Topps Now Postseason Set

Every year Topps sells sets for each of the postseason teams for a ridiculous price.  Yet, I still end up getting them.  Last year was no different.  The set was only ten cards this year.

1.  Bobby Dalbec.  As the hot team rookie in 2021, of course Dalbec was going to be in the set.  Dalbec though, barely played, primarily due to the acquisition of Kyle Schwarber.  He made it into eight games, getting 12 at-bats.  He failed to register a single hit or walk and struck out five times.

2.  Nathan Eovaldi.  Eovaldi started and won the Wild Card game against the Yankees, pitching 5.1 innings, giving up just one earned run while striking out eight.  He pitched five innings against the Rays, again striking out eight, but taking a no-decision.  He struggled a bit more in the ALCS, pitching three games, but starting two.  He got the win in Game 2, but losses in Games 4 and 6.  He had a 6.97 ERA in the ALCS, but he added nine more strikeouts.

3.  Christian Vazquez.  Vazquez was a star in the ALDS after sitting out most of the Wild Card game.  He played in four of the five games and hit .375.  He drove in four runs and had one of the biggest moments of the series, homering to walk off the Rays in Game 3.  He drove in two in the ALCS while playing in each of the six games.

4.  Xander Bogaerts.  Bogaerts was one of the big hitting stars for Boston throughout the postseason.  He homered and drove in two runs in each of the rounds.  All told he hit .261, but that number was depressed by a lackluster showing in the second half of the ALCS, like most players not named Rafael Devers.

5.  Rafael Devers.  Speaking of Devers, he is quickly becoming one of the most impressive and prolific Red Sox hitters in postseason history.  In 2021, all he did was .295 with five home runs, eleven runs scored and twelve RBIs.  He already has eight home runs in his postseason career.  Not bad for a player who is just 25 years old.

6.  J.D. Martinez.  Martinez played in just three of the ALDS games, but hit .467 with a home run and four RBIs.  He also hit a couple of home runs in the ALCS against the Astros with six RBIs.  One of those home runs was a grand slam.  Not bad for a player whose participation in the postseason was at risk due to an ankle injury.

7.  Hunter Renfroe.  Renfroe struggled for most of the postseason.  He had some decent moments in the ALDS and was involved in a weird play in which a fly ball bounced off the wall, off of him, and then over the wall for a ground-rule double.  He had just two doubles among his seven hits and only drove in one run.

8.  Kyle Schwarber.  Schwarber was the big trade deadline acquisition in 2021.  He was acquired to add another power bat to the lineup, and he lived up to it.  He homered once in each round, including a grand slam in the ALCS.  He drove in six runs in the postseason and even stole a base.

9.  Alex Verdugo.  Verdugo got to play in the postseason for the first time in 2021 and made the most of it, hitting .310 in the three rounds.  He homered in the ALDS against the Rays and drove in six total runs.  He also stole a base, scored five runs and walked five times as opposed to three strikeouts.  

10.  Chris Sale.  Sale was injured most of 2021, coming back from Tommy John surgery.  He struggled in his first game in the ALDS, giving up five runs in just one inning, but pitched significantly better in the ALCS.  He started two games, pitching eight innings with nine strikeouts and three walks.  He had an 0-1 record, but a 3.38 ERA.  

There were some notable absences from this set.  The biggest one was one of the biggest stars of the postseason: Enrique Hernandez.  He hit five home runs and drove in nine runs and might have been the ALCS MVP had Boston moved on.  Very little of the pitching staff was represented either.  Nick Pivetta had a huge performance, as did Eduardo Rodriguez.  And Garrett Whitlock was Boston's best rookie and held down the late innings.  So, this set should have been a little bigger.  I did get the autographed version of the set, and my card came earlier this year.  I will show it off eventually.  

Topps Now: September 2 and September 22, 2021

Let's dive in to some more Topps Now cards.

September 2, 2021

I had to get this one.  Garrett Richards just seemed like one of those players that cards were going to be hard to come by.  He never really seemed to have a set role on the team and was not exactly dominant most of the time.  He definitely seemed unlikely to get many Topps Now cards.  So, I made sure to grab this one.  

On September 2, the Red Sox took on the Rays in Tampa.  Eduardo Rodriguez started the game and pitched well, throwing six innings of four-hit ball with no runs, one walk and six strikeouts.  Boston could not muster any extra base hits but were leading 4-0.  Enter Richards in the seventh, who pitched the last three innings, giving up just one hit and one walk while striking out four for a nice, three-inning save.  It was his second save of the season.  He finished the season 7-8 with a 4.87 ERA, three saves, 115 strikeouts versus 60 walks in 136.2 innings.  

September 22, 2021

The Red Sox rolled over the Mets in Boston, winning 12-5.  Trade deadline pickup Kyle Schwarber had a huge game, going 3-4 with two home runs.  Apparently Schwarber owns the Mets, which I am sure the Phillies had in mind when signing him.  Schwarber's other hit was a double.  He drove in four runs, scored four runs and walked once.  Chris Sale started the game, pitching five effective innings, giving up just two runs and striking out eight.

Unknown Heroes Pt. 46: Jose Iglesias

I have not done one of these in something like six years.  I am sure I could come up with a few more if I thought about it (looking at you Tzu-Wei Lin).  Getting the below card was a good reason to resurrect this series.

This is one of the Silk Collection cards that were fairly big for a few years.  This came from Iglesias's first stint with the team.  He made another one last year.

Iglesias was signed to a big bonus as an international free agent in September of 2009.  The Cuban-born infielder was spectacular defensively, but had a questionable bat.  His first season in the minors saw him hit for a decent average, but no power.  He made it up to the Majors for the first time in late 2011, but only played in ten games, mostly as a defensive replacement, though he did have two hits in just six at-bats.  He had a little more of a look in the Majors in 2012 when the team struggled to a last-place finish, but he hit just .118 in 25 games.  

Spring Training in 2013 saw Iglesias put on a show.  He was so impressive that he made the Opening Day lineup.  He was sent back down to the minors after a week, but came back in late May.  Iglesias was a sensation, splitting time between shortstop and third base and hitting for a shockingly high batting average.  Iglesias's strengths were his exceptional defense and his ability to make contact.  He also had some impressive speed that allowed him to beat out plays at first base.  Iglesias was hitting above .400 as late as July 6 before his average finally started coming down.  He struggled after that for a few weeks.  On July 30, Iglesias was hitting .330/.376/.409 with one home run, ten doubles, two triples, 19 RBIs and three stolen bases.  That was the end of his first stint with Boston.

As good as Iglesias had been, Boston had a better player waiting in the wings at shortstop.  Xander Bogaerts represented the team's future.  Boston had a glut of shortstop prospects in fact.  That made Iglesias expendable.  What the team needed was more starting pitching to contend for the postseason.  And there was a pretty good one on the table in Chicago, but Boston did not have quite enough to make the move.  Enter the Detroit Tigers, who needed an infielder.  A three-team deal developed in which Boston sent Iglesias to the Tigers and some prospects (one of whom was Frankie Montas currently a top starter with the A's) to the White Sox.  The Tigers sent power-hitting outfielder Avisail Garcia to the White Sox, and Boston had their pitcher: Jake Peavy.

Iglesias continued to play well defensively for his new team, but his average continued to fall.  At the end of the year, his line was a still decent .303/.349/.386 with three home runs and 29 RBIs.  He ended up finishing second in the A.L. Rookie of the Year vote to Rays outfielder Wil Myers.  Iglesias continued along the same lines for several more seasons, even making the All Star team in 2015.  He played for the Tigers, Reds, Orioles and Angels.  Then, he returned to Boston.

The Angels in 2021 were not going anywhere.  Despite reasonable numbers, the team decided to cut Iglesias.  Boston, needing some help due to injuries brought him back.  And Iglesias went on a tear.  Playing mostly second base, Iglesias played in 23 games down the stretch and hit .356/.406/.508 with one home run and seven RBIs.  He was also a strong clubhouse presence, taking over the role of chief laundry-cart pusher during home run celebrations.  Due to not joining the team until September, he was not eligible for the postseason roster.  He stayed with the team though to continue pushing the laundry cart.  

After the season, Iglesias signed a deal with the Rockies.  He is still just 32, so it is entirely possible he could make a third stint with the Red Sox.  If he does not though, his career line with Boston is a very impressive .293/.346/.382 with three home runs and 28 RBIs.  And of course, he played some terrific defense.  

Panini Prizm Group Break

I tried out another one of those group breaks for Panini Prizm last year.  I do not remember how many boxes it was though.  It was not massively successful, but there was some decent stuff.

 

Four cards among three players here.  All three are currently with the Red Sox as of today and all are homegrown.  Base cards include Xander Bogaerts, who is the senior member of the Red Sox roster at this time as he started back in 2013, and Tanner Houck, who is currently the team's closer.  Bogaerts was signed as an international free agent out of Aruba.  Houck was a first round draft pick in 2017.

After the base cards are an insert of Rafael Devers.  Devers, like Bogaerts, was an international free agent, though he was from the Dominican Republic.  This is from the Fearless insert set.  Then, there is a green parallel of Houck as well.

This was not a great break, but there was some decent stuff here.  

I Have No Title for This

These random cards were picked up from the same seller (I think) on Ebay.  There was no real rhyme or reason for them, they just kind of caught my eye.

1.  Kevin Pillar.  This was the Royal Blue parallel from Topps Update.  I probably should have done an update post to my All-Time One-Year Wonder post for right fielders for Pillar.  He was signed as a free agent prior to the 2020 season and was playing very well for Boston before being traded at the deadline to Colorado.  Pillar ended up hitting .274/.325/.470 with four home runs, 13 RBIs and seven doubles in just 30 games.  It would not have been enough to unseat Cody Ross (who was eventually replaced by Hunter Renfroe's 2021 season), but it was a good year.

2.  Xander Bogaerts.  This is a 2017 Gypsy Queen image variation of Bogaerts.  I have always felt Bogaerts was somewhat underrepresented in my collection, so I grabbed this one.  That doesn't appear to actually be true as he is close to passing Mookie Betts, but as long as he has played for Boston, he should be much higher.

Topps Now: September 8 and September 18, 2021

Time for more Topps Now cards.

September 8, 2021

Boston took on Tampa Bay at Boston, winning the game 2-1.  It was a low-scoring game, which Hunter Renfroe provided all of the offense.  Boston was trailing 1-0 going into the bottom of the 8th inning after a strong pitching performance by Nathan Eovaldi.  The bullpen gave up the sole run in the top of the inning.  Renfroe came on with Kyle Schwarber on base and homered, giving the Red Sox the lead, and eventually, the win.

September 18, 2021

The Red Sox blew out the Orioles on September 18 9-3.  Xander Bogaerts provided most of the offense, collecting three hits in five at-bats.  He scored two runs and drove in four on two singles and a home run.  Tanner Houck took the win.  Boston notably wore their City Connect jerseys which garnered a bit of a cult status among fans which continues to this day.

Joe Rudi Watercolor

Just a quick one-card post today.  This is the Joe Rudi card from the 2021 Topps Spotlight 70 set featuring a bunch of fan favorite-type players.  The cards were watercolor representations of older cards.  I did not get nearly enough of these cards yet, which is disappointing because there was a surprising amount of Red Sox representation in the set.  For one, there is this card.  Now, most people do not associate Joe Rudi with the Red Sox.  And for good reason.  Rudi was actually originally acquired by Boston in 1976 along with Rollie Fingers in the famous deal voided by Bowie Kuhn.  He was later acquired in the deal along with Frank Tanana in the trade that sent icon Fred Lynn to the Angels.  Rudi did not play well for Boston, hitting just .180/.239/.352 with six home runs in 49 games.  He played just just one more season in the big leagues, returning to Oakland, the team for whom he had his most success.  So yeah, pretty shocking this card was chosen.  It is also not the most interesting-looking Topps card.  The 1982 set had a decent design, but this was just a profile shot.  He has great looking cards in 1971, 1973 and 1974.

As I said, this set had some decent Red Sox representation.  In the 70 card Series One set, there were five Red Sox.  Including Rudi, there were also cards of Jim Rice, Rich Gedman, Luis Tiant and Mo Vaughn.  Series Two featured five more with Dustin Pedroia, Tim Wakefield and then short-lived Red Sox tenured Hall of Famers Tom Seaver, Juan Marichal and Fergie Jenkins.  I need to track down some more cards.

Forgotten Stars Pt. 10: Dave "Boo" Ferriss

When a team that has as long a history as the Red Sox it is natural to have players who have been largely forgotten. These are some players who simply do not get mentioned anymore or are largely forgotten.

Technically I covered Ferriss in a previous post, but he shared the post with Tex Hughson.  And plus, I get to show off this card in this post:

This is a Diamond Signatures autographed card of Ferriss, released in 2006.  This set had a number of autographed cards of players from the 1940's.  I may have to grab a couple more, particularly the Mel Parnell.

Ferriss was signed as an amateur free agent by the Red Sox prior to the 1942 season.  He spent that year in the minors and showed some promise.  He spent the next two seasons in military service then made it to the big leagues in 1945.  That year he turned in one of the best rookie seasons by a Red Sox pitcher ever.  Ferriss was an All Star and finished fourth in the MVP race after compiling a record of 21-10 with a 2.96 ERA in 264.2 innings pitched.  

1946 saw Ferriss lead the rotation with a 25-6 record en route to the American League pennant.  His ERA was 3.25 and he struck out 106 batters while walking 71 in 274 innings pitched.  He was an All Star again and finished seventh in the MVP vote.  He pitched in two games during the World Series, going 1-0 with a 2.03 ERA in 13.1 innings pitched.  Unfortunately, pitching that many innings early on in his career caused some major issues with his arm.  He had a 12-11 record with a 4.04 ERA in 218.1 innings pitched.  1948 saw him pitch more out of the bullpen, but he was just 7-3 with a 5.23 ERA.

Ferriss pitched in five games the next two seasons.  He pitched in the Red Sox minor league system until 1952.  He never made it back to the Majors and retired at the age of 30.  Ferriss did not pitch long, but he was a big part of the rotation in the mid 1940's.  He was one of the team's top pitchers in 1946.  

More Topps Now Cards: August 26, 2021

Topps Now cards have been much easier for me to come by than anything else recently.  Which kind of sucks in a way.  But that's just how it has been with my isolation over the last couple years.  Here are some more, all of which are from August 26, 2021, which must have been a slow day for other teams.

On August 26, 2021, the Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 12-2.  There were several standout performances.

Chris Sale made the start in his continued return from Tommy John surgery, something I predicted he would eventually need years ago, even before coming to Boston.  Sale pitched just over five innings, giving up two earned runs, two walks, and striking out eight.  But in the third inning, he pitched his third career immaculate inning, striking out all three batters faced on nine straight strikes.

Rafael Devers became just the third player in franchise history to have multiple 30 home run seasons before turning 25.  The others?  Some guys named Ted Williams and Nomar Garciaparra.  Pretty good company.  Devers was 2-5 on the night with three RBIs.  He also stole a base.

Rookie Bobby Dalbec was the big star of the night though.  All Dalbec did was collect three hits in four at-bats and drive in seven of the team's runs.  Five of those RBIs were collected on his two home runs that night.  It was a big night for the rookie power hitter.

Another Prizm Break

Well, at some point I decided to try out another blaster box of Prizm and pulled cards of the two big Red Sox rookies going into the 2021 season.

Up first is a base card of Bobby Dalbec.  Dalbec strikes out a ton, but when he makes contact, it's loud.  He hit 25 home runs as a rookie, and he even hit one in one of the games I saw in person last year.  His 2022 season has been mostly forgettable though and I suspect he's going to fall into the category of guys like Will Middlebrooks and Michael Chavis.  Guys who put up big power numbers right away, but Boston held onto them too long rather than trading at a time when their market was big.

Next is Tanner Houck.  This is a retail-only parallel.  Houck has seemingly settled in this year as the Red Sox closer.  Last year, he was more of an all-purposes pitcher, starting and relieving.  He started 13 games and also notched a save.  Houck is a former first round draft pick.

2021 Topps Chrome Break

Nothing terribly exciting from this break.  I am pretty sure it was a blaster box.  I pulled just the one base card.  And that base card was Andrew Benintendi, who was traded away just prior to the 2021 season.  I really cannot say that Benintendi was a bust.  The seventh overall pick from the 2015 Draft was great for the first three years of his career, finishing second in the Rookie of the Year vote in 2017.  Then, mysteriously, he declined dramatically.  For his Boston career, he hit .273/.353/.435 with 51 home runs, 119 doubles, 279 runs scored, 260 RBIs and 53 stolen bases.  Decent numbers, but given his decline the last two years, mildly disappointing.

Benintendi was traded to the Royals for Franchy Cordero, Josh Winckowski and three other minor leaguers.  He has since improved somewhat, winning the Gold Glove and improving his batting average, but he is still not close to the player he looked like he would be during the first three seasons of his career. 

Project 70: Mookie Betts by Morning Breath

I have a particular affinity for the 1990 Topps design.  So, I did decide to pick up this particular card for that reason.  Also, it was a rare Red Sox card of Mookie Betts.  There were a couple of them in this set as I recall.  Sometimes I wonder if Mookie is going to be remembered more for his time with the Dodgers when all is said and done.  As great as he was in 2020 in the shortened season with the Dodgers and for a couple months this season, he has not come up to the heights that he displayed in his time with Boston.  Time will tell I guess.

2021 Topps 206 Lot and the Jason Varitek Quest for 1,000: #971

Unfortunately, Topps decided not to bring back Topps Total in 2021.  I always thought the online-only format of the set was kind of a bad idea.  Who wants to buy a $10.00 pack online and get a bunch of middle-relievers and utility players?  I loved the set, don't get me wrong, but I always just bought the singles I wanted.  

With the loss of Topps Total, Topps did an online-only format for Topps 206.  I still just pick up the singles I want.  One wave had several I jumped on:

Jason Varitek:  Of course I had to add this one.  29 cards to go to make my goal.  Unfortunately, it is becoming harder to find them.

Frank Arellanes:  Arellanes is noteworthy because he was in the original T206 set.  It is kind of odd to see such an obscure player in a modern set.  Odd, and awesome.  Arellanes pitched just three seasons in the Majors, all with the Red Sox, from 1908-1910.  He had a great year as a starter and reliever in 1909, pitching in 45 games, starting 28 and finishing a league-leading 15.  He notched eight saves, though it was not an official stat at the time.  He had a 2.18 ERA and a 16-12 record.

Christian Arroyo:  Arroyo has started to get more cards in 2022, but in 2021 he was still pretty rare in sets.  Arroyo had some great moments, including a late pinch-hit grand slam against the Braves.  I thought he would be the primary second-baseman this year, but he is a bit too injury-prone and Boston signed Trevor Story.

Various Topps Now Cards

I keep getting too busy to post here.  I am WAY behind.  Let's do some Topps Now cards, shall we?

August 24, 2021

Hunter Renfroe took over as my All-Time One-Year Right Fielder after a terrific 2021 season in which he hit .259/.315/.501 with 31 home runs and 96 RBIs.  He led the league in assists, but also errors.  Renfroe had a great game on August 24, clubbing two home runs and driving in five runs in a win over the Twins.

July 1, 2021

I picked up a parallel of this card, primarily because I thought this would be Danny Santana's only card with the Red Sox.  It did not end up that way, which I will get to eventually, though no idea when.  Santana did not do much for the Red Sox, but he provided some valuable pinch-running appearances, including in the final game of the ALDS.  Oh yeah, Rafael Devers is on this card too, but there are plenty of Devers cards out there.

August 23, 2021

How about a walk-off grand slam?  Recently re-acquired first-baseman Travis Shaw did just that on August 23, leading to an 8-4 victory over the Rangers.  Shaw came up with the Red Sox and spent the first two seasons of his career with Boston, before being traded to the Brewers, for whom he had some very good seasons.  He was plucked off of waivers by the Red Sox to provide some pop primarily as a pinch hitter, and also to spell Bobby Dalbec on occasion.  This was his first game back with Boston and his biggest moment in his tenure with the Red Sox.

2021 Panini Prizm Break

The problem with being so far behind on posts is remembering how exactly I got some of these cards.  I am pretty sure I must have opened up some type of packs to get this one, but whether it was a blaster or individual packs or one of those jumbo packs, I cannot remember.  Nothing thrilling here, just a base card, but Rafael Devers is currently my favorite player on the team.  I really hope Boston does not make the same mistake with Devers that they did with Mookie Betts.  The best part about Devers is that he is still just 25 years old.  We may not have seen the best from him yet.   

2021 Topps Now Bonus Card

It is sort of hard to remember now, but at the All Star Break in 2021, the Red Sox were riding high.  They finished the first half in first place in the A.L. East.  They were 55-36 at the half, but were just a game-and-a-half ahead of the second place Tampa Bay Rays.  Their placement would not last much longer as the team struggled over the next several weeks, though they would ultimately sneak into one of the Wild Card spots.  

Pictured on this card are, from left to right: Xander Bogaerts, Alex Verdugo, J.D. Martinez and Bobby Dalbec. 

I Kind of Like These Uniforms

 

This was my first card with the City Connect uniforms.  When I first saw them, I thought they were kind of a dumb gimmick.  It was a commercial pairing between MLB and Nike and I just did not really see the point.  Besides, the uniforms were a vast difference from the team's traditional appearance.  But once I saw them in use, they kind of grew on me.  The Red Sox wore them quite a bit last year and even went on a bit of a tear at one point down the stretch in them.  Honestly, I kind of like them now.  

A Couple of Quintanas

Something that I feel I talk a lot about on this blog is how I was a big fan of Carlos Quintana when I first started watching baseball.  He was the first kind of obscure player of whom I was inexplicably a big fan.  Guys like Felix Doubront and Tzu-Wei Lin have joined him over the years.  I still grab cards when I can find them, though there are not too many left.  Last year, I picked up two off of Ebay on the same day.

Buybacks have been one was to expand this collection.  This is a Bowman buyback from his 1991 card.  That was not the most exciting set in the world.  Kind of boring design.  No action photos.

This one is a bit more interesting.  One of those unlicensed photo cards from the 1980's, commonly referred to as Broder's.  

On a somewhat related note, I kind of had this fascination with contributing to the SABR bio project by writing the bio on Quintana.  Unfortunately, someone beat me to it recently.  I was sort of devastated by that.  I had been harboring this idea for a few years now, but just had not gotten going on it.  I should have done it.  My biggest hangup was trying to find out what he was doing now.  How that was going to happen.  I will have to pick someone else to write about I guess.

A&G Blaster

Every once in awhile, I have been able to actually find cards at Walmart.  Usually when that happens I have to buy stuff quickly.  They never seem to last long.  It was on one of these trips that I managed to buy a box of Allen & Ginter.  That has never been my favorite set.  I may be in the minority, but I just do not really care for the non-baseball player cards.  But cards have been so scarce, I will buy just about anything.

My blaster netted me two base cards, but they are two of my favorite players: Rafael Devers and Alex Verdugo.  Devers is turning into a beast.  I really hope Boston manages to get him locked up for a long-term deal.  I am still waiting for Verdugo to break out in a big way.  Hopefully this will be the year he does just that.

Dalbec and Chavis Relics and More

One of these days I might get caught up.  I suppose it would help if I actually posted every day.  Anyway, here is a random insert/relic lot I picked up, primarily for the relics of Bobby Dalbec and Michael Chavis.  

This was my first relic of Dalbec.  I really do not have any idea what to expect from Dalbec this year.  He had a great Spring and he was excellent down the stretch last year, but he strikes out way too much.  Chavis is a cautionary tale.  He too came to Boston with some big power but high strikeout rates.  Eventually, the strikeouts ate him alive and he could not be a productive hitter with that strikeout rate.  He was dumped at the trading deadline last year for Austin "Big Fudge" Davis, a lefty middle reliever.  I did have a couple of Chavis autographs previously, but no relics.

Beyond the relics, the lot consisted of a bunch of inserts.  I really like the Select Phenom card of Dalbec and the die-cut Platinum Players card of Roger Clemens.  And then there is the parallel mini of Alex Verdugo, one of my favorite current Red Sox players.

The Jason Varitek Quest for 1,000: #970

Still going...strong...ish.

Anyway, 2021 had a few new Jason Varitek cards released.  Not enough to make the last hurdle easy, but there were some.  This is the Allen & Ginter relic card of Varitek.  Nothing too exciting.  Just a gray swatch of uniform, but still.  Any new Varitek cards are greatly appreciated.

Project 70: Rafael Devers/Nolan Arenado by Lauren Taylor

Of all of the artists that were involved with the Project 70 set last year, I have to say that Lauren Taylor was my favorite.  Her photo-realistic renderings of the players using elements from the cities in which they played caught my attention from the very beginning.  I seriously considered buying other cards from this set if there was not to be a Red Sox card.  Luckily, there would eventually be two. 

This one came from the subset of All Star starters that were released around the All Star Break.  Taylor had the two third base starters: Nolan Arenado from the Cardinals and Rafael Devers.  Devers made his first All Star team in 2021, though it likely should have been his second.  He had a huge season last year, hitting .279/.352/.538 with 38 home runs, 101 runs scored and 113 RBIs.  As good as he was, he is still just 25 years old.  The sky may very well be the limit with Devers.  Boston needs to lock him up.  Do not make the same mistake they made with Mookie Betts.

Zippy Zapped

Kenny hit me up with one of the Baseball Card Day singles last year.  Kenny, I want to personally apologize for not being great about sending stuff back.  I will start to compile something shortly for you.  These cards are tough to come by for me, so I always appreciate other collectors helping me out.

A Bunch of Topps Online Cards

Packs have been tough to come by the last couple years and I have been too busy to organize my tradelist to make trades.  So, a lot of cards have been coming through the various Topps online sets.  Player selection is generally pretty good, particularly with Topps Now.  The big drawback is the price.  So I usually buy my singles through sellers on Ebay who offer discounts.  Here are a whole bunch of them from various sets:

From the Sports Illustrated covers set, comes this Pedro Martinez.  The magazine this was taken from was released very shortly after the Red Sox acquired Pedro and locked him up on a longterm deal.  This was before he even threw a pitch for Boston, but his best years were yet to come.  I had to get this one because I actually bought this magazine at the time.  I don't think I still have it though.

I have always liked multi-player cards, so I grabbed this one from the Throwback Thursday ongoing sets.  It is a little odd to put Xander Bogaerts with Bobby Dalbec, instead of Rafael Devers.  Dalbec of course was the big, hyped rookie last year for the Red Sox, so Topps wanted to take advantage of that.  Still, it seems more natural to put Bogaerts and Devers together since they play right next to each other and seem to have a very close friendship.

June 11, 2021

The Blue Jays led this game 5-1 going into the bottom of the sixth inning before the Red Sox bats came alive.  Jays reliever Tyler Chatwood came unglued, allowing two runs to score on a walk and a wild pitch.  In the eighth, Christian Arroyo homered to tie the game.  In the ninth, Alex Verdugo laced a single to left to score Danny Santana with the winning run.  Verdugo had three hits in four at-bats that game.

June 16, 2021

In one of the biggest clutch hits of the season, Christian Arroyo demolished a pitch in the seventh inning with the bases loaded.  Boston was down 7-6 at the time to the eventual World Champion Braves.  Arroyo was pinch-hitting in the pitcher's slot at the time.  You cannot ask for a bigger clutch hit.

July 17, 2021

Topps Now likes to highlight the first major achievements of the top prospects upon their debuts.  Jarren Duran was a bigtime prospect who made his Major League debut against the Yankees and ripped a single in his first at-bat.  Unfortunately, the Red Sox lost that game in a rain-shortened six innings 3-1.

Here is another multi-player card from Throwback Thursday.  The design here was the 1993 Topps All Star subset, which was a pretty decent design from the junk wax era.  Of course, the point at the time was to highlight players from each league at the same position.  Still, can't go wrong with the two most recent Red Sox Hall of Famers, David Ortiz and Pedro Martinez.

July 19, 2021

The Red Sox exploded for eight runs in the first inning against the Blue Jays en route to a 13-4 drubbing.  Duran drove in the first two runs with his first Major League home run, scoring Enrique Hernandez.  It was Duran's only hit of the day.

Gypsy Queen Blaster

Unfortunately cards have still been hard to come across in retail stores around me.  So, I grab them when they are available.  I was lucky to find a blaster of Gypsy Queen at one point last year.

It was a reasonably successful break, yielding four Red Sox cards.  All base cards, but still.  Two of them were rookie cards, so there is that.  Both Tanner Houck and Bobby Dalbec made appearances.  And the other two were the big, homegrown stars.

Houck bounced between the majors and minors all year, but seemed to nail down a permanent spot by the end of the season, even if he still alternated between the rotation and bullpen.  He finished with a record of 1-5, but had a 3.52 ERA with 87 strikeouts and 21 walks in 69 innings pitched.

Bogaerts and Devers had their usual huge seasons.  Bogaerts was an All Star and hit .295/.370/.493 with 23 home runs and 79 RBIs.  As good as he was, Devers was better.  Devers hit .279/.352/.538 with team-leading 38 home runs and 113 RBIs.  He was also an All Star.

Dalbec struggled at times and strikes out way too much, but had a couple months where he was on fine.  He ended up hitting .240/.298/.494 with 25 home runs and 78 RBIs.

Random Topps Now Cards

Still playing catch-up here.  Topps Now and the other online sets have become a go-to for me in the last couple of years.  Particularly due to player selection, but also because I can actually get my hands on them.

May 14, 2021

In the seventh inning of the game against the Angels, Red Sox rookie Bobby Dalbec crushed a two-run, go-ahead home run.  The Red Sox would not relinquish the lead.  It was Dalbec's only hit in the game, but he did walk and steal a base as well.

June 25, 2021

Unfortunately, Dustin Pedroia's career was cut short due to injuries.  He suffered a knee injury in a play back in 2017 when Manny Machado slid into him.  He attempted to come back a few times, but it became clear that he was not going to be able to make it back.  It sucks because Pedroia was on the verge of a Hall of Fame career.  On June 25, the Red Sox held a retirement ceremony for the long-time second-baseman.  Pedroia finished his career with a line of .299/.365/.439 with 1,805 hits, 140 home runs, 725 RBIs and 138 stolen bases.  He was a Rookie of the Year, AL MVP, four-time All Star and four-time Gold Glove winner.

June 27, 2009

And now for a Turn Back the Clock card.  I had to grab a Tim Wakefield card.  On this date in 2009, Wakefield tied Roger Clemens for the club record in games started.  Wakefield would end up blowing that number out of the water.  He started 430 games during his career.  That club record will hold for a long time.

Topps Series 2 Case Break

Here are the results from another one of those case breaks I bought into last year.  This was Topps Series 2.

Up first are the inserts.  There really is not anything mind-blowing here.  No relics or autographs, but it is a nice collection of players.  I got a couple of the Silver Pack cards, Tanner Houck and Alex Verdugo.  The Platinum Players die-cut of Ted Williams is definitely my favorite.  Then there is the Gold parallel of Christian Vazquez, a card I probably would have picked up on my own since Vazquez is one of my favorite players.  I love the 70 Years of Topps card of David Ortiz, primarily due to the action shot.  The Ted Williams is a nice shot that I have not seen before.

And here is the first scan of base cards.  I love the player selection here.  Sure there are stars like Xander Bogaerts and Chris Sale, as well as well-represented players like Matt Barnes, Tanner Houck and Michael Chavis.  Chavis also appears as the player riding the laundry cart in the home run celebration.  I want to bring attention to the fourth card in the scan.  That is Christian Arroyo and it is my first card of him.  Arroyo turned into a pretty important role player for Boston in 2020 and that continued into 2021.  And finally, the sixth card features Yairo Munoz, who does not have a Red Sox card of his own.

And here are the rest.  Jackie Bradley, Jr. makes an appearance, despite the fact that he was with the Brewers in 2021.  Jonathan Arauz also shows up with a nice action shot.  Speaking of nice action shots, check out this Enrique Hernandez card.  Hernandez has had great cards seemingly every year.  It's nice to see that with the Red Sox now.

All-Time One-Year Wonder Update: Utility

I did one of these updates recently, giving Hunter Renfroe the nod over previous All-Time One-Year Wonder Right Fielder Cody Ross.  Since Kyle Schwarber recently signed a free agent deal with the Phillies, it is fair to ask how he measures up.  Also, two other players, Marwin Gonzalez and Danny Santana fit the position as well.

Kyle Schwarber split his time with Boston almost evenly between left field, designated hitter and first base, so he would fall into the utility position.  Marwin Gonzalez appeared primarily at second base, but also spent significant time at first, left field and shortstop.  He also appeared at third, right field and even pitched.  Danny Santana primarily played first base and center field, but also played in left field and designated hitter.  The previous utility man who was my pick was Bill Hall.  Hall spent the 2010 season in Boston after being acquired from the Mariners.  Hall played in 119 games primarily between left field and second base, but also appearing at the other two outfield spots, third base, shortstop and even pitching.  Hall hit .247/.316/.456 with 18 home runs, 46 RBIs and nine stolen bases.

Schwarber was acquired at the trading deadline in 2021 for Aldo Ramirez.  He was injured at the time of his acquisition so it was a couple of weeks before he appeared in a game for the Red Sox, but he proved to be worth the wait.  He played in 41 games, hitting .291/.435/.522 with seven home runs, 18 RBIs and ten doubles.  He hit three more home runs with six RBIs in the postseason.  

Marwin Gonzalez and Danny Santana also fall into this discussion, but neither had numbers anywhere close to good enough to unseat Bill Hall.  Gonzalez played in 77 games, hitting .202/.281/.285 with two home runs, 14 doubles, 20 RBIs and three stolen bases.  Boston eventually released him and he returned to the Astros, where he had his most success.  Gonzalez was actually acquired by the Red Sox way back in the 2011 Rule 5 Draft, but was immediately traded to the Astros for Marco Duarte, who never played for Boston.

Santana had hit 28 home runs as recently as 2019 and was acquired to provide versatility as well as speed from the bench.  It did not work out well.  Santana hit just .181/.252/.345 in 38 games.  He did add five home runs and stole four bases, but only add two doubles, a triple and 14 RBIs.  He did notably score the winning run in the ALDS against the Rays. 

Hall played in more games, spending the entire season with the team and did have more in the way of counting stats, obviously.  He also has a slight edge in WAR (1.8 to 1.3).  Schwarber has the lead in the rate stats though.  Hall has more versatility, playing every position except first base and catcher.  He even pitched.  I think the fact that Hall played the entire season and is a bit more of a classic utility player will carry the decision.  Schwarber was fantastic and I am disappointed he is no longer with the team.  I just think for these purposes, Hall has a slight edge.

Topps Now: August 11, 2021

 

On August 11, the Red Sox beat the Rays 20-8 in Fenway Park.  Seven of the Rays runs came in the ninth inning when Boston left Phillips Valdez out to dry.  The offense exploded that day with 19 hits.  Every starter except Kevin Plawecki got a hit.  Topps Now of course issued a card, showing five of these hitters.  Xander Bogaerts was 2-4 with a home run and a double.  Hunter Renfroe went 3-5 with four RBIs and two doubles.  J.D. Martinez was 4-4 with a double.  Marwin Gonzalez, who was a big disappointment in 2021, had a rare good game as he had two hits in five at-bats.  Finally, rookie Bobby Dalbec drove in five runs on two hits, including a triple.  Boston had some difficulty with Tampa Bay during the regular season, but this was a hell of a game for them.  Lost in the offensive explosion was the pitching performance by Nathan Eovaldi who pitched seven strong innings, giving up just one run, one walk and struck out ten.

Living Set Singles

I have had three jury trials in the last two-plus months.  So things have been a little hectic.  I am 1-1 with my client not showing up for the other one.  I still did the work in preparation though, even if it did not actually go forward.  By the way, not showing up for your own jury trial is bad.

So, up first in my return is a couple of Living Set singles.  Boston suddenly got a bunch of these last year, and I grabbed up some of the not-as-prevalent players:

Nathan Eovaldi was Boston's ace in 2021.  He led the league in FIP (2.79), starts (32) and walks per nine (1.7).  He was an All Star for the first time and finished fourth in the Cy Young vote.  2022 is his last year of his contract, and I have a difficult time seeing him back with the team.  If it is his last year, he has had some big moments with the team.

Kyle Schwarber was the big midseason acquisition.  Hopefully Boston can find a way to bring him back, but with the universal DH now, the chances are getting slimmer.  Schwarber hit .291/.435/.522 with seven home runs and 18 RBIs in his couple months with the team.  The move was criticized at the time after the Yankees got assumed-target Anthony Rizzo and Schwarber was hurt, but he really turned out well.

Congratulations David Ortiz!

David Ortiz was elected to the Hall of Fame on his first ballot last night, garnering 77.2% of the vote.  I will have a bigger post about this later on, but just wanted to comment.  I am absolutely thrilled about this.  Ortiz was one of the most dynamic Red Sox players that I have seen and he has so many great moments with the Red Sox.  He was a part of three World Championship teams and was a terrific postseason hitter.  On top of that, he hit more home runs than any Red Sox hitter not named Ted Williams.  I may have to consider a trip to Cooperstown this summer.