Cause for Concern for the Red Sox Future?

Over the last few years, the Red Sox have reaped the benefits of a strong minor league system that was initially developed by Theo Epstein, then strengthened by Ben Cherington.  This system has produced Major League All Stars like Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts, and Jackie Bradley Jr. as well as impact players like Blake Swihart, Christian Vazquez, and Matt Barnes.  But, over the last year, a number of things have happened that have me concerned about this continuing into the future.  Here, I would like to look at those events that have happened and examine their potential impacts.

1.  THE KIMBREL TRADE
Last year, Dave Dombrowski became Boston's President of Baseball Operations.  Dombrowski has helped build good teams in the past, but has never been shy about giving up prospects.  He arrived as advertized and made a big trade in the offseason for Craig Kimbrel to become Boston's closer.  The price was heavy though: four prospects, two of whom were among Boston's top 10 and two developing into strong prospects.

Manuel Margot was a top young outfielder that could break through this year.  He was blocked in the Majors and Andrew Benintendi was likely to surpass him as a prospect.  Javier Guerra was a middle infielder with power.  Carlos Asuaje was a similar player.  Logan Allen was a pitching prospect that had just been drafted in 2015.  The prevailing opinion is that Boston overpaid for Kimbrel.  None of the prospects are devastating losses, but Boston should have been able to make the trade without giving up all four of them.  They did not give up any of their top four prospects, but they just gave up too many for what they received.

2.  2016 DRAFT
On one hand, this year's draft was a success.  It is not often that a team that does not get to pick until #12 is able to pick up a talent like Jason Groome.  Groome was once considered a possibility to go first overall in the draft but dropped due to signability concerns and some other issues.  However, due to the top-heavy draft class for Boston, most of their other draftees were uninspiring or risky.  They were not able to sign many of their lottery picks and only signed one player after Round 10 for more than $100,000.00.   There is likely only one impact player drafted by Boston this year, though that one could be very good.

3.  INTERNATIONAL SIGNING PENALTY
Boston was singled out for some violations of international free agent signing rules earlier this year.  It was determined that in order for Boston to get around signing restrictions, they made package deals between prospects.  Lesser-rated prospects would sign for the maximum allotted, but part of their bonus would go to higher-rated prospects.  It is important to note that Boston is not the only team to have engaged in these tactics, but they were perhaps a little more blatant about it.  MLB investigated and then handed down a penalty.  Five player contracts were voided and Boston was banned for signing anyone in the 2016-2017 international signing period.  The timing was planned and the penalty came down the day before the signing period began.  Meaning Boston had no time to appeal the ruling or fight the penalty and still be able to be active in the signing period.  The players Boston lost were Albert Guimaro, Simon Muzziotti, Antonio Pineiro, Eduardo Torrealba, and Cesar Gonzalez.  The first two were highly-rated prospects.  So in addition to losing two top international signings, the team is not able to sign any international free agents for a year.

4.  MINOR TRADES
Boston made a couple of trades to improve their depth within the last couple of weeks.  The first was to send Aaron Wilkerson and Wendell Rijo to Milwaukee for Aaron Hill.  The second brought Brad Ziegler from Arizona for Jorge Almonte and Luis Alejandro Basabe.  Wilkerson looked to be ready to be called to the Majors to join the starting rotation.  Basabe has emerged as a quality prospect over the last few months.  Rijo had been a decent prospect in the past.  Almonte was Boston's top international free agent in the 2012-2013 signing period.  None of these losses were devastating either, in fact, none of the players were even as painful as the players lost in the Kimbrel trade, but yet again, four mid-range prospects were removed from the system.

5.  THE POMERANZ TRADE
This is probably the best devastating individual event and occurred just recently.  Boston sent top pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza to the Padres for Drew Pomeranz.  Pomeranz is having a decent season and is under team control through the 2018 season.  But in order to pick him up, Boston gave up their top pitching prospect since Jon Lester.  Sure he is just 18 years old, but Boston's biggest problem has been the inability to develop good pitching.  That problem just continues to be an issue when the team moves its best pitching prospect.

None of these events individually create problems, but combined together and added to the fact that Andrew Benintendi and Yoan Moncada are knocking on the Major League door means that Boston may be suffering organizationally in a few years with a lack of prospects.  There are still good prospects in the system now that won't be quite ready in a couple of years: Jason Groome, Michael Kopech, Josh Ockimey, and Roniel Raudes come to mind.  I am just concerned how the last year's events may cause the organization to suffer somewhat.    

The Red Sox Solo All Stars

Growing up in the early 1990's, the Boston Red Sox were not real great, so the All Star Game was one of my favorite events of the season.  It was a chance to see some of my favorite players on a national stage.  I am not as thrilled by the All Star Game as I used to be, but I still enjoy watching it.

One of the rules that I always thought was interesting was the rule that said every team had to be represented.  I am not sure if all All Star Games have that rule, but it has always been an aspect that I have enjoyed.  I think it is important so that all fans have someone they can watch.  But it has lead to some bizarre choices at times.  Players like Mark Redman, Derrick Turnbow, Mike Williams, and others have been their teams only representatives and were odd, to say the least.  But not all sole representatives have been that regrettable.  Some have been superstars that have been an All Star many times.  Some have been players having great seasons for bad teams.

I thought it would be interesting to look at the Red Sox players who have been the only All Star for the team that game (some years there were two All Star Games).  I have created four categories for the solo All Star: Superstars who have been frequent All Stars, fan favorites, players having one fantastic season, and players who did not deserve to be All Stars.

SUPERSTARS
These are players who were terrific players and it is not embarrassing at all for them to be the sole Red Sox representative.

David Ortiz (2012)
2012 was a bad year for the Red Sox, as most seasons in which Boston had only one All Star were.  But 2012 was especially bad.  A number of high profile players were not producing, but Ortiz was.  Ortiz of course was one of the best hitters in the game and has been an All Star ten times.  He was on the verge of a terrific season, unfortunately he went down with an injury quickly in the second half.

Manny Ramirez (2001)
Manny came over to the Red Sox as a very high profile free agent prior to the 2001 season.  He had been an All Star with Cleveland four times already.  He would go to eight All Star Games with the Red Sox.  He was really their only choice as Nomar Garciaparra and Pedro Martinez both went down with injuries for most of the year and Jason Varitek broke his elbow the month before, or he might have gone.

Nomar Garciaparra (1997)
It was Nomar's rookie season, but what a rookie season it was.  Nomar had one of the greatest rookie seasons of all time, leading the league in hits and triples while hitting over .300, blasting 30 home runs, and stealing 22 bases.  And all of this from the leadoff spot.  It may have been his rookie year, but it was clear Nomar was a star.  He would picked for five All Star games with the Red Sox, and one with the Dodgers.  Mo Vaughn was injured for a big chunk of the 1997 season and Nomar was the only real choice.

Mo Vaughn (1996)
It is mostly forgotten now, but Mo Vaughn was a huge star at the time.  He was coming off of an MVP season in 1995, and he was possibly even better in 1996, hitting more than 40 home runs for the first time and hitting well over .300.  Vaughn was an All Star three times for Boston, but may have gone to more had first base not been such a loaded position in the American League at the time.

FAN FAVORITES
These are players that are good, occasionally great, but always favorites of the fans.  These players are also not embarrassing.

Dwight Evans (1981)
I believe Evans belongs in the Hall of Fame.  Even so, Evans was not really a superstar, particularly at this point in time, and he was only an All Star three times.  The big Red Sox stars were Carl Yastrzemski and Jim Rice.  Evans was en route to tying for the league lead in home runs and walks.  He was always a good player and was known to hit 20 home runs and win the Gold Glove.  Evans was Boston's best choice that season, but Carney Lansford should have gone, as he was on his way to winning the batting title.

Pete Runnels (1962)
Runnels won the batting title in 1960 and was on his way to winning it in 1962 as well.  He was Boston's sole representative in the second All Star Game of the 1962 season.  The early 1960's were bleak times for Boston.  Ted Williams had already retired and Carl Yastrzemski had not fully developed into a star at the time.  There were not really any better options that season.  Runnels would be an All Star three times as well for Boston.

Bill Monbouquette (1962)
The first All Star game in 1962 did not go much better for Boston as only Monbo was picked.  Monbouquette top starting pitcher in the early 1960's and went to three games for the Red Sox himself.  1962 was not his best year, but he did end up winning 15 games with a 3.33 ERA and pitched a no hitter.  He also lost 13 but that can be more attributed to how bad the team was, rather than an indictment of Monbouquette.

Rick Ferrell (1933-1934)
Yes, Ferrell is in the Hall of Fame, but I will still not go so far as to suggest that he was a superstar player.  Ferrell had been one of the first major acquisitions by Tom Yawkey after taking over the team.  He was picked up during the season from the Browns and was Boston's first All Star, and their only representative in the first two games.  Boston had been very bad for a long time and had no other real choices in 1933.  Billy Werber or brother Wes Ferrell could have joined him in 1934 though.  Ferrell was an All Star four times with the Red Sox and twice with the Senators.

ONE-YEAR WONDER
These players had a terrific season one time, but never again.  Again, this is not an embarrassment.

Don Schwall (1961)
Schwall was the Rookie of the Year in 1961 and was the team's only All Star in the second game of the year.  Schwall would win 15 games that season and have an ERA of 3.22.  Again the early 1960's were kind of a black hole for Boston.  Runnels could have been an All Star again, but there were not really any other choices to join Schwall.

WHAT THE HELL?
These players were only named All Stars because the team needed a representative and the way the roster was constructed led to these players.  It is kind of hard to be excited for these players being your team's All Star.

Brock Holt (2015)
It was some creative thinking that led to Brock Holt being Boston's only All Star in 2015.  Holt is a decent enough player, and I really like him, but he is at his best when he is a utility player.  He is a contact hitter that can play a number of positions.  And that is why he was selected.  Ned Yost, manager of the All Star Game, had to pick a Red Sox player and picked Holt for his versatility.  He ended up playing in the outfield in the game.  David Ortiz would have been a more reasonable selection.

Scott Cooper (1993-1994)
I have said before that Scott Cooper is one of the worst players to be named to the All Star Game multiple times.  Cooper was picked by Cito Gaston to be Boston's sole representative in both seasons and it had more to do with a lack of third base options than anything.  In both seasons Mo Vaughn would have been a better selection.  Boston also had decent seasons from Danny Darwin and John Valentin in those years.  Cooper was no more than an average hitter, hitting around .280 both seasons.  His power picked up a little in 1994 as he hit 13 home runs that season, as opposed to 9 in 1993.

Mike Fornieles (1961)
And finally we have yet another solo All Star from one of two games in the early 1960's.  Mike Fornieles had a terrific season as a reliever in 1960, but he was not nearly as good in 1961.  He saved 15 games but had a record of 9-8 and an ERA that ballooned more than two full runs from what it was the previous season.  Relievers frequently appear as the solo All Star for teams.  This was the only year that that happened to Boston.

Hanley

Just a one-card mailday today and it is this jersey relic of Hanley Ramirez.  Ramirez has been terrific defensively at first base, but he has not been the offensive force that Boston hoped they were getting when they signed him to a large contract prior to the 2015 season.  Every once in awhile he shows flashes of getting it back.  Hopefully he does in the second half, Boston could use his bat.

Red Sox with No Cards: 1999

1999 saw a handful of players not receive cards.  Only a couple of these players spent a significant amount of time with the Red Sox, but some of them were once well-known players.

KIRK BULLINGER

Despite being drafted in 1992, Bullinger did not make his Major League debut until 1998.  That debut occurred with the Expos who acquired him in a trade back in 1995 for Ken Hill.  Bullinger returned to the Majors with the Red Sox in 1999 but only appeared in four games in relief.  He had a 4.50 ERA and did not strike anyone out.  Bullinger would bounce around a bit for a few more years.  The only year he came close to being a regular was in 2004 with the Astros.  Bullinger does have some minor league cards with the Red Sox.

BRYCE FLORIE

Acquired at the trading deadline in 1999 from the Tigers for Mike Maroth, Florie was expected to help stabilize the bullpen.  Florie had bounced around from team to team over the previous several seasons and was a serviceable reliever.  He pitched in 14 games down the stretch for the Red Sox, starting two games and relieving in the others.  He finished the season 2-0 with a 4.80 ERA over 30 innings.  The Red Sox would hold onto Florie into 2001.  In 2000, he suffered a career-threatening injury when he was struck in the face by a line drive.  Despite spending parts of three seasons with the Red Sox, Florie has no cards with Boston, or even with any minor league affiliates.

CHAD FONVILLE

Fonville was a speedy middle infielder who never really seemed to be able to put everything together and stick in the Major Leagues.  His best season was his rookie season in 1995 which he split between the Expos and Dodgers and stole 20 bases.  He was given a chance to start the next season, but disappointed and never played in more than a handful of games the rest of his career.  He surfaced in Boston in 1999 and played in three games.  He walked twice but did not register a hit in four plate appearances, though he did steal a base.  It was his last taste of the Major Leagues.  Fonville does have some minor league cards with the Red Sox.

KIP GROSS

Kip Gross is a Nebraska native and fellow former Cornhusker.  Unfortunately, he also has no cards with the Red Sox.  Gross came up with the Reds in the early 1990's and was a decent relief pitcher for them in 1991.  He was traded to the Dodgers the next season in the deal that also sent longtime Reds star Eric Davis to Los Angeles.  He was a little disappointing there and was purchased by the Nippon Ham Fighters of the Japanese league during the 1994 season.  He returned to the U.S. after signing a contract with Boston in 1999.  Gross appeared in 11 games, going 0-2 with a 7.82 ERA.  He pitched for the Astros in 2000 and never again appeared in the Major Leagues.

MARK GUTHRIE

Winning the award for most appearances with the Red Sox without appearing on a piece of cardboard with them in 1999 is this longtime Twins and Dodgers reliever.  Guthrie signed with the Red Sox as a free agent prior to the season and appeared in 46 games with the Red Sox, picking up two saves and a 1-1 record.  His ERA was a rather unsightly 5.83.  Guthrie was sent to the Cubs at the August trading deadline along with prospect Cole Liniak in exchange for Rod Beck.  Guthrie pitched a few more years for a number of other teams.

JON NUNNALLY

Once a top prospect with the Royals, Nunnally never quite reached his potential and ended up being a journeyman outfielder.  He had a good rookie season, hitting 14 home runs for Kansas City in 1995.  After a couple of disappointing seasons, he was traded to the Reds, for whom he flourished in 1997, but again disappointed in 1998.  He was traded to the Red Sox prior to the 1999 season for minor leaguer Pat Flury.  He played in just ten games for the Red Sox, hitting .286 with a double and an RBI.  After the season, he was traded to the Mets for Jermaine Allensworth, who never appeared in a Major League game with the Red Sox.  Nunnally does have a couple of minor league cards for Red Sox affiliates.

MARINO SANTANA

Santana is the most obscure player from this post.  His Major League career spanned two seasons and just ten games.  He first appeared in seven games for the Tigers at the age of 26 in 1998, but had an impressive 3.68 ERA.  Boston picked him up prior to the 1999 season and he spent most of the year in the minors.  He pitched in three games for the Red Sox in July but had an alarming 15.75 ERA.  He did strike out four in four innings.  He was out of baseball after 1999.  He does have minor league cards with the Red Sox.

LENNY WEBSTER

Once a highly-regarded catching prospect for the Twins, Webster only once played in more than 100 games.  Webster bounced around a lot, playing for the Twins, Expos (three times), Phillies, Orioles, and Red Sox.  He had his biggest success in 1998 with the Orioles, hitting .285 with 10 home runs in 108 games.  He started the 1999 season with the Orioles, but was released in July and picked up by the Red Sox.  He played in just six games for Boston and never registered a hit in 17 plate appearances.  He returned to the Expos for the third time after the season.

BOB WOLCOTT

Bob Wolcott was another formerly highly-touted prospect.  Wolcott was 21 when he made his Major League debut with the Mariners.  Unfortunately he never had an ERA below 4 and the Mariners eventually gave up on him.  He was still young, just 25, when he appeared for the Red Sox but was with his third Major League team.  He appeared in just four games with the Red Sox, with an 8.10 ERA and more walks than strikeouts.  That was it for his Major League career.  Wolcott does have one minor league card with Boston.

Most of the players appearing in this post are somewhat understandable.  Mark Guthrie really should have appeared at some point, and Bryce Florie should have been able to appear once over the course of the three seasons he played for Boston.  But the player I most wanted to appear on a card with the Red Sox is Kip Gross.  Gross was one of just three former Nebraska Cornhuskers to play for Boston, and only one of them (Adam Stern) ever appeared on cardboard with Boston.  Gross was also from Nebraska.  It is disappointing to not be able to get Red Sox cards of a player from my home state.

One-Year Wonder Pt. 28: Jamie Moyer

Every once in awhile, the Red Sox pick up a veteran player for a year, or just the stretch run that was a star at one point that I become fascinated with. It's a player that is basically only a role player at that point in their career, but may show flashes of their old brilliance. It's so unusual to see them as a member of the Red Sox, that I try to find as many of their cards as possible. This series will be about some of those players.

Jamie Moyer had a career that spanned 25 seasons, an incredibly long time.  He made his Major League debut in 1986 at the age of 23 with the Chicago Cubs.  He appeared for the final time in 2012 with the Rockies at the age of 49.  Very few pitchers were ever able to pitch to that age.  In between, he spent time with the Rangers, Cardinals, Orioles, Red Sox, Mariners, and Phillies.  He enjoyed his most success with the Mariners.  It is often forgotten that he had spent some time with the Red Sox, mostly because it was so brief.

Moyer was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox from the Orioles prior to the 1996 season in order to help stabilize the rotation.  Moyer was a crafty left-hander and was capable of starting and pitching out of the bullpen, and he did perform both roles well with Boston in his short time.  He pitched in 23 games for the Red Sox, starting ten and relieving 13.  He had a terrific record of 7-1 with a 4.50 ERA in 90 innings en route to leading the league in winning percentage that season.  Unfortunately the Red Sox were not doing much by the time the trading deadline came around that season and Moyer was in high demand.  Boston ended up shipping him to Seattle in exchange for young outfielder Darren Bragg.  That ended up being a regrettable trade as Moyer was a very good pitcher for several years for the Mariners, while Bragg was merely a serviceable outfielder.  Meanwhile Boston continued to have a dearth of pitching for several seasons.

Jamie Moyer was a memorable player due to the extreme length of his career.  He had a very brief tenure with the Red Sox, but it was a successful one.

Topps Now: June 23, 2016

I have been pretty busy lately, hence the lack of regular posting.  Here is the latest Topps Now card to grace my mailbox.  Xander Bogaerts hit a walk-off single in the 10th inning against the White Sox.  Of course it was the only game in a four game set that Boston won.  Xander is no longer leading the league in hits and batting average, but he is still having a very good season and was recently voted to start at shortstop in the All Star game.  He is joining five of his teammates.

Topps Now: June 17 and June 19, 2016

Things have been looking grim for Boston of late.  They have been losing a lot, mostly due to problems with their starting rotation, though their offense has not been as impressive lately.  The draft went well for the Red Sox, in particular getting Jason Groome at #12, but to this date they have yet to officially sign him.  Then yesterday came the news that they violated the rules of the international free agency and had five contracts voided and were banned from signing anyone this year.  Tough month.

Thankfully, a couple of Topps Now cards came in to remind me of good things.  Up first is the June 17 card celebrating David Ortiz's 521st home run, which tied him with three legendary Hall of Famers: Frank Thomas, Willie McCovey, and Boston's own Ted Williams.

Then came the Father's Day card.  Teams wore special uniforms to celebrate the day.  I may have to find a Red Sox cap because I love the ice blue coloring.  Mookie Betts appears on this card for the Red Sox after hitting a go-ahead home run in the 7th inning.  Kenta Maeda of the Dodgers and Carlos Santana of the Indians also appeared.

Hopefully Boston will turn things around.

The Week in Red Sox Cards

I have fallen behind again.  It has been a long, rough week at work.  Boston has not been playing particularly well lately, but that does not really stop me from accumulating cards.  This week I have received a number of trade packages, I have also picked up a box of Topps Series 2, and even added some Jason Varitek cards to my collection:

This first scan mostly consists of some Panini needs.  What is interesting is that a couple of these lesser-known players actually made it back to the Majors recently.  Deven Marrero has been playing the infield a little but lately as Travis Shaw has been slumping and to get some rest for Dustin Pedroia and Xander Bogaerts.  Bryce Brentz was recalled for the first time since 2014 due to injuries to Brock Holt, Blake Swihart, and Chris Young.  Guess that Rusney Castillo assignment was a little short-sighted.

And some more stuff.  I got two of the Archives cards with the 1991 design, and they do not disappoint, particularly the Ted Williams which is actually a different photo.  And of course I really like the Xander Bogaerts Diamond King.  I have always enjoyed the Diamond Kings.  Bogaerts is a worthy choice.

And this closes out the first batch of trades with some nice parallels of lesser favorite players Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Tom Gordon, and an awesome insert of Jacoby Ellsbury.  I liked these Starting Points inserts.  A nice look back at the origins of some good players.

My Topps Series 2 blaster did not produce too many Red Sox.  Future Star cards of Blake Swihart and Eduardo Rodriguez, two players that have had more downs than ups recently.  Also this duo checklist card of David Ortiz and David Price.

And today's new cards includes a couple of wantlist hits, including top prospect Yoan Moncada, who could be knocking at the door of the Majors soon.  And then, four new Jason Varitek cards.  I was surprised I did not have any of these honestly.  I now have 888 Varitek cards.  Not bad at all.

One Card Wonder Pt. 30: Ed Sprague

When we were growing up, my little brother was a Toronto Blue Jays fan.  He stopped paying attention before becoming a teenager, for reasons that I don't really know.  Maybe it was tough to be a Blue Jays fan in the mid to late 90's.  He went through a number of different favorite players: Roberto Alomar, Joe Carter, and John Olerud, before being a Carlos Delgado fan.  One of his other favorites was third-baseman Ed Sprague.

Sprague had some decent years with the Blue Jays, in particular in 1996.  That year, he hit 36 home runs and drove in 101 runs.  But other than power, Sprague was simply not a very good hitter.  He was eventually traded to the Athletics in 1998, which was one of the last years that my brother followed the team.  At that point, Sprague started bouncing from team to team with varying levels of success.  He was an All Star with the Pirates in 1999 when he turned in a decent year.  In 2000, he started the year off with the Padres.  He also finished the year with the Padres, but he spent a brief amount of time in the middle of the season with the Red Sox.

In 2000, the Red Sox were coming off of two straight seasons of making the postseason, but they were having some difficulties, particularly with regard to pitching and third base.  Incumbent third-baseman John Valentin was dealing with nagging injuries that limited him to 10 games that season.  Top prospect Wilton Veras was proving to be a bust.  Even Sean Berry was given a one-game shot.  Finally, Manny Alexander was a utility player at best.  Boston attempted to fill their hole at third by acquiring Sprague from the Padres for shortstop prospect Cesar Saba and pitching prospect Dennis Tankersley.  Sprague was not the answer either.

Sprague spent less than two underwhelming months with the Red Sox, playing in just 33 games and hitting .216/.293/.306 with two home runs and nine RBIs.  It was a disappointment and did not help Boston with their problems.  Eventually, their problem was solved when Lou Merloni was brought back as he had the best season in his career.  So, Sprague was no longer necessary and he was released shortly thereafter.  Sprague returned to the Padres.

Luckily, neither of the players that Boston gave up in the Sprague deal did anything.  Saba never made it to the Majors, despite being a highly touted prospect.  Tankersley had brief stints in the Majors over three seasons, but never did much and finished with a 7.61 ERA and a 1-10 record.  However, getting to Merloni meant that Boston had to make some room on the 40 man roster and they were not quite ready to give up on Sprague, so they had to place a young infielder named David Eckstein on waivers.  And that is how Eckstein ended up with the Angels, a fairly big blunder.

Despite Spragues's short tenure in the middle of the season, Topps Heritage saw fit to include him as a short-printed card pictured with the Red Sox, even though he finished the season with San Diego.  I was shocked by this when I found it out, and I had to add Sprague's only Red Sox card to my collection.

A Pile of 2016 Cards and Topps Now

A couple of trade packages came in the last two days, as well as two Topps Now cards.  Boston has been slipping a little bit of late, but hopefully they will get back on track.

I love the Topps Archives Xander Bogaerts card.  I have mentioned before how much I like the 1991 Topps subset.  The photography is excellent, and this Bogaerts card shows why.  If you look a little closer, the bat has actually broken, but has not completely separated yet.  I also really like the Diamond Kings cards, this Betts card has a decent action shot.

I love the fact that Panini has included Dom DiMaggio in the Diamond Kings set.  Panini has included a number of lesser-known players from eras gone by.  DiMaggio, of course, still holds the team's record for longest hitting streak, despite being challenged this year by Jackie Bradley Jr.

After that, we have two Topps Now Mookie Betts cards that were released on consecutive days.  On Day 1, Mookie became the first Red Sox leadoff batter to hit three home runs in a game.  The next day, he hit two more home runs, tying a record for five home runs in consecutive games.

Topps Now: May

Somehow this one beat two other Topps Now cards that were released before it.  Hopefully those other two will make it soon.  This card shows the two Players of the Month for May.  Jackie Bradley Jr. won it for the American League, mostly on the strength of his 29 game hitting streak and hit eight home runs for the month.  Daniel Murphy did some stuff too, but I don't pay as much attention to the National League.

A New Starting Lineup and a Carlos Quintana Oddball

It was kind of a weird day today.  I received two packages in the mail, both of which contained items for a couple of my favorite under-the-radar players from the teams from the late 1980's and early 1990's, when I became a fan.

Up first is this oddball Carlos Quintana:

This is a Pre-Production Sample of Quintana, who is the player on the right (Bob Zupcic is on the left).  This picture was not used in the regular Topps set, instead it was a more focused shot of Quintana catching a pop-up.  Something that is really strange about this card, that I cannot explain, is that I have a Pre-Production Sample, but the color scheme is the same as the regular Topps set.  This one has the orange triangle containing the player name.  I have no explanation for the difference, but I don't really care either.  This is a new Quintana card for my collection.  I have mentioned many times that Quintana was one of my favorite players early on, despite the fact that he was nowhere close to being a star.  

And then we have this:

I don't pick up as many Starting Lineups these days anymore, but I will make an exception for unusual players, and Jody Reed definitely qualifies.  This one was more of a regional release and was hard to find around here.  Adding to the appeal is the fact that this contains two cards.  Jody Reed was another underrated favorite player.  Reed was a steady defensive middle infielder who had some doubles power and was a prototypical #2 hitter.  He hit 40 doubles three seasons in a row, including tying for the league lead in 1990.  He was a pretty good player that played in the shadows of his more famous teammates.

Red Sox in Cooperstown Pt. 20: George Kell

GEORGE KELL
Years in Boston: 1952-1954 (.305/.383/.451, 18 home runs, 123 RBIs)
Best Year in Boston: 1953 (.307/.383/.483, 12 home runs, 73 RBIs)

Another player that spent just a brief amount of his Hall of Fame career in Boston was third-baseman George Kell.  Third base is an under-represented position in the Hall, but Kell is a borderline selection at best anyway.  He had his best seasons with the Tigers, a team itself that is somewhat under-represented, and was traded to Boston at the age of 29.  He was acquired during the season in 1952, along with Dizzy Trout and others for Red Sox fan favorites Johnny Pesky and Walt Dropo, plus a few other players.  Previously, Kell was mostly known to Red Sox fans for barely beating out Ted Williams for the batting title in 1949, costing him his third Triple Crown.

Kell was acquired after playing 39 games with the Tigers in 1952.  He made the All Star team that first season and he hit .319/.390/.453.  Kell was never really known for his power.  He hit seven home runs for the season, with six of them coming for Boston.

1953 was Kell's best season with the Red Sox and represented his career high in home runs, the only time he hit double digits.  Kell garnered some minor MVP consideration and made the All Star team again as he hit .307/.383/.483.  He hit 12 home runs and drove in 73 runs.  He also hit 41 doubles, the second most he hit in his career.  Always difficult to strike out, Kell was punched out just 22 times over the season, while he walked 52 times.

Kell started the 1954 season slowly, hitting just .258 with no home runs in 26 games before he was traded to the White Sox for Grady Hatton and some money.  Kell rebounded somewhat and ended up making the All Star team again.

George Kell is one of three Red Sox third-basemen in the Hall of Fame, and he is the most borderline of the three candidates.  Kell played parts of three seasons for the Red Sox, but only one full season.  That season was impressive enough and was one of his better seasons, but most of his productive seasons came with the Tigers.

1991 Topps #731: Jeff Gray

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

It is a little surprising that Jeff Gray's first Major League cards are in 1991 sets.  He appeared briefly for the Reds in 1988, pitching in five games and pitching fairly well.  Sets featured a lot of cards back then, so it is kind of odd that not one of them included Jeff Gray.

Gray kind of came out of nowhere in 1990.  He had returned to the minor leagues in 1989 and then was traded to the Phillies as the player to be named later in a July trade.  He was released by the Phillies before the season and Boston picked him up soon after.  Gray was called up to Boston in June when the Red Sox needed a little bit of help with their bullpen.  Gray quickly became the primary setup man and stepped in as closer in August when Jeff Reardon went down with an injury.  He was an impressive find, going 2-4 with a 4.44 ERA, striking out 50 while walking just 15 in just over 50 innings.  He also picked up nine saves and pitched twice in the postseason.

Unfortunately, just as Gray was establishing himself as one of the top setup men in the game in 1991, he suffered a stroke in July.  He was 2-3 at the time with a 2.34 ERA.  Gray spent the rest of the season and the 1992 season recovering and then attempted to return to the Majors, but was not able to do so.  The stroke ended a promising career.  

Topps Now: May 24, 2016

With so many of these dropping lately, I honestly forgot about this one.  I was surprised to see it in the mail box.  This card celebrates Jackie making it to the halfway point for the all-time hitting streak record.  Unfortunately, he would only make it to one more game.  Bradley's streak ended at 29 games.  I never expected him to make it to Joe DiMaggio's record, but I was hoping he would be able to break the team record.  Dom DiMaggio's 34 game streak still stands as Boston's best.

"You Keep Using That Word. I Do Not Think it Means What You Think it Means."

That quote of course comes from The Princess Bride, one of the few decent chick flicks ever.  But I am not talking about the meaning of "inconceivable" here, I am specifically calling Topps out on their Fan Favorites autograph insert set.  And my evidence is this:

That's right: Carl Everett.  This is the red parallel and is numbered to 50.  Everett is the only Red Sox card in the Fan Favorites autograph set.  I applaud Topps for thinking outside the box here.  I never would have guessed Carl Everett would appear in this set.  Nevertheless, it is a new Red Sox card, a player I don't see much on cardboard anymore, and therefore, I had to get something.  Still, I would have preferred to see someone like Jason Varitek.

Everett spent two years in Boston from 2000 to 2001.  I was early in my college years at that time and I remember his stint very well.  And I have to say, he was pretty much the exact opposite of a fan favorite.  Now, I was something of a Carl Everett apologist, but even I could not keep coming to his defense, because it seemed that every few weeks, something else was going on.  He was missing the bus in Spring Training, getting into fights with teammates, coaches, managers, or reporters, headbutting umpires, and just generally making an ass of himself.  All of that could have been forgiven if he was hitting, but apart from a terrific first half of the 2000 season which saw him named to the All Star team, Everett was not hitting enough to make up for the issues.  He was eventually traded to the Rangers in a trade of bad contracts for Darren Oliver, who could not even finish his one season with Boston.  Everett did have one good season in 2000, and that is how I prefer to remember him, but it is very hard to forget "Jurassic Carl".

Two Archives Blasters

I was bored the other day and decided to spend some money.  Archives had come out the week before and I always enjoy this set.  This year though, there was some added incentive.  Sandy Alomar Jr. appears on a number of cards, including an insert and a Fan Favorites autograph.  Unfortunately I was not able to pull any Alomar cards.  I did pull these Red Sox cards:

There are three sets that Topps is using for the cards this year: 1979, 1953, and 1991.  All three sets can be seen in the above scan.  The 1979 design is not one of my favorites, but the 1953 set is considered a classic, and I am a huge fan of the 1991 set.  The 1953 cards in this set are mostly headshots, so they are kind of boring.  The 1991 cards are my favorites as they often have action shots.

Boston has a number of players in this set and I did reasonably well in pulling cards.  I would like to see Topps think outside the box a little and put in some lesser known players like Jason Varitek or Tim Wakefield.  They are fan favorites after all.  I also pulled 15 different Yankees cards.  Ugh.  Unfortunately I did not get my Alomar cards, and my only Red Sox were base cards.

Topps Now: May 20, 2016

There have been a lot of these lately.  One of the joys of this season has been watching some of Boston's young players develop into stars.  Jackie Bradley Jr. has always been a terrific defensive outfielder.  It has always been said that even if he can hit .250 with a little power, his defense would keep him in the lineup.  Well, he is doing much more than that.  He recently had his 29 game hitting streak snapped, but it was still going on the date this card celebrates.

Topps Now: May 14, 2016

On May 14, David Ortiz was a one-man wrecking crew against the Astros.  He hit a home run in the third inning.  He tied the game with a triple in the bottom of the ninth inning.  And to top it all off, he doubled home the winning run in the 11th.  This picture came from the celebration after the game-winning hit.  It was one of two times Ortiz came close to the cycle.  He was just missing a single in this game.

Topps Now: May 12, 2016

Up next from the Topps Now set comes this card featuring four of the Red Sox hottest hitters from a week that saw the team set a number of records for offense.  As the caption says, the Red Sox were the first team since 1950 to score 11 runs in four consecutive games.  Jackie Bradley Jr., Hanley Ramirez, Dustin Pedroia, and Xander Bogaerts were all big parts of the team's success.