A Couple of Trades

Time to show off some more trade packages.  These two were fairly interesting in that all of the cards included were older wantlist needs, rather than new stuff.  The player selection is mostly the usual suspect big-time stars, but that is not really a problem.  Sure I don't really NEED more cards of Nomar Garciaparra, but I do have those holes in my collection.

This first trade included three cards of Mo Vaughn that I still needed.  Vaughn was one of my early favorite players and I still enjoy finding cards of him.  How is it that he has not appeared as a Fan Favorite autograph yet?  The others are random cards of Curt Schilling, Manny Ramirez and of course, Nomar.

And here we have some more random cards.  This one features rare cameo appearances from Jamie Brown, Michael Bowden and Pokey Reese.  I was a big Pokey Reese fan during his brief time in Boston.  And I always had high hopes for Bowden, that just did not work out.  And then we have Manny, Pedro and David Ortiz. 

All of the cards in these two packages knocked stuff off of my wantlist.

Archives Blaster #2

I tried out another Archives blaster even though I am somewhat underwhelmed by this product this year.  More than likely, I will just get my Red Sox base cards and try to track down the Fan Favorites from this point period.  

It certainly does not help that I am not pulling many Red Sox cards.  I picked up the Mookie coin and honestly, these things simply do not appeal to me at all.  It will go in my collection, but if I hadn't gotten the card in a pack, I probably never would have gotten it.  I also pulled the Benintendi, which is my first of the 1975 design subset.  But again, this was a rather disappointing break.

ATLANTA BRAVES: 8
NEW YORK YANKEES: 4
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 4
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 4
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 4
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 3
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 3
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 3
BOSTON RED SOX: 2
CINCINNATI REDS: 2
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 2
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 2
MIAMI MARLINS: 2
NEW YORK METS: 2
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 2
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 2
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 1
COLORADO ROCKIES: 1
DETROIT TIGERS: 1
HOUSTON ASTROS: 1
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 1
MINNESOTA TWINS: 1
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 1
SEATTLE MARINERS: 1
WASHINGTON NATIONALS: 1
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 0
CHICAGO CUBS: 0
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 0
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 0
TEXAS RANGERS: 0

Yikes.  How did I pull EIGHT Braves cards?  That is insane. 

BOSTON RED SOX: 103
ATLANTA BRAVES: 98
NEW YORK YANKEES: 94
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 91
HOUSTON ASTROS: 88
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 86
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 80
NEW YORK METS: 78
CHICAGO CUBS: 77
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 75
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 69
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 69
WASHINGTON NATIONALS/MONTREAL EXPOS: 69
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 66
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 66
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 64
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 63
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 62
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 60

DETROIT TIGERS: 59
MINNESOTA TWINS: 59
SEATTLE MARINERS: 58
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 57
COLORADO ROCKIES: 56
CINCINNATI REDS: 54
MIAMI MARLINS: 54
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 53
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 50
TEXAS RANGERS: 48
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 47
OTHER: 16

With the massive Braves break, they pull within five cards of the Red Sox.  The Yankees also made up ground as the break was just okay for the Red Sox. 

Fan Favorites and a Pink Refractor

I mentioned in a previous post that I did not quite get everything from one deal.  Today, that last card made it to my mailbox:

It is a toss-up between Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers as to which player has been Boston's MVP this season.  I am inclined to lean toward Bogaerts personally because Devers has been a little more probe to slumping and his defense is still a work in progress.  That being said, Devers has been a terrific hitter this year and with his youth, could still get even better.  Hopefully Boston will make it a priority to hold on to him for years to come.  

Up next is a Fan Favorites parallel:

Dave Roberts never did a lot in Boston.  He played in just 45 games with the Red Sox down the stretch in 2004, yet he did something that completely changed the course of the 2004 ALCS by stealing second off of Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada.  That stolen base set up the greatest comeback in baseball history.  And for that one moment, Roberts is an absolute legend in Boston.

Incidentally, this photo comes from when he scored the tying run in the bottom of the 9th on a Bill Mueller single up the middle after stealing second.

One Year Wonder: Second Base Update

It has been a few years now since I did my All-Time One-Year Wonder post on second-basemen.  Well, last year a new player entered the fray and it is time to determine if he is good enough to unseat the winner of that post: Luis Alicea.

It is also time to show off my new card of this player, Ian Kinsler:

This is the 2018 Topps Update base variation of Kinsler.  It is not the most exciting of variations as it shows Kinsler with a glove instead of hitting.  But oh well.  It is still interesting enough.

Kinsler is a four-time All Star, with three of those seasons occurring with the Rangers and one with the Tigers.  At his best, he was right there along with Dustin Pedroia and Robinson Cano as the top second-basemen in the league.  Unfortunately, his career has been going downhill lately, which brings us to 2018.  Kinsler started the year with the Angels and had hit 13 home runs before being traded to the Red Sox for Ty Buttrey and Williams Jerez, two bullpen arms that have helped out a bit.  Kinsler was acquired in order to help replace the production of the injured Pedroia.  He played in 37 games down the stretch, but his batting line was a paltry .242/.294/.311 with just one home run and 16 RBIs.  He did hit well in the ALDS against the Yankees, collecting two doubles among four hits in 14 plate appearances and knocking in a pair of runs.  He did not do much else the rest of the postseason though.  Kinsler signed with the Padres as a free agent for 2019.  Kinsler's stint with Boston was notable for one thing: he won the Gold Glove Award, being the only one-year Red Sox second-baseman to do so.

So, is Kinsler the new front-runner for one-year Red Sox second-basemen?  Uh, no.  In fact, Kinsler probably falls way down on the list.  Among the players who performed better than Kinsler are Johnny Hodapp, Bill Cissell, Bobby Avila, Rey Sanchez, Todd Walker, Tony Graffanino, Mark Loretta, and of course Alicea.  So no, we definitely do not have a new leader at second base.  Kinsler's Gold Glove is impressive, but his hitting definitely fell short.  He does have one last thing though that none of the other second-basemen have and that is a World Series ring.

Zippy Zapped Again

I have been Zippy-Zapped again.  I will have a package out to you soon.

No Zippy-Zapping would be complete without minor league cards and a Sega Card Gen.  I love the Pedroia photo.  The Buchholz is a wantlist hit, so that's great.  Of particular note though are the minor league issues.  Gilberto Jimenez is a name to remember.  He has been tearing up the league and is now Boston's #6 prospect.  Decker is also a pretty decent prospect.

Also included was this weird thing.  I have no idea why this was there, but okay.  Thanks Kenny!

More Mail with a Buyback

Time for yet another mailday roundup.  

These were some random cards I picked up from a seller on Ebay.  The Brandon Workman was the centerpiece.  I am a big Workman fan this year as he has been one of the big stars of the bullpen this year.  And after years of toiling, it is great to see him step up.  The rest of the cards are mostly just random cards that caught my eye, though the Clemens and Sale cards were wantlist hits.

And next was a trade I made with a Mets fan that knocked off a bunch of wantlist hits, including adding a bunch of Devers cards.  But the highlight here is the buyback of George Scott from Heritage.  Scott would have been a favorite player if I was alive when he played for Boston.  I love adding his cards. 

Archives Blaster

I finally managed to find an Archives blaster.  This year's Archives is highlighting the 1993, 1975 and 1958 sets.  1993 was one of my early favorites and 1975 has a ton of fans.  I am not sure about 1958 though.  The only card from this set I previously had was the Jonny Gomes Fan Favorites auto, so there is a lot of ground to cover.

Here are the Red Sox I pulled:

Well, not great, but not terrible either.  The Williams is notable because he actually was in the 1958 Topps set.  I kind of like this shot better, though it shows an obviously much younger Williams.  Nomar is fine, but nothing special here.  I would have liked the Bobby Doerr card personally.  And no 1975 pulls is disappointing.

Here is the breakdown:
CHICAGO CUBS: 4
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 4
DETROIT TIGERS: 3
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 3
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 3
MINNESOTA TWINS: 3
NEW YORK METS: 3
NEW YORK YANKEES: 3
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 3
TEXAS RANGERS: 3
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 3
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 2
BOSTON RED SOX: 2
COLORADO ROCKIES: 2
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 2
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 2
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 2
SEATTLE MARINERS: 2
WASHINGTON NATIONALS (MONTREAL EXPOS): 2
ATLANTA BRAVES: 1
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 1
HOUSTON ASTROS: 1
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 1
MIAMI MARLINS: 1
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 1
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 1
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 0
CINCINNATI REDS: 0
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 0
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 0

Both of the Nationals cards were actually Expos, including a parallel from that insert set.  I would love to see the Expos return personally.

Here are the updated team totals:
BOSTON RED SOX: 101
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 91
ATLANTA BRAVES: 90
NEW YORK YANKEES: 90
HOUSTON ASTROS: 87
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 84
CHICAGO CUBS: 77
NEW YORK METS: 76
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 76
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 71
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 69
WASHINGTON NATIONALS/MONTREAL EXPOS: 68
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 67
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 63
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 63
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 62
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 62
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 60
DETROIT TIGERS: 58
MINNESOTA TWINS: 58
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 58

BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 57

SEATTLE MARINERS: 57
COLORADO ROCKIES: 55
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 52
CINCINNATI REDS: 52
MIAMI MARLINS: 52
TEXAS RANGERS: 48
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 47
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 44
OTHER: 16

Boston surpasses the century mark finally.  They are now ten cards above the second-place team, but the Yankees and Braves are coming. 

Mailday Roundup

Here is another mailday roundup showing off some cards that I have picked up in trades.  Many of them are wantlist hits.

This is an incomplete trade at this time.  One of the cards I was supposed to get was missing.  The other party said he would send out quickly though, so I am not complaining.  The highlights here are Ted Williams in his military uniform when he was a fighter pilot, a nice Prizm parallel of Chris Sale, and the Sam Travis card.  Travis is having a decent year trying to audition for a full-time job next season.  I also love the Eduardo Núñez card because I love any World Series highlight card from a year the Red Sox won.

I am not as active in getting Steven Wright cards due to his off-field issues and his injury problems any more, but he is a knuckleballer, so of course I have to try to get some stuff.

This trade filled a lot of older holes in my collection.  I love deals like that.  The cards date back to 1992 and nothing is more recent than 2003.  No, that 1993 Bowman Clemens is not cut in half, this is just a terrible scan.  The highlight is probably the Eckersley insert from 1999, after his second tour of duty in Boston.  But there are a lot of goodies in there: Canseco insert, Clemens highlight card, and Papelbon rookie card.

Mailday Roundup: Vintage, Fan Favorites, and More

Several packages came in the mail recently and I decided to throw them together into one post.  There is a wide assortment of stuff here.

1961 Fleer Baseball Greats Howard Ehmke.  I'm not sure Fleer knew what "Greats" meant with this set.  There are a number of out-of-leftfield picks and Ehmke is certainly one of them.  Ehmke had a 166-166 record and a 3.75 ERA playing mostly in the 1910's/1920's.  He was the best pitcher for the Red Sox for a few years and had a 20-win season.  He also threw a no-hitter.  I'm not 100% sure this card shows Ehmke with the Red Sox, but his socks appear to be red, so I'm counting it.

2019 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autographs.  When I saw this on the checklist, I knew I needed to grab it.  It was between it and the Jerry Remy, though I was somewhat disappointed to see that the Remy was not from his playing days with Boston, which also would have qualified.  Gomes had several big moments in the 2013 World Championship run and will always be remembered for that season.  I do wish Archives would go back to choosing years that are more representative for the players on their Fan Favorites cards.  2001 makes no sense, this should be a 2013 design.

This was a trade for some needed inserts from Heritage High Numbers.  Up first is the purple chrome refractor of Nathan Eovaldi.  Eovaldi is having a rough season but was a huge pickup last year.  Up next are a trio of Award Winners.  Mookie Betts was the AL MVP.  Steve Pearce was the World Series MVP, going down as an obscure winner.  And J.D. Martinez won the Hank Aaron Award for best hitter.  He is having a monster season this year too.

And finally, there is one big trade with mostly team set needs.  I love the JBJ card that shows the aftermath of an amazing catch.

And more singles.  There are a couple of World Series highlight cards here, including the moment the team won the World Series.

And last but not least, this Mitch Moreland card, which would not fit into the other scans.

Red Sox in Cooperstown Pt. 39: Joe McCarthy

JOE McCARTHY

Years in Boston: (1948-1950)

Best Year in Boston: 1948 (96-59)

I skipped a couple of managers that I will circle back to, mostly because I just got this card, so this post doubles as a mailday post.  This is the only Red Sox card of McCarthy to my knowledge, so I had to have it.

Joe McCarthy is in the Hall of Fame exclusively because of his managerial career.  He was not much of a player and did not even make the Major Leagues.  But he was one hell of a manager.  He started out managing the Chicago Cubs for five years.  In that time period, his teams never lost more than they won and he led them to the World Series in 1929 where they lost to the Philadelphia Athletics.  He was fired toward the end of the 1930 season and then joined the Yankees the next year where he enjoyed an unparalleled level of success.

McCarthy was the Yankees' manager from 1931 through 1946.  He saw the ends of the careers of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and the bulk of the Joe DiMaggio career.  His teams were an absolute juggernaut, going to eight World Series, and winning seven of them.  He retired as the winningest manager in Yankees' history.  He is still yet to be surpassed.  He lost his job in 1946, but was not unemployed long.  He signed on to manage the Boston Red Sox after a year away.

The Red Sox were also a terrific team during McCarthy's tenure.  In his first season, the Red Sox tied the Cleveland Indians for the American League lead during the 144-game regular season.  A one-game playoff was ordered.  But for some reason, McCarthy decided to start journeyman pitcher Denny Galehouse in the game instead of one of his aces, Mel Parnell or Joe Dobson.  Galehouse was roughed up early and Boston fell way behind.  It was a terrible decision.

The next season, the Red Sox finished with the exact same record as they did the year before (minus the one-game playoff), but again missed the World Series.  The problem this time was a close race with the Yankees.  Entering the final two games of the season, Boston needed to beat New York just one time to win the pennant.  Unfortunately, due to more managerial blunders, they lost both games.  Part of the problem was due to a lack of pitching.  Parnell and Ellis Kinder basically pitched everyday down the stretch. 

The 1950 season started strong, but the lack of pitching and McCarthy's drinking eventually did him in.  McCarthy retired for good.  He still boasts the highest all-time winning percentage as a manager.  With Boston, his winning percentage was .606.

McCarthy was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1957.  He wears a Yankees' cap on his plaque.  He certainly managed some good teams in Boston, but his inability to win it all is a black mark on his career.  His tactics were simply not good enough to win in Boston.  He will always be remembered as a Yankee. 

Two Trades, Two Aces

I finally got my tradelist updated and began working out some deals again.  It has been a long time and there are a LOT of holes in my collection from this year in particular.  I received two packages today and one of them helps with the 2019 needs.  The other one is much older, but still terrific.  Both packages contained a single card and both of them were cards of ace starting pitchers who helped the Red Sox to a World Series.

Here is the 2005 Topps Fan Favorites Autograph of Jim Lonborg, the Red Sox ace during the Impossible Dream season and Boston's first Cy Young Award winner.  I need to go back and pick up a bunch of the old Fan Favorites autos.  This Lonborg is awesome as it shows his high leg kick windup.  Lonborg unfortunately injured his leg skiing in the offseason after the 1967 season and was never quite as impressive again.

And this is the 2019 Topps Heritage short-printed Chris Sale card, who was the ace of the 2018 World Championship team.  Sale has not won a Cy Young Award, yet, but he has often been one of the best pitchers in the game.  That was certainly true last season.

Random Pack Breaks

I grabbed some random hanger packs and blasters recently when I had some money burning a hole in my pocket.  Not bad for Red Sox pulls, though Topps Chrome and Heritage High Numbers were total busts (again):

1.  Diamond Kings.  This is probably the best pull, since there were only 20 cards in that pack.  I pulled two Red Sox, including J.D. Martinez and Hall of Famer Tris Speaker.  I have been reading a lot of Red Sox books from the Deadball Era, so I definitely appreciate the Speaker card.  I need to start looking into adding some more vintage stuff to my collection.

2.  Bowman Platinum.  J.D. Martinez makes his second appearance.  This also featured a nice insert of top prospect Triston Casas.  Boston might have a decision to make soon since Casas plays third base, also known as the position Rafael Devers plays.

3.  Donruss Optic.  I pulled this Betts Highlights insert in the very first pack.  The rest of the box was disappointing.  Tons of Angels, including consecutive packs that featured two Shohei Ohtani inserts and then two Mike Trout inserts.  Still, out of 32 cards, I pulled a decent Red Sox insert.  Nothing to complain about.

Here is the breakdown:

LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 9
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 9
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 9
HOUSTON ASTROS: 7
ATLANTA BRAVES: 6
CINCINNATI REDS: 6
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 6
NEW YORK YANKEES: 6
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 6
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 6
BOSTON RED SOX: 5
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 5
SEATTLE MARINERS: 5
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 4
CHICAGO CUBS: 4
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 4
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 4
MINNESOTA TWINS: 4
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 3
COLORADO ROCKIES: 3
NEW YORK METS: 3
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 3
WASHINGTON NATIONALS: 3
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 2
DETROIT TIGERS: 2
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 2
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 2
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 2
MIAMI MARLINS: 1
TEXAS RANGERS: 0

Good breaks for L.A. teams.  Bad for the Texas Rangers. 

And the updated team totals:
BOSTON RED SOX: 99
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 91
ATLANTA BRAVES: 89
NEW YORK YANKEES: 87
HOUSTON ASTROS: 86
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 80
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 74
CHICAGO CUBS: 73
NEW YORK METS: 73
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 68
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 66
WASHINGTON NATIONALS/MONTREAL EXPOS: 66
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 64
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 62
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 62
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 61
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 60
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 59
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 57
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 56
DETROIT TIGERS: 55
MINNESOTA TWINS: 55
SEATTLE MARINERS: 55
COLORADO ROCKIES: 53
CINCINNATI REDS: 52
MIAMI MARLINS: 51
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 50
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 46
TEXAS RANGERS: 45
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 42
OTHER: 16

Quite a bit a movement here.  The Red Sox fall just short of being the first team to 100.  They lose ground on the second place team, now the Angels though.

The Price was Right

Just a one-card mailday to show off.  This is the Topps Utz card of David Price, available in specially-marked packages of chips.  This was an Eastern U.S. regional release where the chips are sold.  I neither live in the Eastern part of the U.S., nor eat chips, so I had no hope of pulling one of these on my own.  I had to buy one on Ebay.  Price is not the only Red Sox player in the set, but this was the card I preferred.  I have developed a soft spot for Price after last year's World Series. 

The Jason Varitek Quest for 1,000: #937

Jason Varitek card #937 is the 2019 Topps Allen & Ginter Mini Red parallel.  This card is serial-numbered 2/5, an exceptionally rare parallel.  Obviously my Jason Varitek collection consists of a number of 1/1s and several more cards numbered out of five, so it is not an exceedingly rare card for my collection.  It is however one of the rarer cards I have picked up since his retirement.  Things slowed way down back then.  I am still at it though.

The Worst Red Sox Team of All Time Pt. 13: Regis Leheny

Failure is often even more fascinating than success. I am definitely intrigued by the 1932 Boston Red Sox, the worst Red Sox team of all time. The team finished with a record of 43-111, for a winning percentage of .279 and very little went right.

Remember when I said that Larry Boerner was one of the most obscure members of the 1932 Red Sox?  Well, boy do I have one that blows that out of the water.  Regis Leheny, who does appear to be the only Major League player to ever be named "Regis", pitched in just two games in his entire Major League career.  In those two games, he pitched 2.2 innings.  That's it.  And, he does not appear to have any minor league experience either.  So this is it.

Leheny was 24 years old in 1932 and was brought to the Majors as a left-handed reliever for two consecutive games in late May.  He pitched two-thirds of an inning in the first game and gave up four runs to the Athletics on three hits and two walks.  The next day, he pitched two innings against Washington and was considerably better, giving up one run on two hits and a walk, and he notched his only Major League strikeout.  He did not figure in either decision.  His ERA was an unsightly 16.88 and his WHIP was 3.000.  Not great.

That was it.  That was Leheny's entire career.

Another Total Red Sox Update

I had to grab this card.  Sure it's a one-card mailday of a player who has not been very good this season, but it is a player that had zero previous Red Sox cards:

This is Colten Brewer, who was the only player Boston picked up in the offseason that has made any impact on the Major League roster at all.  Brewer was expected to be a major weapon in the bullpen.  It has not quite worked out that way as he has had some control issues, but he could still improve.  Oftentimes the best bullpen arms do not emerge right away and Brewer definitely has some impressive stuff.

Lindor Set

I talked about the Francisco Lindor Topps online set the other day on my Sandy Alomar Jr. blog.  I bought two cards from the same seller, including the Alomar.  The Red Sox card was an easy choice:

Yep, current manager Alex Cora.  Honestly, I did not know what to expect with this card.  I was surprised to see Cora in the set at all.  I figured with the emphasis on Puerto Rican players, maybe the card would show him as a manager.  He is the first Puerto Rican manager to win a World Series after all.  But no, it shows him playing, and as a Red Sox player even though he was inarguably more successful as a Dodger.  I'm not complaining, I love adding cards like these of obscure and lesser-known players.

Topps Heritage High Number Blaster

I saw this staring at me at Walmart the other day and decided to take a chance on it.  I had never even checked out the checklist and did not know this was a thing.  But I knew if I pulled any Red Sox, they would not be duplicates, so that made the decision easy.

Eh, I did not do great.  The Betts insert is kind of neat and definitely a retro insert.  I like that Eovaldi was included.  I was kind of surprised he was not in the base set, but I guess they were waiting to see if he signed somewhere else.  Eovaldi is having a rough season.  Hopefully he turns it around.

Here is the breakdown:
COLORADO ROCKIES: 6
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 5
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 4
SEATTLE MARINERS: 4
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 3
CINCINNATI REDS: 3
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 3
MIAMI MARLINS: 3
NEW YORK YANKEES: 3
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 3
WASHINGTON NATIONALS: 3
ATLANTA BRAVES: 2
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 2
BOSTON RED SOX: 2
CHICAGO CUBS: 2
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 2
HOUSTON ASTROS: 2
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 2
NEW YORK METS: 2
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 2
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 2
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 2
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 2
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 2
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 2
DETROIT TIGERS: 1
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 1
MINNESOTA TWINS: 1
TEXAS RANGERS: 1
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 0

And the updated total:
BOSTON RED SOX: 94
ATLANTA BRAVES: 83
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 82
NEW YORK YANKEES: 81
HOUSTON ASTROS: 79
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 76
NEW YORK METS: 70
CHICAGO CUBS: 69
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 68
WASHINGTON NATIONALS/MONTREAL EXPOS: 63
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 60
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 59
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 59
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 58
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 58
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 55
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 55
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 54
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 54
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 53
DETROIT TIGERS: 53
MINNESOTA TWINS: 51
COLORADO ROCKIES: 50
MIAMI MARLINS: 50
SEATTLE MARINERS: 50
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 48
CINCINNATI REDS: 46
TEXAS RANGERS: 45
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 43
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 40
OTHER: 16

It seems likely Boston will be the first to 100.  They have an 11 card lead and are six cards away.  That's one good blaster or two to three fair ones. 

The Jason Varitek Quest for 1,000: #s 934-936

Here are three new additions to my Jason Varitek collection.  As I said recently, he has been appearing in sets this year. 

1.  2019 Topps Allen & Ginter X Mini.  This is the mini parallel from the online-only version of Allen & Ginter.

2.  2019 Topps Allen & Ginter Gold Border.  This is a parallel of the base card, which I still need to get.

3.  2019 Topps Diamond Icons Red Ink Autographs.  This is one of the better Varitek cards I have picked up in a long time.  Something about that red ink with the light-blue name plate just pops.  Plus it is numbered to just 25.  It also did not cost me nearly as much as I thought it would.  I am just thrilled to have it.

A Reminder of the Painful London Series

I would prefer not to remember the debacle that was the London Series against the Yankees.  Boston's pitching was apparently still operating on U.S. time.  Nevertheless, it was an opportunity for some new sets and I decided to add some of the rarer players to appear in one of the sets.

1.  Christian Vazquez.  One of the biggest surprises on the team this year, Vazquez homered in the second game and drove in four runs over the weekend. 

2. Steven Wright.  Despite his off-field problems, I still like Wright because he throws a knuckleball.  I think his Red Sox career is likely over after the season.  He pitched three innings over the weekend, giving up two runs in the first game and struck out three.

3.  Marco Hernandez.  I told you there would be another Hernandez card coming.  Hernandez doubled in the second game of the Series. 

The Series was rough, but adding cards of the above players is always welcome.