowman Platinum Top Prospects Tanner Houck.  Houck was Boston's first round draft pick last year and is one of the better pitching prospects in the system.

16.  2018 Bowman Platinum Top Prospects Jay Groome.  Hopefully 2019 will be the year Groome breaks out.

17.  2018 Bowman Platinum Top Prospects Cole Brannen.  Brannen was the second round pick in 2017 and also has yet to justify it.

18.  2018 Bowman Platinum Top Prospects C.J. Chatham.  Chatham is having a good year this year.

19.  2018 Bowman Platinum Mookie Betts.

20.  2018 Topps Big League Andrew Benintendi.  This is the Players' Weekend Nickname Variation card.  "Benny" is not the most interesting nickname unfortunately.

21.  2018 Topps Big League Rick Porcello.  I still have not been able to add many Porcello cards, despite winning the Cy Young Award in 2016.

22.  2018 Topps Big League Pedro Martinez.  There is a Cy Young theme in the Big League base cards I received.  Martinez won it in 1997 with the Expos, and 1999 and 2000 with the Red Sox.

23.  2018 Topps Big League Roger Clemens.  Clemens won the 1986, 1987, and 1991 Cy Young Awards with the Red Sox.  He also won it in 1997 and 1998 with the Blue Jays, 2001 with the Yankees, and 2004 with the Astros.

24.  2018 Topps Chrome Hanley Ramirez.  This is oddly a different picture than his base Topps card.

25.  2017 Topps Chrome Chris Sale.

26.  2018 Topps Chrome Andrew Benintendi.  This is another card with a different picture than the base card.

27.  2018 Topps Archives Jimmie Foxx.  And the final Foxx card of the day.

28.  2018 Topps Allen & Ginter J.D. Martinez.  This is only my second A&G base card from this year.

29.  2018 Topps Archives Chris Sale.

30.  2018 Topps Archives Nomar Garciaparra.  Just a few more cards from Archives to go.

31.  2018 Topps Archives Andrew Benintendi/Mookie Betts.  If they really wanted the Boston B's, they should have added Bradley and Bogaerts.

32.  1987 Fleer All Stars Roger Clemens.

33.  2018 Bowman Andrew Benintendi.

34.  2018 Bowman Chris Sale.

35.  2018 Bowman Prospects Chrome Josh Ockimey.  Ockimey is one of the team's top prospects but he faces some stiff competition from Michael Chavis even though Ockimey is closer to the Majors, it is not by much.

36.  2018 Donruss Optic Chris Sale.

37.  2018 Donruss Optic Dustin Pedroia.  It is a shame that Pedroia has been injured most of the year.  He is missing out on a pretty decent season.

38.  2018 Donruss Optic Mound Marvels Chris Sale.

39.  2018 Donruss Optic Andrew Benintendi.

40.  2018 Stadium Club Chris Sale.  What a great photo here for Sale.  And Sale breaks through quite a bit with this package.

41.  2018 Stadium Club Tzu-Wei Lin.  And we close things out with the base Stadium Club Lin card.  This is card #24 for my Lin collection.

Tzu-Wei Lin Roundup

I am into this thing full-scale right now.  I am at 23 cards with several more coming in.

Here are the next several Tzu-Wei Lin cards:

2018 Stadium Club Sepia.  I still think the Stadium Club picture is my favorite to appear on a Lin card.  I am actively trying to get all of the parallels I can (let's be honest, I'm trying to get all the cards I can).  This is the sepia version and the pic gives it kind of a rustic quality.

This is the Green Refractor auto from Finest.  It is serial-numbered to 99 and is my third Lin auto.  But definitely not my last.

Here is the 2018 Allen & Ginter Framed Mini Auto.  This is probably my favorite auto of Lin so far.

This next scan is a group of five cards I picked up off of COMC:

The 2013 Bowman Chrome Blue Wave Refractor was the impetus for this package.  I love the Blue Wave Refractors and this is the only Lin I could find.  The remaining cards are the green parallel of the 2017 Panini Chronicles card, the indigo parallel from 2018 Gypsy Queen, the Bowman Chrome Mini, which is the only one of the five that was actually on my wantlist and the logo swap parallel from Gypsy Queen.

Up next is a couple of cards from a forum member:

This was a pretty good deal I think.  The Stadium Club autograph card and the 2013 Blue Refractor for less than $7.00 total.  I still love the photo on the Stadium Club card, but the A&G Framed Mini is still my favorite auto.  It is a shame I am trying so late on this collection.  Maybe I had a realistic chance at a rainbow a few years ago.  I am having trouble finding any of the colored refractors.  I have had the green for a couple of years now, but this is just the second of the colored refractors I have added thus far.

And finally:

Here are the green and red parallels from Inception.  They join the purple parallel.  I still need the base, blue, magenta, orange, and the 1/1 and printing plates.

And I am up to 23.  That's it for now.  Many more to come...

All Red Sox All the Time

Ray from All Cardinals All the Time noticed my Topps Big League and Topps Fire breaks and offered up some Red Sox from my wantlist for some Cardinals cards.  More of you should be doing that.  Hint hint.

Here is my haul:

1.  2016 Topps Holiday Mookie Betts.  I forgot about this set.  I came close to completing it.

2.  2018 Topps Big League Dustin Pedroia.  I will probably stop buying Big League soon.  I am somewhat close to the team set.   I just need a few more to go.

3.  1994 Donruss Jeff McNeely.  Always nice to add a card from a couple decades ago that I still needed.

4.  2018 Topps Big League Xander Bogaerts.  Lost in the years that Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez are having is a terrific season by Bogaerts.  He will probably not win the Silver Slugger this year, but he is having a great season.

5.  2017 Donruss Marco Hernandez Rated Rookie.  This is the card I was happiest about.  As recently as a few weeks ago, I had no Hernandez cards in my collection.  Now, I have two. 

Thanks Ray!

A Lee Smith Relic? Yes, Please!

I still like relics, I just do not really go nuts for them as much.  I add them when I can in trades, but unless it is a player I just have to have, I do not really go out and buy them much anymore.  Lee Smith is a player I just had to have.  He has never had a Red Sox relic before and he is a player I really liked, even though I never actually saw him pitch with Boston.  When I saw that Panini would have a relic of him with the Red Sox, I started searching for it.  And here it is:

Now, there is one thing I should say about it that is a little disappointing.  Even though the card says "Boston", this is very unlikely to be a Red Sox uniform that Smith is wearing.  I am about 99% sure it is a Cardinals uniform.  Red Sox uniforms at the time that he played did not have the red stripe down the leg and did not have red caps.  Also, it looks like his uniform number has a 7 in it, and he wore #48 with the Red Sox.  Nevertheless, it is a Red Sox card, and I guess that is good enough.  This is the gold parallel, but I will count it for the purposes of my wantlist anyway.

Honus Bonus Hobby Box

I am taking a chance on this one.  This was a decent-sized but short-lived game card set kind of like MLB Showdown, though with no Major League license.  I was interested in the set because of the player selection.  I never really managed to get too many of the cards though, only owning Sandy Leon and Robbie Ross Jr.  Well, boxes were cheap, so I grabbed one.  The box contains 24 packs with eight cards per pack.  There are no relics or autos, but there should be two 1/1s.

Here is my wantlist:

2017 Honus Bonus Fantasy: Andrew Benintendi, Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley Jr., Clay Buchholz, Brock Holt, Craig Kimbrel, Dustin Pedroia, Drew Pomeranz, Rick Porcello, David Price, Hanley Ramirez, Chris Sale, Tyler Thornburg, Steven Wright, Chris Young

Let's see if we can make some progress:

PACK 1:

Ian Desmond (Rockies: 1)
Kyle Barraclough (Marlins: 1)
Danny Salazar (Indians: 1)
Jake Arrieta (Cubs: 1)
Jose Abreu Silver (White Sox: 1)
Kyle Seager (Mariners: 1)
Omar Narvaez (White Sox: 2)
Brandon Belt (Giants: 1)

PACK 2:

J.D. Martinez (Tigers: 1)
Cody Allen (Indians: 2)
Tyler Anderson (Rockies: 2)
Raisel Iglesias (Reds: 1)
Daniel Descalso Silver (Rockies: 3)
Trevor Plouffe (Twins: 1)
Jorge Alfaro (Phillies: 1)
Brandon Moss (Cardinals: 1)

PACK 3:

Jason Heyward (Cubs: 2)
Keon Broxton (Brewers: 1)
Mike Fiers (Astros: 1)
Michael Lorensen (Reds: 2)
Hernan Perez Silver (Brewers: 2)
David Freese (Pirates: 1)
Jason Castro (Twins: 2)
Justin Bour (Marlins: 2)

PACK 4:

Raimel Tapia (Rockies: 4)
Brandon Drury (Diamondbacks: 1)
Jon Gray (Rockies: 5)
Junior Guerra (Brewers: 3)
Dylan Bundy (Orioles: 1)
Robbie Grossman Silver (Twins: 3)
Dustin Pedroia (Red Sox: 1)
Edwin Encarnacion (Indians: 3)

First Red Sox appearance with Pedroia.  It is a decent shot too, though it would look better with the team logo.

PACK 5:

Bryce Harper (Nationals: 1)
Mark Trumbo (Orioles: 2)
Corey Kluber (Indians: 4)
Sonny Gray (Athletics: 1)
Jeremy Hellickson (Phillies: 2)
Jedd Gyorko Silver (Cardinals: 2)
Luis Sardinas (Padres: 1)
Rougned Odor (Rangers: 1)

PACK 6:

Carlos Gomez (Rangers: 2)
Steve Cishek (Mariners: 2)
Chris Tillman (Orioles: 3)
Aaron Nola (Phillies: 3)
Francisco Cervelli Silver (Pirates: 2)
Joey Gallo (Rangers: 3)
Dansby Swanson (Braves: 1)
Yoan Moncada (White Sox: 3)

PACK 7:

George Springer (Astros: 2)
James Shields (White Sox: 4)
Blake Treinen (Nationals: 2)
Brandon Finnegan (Reds: 3)
Randal Grichuk Silver (Cardinals: 3)
Mike Moustakas (Royals: 1)
Derek Norris (Nationals: 3)
C.J. Cron (Angels: 1)

PACK 8:

Ryan Braun (Brewers: 4)
Miguel Gonzalez (White Sox: 5)
Stephen Strasburg (Nationals: 4)
Erasmo Ramirez (Rays: 1)
Joc Pederson Silver (Dodgers: 1)
Jose Reyes (Mets: 1)
Gary Sanchez (Yankees: 1)
Tommy Joseph (Phillies: 4)

PACK 9:

Leonys Martin (Mariners: 3)
Carson Fulmer (White Sox: 6)
Andrew Cashner (Rangers: 4)
Anibal Sanchez (Blue Jays: 1)
Marco Estrada Silver (Blue Jays: 2)
Adonis Garcia (Braves: 2)
James McCann (Tigers: 2)
Marwin Gonzalez (Astros: 3)

PACK 10:

Ender Inciarte (Braves: 3)
Joc Pederson (Dodgers: 2)
Justin Wilson (Tigers: 3)
Rich Hill (Dodgers: 3)
Joey Gallo Silver (Rangers: 5)
Zack Cozart (Reds: 4)
Devon Travis (Blue Jays: 3)
Nelson Cruz (Mariners: 4)

PACK 11:

Dexter Fowler (Cardinals: 4)

Taijuan Walker (Diamondbacks: 2)

Luis Perdomo (Padres:2)

Kenley Jansen (Dodgers: 3)
Carlos Carrasco Silver (Indians: 5)
Nolan Arenado (Rockies: 6)
Devin Mesoraco (Reds: 5)
Brad Miller (Rays: 2)

PACK 12:

Howie Kendrick (Phillies: 5)
Rafael Ortega (Angels: 2)
Jose Berrios (Twins: 4)
Robbie Ross Jr. (Red Sox: 2)
Bryce Harper Silver (Nationals: 5)
Jose Bautista Career Milestone 1/1 (Blue Jays: 4)
Eduardo Escobar (Twins: 5)
Brian Dozier (Twins: 6)

Here we have the first 1/1.  I only had two cards from this set going into this box.  The Ross card was one of them.  That is not great.

PACK 13:

Byron Buxton (Twins: 7)
Adam Duvall (Reds: 6)
Ryan Pressly (Twins: 8)
Kendall Graveman (Athletics: 2)
J.A. Happ (Blue Jays: 5)
Will Harris Silver (Astros: 4)
Chris Owings (Diamondbacks: 3)
Ryan Schimpf (Padres: 3)

PACK 14:

Brandon Nimmo (Mets: 2)
Matt Kemp (Braves: 4)
Mike Foltynewicz (Braves: 5)
Kelvin Herrera (Royals: 2)
Jake Arrieta Silver (Cubs: 3)
Alcides Escobar (Royals: 3)
Jedd Gyorko (Cardinals: 5)
Victor Martinez (Tigers: 4)

PACK 15:

Brett Gardner (Yankees: 2)
Neftali Feliz (Pirates: 3)
Brad Hand (Padres: 4)
Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers: 5)
Stephen Piscotty Silver (Cardinals: 6)
Chase Headley (Yankees: 3)
Willson Contreras (Cubs: 4)
Jose Abreu (White Sox: 7)

PACK 16:

Stephen Piscotty (Cardinals: 7)
Archie Bradley (Diamondbacks: 4)
Edwin Diaz (Mariners: 5)
Drew Pomeranz (Red Sox: 3)
Aaron Nola Silver (Phillies: 6)
Jose Ramirez (Indians: 6)
Buster Posey (Giants: 2)
Joey Votto (Reds: 7)

PACK 17:

Alex Dickerson (Padres: 5)
Andrew Benintendi (Red Sox: 4)
Tony Barnette (Rangers: 6)
Zach Duke (Cardinals: 8)
Jett Bandy Silver (Angels: 3)
Adrian Beltre Career Milestone 1/1 (Rangers: 7)
Asdrubal Cabrera (Mets: 3)
Logan Forsythe (Rays: 3)

And here is the other 1/1.  I really like Beltre, but I wish this was a Red Sox card.

PACK 18:

Christian Yelich (Marlins: 3)
Christian Friedrich (Padres: 6)
Ricky Nolasco (Angels: 4)
Derek Law (Giants: 3)
Jonathan Villar Silver (Brewers: 5)
Yulieski Gurriel (Astros: 5)
Yasmani Grandal (Dodgers: 6)
Greg Bird (Yankees: 4)

PACK 19:

Austin Jackson (White Sox: 8)
Adam Frazier (Pirates: 4)
Ervin Santana (Twins: 9)
Addison Reed (Mets: 4)
David Price (Red Sox: 5)
Adam Conley Silver (Marlins: 4)
Matt Duffy (Rays: 4)
Scooter Gennett (Brewers: 6)

PACK 20:

Lorenzo Cain (Royals: 4)
Michael Saunders (Blue Jays: 6)
Michael Fulmer (Tigers: 5)
Huston Street (Angels: 5)
Matt Moore (Giants: 4)
Andrew Cashner Silver (Rangers: 8)
Francisco Lindor (Indians: 7)
Jose Altuve (Astros: 6)

PACK 21:

Rajai Davis (Indians: 8)
Mauricio Cabrera (Braves: 6)
Dellin Betances (Yankees: 5)
Carlos Martinez (Cardinals: 9)
Noah Syndergaard Silver (Mets: 5)
David Wright (Mets: 6)
Mike Zunino (Mariners: 6)
Mike Napoli (Indians: 9)

PACK 22:

Joey Rickard (Orioles: 4)
C.C. Sabathia (Yankees: 6)
Edinson Volquez (Marlins: 5)
Danny Duffy (Royals: 5)
Blake Snell Silver (Rays: 5)
Anthony Rendon (Nationals: 6)
Aledmys Diaz (Cardinals: 10)
Brett Lawrie (White Sox: 9)

PACK 23:

Marcell Ozuna (Marlins: 6)
Corey Dickerson (Rays: 6)
Collin McHugh (Astros: 7)
Mark Melancon (Giants: 5)
Maikel Franco Silver (Phillies: 7)
Matt Carpenter (Cardinals: 11)
Kyle Schwarber (Cubs: 5)
Josh Bell (Pirates: 5)

PACK 24:

Angel Pagan (Giants: 6)
Khris Davis (Athletics: 3)
Wei-Yin Chen (Marlins: 7)
Jon Lester (Cubs: 6)
Brandon Finnegan Silver (Reds: 8)
Trevor Story (Rockies: 7)
Johnny Giavotella (Angels: 7)
Evan Gattis (Astros: 8)

Well, that was not great.  I like the two 1/1s, but not enough not to trade them.  I am happy to be adding a few Red Sox, but I only picked up four new ones.  This was a fairly disappointing break to be honest.

Let's get a look at the standings:

NEW YORK YANKEES: 41
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 41
CHICAGO CUBS: 40
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 35
BOSTON RED SOX: 34
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 32
ATLANTA BRAVES: 29
SEATTLE MARINERS: 29
WASHINGTON NATIONALS/MONTREAL EXPOS 29 (27 NATIONALS/2 EXPOS)
HOUSTON ASTROS: 28
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 27
CINCINNATI REDS: 27
TEXAS RANGERS: 27
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 25
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 24
COLORADO ROCKIES: 24
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 24
MINNESOTA TWINS: 24
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 24
NEW YORK METS: 23
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 22
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 20
DETROIT TIGERS: 19
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 19
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 17
MIAMI MARLINS: 17
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 17
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 13
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 11
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 9
OTHER: 6

The Yankees maintain their lead, though they fall into a tie with a strong performance by the Cardinals.  The Red Sox drop back behind another team as the Dodgers pulled more.  The Padres and Diamondbacks actually had decent pulls, though they remain well behind. 

Three Packs of Archives and a Stadium Club Blaster

Well, after my last disaster with Archives, I thought I would give it another shot.  It is not as if I am in danger of pulling a bunch of Red Sox doubles.  I bought three fat packs, 18 cards apiece.  Maybe, just maybe I will pull a Fan Favorites autograph.  One of the few Red Sox autos I have ever pulled was from the 2004 Fan Favorites set: George Scott.

Here is the current wantlist:

2018 Topps Archives: Andrew Benintendi, Andrew Benintendi/Mookie Betts, Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Wade Boggs, Jackie Bradley Jr., Roger Clemens, Bobby Doerr, Jimmie Foxx, Nomar Garciaparra, Dustin Pedroia, Chris Sale

2018 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autographs: Marty Barrett AU, Rafael Devers AU, Keith Foulke AU, Derek Lowe AU, Rico Petrocelli AU, Dave Roberts AU

2018 Topps Archives Coming Attractions: Rafael Devers

On to the break:

PACK 1:

Odubel Herrera (Phillies: 1)
Blake Snell (Rays: 1)
Andrew Miller (Indians: 1)
Andrew Benintendi (Red Sox: 1)
Julio Teheran (Braves: 1)
Andrew Stevenson (Nationals: 1)
Hal Newhouser (Tigers: 1)
Barry Larkin (Reds: 1)
Roger Clemens (Red Sox: 2)

Don Sutton (Dodgers: 1)
Enos Slaughter (Cardinals: 1)
Squints Sandlot (Other: 1)
Amed Rosario Coming Attraction (Mets: 1)
Elvis Andrus (Rangers: 1)
Corey Kluber (Indians: 2)
Dustin Pedroia (Red Sox: 3)
Sean Newcomb (Braves: 2)
Tomas Nido (Mets: 2)

That was a pretty good pack.  Three Red Sox cards out of 18 total is pretty impressive.

PACK 2:

Bernie Williams (Yankees: 1)
Warren Spahn (Braves: 3)
Justin Upton (Angels: 1)
Edwin Encarnacion (Indians: 3)
Christian Yelich (Brewers: 1)
Felipe Vazquez (Pirates: 1)
Chris Archer (Rays: 2)
Francisco Lindor (Indians: 4)
Mookie Betts (Red Sox: 4)

Chris Davis (Orioles: 1)
Teoscar Hernandez Silver (Blue Jays: 1)
Cal Ripken Jr. Topps Rookie History (Orioles: 2)
Dustin Fowler Coming Attraction (Athletics: 1)
Willie Stargell (Pirates: 2)
Mike Trout (Angels: 2)
Jose Ramirez (Indians: 5)
Starlin Castro (Marlins: 1)
Gregory Polanco (Pirates: 3)

One more Red Sox card.

PACK 3:

Bobby Doerr (Red Sox: 5)
Carlton Fisk (White Sox: 1)
Cal Ripken Jr. (Orioles: 3)
Albert Pujols (Angels: 3)
Adam Duvall (Reds: 2)
Jose Berrios (Twins: 1)
Josh Bell (Pirates: 4)
Tommy Pham (Cardinals: 2)
Teoscar Hernandez (Blue Jays: 2)

Carson Fulmer (White Sox: 2)
Buster Posey/Andrew McCutchen (Giants: 1)
Jack Flaherty Coming Attraction (Cardinals: 3)
John Smoltz (Braves: 4)
Nolan Ryan (Rangers: 2)
Ian Kinsler (Angels: 4)
Joey Votto (Reds: 3)
Cody Bellinger (Dodgers: 2)
Ervin Santana (Twins: 2)

And another one.  These packs worked out nicely.  Five Red Sox out of 48 total cards.  Plus, only one Yankee card.

I also decided to pick up a blaster of Stadium Club.  There are still several base cards I needed as well as a bunch of inserts.  One of the base cards I need is the Tzu-Wei Lin.  The Stadium Club blaster contains eight packs of five cards each.  Since Stadium Club is well-known for excellent photography, I will identify my favorite photo from each pack.

Here is that wantlist:

2018 Stadium Club: Xander Bogaerts, Wade Boggs, Tzu-Wei Lin, Chris Sale, Chris Sale VAR, Ted Williams

2018 Stadium Club Autographs: Tzu-Wei Lin AU

2018 Stadium Club Beam Team: Andrew Benintendi, Mookie Betts, Rafael Devers

2018 Stadium Club Instavision: Rafael Devers

2018 Stadium Club Never Compromise: Andrew Benintendi, Rafael Devers

2018 Stadium Club Power Zone: J.D. Martinez

PACK 1:

Greg Bird (Yankees: 2)
Jose Quintana (Cubs: 1)
Justin Smoak (Blue Jays: 3)
Orlando Arcia Black (Brewers: 2)
Willson Contreras (Cubs: 2)

FAVORITE: Well this one is pretty easy.  Despite the intriguing shots of Arcia and Smoak, Willson Contreras wins this hands down.  I love play at the plate shots.

PACK 2:

Johnny Bench (Reds: 4)
Mack McGwire (Athletics: 2)
J.T. Realmuto (Marlins: 2)
Josh Hader (Brewers: 3)
Bob Gibson (Cardinals: 4)

FAVORITE:  As much as I love the Bob Gibson card, this one has to go to Realmuto with one of the best play at the plate shots I have seen in awhile.

PACK 3:

Noah Syndergaard (Mets: 3)
Joey Gallo (Rangers: 3)
Chipper Jones Never Compromise (Braves: 5)
Marcell Ozuna (Cardinals: 5)
Andrelton Simmons (Angels: 5)

FAVORITE:  Gallo.  Easily.  I love that the shot includes the home run celebration in center field.

PACK 4:

Rickey Henderson (Yankees: 3)
Tim Beckham (Orioles: 4)
Aroldis Chapman (Yankees: 4)
Matt Kemp (Dodgers: 3)
Albert Pujols (Angels: 6)

FAVORITE:  Despite the fact that it is a Yankee, I kind of love this Rickey Henderson card.  Of course, you can't not love Rickey.  The Pujols is great too, but Rickey is the winner.

PACK 5:

Javier Baez (Cubs: 3)
Trevor Story (Rockies: 1)
Nolan Arenado Power Zone (Rockies: 2)
Zack Greinke (Diamondbacks: 2)
Dansby Swanson (Braves: 6)

FAVORITE:  This one is actually sort of tough because I love the Baez and the Greinke, but the Dansby Swanson is definitely special.

PACK 6:

Hunter Renfroe (Padres: 1)
Justin Upton (Angels: 7)
Jackson Stephens (Reds: 5)
Dustin Pedroia (Red Sox: 6)
Charlie Blackmon (Rockies: 3)

FAVORITE:  Unfortunately, the Pedroia is a double, but it is the winner for the goofy shot with the giant autographed glove.

PACK 7:

Dillon Maples (Cubs: 4)
Austin Hays (Orioles: 5)
Kris Bryant (Cubs: 5)
Aaron Judge Special Forces (Yankees: 5)
German Marquez (Rockies: 4)

FAVORITE:  Hays.  The others are rather conventional shots.

PACK 8:

Trevor Bauer (Indians: 6)
Andy Pettitte (Yankees: 6)
Ian Kinsler (Angels: 8)
Kenta Maeda (Dodgers: 4)
Dallas Kuechel (Astros: 1)

FAVORITE:  Keuchel.  Just a terrific angle that is not seen often.

Ugh.  I should have just stuck with the Archives packs.  Only one Red Sox card and it was a duplicate.  Some nice photos, but most of these cards will be gathering dust unless someone else wants them.

Well here is the updated breakdown for cards pulled by team:

NEW YORK YANKEES: 35
CHICAGO CUBS: 34
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 30
BOSTON RED SOX: 29
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 29
ATLANTA BRAVES: 23
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 23
SEATTLE MARINERS: 23
WASHINGTON NATIONALS/MONTREAL EXPOS 23 (21 NATIONALS/2 EXPOS)
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 20
HOUSTON ASTROS: 20
CINCINNATI REDS: 19
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 19
TEXAS RANGERS: 19
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 18
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 18
COLORADO ROCKIES: 17
NEW YORK METS: 17
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 17
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 16
MINNESOTA TWINS: 15
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 15
DETROIT TIGERS: 14
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 14
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 14
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 11
MIAMI MARLINS: 10
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 7
OTHER: 6
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 5
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 5

Well, the Yankees finally took over the top spot.  I have no illusions that that will not last.  The Red Sox have rebounded nicely after a rough break from the last post.  Seriously, what is the deal with the Padres and Diamondbacks?

Another Lin Auto

Continuing on with the recent mini player collection, I added my second autograph:

2018 Topps Tier One Break Out Autographs.  Here is an autograph card serial-numbered to 275.  Lin's signature has gotten a little messier here, really resembling some scribbles more than anything.  It is interesting that Lin is listed as a third-baseman here.  Lin has played a lot of positions, particularly this year and third was the position he played the most last season early on, but it is not his best position.

Topps Now: August 2, 2018

This was another no-brainer.  I had previously pegged Steve Pearce as a player that I would not be shocked to never see on cardboard with the Red Sox.  I hoped that would not be the case, but there seems to be no real rhyme or reason for it.  Pearce is a role player with the Red Sox, a backup at first, outfield, and designated hitter.  He does have some real power and tends to crush left-handers and that is ultimately the reason he was acquired in a trade with Toronto early in June.  He had a terrific game against the Yankees and hit three home runs on August 2, joining Mo Vaughn and Kevin Millar as the only Red Sox to have done it.