Topps Now and Wong Cards

This post is a way to get a bunch of stuff out of the way.  Most of the cards are either Topps Now cards or Connor Wong cards.  I am getting closer to catching up.

It is kind of odd that through nine full seasons with the Astros, Alex Bregman did not have a five-hit game, but just a few games into his time with the Red Sox, he did it for the first time.  It was a game against the Rays that the Red Sox won 7-4.  Among his five hits were a double and two home runs.  He scored two runs and drove in four.  

1.  2025 Topps Heritage Chrome Pink Sparkle Refractor.

2.  2025 Topps Heritage Dark Yellow Border.

On April 26, Jarren Duran stole home.  It is apparently the third steal of home in his career.  I am not sure of that personally, but have no reason to doubt it.  It was a straight steal of home off Cleveland pitcher Doug Nikhazy.  The next day, Romy Gonzalez stole home in a double steal.  Boston won this game 7-3.

3.  2025 Topps Heritage Color of the Year.  Serial-numbered to 76.

4.  2025 Topps Heritage Chrome Burgundy Sparkle Refractor.

5.  2022 Panini Immaculate Jumbo Hats Brand Logo.  Here we have the New Era logo on a card.  This is serial-numbered to just two.  This is, to date, the last really big Connor Wong buy I have made.  There are a few more Wongs coming, but this was kind of the last one of the player collection focus.  I will still continue to get cards of him, but I am starting to feel like he might not be in Boston much longer.

I am closing things out with this Alex Verdugo card that was thrown in as a freebie with the above Wong.  There were also cards of Jeter Downs and Mookie Betts, but I had both of those.  This seller apparently wanted to remind me of the Betts trade.

Topps Factory Team Set

I did luck out and manage to find one of these at Walmart this year.  I was looking for packs, but when I found one Red Sox team set among all the Yankees, Cubs, Royals and Twins sets, I was very happy to grab it instead.

This set had 17 cards in it, a good chance to get most of the team going into the season, though there are some obvious missing players.

1.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  I find it very interesting that Rafaela was the top card in the set.  Not Devers.  Not Casas.  Not Duran.  Ceddanne.  

2.  Triston Casas.  Casas is going through his second straight injury-plagued season.

3.  Rafael Devers.  Devers was the team's biggest star going into the season, but has of course now been traded away.

4.  David Hamilton.  Hamilton had a nice season and was second on the team in stolen bases despite not playing the full season.  His speed is electrifying.

5.  Tanner Houck.  Expected to be the number two going into the year, Houck was really bad, and now looks like he will need Tommy John surgery.  He will likely not pitch again until 2027.  A real shame.

6.  Connor Wong.  Expected to be the starting catcher going into the year, a dislocated pinky finger shut him down for awhile and he is just now showing signs of playing better.  Carlos Narvaez has been a real gem though in his stead.

7.  Masataka Yoshida.  Yoshida has had a rough year this year as well.  I feel like he may be nearing the end of his time in Boston.

8.  Wilyer Abreu.  Abreu has been Boston's biggest power threat this season.  If he can start hitting lefties a bit better, he could be a star.  I definitely need to add cards of him, he is really underrepresented in my collection.

9.  Jarren Duran.  So, is it Duran's team now?  Rafaela's team?  Roman Anthony's team?  Duran had the best season last year, but hasn't done quite as well this year.

10.  Lucas Giolito.  After a rough start to the season coming back from an injury, Giolito has been a very important part of the rotation.  

11.  Garrett Whitlock.  Whitlock has been one of the best relievers in the game, coming back very strong from another injury last year.

12.  Trevor Story.  Story has been another player back from an injury that has really shined this year.  He is on the verge of a 20/20 season and possible Gold Glove.

13.  Brayan Bello.  Bello has been up and down this season, but generally much better than not.  I would love to see him take the next step into being a number two starter.

14.  Kutter Crawford.  I had hopes for Crawford coming into the year, but he has missed the entire season and it looks less and less likely he will return this year.

15.  Richard Fitts.  Fitts was the big acquisition in the trade with the Yankees for Alex Verdugo.  He hasn't been great, but the talent is obviously there for a fine back-of-the-rotation starter.

16.  Nick Sogard.  I talked about him yesterday, so I won't rehash, but he is probably the weirdest selection for this set.

17.  Rob Refsnyder.  Refsnyder has found a home in Boston as a lefty-killer.  Utilized correctly, he is an outstanding addition to the team.

So, who are we missing?  Well, the most obvious is any of the players acquired during the offseason.  I get that Alex Bregman signed pretty late, but Walker Buehler and Aroldis Chapman were signed early enough and Garrett Crochet was definitely acquired early enough to make it into this set.  Otherwise, maybe Justin Slaten?  They did pretty well this year.  I can't complain too much.

2025 Topps Series 1 Blaster

There have not been many times I have been able to find cards in my stores this year.  For awhile I wasn't really looking too hard, but it seems like most times I have looked, everything is gone.  This was the first time I was able to find something.

1.  Rafael Devers.  I did manage to pull one of the Stars of MLB insert cards for the Red Sox.  This was a pretty big deal for me at the time, but obviously after Devers was traded away, it is not as big of a deal.

2.  Nick Sogard.  I also pulled a parallel, this one being the Holo Foil version of Nick Sogard.  Sogard could probably hold a utility position in Boston if the first base/second base situation was a little more settled.  As it is, there is no room for him.

3.  I consider this a Jarren Duran card.  

4.  David Hamilton.  Hamilton is part of the issue with the second base situation.  His bat has not been nearly as impressive as it was last season.  He does have 17 stolen bases though.

2025 Topps Now Road to Opening Day

I picked up this set again.  I had to.  Even though I have lamented the shrinking size of the sets over the years.  This year's set is ten cards with a parallel.  There were autograph options, but those sets were prohibitively expensive for me at a time when I had some massive car repairs.  So, who is in the set this year?

1.  Rafael Devers.  Of course he is in the set.  He came into the season as the biggest star on the team.

2.  Walker Buehler.  Buehler was expected to be the #2 man in the rotation, but he has struggled greatly this season.  Lately he has been better, but it has still been a rough year.

3.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Definitely a good choice for the set.  Rafaela looked like a potential future star after his rookie season, though with some flaws.  Again, this is my favorite player going forward.

4.  Trevor Story.  He is certainly a big name, but he only played in 26 games with the Red Sox in 2024.  He has been much better this season though.

5.  Masataka Yoshida.  Yoshida is another popular name, though he has not really lived up to his potential thus far.

6.  Garrett Crochet.  The team's biggest acquisition better be in the set.

7.  Jarren Duran.  Devers was the team's biggest star, but Duran had the best season in 2024.  He led the league in doubles (48) and triples (14), while hitting .285/.342/.492 with 21 home runs, 75 RBIs and 34 stolen bases.  It was an incredibly dynamic season.

8.  Triston Casas.  Like Story, Casas is a big name, but only played in 63 games in the season.

9.  Alex Bregman.  Bregman was the biggest free agent signing, so he better be in the set too.

10.  Aroldis Chapman.  I talked before about not being a big Bregman fan, so his signing was not something I was really clamoring for, well, Chapman is an even more extreme example of that.  He has had some issues off the field that I just was not a big fan, but he has been amazing this season.

11.  Alex Bregman.  My parallel was the green foil.  Unfortunately, this is the most common parallel, numbered to 99.

So, who is missing from the set egregiously?  

1.  Wilyer Abreu.  I am surprised by this because he was fourth in the Rookie of the Year vote in 2024 and won the Gold Glove.

2.  Tanner Houck.  He was an All Star in 2024.

3.  Brayan Bello.  He had an uneven season, but led the team in wins.

4.  Kristian Campbell.  I do think it was a surprise that he made the Opening Day roster, but Topps doesn't usually miss opportunities to do cards of hot prospects.

5.  Connor Wong.  He had a good year in 2024, hitting .280/.333/.425 with 13 home runs and 52 RBIs as a catcher.

6.  David Hamilton.  He stole 33 bases and looked like a really good player for awhile.

The First Few Topps Now Cards of 2025

I am getting closer to catching up.  This post will show off the first four Topps Now cards I have gotten this year.  Most of them are relatively new to my collection.

On March 29, Kristian Campbell hit his first Major League home run against the Rangers.  Campbell was the first of the new Big Three to make the Majors, and he started off hot, but cooled off considerably.  He was sent back to the minors, but looks like he could be recalled soon.

March 27 saw Campbell get his first Major League hit, in his Major League debut on Opening Day.  He singled and walked in four plate appearances.

On April 6, Alex Bregman hit his first home run as a member of the Red Sox.  Bregman spent his entire career with the Astros.  I was honestly not the biggest fan of Bregman, but I definitely saw the appeal of acquiring him.  Bregman is an elite defensive third-baseman and a great hitter.  He is on a potential Hall of Fame track.  I really hope at this point that Boston extends his contract and keeps him around.

Garrett Crochet was the biggest offseason acquisition for the Red Sox.  They gave up a lot of prospects to get him, but he has been everything the team hoped he would be.  On April 2, he won his first game with the Red Sox, in his second start, by throwing eight scoreless innings against the Orioles.  At the time, it was his career high.

Closing things out will be a Wong card, because there is just one before a much more obvious next post.

2025 Topps Heritage Chrome Light Blue Sparkle Border.  Parallels are getting out of hand.

Another Wong Post

 As I said a couple days ago, the Wong posts are going to start getting more scarce. 

1.  2025 Topps Green Rainbow Foil.  Serial-numbered to 99.

2.  Rafael Devers.  As I said two posts ago, sometimes I get freebies I need with my Ebay wins.

3.  2025 Topps Holiday Flowers.  Serial-numbered to 50.

4.  Team card.  I can identify Rob Refsnyder, David Hamilton, Masataka Yoshida, Ceddanne Rafaela and Rafael Devers in this shot.  I used to try to identify everyone and consider these a card of all those players.  That is way too difficult sometimes though, so I just stopped doing it.  I consider it a team card.

5.  2025 Topps Purple Holo Foil.  Serial-numbered to 250.  

6.  2025 Topps Blue Rainbow Foil.  Serial-numbered to 150.

7.  2025 Topps Aqua Rainbow Foil.

8.  2025 Topps Team Color Border.

9.  2025 Topps Confetti.

10.  2025 Topps Golden Mirror Image Variation.  These are often really expensive early on.  I tend to wait a bit to try to get them.  

40 Card Trade

Up next is a pretty big TCDB trade with a lot of completely random stuff in it.  Let's dive right in.

1.  Wade Boggs.  I am not really sure how I didn't have this card previously.  Must have slipped by me.

2.  Carlos Quintana.  There are really not many Quintana cards out there I don't have.  Long-time readers of this blog know he was one of my first under-the-radar favorites.  

3.  Tanner Houck.  It is getting more and more likely that he will not return this season.  That's a shame.

4.  Cutter Coffey.  He was traded away at the deadline in 2024 as part of the package that brought Danny Janzen from Toronto.  That turned out to not be a great deal.

5.  J.D. Martinez.  Martinez is one of those guys that card companies make a ton of cards of, but nobody really collects, even though he's really good.  He just isn't a guy that has that much of a hobby following.  I always get a ton of cards of him in deals or offered to me.  Manny Ramirez was that kind of player too.

6.  Jackie Bradley Jr.  I still love getting cards of JBJ.  His defense was truly special.  I still can't believe he only won one Gold Glove.

7.  Xander Bogaerts.  This trade will have a lot of guys from the last few years.

8.  Eduardo Rodriguez.  I really like E-Rod.  Wish he would have stayed, but I can say that about a lot of the guys in this post.

9.  Pedro Martinez.

10.  Carl Yastrzemski.  Still the only player to get his 3,000th hit with the Red Sox.  Only four other players who played for the Red Sox are in the 3,000 Hit Club.  Speaker got his with the Indians, Boggs with the Devil Rays, Henderson with the Padres and Beltre with the Rangers.  

11.  J.D. Martinez.  Here is card #2 of Martinez.

12.  Chris Sale.  Sale is kind of like J.D. Martinez for the reason I talked about earlier for some reason.  

13.  Derek Lowe.  One of a select group of players to have a 20 win season and a 40 save season, Lowe also threw a no-hitter once.  A very underrated pitcher.

14.  Derek Lowe.

15.  J.D. Martinez.   Card #3.

16.  Xander Bogaerts.

17.  Chris Sale.  I like this card and really want that sweatshirt.

18.  David Ortiz.  Nice shot of the scoreboard on the Green Monster in the background of this card, featuring Ortiz crossing home after a home run.

19.  Rafael Devers.  I said on Twitter recently that I will never dislike Devers.  I may have a better understanding of the trade, but I loved him during his time in Boston.  He was a great player and a lot of fun to watch.  I hate the fact he is no longer in Boston.

20.  Connor Seabold.  Seabold is on his third team (and fourth franchise) this year as he has appeared in three games with the Rays.

21.  J.D. Martinez.  Card #4.

22.  Rafael Devers.  The Devers trade just got a little worse at the deadline as Boston dealt James Tibbs, the only position player they received in the deal and a first-round pick last year, for Dustin May, who has struggled this season.  Tibbs probably is not going to be that good, but it's extremely frustrating that the players in that trade are now Jordan Hicks, a struggling reliever, Kyle Harrison, who is still trying to figure things out in Worcester, and a lottery ticket arm.  What a terrible trade.

23.  Tim Wakefield.  I love getting Wakefield cards.

24.  Tim Wakefield.

25.  Fred Lynn.  Another card from the 2024 Panini Prizm team set, still not one of the ones I wanted the most though.

26.  Johnny Pesky.  Pesky is another guy that I just love getting cards of, even though I never saw him play.  He is Mr. Red Sox because he spent 60 years in the organization in various roles.  

27.  Miguel Bleis.  He finally made it to Double A.  It seems like he has been in the system forever because he was so highly touted a couple years ago, but he is just 21.  He will need to be protected on the 40 Man Roster or risk being lost in the Rule 5 Draft this winter.  He should have been traded otherwise.

28.  Rafael Devers.

29.  Alex Verdugo.  It will be interesting to see what he does next.  His career has really fallen off a cliff.

30.  Trevor Story.  Probably the new version of J.D. Martinez.  I get a lot of his stuff in trades too.

31.  Chris Sale.

32.  Ted Williams.  Interesting shot, not really sure what is happening here.

33.  Carlton Fisk.  Fisk is receiving some kind of award in this shot, but I have no idea what it is.  It can't be his Rookie of the Year award because the Red Sox were not wearing uniforms like that in 1973.  I have no idea.

34.  Masataka Yoshida.  I really need Yoshida to start hitting.  He has two more years on his contract, but it is just not looking good right now.

35.  Masataka Yoshida.

36.  Tim Wakefield.

37.  Roger Clemens.

38.  Miguel Bleis.

39.  Johnny Damon.  I hereby decree the Yankee years never happened.  Johnny Damon was always either a Royal or a Red Sox.  I can get on board with his brief stints with the Athletics, Tigers, Rays and Indians, but I refuse to believe he ever played with the Yankees.  Same goes for Jacoby Ellsbury.

40.  Ted Williams.

A Bunch of Wongs

Here is another post full of Connor Wong cards.  He is still on the team after the trade deadline and there was no additional catchers acquired, so Wong is going forward.  He has doubled in each of his last two games, so maybe there is some hope that he will be more productive going forward.  I do think he has been mismanaged this season.  I know his stats are way down, but it is kind of hard to get into a rhythm when you only play once a week, and often get pinch-hit for late in the games.  So, he is really only getting two or three at-bats a week.  Last year, his versatility was a weapon and he got into games at first, second, DH and left field.  This season, he has only appeared in one inning at a position other than catcher.  

1.  2025 Topps Black Diamante Foil.  Serial-numbered to 10.

2.  2025 Topps Topps Foil.

3.  2025 Topps Pink Diamante Foil.

4.  2025 Topps Holo Foil.

5.  2022 Topps Gallery Blue.  Serial-numbered to 75.  This one took a weirdly long time to get at a reasonable price.

6.  2025 Topps Aqua Holo Foil.

7.  2024 Topps Purple Holo Foil.

8.  2022 Panini Mosaic Genesis.  This is not serial-numbered but is incredibly rare nonetheless.

9.  2022 Topps Mother's Day Pink.  Serial-numbered to 50.

10.  2025 Topps Red Rainbow Foil.  Serial-numbered to five.

11.  2024 Topps Heritage White Border.  I like the 2024 Topps Heritage photo, for obvious reasons.

12.  2025 Topps Spring Training Gold Foil.  Serial-numbered to 50.

13.  Romy Gonzalez.  How did that get here?  Sometimes, people send free cards, and sometimes I actually need them.

14.  2024 Topps Heritage Dark Blue Border.

15.  2022 Panini Mosaic Rookie Autographs Choice Fusion Gold.  Serial-numbered to 10.

16.  2025 Topps Holiday.

17.  2024 Topps Chrome Sapphire Red.  Serial-numbered to five.  

18.  2024 Topps Heritage Chrome Purple Refractor.

19.  2024 Topps Heritage Aqua Border.

20.  2022 Panini Select Cosmic.  Another very rare one that is not serial-numbered.

21.  2025 Topps Wood.  Serial-numbered to 25.

That's it for today.  Believe it or not, there is not really a ton of Wong cards left to show off that I have currently in my collection.

2024 Panini Prizm Lot

When I saw the checklist for 2024 Panini Prizm, I had to try to get some.  It is a mix of retired players and prospects, but the retired players includes guys like Mike Lowell, Johnny Damon, Jonathan Papelbon, guys I haven't seen in sets for years.  I never saw the product on shelves though, so I ended up just buying a lot off of Ebay.  I did not get everyone I wanted (in particular I wanted Mike Lowell and Ceddanne Rafaela), but I made a start on it.

Here are the non-base cards.

1.  Nazzan Zanetello.  The lot included one autograph card.  Zanetello was the second-round pick by the Red Sox in 2023.  He has had a rough start to his career though and is currently the 59th-ranked prospect on soxprospects.com.  That is not great.  He is still just 20 though.  I didn't have high hopes for Mikey Romero early on either, and he has really turned things around.

2.  Pedro Martinez.  This is a Green Scope parallel.

3.  Jonathan Papelbon.  So is this.  Papelbon was a player I was excited about.  I always liked him.  I still like him and follow him on Twitter.  He is pretty outspoken, and you do get glimpses into what it was like when he played from his social media, and he doesn't hold much back.  So, one can tell he did not much care for J.D. Drew for example.

4.  Manny Ramirez.

5.  Jonathan Papelbon.

6.  Nazzan Zanetello.

7.  Roman Anthony.  It is only a matter of time before Anthony starts to explode in my collection.  He has been improving greatly as he has played more.  He looks like the real deal.  The power hasn't come yet, but it will, he drives everything and has a terrific eye at the plate.  I am very excited about him going forward.

8.  Carlton Fisk.  I always love when Fisk appears in sets.

9.  Luis Tiant.  Even moreso with Tiant.  I just want him to be elected to the Hall.

10.  Johnny Damon.  Here's the Johnny Damon, complete with long hair and beard, the way I prefer to remember him.  The 2004-2005 Idiot version.

11.  Marcelo Mayer.  Mayer's transition to the Majors has not been as smooth as Anthony's, and he is currently on the IL.  He does have four home runs and his defense is terrific.  Hopefully he will come back strong.

12.  Roger Clemens.

13.  Kyle Teel.  Well, this is my first Teel card, and it came after he was traded in the deal that brought Garrett Crochet to Boston.  Not that I am complaining, because Crochet has been as advertized.  Teel has been doing well in Chicago, able to develop without the scrutiny of the Boston media.  He will probably be a very good player, but the trade was still worth it.  You have to give something to get something.

14.  Dustin Pedroia.  I can't decide if he would still be active had he not suffered that knee injury in 2017.  He is 41 years old right now.  I think his contract was supposed to be through 2021.  It is unlikely he would still be playing.  I hope he gets in the Hall some day.

15.  Wade Boggs.  Closing things out with my childhood favorite. 

We Made it to 2025 (Lots of Wongs)

In my ongoing effort to get caught up, I have finally made it to 2025 cards.  And my first many 2025 cards were Connor Wong cards.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I went through a period where I was not collecting much.  I was not able to find cards in stores and I didn't have time to do trades.  So, I bought a lot of Wong cards, and some other random stuff occasionally.  Wong did finally get his first extra-base hit of the year last Friday against the Dodgers.  

1.  2025 Topps Orange Rainbow Foil.  Serial-numbered to 25.

2.  2025 Topps Sandglitter.

3.  2025 Topps Pink Holo Foil.

4.  2025 Topps Diamante Foil.

5.  2025 Topps Purple Rainbow Foil.  Serial-numbered to 250.

6.  2025 Topps Spring Training.

7.  2025 Topps Rainbow Foil.

8.  2025 Topps Gold.  Serial-numbered to 2025.

9.  2025 Topps True Photo.

10.  2025 Topps Spring Training Green Foilboard.  Serial-numbered to 99.

There will be many more Wong cards to come.  I am still going on this collection until something happens with his status on the team.

Two Wongs Don't Make a Right and Finishing Off a Team Set

I know part of the title is a common saying, but I always think of the Suicidal Tendencies song "Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right (But They Make Me Feel a Whole Lot Better)".  Just getting that in there.

1.  2022 Panini Select Cracked Ice.  This card is serial-numbered to 25.

2.  2022 Topps Chrome Rookie Autographs Mini Diamond Refractor.  This one confuses me.  There is no reference to this card on TCDB, or even the parallel set as a whole.  I really have no idea what the deal here is.  That is my second Wong card that is not listed on TCDB.

Up next is the rest of the 2024 Topps team set that I bought as a whole on Ebay.  There were a lot of interesting players (including a couple of people who looked like Red Sox With No Cards candidates  previously) released in Series 2 and Update, so I just wanted to grab them all.

1.  Chris Murphy.  Murphy is actually back with the big league club after dealing with some injury issues.  He made it into 20 games in 2023, did not appear in the Majors in 2024, and made it back a few weeks ago.  And he has a 2.70 ERA thus far, so he is doing pretty well.

2.  Brandon Walter.  Very similar to Murphy, Walter was a lefty reliever in 2023 who went down with an injury.  He is currently starting for the Houston Astros and doing quite well himself.

3.  Rob Refsnyder.  Refsnyder has been a very solid platoon/bench bat.  He is a lefty killer and an important voice in the clubhouse.  To date, in parts of four seasons with the Red Sox, he has hit .276/.366/.437 with 24 home runs and 107 RBIs.

4.  Adam Duvall.  Boston has made a habit of corner outfield One-Year Wonders in recent years, starting with Hunter Renfroe.  Duvall was the 2023 edition, hitting .247/.303/.531 with 21 home runs and 58 RBIs.  Injuries limited him to 92 games played.

5.  Tanner Houck.  Houck was an All Star in 2024, but had a very rough start to his 2025 season.  He re-injured himself recently and was shut down again.

6.  Brayan Bello.  If he can develop his changeup into a real strikeout pitch, I think Bello could become a great starter.  He just needs to take that one more step.

7.  Garrett Whitlock.  Whitlock appears to be back at full strength lately.  He currently has a 3.10 ERA with 63 strikeouts in just 49.1 innings.  

8.  John Schreiber.  Schreiber joins Rich Hill as the only players thus far to come back from Red Sox With No Cards purgatory.  He was listed in my 2021 post, and would have made it further had I done one more recently.  It's odd that he makes his debut on a Red Sox card after he was traded to the Royals for minor league pitcher David Sandlin.  Schreiber was a force in the 2022 bullpen, saving eight games and notching 74 strikeouts in 65 innings with a 2.22 ERA.  

9.  Bobby Dalbec.  He just could not hit enough to justify the strikeouts.  2024 saw the end of the Dalbec era in Boston.  He hit 47 career home runs in Boston.

10.   Reese McGuire.  Another player who saw his time in Boston end in 2024.  McGuire was great down the stretch in 2022 after replacing Christian Vazquez (.3367/.377/.500), serviceable in 2023 (.267/.310/.358) and awful before being released in 2024 (.209/.280/.295).

11.  Vaughn Grissom.  Boy, that Chris Sale trade was rough.  Sale won the pitching Triple Crown and a Cy Young Award for the Braves, Grissom played in 31 games for the Red Sox in 2024, hitting .190/.246/.219.  He has yet to play this year and has been passed on the depth chart by at least a couple of guys.  He is running out of time.

12.  Pablo Reyes.  Reyes will forever be remembered for his walkoff grand slam in 2023.  He is another guy whose time in Boston ended during the 2024 season when he was sold to the Mets in May.  His grand slam was one of just two home runs he hit in Boston.

13.  Wilyer Abreu.  Now, we get into some good players.  Abreu currently leads the team with 20 home runs.  If he can control his streakiness, he could be a star.

14.  Romy Gonzalez.  Like Refsnyder, Gonzalez is a wrecking ball against lefties.  He recently crushed a grand slam against the Phillies for Boston to take a lead in a game they eventually won.  

15.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  My new favorite player has had a rough stretch offensively lately, but his defense still plays.  He made a sparkling unassisted double play against the Dodgers on Sunday, catching a line drive then diving into second base to double up the runner returning to the bag.  Even when he doesn't play center field, he makes great plays.

16.  Chris Martin.  I predicted Martin would get his first card since 2020.  All he had to do was get a Cy Young vote as a middle reliever in 2023.  Martin pitched two seasons in Boston, going 7-2 with a 2.16 ERA with five saves and 96 strikeouts versus eleven walks in 95.1 innings.

17.  Lucas Giolito.  Signed to shore up the rotation in 2024, Giolito went down with a season-ending injury in Spring Training.  It has been a bumpy road, but he finally looks like he is doing what he was signed to do now.

18.  Justin Slaten.  Boston has had some good luck with Rule 5 picks.  Garrett Whitlock is the best example, but Slaten has been very good when healthy.  He had a 2.93 ERA in 2024 and had been doing pretty well before going down with an injury earlier this year.

19.  Naoyuki Uwasawa.  I am a little surprised Uwasawa got a card.  Thrilled, but surprised.  He was a 30-year-old rookie in 2024, recently over from the Rays.  Now, when the Rays trade an unproven pitcher, a team should probably be a little concerned.  Uwasawa appeared in two games with Boston, four innings with three strikeouts and two walks, a 2.25 ERA.  He had a 7.78 ERA in Worcester though and didn't make it back.

20.  Tyler O'Neill.  The 2024 edition of the One-Year Wonder corner outfielder, O'Neill parlayed a 31-homer-season into a three year deal with the Orioles that they probably regret.  O'Neill hit .241/.336/.511, but played in just 113 games due to injury, kind of the story of his career.  It was a nice season, but oddly, he only drove in 61 runs.

Topps Now Road to Opening Day Bonus: September 22, 2024

This was the only free bonus card for the Red Sox from the Road to Opening Day set this year.  Casas had a rough year in 2024.  Through April, he was hitting .244/.344/.513 with six home runs and ten RBIs, a reasonable start for the first month, but then he went down with a rib injury.  He did not return to the lineup until mid-August.  As could be expected, it took some time before he started to get the hang of hitting again and he was starting to heat up as the season was coming to an end.  In Game #155 for the Red Sox, he had his first three-homer game in an 8-1 beatdown of the Twins, the first two of which were three-run shots with the third being a solo homer.  Casas ended the season with 13, a far cry from where he was expected to end up, but not bad considering the injury toll.

More Wongs and Others

Still going.  I am getting close-ish to catching up.  

1.  2022 Topps Chrome Sonic Red RayWave Refractor.  This card is serial-numbered to five.  It also completes the Sonic rainbow for me.

2.  2024 Topps Chrome Sapphire.

3.  Chris Sale.  This was just a one-card trade on TCDB.  It still needs to be shown off.

4.  2024 Topps Chrome Sapphire Orange.  This card is serial-numbered to 25.

1.  Kevin Millar.  Millar is still one of my favorite players from the 2004 team.  He was a big character guy in the clubhouse, and he could hit a little bit too.  In three seasons he hit .282/.362/.451 with 52 home runs and 220 RBIs.

2.  Ted Williams.

3.  Daisuke Matsuzaka.  Matsuzaka finished fourth in the ROY vote in 2007 and followed that up with a fourth-place finish in the Cy Young vote the next year.  And then the injuries and ineffectiveness occurred.

4.  Bobby Dalbec.

5.  David Ortiz.

6.  Julian Tavarez.  Tavarez was one of the crazier individuals I remember in Boston.  He started a brawl in Spring Training against the Rays, rolled balls to the first-baseman on grounders, and was generally a maniac.  He spent parts of three seasons in Boston, going 12-16 with a 4.94 ERA.

7.  Byung-Hyun Kim.  Kim did not endear himself to Boston fans when he gave them the finger after being booed.  He had a tumultuous stint in Boston, and was okay in 2003 after being acquired.  

8.  Allen Webster.  Webster was one of the major names acquired in the huge trade with the Dodgers in 2012, but he never lived up to expectations.  In 19 games in Boston, he had a record of 6-5 with a 6.25 ERA.

9.  Ty Buttrey.  Buttrey was traded to the Angels in the deal for Ian Kinsler in 2018 before pitching for Boston.

1.  2024 Topps Chrome Sapphire Gold.  This card is numbered to 50.

2.  2022 Panini Chronicles Origins Signatures Holo Gold.  This card is serial-numbered to 25.

That's it for today.

Topps Now: September 9 and 11, 2024 and a Wong 1/1

And another Topps Now post, this one featuring Tyler O'Neill primarily, a candidate for a One-Year Wonder post in the near future.

On September 9, the Red Sox crushed the Orioles 12-3.  Brayan Bello didn't have his best stuff but pitched well enough to win and the Red Sox benefitted from outfielders Rob Refnsyder and Tyler O'Neill hitting back-to-back home runs TWICE.  Refsnyder has become a certified lefty-killer and an important voice in the clubhouse.  O'Neill came over from the Cardinals in a trade prior to the season to provide right-handed pop, and he absolutely delivered.

2022 Panini Mosaic Rookie Autographs White Sparkle Mosaic.  This is a 1/1 Wong autograph.  So, of course I have to show it off.  I believe I have 22 Wong 1/1s. 

On September 11, Tyler O'Neill haunted the Orioles again (his future team, who he is haunting now in a very different way).  The Orioles had a one-run lead going into the bottom of the tenth with Keegan Aiken pitching.  Aiken struck out Rafael Devers, but then Romy Gonzalez reached on an error and O'Neill crushed a home run over the Monster to win the game.

Wongs and a TCDB Trade (Or Two, I Can't Remember)

Let's just do this, shall we?

1.  2022 Donruss Optic Gold Prizm.  This is serial-numbered to just 10.

2.  2024 Topps 582 Montgomery.  

I can't remember if the next cards came from one trade or more.  I don't think it matters that much though.

1.  Michael Wacha.  Wacha had a great season his one year in Boston.  He had an 11-2 record with a 3.32 ERA in 23 starts.  He struck out 104 and walked 31 in 127.1 innings pitched.  I considered him for the All-Time One-Year Wonder for right-handed starting pitcher, but I couldn't ignore Hideo Nomo throwing a no-hitter and leading the league in strikeouts.

2.  Xander Bogaerts.

3.  Rafael Devers.

4.  Jimmie Foxx.  I love seeing Foxx show up in sets these days.

5.  Triston Casas.

6.  Chris Sale.

7.  Jarren Duran.

8.  Alex Verdugo.  Man, his career has stalled.  He was released by the Braves earlier this year.

9.  Pedro Martinez.

10.  Trevor Story.  Story has been enjoying a renaissance this season.  He doesn't hit for a high average (.252), but has 15 home runs and 17 stolen bases, to go with 60 RBIs and Gold Glove-caliber defense.  This is the player the Red Sox thought they were getting.

11.  Trevor Story. 

12.  Rafael Devers.

13.  Xander Bogaerts.

14.  J.D. Martinez.

15.  Tanner Houck.  Houck has been shut down, probably for the season.

16.  Jarren Duran.

17.  J.D. Martinez.

18.  Xander Bogaerts.

19.  Rafael Devers.

20.  Trevor Story.

That's it for today.

Topps Now: August 2 and August 26, 2024 (Plus a Couple Wongs)

Ho-hum, another Topps Now post with obscure players.

Nick Sogard made his Major League debut on August 2.  Sogard comes from a family of former Major Leaguers.  His cousin is former A's infielder Eric Sogard, who I remember primarily for wearing glasses.  He is also the nephew of Steve Sax and former Red Sox catcher Dave Sax.  So yes, a long line of baseball players in his family.  Sogard was originally acquired in the deal that sent Jeffrey Springs to Tampa Bay, so Boston is finally getting something out of that trade (since Ronaldo Hernandez never developed).  Sogard has hit .265 in the Majors to date.  Not bad.  He collected a hit and two RBIs in his debut.

1.  2024 Topps All Star Game Foil.

2.  2024 Topps Yellow Foil.

I am including these Wong cards since there were just two in between receiving Topps Now cards, rather than doing three separate posts.

On August 26, Danny Jansen became the first player to play for both teams in the same game.  Allow me to explain:  this game started on June 26, but was suspended in the top of the second inning due to rain.  Jansen started the game for the Blue Jays and was at the plate when the game was suspended.  It was completed on August 26, but by this point, Jansen had been traded to the Red Sox and he appeared in the game when it was resumed, behind the plate for a "pinch hitter" sent to the plate to relieve Jansen.  Jansen had a hit in four at-bats.  Unfortunately, this was pretty much the highlight of the Jansen era in Boston.  He hit .188/.323/.300 with three home runs after being acquired for Cutter Coffey, Eddinson Paulino and Gilberto Bautista.  None of those three have appeared in the Majors yet and each would have had to be protected on the 40-man roster after the season. 

A Quick Trade Post

My normal procedure with trades is to let them come to me.  It's sometimes a little difficult to decide on just one card that I want.  Every once in awhile though, I will be the one starting the deal.  This trade today was one of those occasions.  I like the Prizm set lately because of the retired players.  And they have included Dom DiMaggio and Johnny Pesky recently, two players I tend to grab as many cards as I can.  

1.  Dom DiMaggio.  This was the card that started the proposal for me.  DiMaggio is a favorite, even though I never saw him play.  He didn't look like a star athlete, he was 5'9" and less than 170 lbs. and he wore glasses.  Yet, he was a seven-time All Star and hit .298/.383/.419 in his career, spent entirely in Boston.

2.  Rafael Devers.  Devers has been having a rough start in San Francisco, but I see no reason he won't eventually come around.  Hopefully at least one of the players Boston got in the trade will come through.

3.  Carl Yastrzemski.  I also still love getting cards of Yaz.

4.  Jack Lopez.  Who?  Exactly.  Lopez played in seven games in 2021 even though he was never on the 40-man roster.  This is because Boston called him up when several players were placed on the COVID restricted list and they didn't have enough players, a rule used just in those two seasons.  Lopez hit a couple of doubles.  He played a little more with the Angels last season.

5.  Masataka Yoshida/Alex Verdugo/Justin Turner/Jarren Duran.  Turner is a future One-Year Wonder post.  Maybe when I get close to catching up on my card posts, I can do a few of my series posts.  The One-Year Wonder posts in particular have a lot of candidates to do.  Turner had a very good year his one year in Boston.

Topps Now: July 16, 2024 - The All Star Game

Jarren Duran became the fifth Red Sox player to win the All Star Game MVP last year.  He joins Carl Yastrzemski (1970), Roger Clemens (1986), Pedro Martinez (1999) and J.D. Drew (2008).  Duran hit a two-run home run off of Hunter Greene of the Reds with the Orioles' Anthony Santander on base.  Those were the deciding runs of the game, making him a pretty easy selection.  Duran was in the middle of his best season to date in 2024 and would continue his hot start in the second half.