2014: Looking Back

It was kind of a bad year to be a Red Sox fan.  The BoSox finished in last place for the second time in three years, though the other year they won the World Series, so it is not so bad.  It was kind of a rough year for my collection too.  Not as many trades as I would have liked and a ton of cards left on my wantlist right now.

Nevertheless, there were some highlights.

BEST CARD FROM A PACK
This was a very bad year for pack pulls.  I probably bought more boxes with no Red Sox in them than in any other year.  It was particularly disappointing since 2013 was so good.  Anyway, here they are.  I could not decide between these two:

2014 Panini Prizm Red, White, & Blue David Ortiz

One of three retail-only parallels from a special pack bought from Target, this is the first time one of those packs worked for me.

2014 Topps Update SP Mookie Betts

Easily one of my favorite players of the year and one of the most exciting to look forward to next year.  This was a great pull for me.

BEST CARD SOMEONE SENT ME UNSOLICITED
I will have to break this one up between two people who sent a number of packages to me this year.

Zippy Zappy Edition
1961 Fleer George Pipgras

I have never owned a card from this set before and Pipgras is such a unique player to be depicted in a Red Sox uniform due to his very short stint in Boston.

Mark Hoyle Edition
1973 Topps Dwight Evans RC

Mark sent me a ton of great cards, but the rookie card of Dwight Evans blows them away.  Just a terrific card.

FAVORITE EBAY BUY
2012 Topps Commemorative Rings Babe Ruth

Gotta love the Babe.

FAVORITE CARD FROM A TRADE I EXPECTED
2014 Bowman Chrome Blue Refractor Mookie Betts

Yes, another Mookie.  Yes, he is that exciting.  I still can't believe I managed to trade so little for this card.

BEST CARLOS QUINTANA ADDITION
1991 Score Pepsi Carlos Quintana

Who else would be excited about a Carlos Quintana card?

BEST JASON VARITEK ADDITION
2013 Panini Hometown Heroes Sportdiscs

Varitek re-emerged in this set and it took me awhile to find some of these.

BEST PHOTO
2014 Stadium Club David Ortiz

What else?  One of the few Stadium Club Red Sox cards I have actually managed to get, this shot is terrific.

So that's it for now.  Hopefully next year will be a little bit better.

A Wantlist Hit

I made a trade to get the last of the 2013 Topps Heritage cards I needed.  Here is the 2013 Heritage Dustin Pedroia short print.

I am not sure Dustin would be proud of this shot.  It definitely showcases his receding hairline.  He has more hair on his face than on his head. 

"O" No, Another Red Sox Trade

I recently made a trade with Ryan who writes that Orioles blog.   He had opened a blaster of Topps Update and had better Red Sox luck than I have, pulling a Red Sox insert, so we organized a trade.  This is the one:

1.  2014 Topps Update World Series Heroes Jonathan Papelbon.  Papelbon was of course the closer in the 2007 World Series for the Red Sox and struck out Seth Smith to end the Series.  This was his reaction, a classic moment for Red Sox fans. 

Xander

I got this card in the mail today from a forum trade:

This is the 1989 Bowman is Back insert of Xander Bogaerts.  This was a card on my wantlist due to the retro design with a modern flare.  Also, Xander is one of my favorite newer players for the Red Sox.  Hopefully he will have a better season next year.

A Very Random Trade with an Indians Collector

I sent a bunch of Indians cards to a forum member and received the following batch of Red Sox cards in return:

1.  2014 Topps Allen & Ginter Xander Bogaerts.  A card off of my wantlist.  I am looking forward to a better season from the X-Man.

2.  2005 Absolute Memorabilia Blue Edgar Renteria.  Renteria was a player I really wanted Boston to sign after the 2004 season.  They did, but unfortunately he was pretty bad.

3.  2008 Bowman Chrome Refractor Mike Lowell.  2007's World Series MVP.

4.  2010 Bowman 1992 Throwback David Ortiz.  I have a goal currently of reaching 500 David Ortiz cards.  I am about 13 away.  Any help would be appreciated.

5.  2010 Bowman Topps 100 Josh Reddick.  I really liked Reddick, particularly for a walkoff game-winning single against Mariano Rivera in 2011.  Unfortunately he was traded to Oakland for Andrew Bailey, a trade which did not work out for Boston.

6.  2011 Bowman Topps 100 Garin Cecchini.  I suspect Cecchini is on the trading block.

7.  2011 Bowman Topps 100 Jose Iglesias.  I loved watching Iglesias at short, but with Xander around, he was not going to stick around.

8.  2012 Topps Blockbusters Josh Beckett.  This was a trade that worked out for both teams as Boston also got Lowell and the Marlins got Hanley Ramirez.

9.  2012 Topps Gold Sparkle Clay Buchholz.  Buchholz is the only holdover in the rotation from 2013.

10.  2012 Topps Gold Sparkle Adrian Gonzalez.  In his brief tenure with the Red Sox, Gonzalez won a Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, was an All Star, and came in second in the Home Run Derby.

11.  2012 Topps Gold Sparkle Kelly Shoppach.  Shoppach was supposed to be the next great Red Sox catcher in the mid 2000's, but with Varitek still playing well, he was expendable and was traded to the Indians in the Coco Crisp trade.  He returned in 2012 but was shipped to the Mets for Pedro Beato midseason.

A Holiday Zippy Zapping

Kenny from apparently Torren' Up Cards now, recently sent me a random package of cards. 

1.  2013 Sega Card-Gen Jonny Gomes.  I liked Jonny Gomes and it is disappointing that he was traded. 

2.  2013 Sega Card-Gen Dustin Pedroia.  Excellent looking photo here of Pedroia turning the double play.

3.  2005 Portland Sea Dogs Hanley Ramirez.  Yep, Hanley is back.  Pretty excited.

4.  Nomar Garciaparra flip book.  I remember when these came out and even think I saw this Nomar.  But I never picked it up.  I love this item.  A terrific oddball item to my collection.

Thanks Kenny!  I know I owe you some stuff.

Some Needed Topps Base from S.Mack Talk

I was recently contacted by Jimmy over at S.Mack Talk about a trade.  He is apparently a huge Shane Mack fan, a player who spent a brief and injury-riddled, but somewhat productive period with the Red Sox in 1997.  He offered to send me a bunch of Topps base cards I needed for my Red Sox collection for a couple of inserts.

1.  2014 Topps Update David Ross.  I love this shot of the backup catcher showing off his World Series Championship ring.

2.  2014 Topps Update Edward Mujica.  After a shaky start, Mujica started to settle in a little bit.  That will be big next year as he will be expected to be a major part of the bullpen.

3.  2014 Topps Update Allen Craig.  Craig is tradebait right now as having both him and Daniel Nava on the same team is a little superfluous, though Craig has the better history.

4.  2014 Topps Will Middlebrooks.  Middlebrooks is definitely at a crossroads.  He has failed to impress in each of the last two seasons after an explosive rookie season in 2012.  I will always remember him fondly for his two-homer game in Kansas City at the game my wife took me to in May, 2012 though.

5.  2014 Topps Mike Napoli.  Nap had another strong season in 2014 but missed a bunch of time with injuries.  He did take to first base seemlessly.

6.  2014 Topps Update Kelly Johnson.  Likely the only card Kelly Johnson will have with Boston.  He was acquired from the Yankees for Stephen Drew at the July trading deadline, then dealt to the Orioles for Jemile Weeks at the August trading deadline.  Although it is pretty cool to have a Red Sox card of him.

7.  2014 Topps David Ortiz.  Seriously, I need more Ortiz cards.

8.  2014 Topps A.J. Pierzynski.  Another short-lived Red Sox player.  Pierzynski was signed prior to the season then traded to the Cardinals in late Spring.

Thanks Jimmy!

A Random Trade

The following four cards arrived as a trade from the forums:

1.  2008 Stadium Club 1st Day Chris Carter.  Carter was acquired from the Nationals for Wily Mo Pena.  He is obviously not the same Chris Carter that currently plays for the Astros.  Carter played a total of 13 games over two seasons with the Red Sox and then 100 games for the Mets.  He has not been seen in the Majors since.

2.  2008 Upper Deck Superstar Scrapbook David Ortiz.  I think I need more Ortiz cards.  Hmm...

3.  2009 Topps Legends of the Game Tris Speaker.  I did a lot of thinking about whether to consider this a Red Sox card.  Speaker is wearing a Cleveland Indians uniform here.  But the back focuses exclusively on his time with the Red Sox in 1912.  I decided since there were no logos, the back would control.  But I am not thrilled about it.

4.  2010 Topps 206 Bronze Victor Martinez.  V-Mart re-upped with the Tigers this year after a monster season.  I liked him a little when he was in Boston but I never quite got over the fact that he forced Jason Varitek out of the starting lineup.  It was better for the team though and Varitek took it graciously.  Another sign of a true leader.

LCS Buys

I was in my hometown over Thanksgiving weekend and stopped by the local card shop that I used to visit all the time when I was growing up.  He had a few things for me:

1.  2013 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autograph Fred Lynn.  This was the last of the 2013 autographs that I needed from this set.  I loved the Fan Favorites set and wish Topps would make it its own set again.

2.  2013 Topps Blue Sparkle David Ortiz.  This card does not show up very well, but it is a nice-looking card in person.

3.  2013 Topps Archives Day Glo Will Middlebrooks.  Speaking of not showing up well.  This border is bright orange and barely shows at all here.

1st Allen Craig

A one-card trade brought me this blue Allen Craig parallel.  Craig was hurt for most of the time he was in Boston this year after coming over with Joe Kelly in the John Lackey trade.  Craig managed to hurt the Red Sox a little in the 2013 World Series, coming up with a big hit off of Koji in Game 3 and eventually scored the winning run on the Will Middlebrooks obstruction play.  His time in Boston will likely be brief as I suspect he will be traded.

Welcome Back to Boston Hanley Ramirez and Welcome Panda

Yes, this printing plate is mine.  I bought a bunch of Hanley Ramirez cards when he was in Boston's minor league system.  I was pretty excited about the guy.  Then he was traded.  While I love that Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell were instrumental in helping Boston win the World Series in 2007, I was disappointed that it cost them Hanley Ramirez.  It was worth it, it was just disappointing, especially when Ramirez was winning the Rookie of the Year in 2006 and neither Beckett nor Lowell were playing particularly well.  It paid off in 2007.  Now, Hanley is back and I am excited to see what he can do.  Hopefully he stays healthy.

Boston also signed Pablo Sandoval.  I advocated acquiring him several years ago, so I am happy they got him.  Sandoval will play third base and may eventually replace David Ortiz at DH.  Ramirez looks to be moving to left field.

Varitek Pickups

Jason Varitek has a bit of a tenuous hold on the title of Largest Player in My Collection.  Nomar Garciaparra has been showing up in a bunch of sets lately and is only trailing Varitek by about 20 cards.  Since Varitek does not appear in any sets, it would not be difficult for Nomar to catch up.  But the most serious threat is actually from non-Red Sox player Sandy Alomar Jr. who has skyrocketed to just below Nomar at this point.  And since I have been much more actively seeking Alomar cards, it is likely that he will take over some time soon.

On one of my Sandy Alomar binges over at COMC, I decided to add a couple of Jason Varitek cards:

1.  2009 Upper Deck Ballpark Collection Teammate Timelines Jason Varitek/Jonathan Papelbon.  Okay, so Papelbon appears here too.  Still, this only cost a couple of bucks and it is a double jersey card of two very important members of the 2007 World Champions.

2.  2009 Upper Deck Signature Stars Clover Blue Jason Varitek.  I love the camo chest protector.  Nice touch.  This is a nice, rarer card.  I used to love to get cards like this for my Varitek collection.

So that means I have 875 cards of Jason Varitek.  There are still cards I need out there, but it is unlikely that Varitek will remain in first place.  Too bad.  He had a good run.

2014 Topps Update Blaster Pt. 2

My second blaster produced some more Red Sox cards, including two brand-new players to my Red Sox collection and a couple cards of a great young player:

1.  Joe Kelly.  Tough to believe but Joe Kelly pitched a great game AGAINST the Red Sox in the 2013 World Series.  He is one of the few definite pitchers for the 2015 rotation.

2.  Mookie Betts.  The MLB debut card features Betts in Yankee Stadium.

3.  Mookie Betts.  THIS one is the image variation, one of my best pulls of the year for my Red Sox collection.

4.  Yoenis Cespedes.  I was excited about the Cespedes trade.  Unfortunately it appears short-lived as Cespedes may be traded this winter.

Stadium Club Break Results from Nachos Grande

I recently participated in the Stadium Club break over at Nachos Grande.  I had hoped for an autograph, since there would be six of them.  Unfortunately no luck with that one, but some nice photos and an Ortiz insert would be coming my way:

1.  2014 Stadium Club Mookie Betts.  Betts is one of the only rookies Boston called up who actually met expectations.  With the two new signings the Red Sox made, Betts's future is in doubt a little bit.  He will be in the mix for the right field/utility spot, or he could be traded.  Let's hope it is the former.

2.  2014 Stadium Club Koji Uehara.  Happier times.  This is after the last out of the World Series.

3.  2014 Stadium Club Luminous David Ortiz.  The best card from the lot is this die-cut insert of Big Papi.

4.  2008 Upper Deck Supreme Blue Josh Beckett.  Chris threw in some random cards as well.  This was the only one I did not have.

5.  2014 Stadium Club David Ortiz.  I love this card.  The selfie with Barack Obama after winning the World Series was a great moment and captured wonderfully here.

Thanks Chris!

Topps Update Blaster Pt. 1

I have picked up a couple of 2014 Topps Update Blasters recently and have had some good luck.  At least for number of Red Sox cards pulled.  This is counter to my luck the rest of the year in packs.  I like opening packs because of the risk, but this has been a frustrating year overall.

Here are the pulls from the first blaster:

 

1.  Brock Holt:  Holt was one of the few bright spots for Boston this year, helping to infuse a spark into the offense when he was called up.  Here he is bunting.

2.  Koji Uehara AS.  Uehara was one of just two All Stars for Boston this season.  He struggled down the stretch but will be back next season.

3.  Jonathan Herrera.  Herrera was acquired to be the utility infielder this season in a trade with Colorado that cost Franklin Morales.  Unfortunately, he could not hit at all.

4.  Jackie Bradley Jr.  Speaking of players that couldn't hit.  Bradley is exasperating because he is SOOOO good defensively.  He has always hit in the minors so hopefully he will come around, but it is looking less and less likely that it will be for Boston.

5.  Rubby De La Rosa.  One of the big pickups in the big trade with the Dodgers, De La Rosa is looking like a potential closer candidate in the future.

Stamps from Mark

Mark Hoyle continues to surprise me by sending me random packages of stuff.  Just recently he sent me this collection of 1983 Boston Herald stamps:

1.  Rich Gedman.  Geddy looks wasted in this shot.  He had a few great seasons from 1984-1986.

2.  Bruce Hurst.  One of the great, underrated pitchers of the 1980's.

3.  Luis Aponte.  I know next to nothing about Aponte other than that he was a middle reliever.

4.  Bob Ojeda.  Ojeda was one of many very good pitchers Boston developed in the 1980's.  Unfortunately two of the better ones, Ojeda and John Tudor, were traded away.

5.  Dick Radatz.  The Monster was one of the first great closers.

6.  Cy Young.  Of course, Young was one of the greatest pitchers who ever lived.

7.  Joe Cronin.  Cronin went from Hall of Fame baseball player to pennant-winning manager to general manager to American League president in his career.

8.  Jimmie Foxx.  The Beast was a pretty good mentor for Ted Williams and hit 50 home runs for the Red Sox in 1938.

9.  Marty Barrett.  The 1986 ALCS MVP.

10.  Dwight Evans.  I still think Dewey belongs in the Hall of Fame.

Thanks Mark!

Panini Hometown Heroes

I was thrilled when Panini released the Hometown Heroes set.  It was a set similar to the Fan Favorites sets from Topps, though without the intriguing designs.  Player selection was incredibly interesting with a lot of players who had not appeared in sets for years.  But it was hard getting cards.  I picked up a few random cards here and there but there were a lot that I still needed.  Until just recently when I worked out a deal for the rest of the base cards I needed, plus one parallel.

1.  2013 Panini Hometown Heroes Fred Lynn.  Lynn of course was the first player to win the Rookie of the Year and MVP the same season, which he did in 1975.  He was a terrific player for several seasons but declined after leaving the Red Sox.

2.  2013 Panini Hometown Heroes Dustin Pedroia.  Pedroia is putting together a Hall of Fame-worthy career and won the Rookie of the Year in 2007 and the MVP in 2008.

3.  2013 Panini Hometown Heroes Jim Rice.  Rice won the MVP in 1978 and is a Hall of Famer.

4.  2013 Panini Hometown Heroes Nomar Garciaparra.  Nomar will be eligible for the Hall of Fame for the first time this year.  He won the Rookie of the Year in 1997.

5.  2013 Panini Hometown Heroes Johnny Damon.  Nice to see new Damon cards with the Red Sox.

6.  2013 Panini Hometown Heroes Ellis Burks.  Burks was one of my early favorites.  He won the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger in 1990.

7.  2013 Panini Hometown Heroes Mike Greenwell.  Greenwell finished second in the AL MVP vote in 1988 to Jose Canseco.

8.  2013 Panini Hometown Heroes Pedro Martinez.  Pedro should get elected to the Hall in January.

9.  2013 Panini Hometown Heroes David Ortiz.  Like Pedroia, Ortiz is one of the few still-active players in this set.  Ortiz is 34 home runs shy of 500.

10.  2013 Panini Hometown Heroes Kevin Youkilis.  Youk was actually still active in 2013 but he was definitely a fan favorite with the Red Sox.

11.  2013 Panini Hometown Heroes Zip Code Carlton Fisk.  I still need to get the parallels for Jason Varitek.  This is my first parallel from this set.

Zippy Zapped Again

I received another package of cards from my personal favorite Yankees blogger Zippy Zappy.  He always loads up the prospects in his random packages, and this one was no different:

1.  2013 New York-Penn League Top Prospects Manuel Margot.  Margot had a breakout season this year at the age of 20.  He provides a lot of speed and a little pop. 

2.  2014 New York-Penn League Top Prospects Nick Longhi.  Longhi is another very young work-in-progress who should show a lot of power as he matures.

3.  2014 New York-Penn League Top Prospects Sam Travis.  Travis is a bit farther along and his power has already materialized.

4.  2013 Panini Prizm Perennial Draft Pics Garin Cecchini.  Cecchini made a brief appearance in Boston this season and looks poised to make a bigger splash next season.

5.  2014 Bowman Chrome Prospects Manuel Margot.

6.  2013 Topps Minors Keury De La Cruz.  De La Cruz had his breakout season in 2012 and followed that up with another solid season in 2014 though he has fallen a bit on the depth chart.

7.  2014 Topps Chrome Orange Refractor Dustin Pedroia.  Pedroia just won his fourth Gold Glove Award this week.  Very impressive.

8.  2013 Topps Minors Brian Johnson.  Johnson has proven to be a very impressive control pitcher in the minors, possibly looking at becoming another Doug Fister.

9.  2013 New York-Penn League Ty Buttrey.  Buttrey is another high-ceiling arm in the Red Sox system and looks poised to move quickly next season.

Thanks Kenny!

2014 Donruss Series 2 Pickups

I have been pretty bad about posting lately.  I have several recent packages to catch up on, starting here:

 I was happy to see Donruss back this year, but it would be much better if they had an MLB license.  Anyway, here are some pickups from the second series.

1.  2014 Donruss Career Stat Line Clay Buchholz.  The Stat Line parallel set was something Donruss used in the early 2000's to serial-number cards.  Which is weird and unwieldy because each card possibly has a different print run.

2.  2014 Donruss Grady Sizemore.  This and his Topps Chrome card are likely to be his only cards with the Red Sox.  At least he had some, unlike players like Scott Podsednik, Alex Cole, Matt Stairs, and others.

3.  2014 Donruss Koji Uehara.  It was recently announced that Koji signed a two-year extension with Boston.

4.  2014 Donruss Xander Bogaerts.  Bogaerts had a rough season, but he showed some promise.  Hopefully he can fulfill that next season.

5.  2014 Donruss Clay Buchholz.  Buchholz could still be an effective member of the Red Sox rotation next season, but another year like 2014 may lead to him being shipped out.

6.  2014 Donruss David Ortiz.  Ortiz once again had a terrific season in 2014. 

7.  2014 Donruss Elite Koji Uehara.  I love this card, but an a little annoyed that it is the same shot as is on his Prizm card.  I hate reused photos.

Vintage and an A&G Blaster

A few new cards to add to the old collection late this week.

1.  1962 Topps Chuck Schilling.  No relation to Curt.  I love the 1962 Topps design.  Schilling was a decent middle infielder for Boston in 1961 but his career declined after that.  Still, he has a number of cool base cards.

2.  2014 Topps Allen & Ginter Jon Lester.  I want Boston to resign Lester this offseason.  I don't know how likely that is, but I would love to get him back.

3.  2014 Topps Allen & Ginter Pastime's Pastimes Dustin Pedroia.  Nice insert from a pack.  Pedroia has a lot more hair on his face than his head on this.

The A&G cards came from a blaster.  I have not been buying many packs this year and have not been doing too well from a Red Sox standpoint when I have.  This was a little better.