Topps Now Boston Set, a Varitek Auto, and a Jewish Major Leaguer

Saturday's mailday consisted of three packages.  And all three were highly anticipated.

Up first was the Topps Now Boston Red Sox Postseason Set.  These were available as part of the Topps Now program online and were 15 card sets issued for each team in the postseason.  You were supposed to get a bonus card for each postseason series win, unfortunately Boston did not make it past the first round, so I won't be getting any bonus cards.  Damn.  Included in this set were the primary player at each position, four starting pitchers, the closer, and two rookie call-ups.

DAVID ORTIZ
In his final season, Ortiz led the league in doubles, slugging, RBIs, and OPS.  It was one of the greatest final seasons in baseball history.  He hit .315/.401/.620 with 38 home runs and 127 RBIs.

MOOKIE BETTS
Betts is an AL MVP contender as he exploded with a .318/.363/.534 line, 31 home runs, 26 stolen bases, 113 RBIs, and 214 hits.  He was also one of the best defensive outfielders in the game.

DUSTIN PEDROIA
The veteran second-baseman had his best season since 2013 by becoming Boston's second player this season with 200 hits.  He hit .318/.376/.449 with 15 home runs and 74 RBIs.  He scored 101 runs and played his usual sparkling defense.

XANDER BOGAERTS
Bogaerts had another strong season for Boston in 2016, despite a second half slump that drove down his slash line to .294/.356/.336.  He hit 21 home runs, drove in 89 runs, and even stole 13 bases.

ANDREW BENINTENDI
2015's seventh overall draft pick had a strong partial season and looks like the starting left fielder for Boston next year.  Benintendi hit .295/.359/.476 in 34 games and became Boston's youngest player to hit a home run in the postseason.

JACKIE BRADLEY JR.
Bradley finally looks like the player he was hyped to become for so long.  He had the Majors' longest hitting streak with a 29 gamer early in the season and slugged 26 home runs while driving in 87.  He led the team with seven triples.

HANLEY RAMIREZ
After a very disappointing season in 2015, Hanley came back in a big way in 2016.  For the last two months of the season, he was on fire as he hit 14 home runs down the stretch, including a walkoff three run shot off Dellin Bettances of the Yankees.  He hit .286/.361/.505 and was one of three Red Sox with 30 home runs and 100 RBIs.

SANDY LEON
An afterthought at the beginning of the season, Leon was considered a defense-first backup catcher and did not start the season in Boston.  But injuries and ineffectiveness of Blake Swihart, Christian Vazquez, and Ryan Hanigan led to him getting the call and he stunned with a .310/.369/.476 line with seven home runs and 35 RBIs.

TRAVIS SHAW
Shaw struggled quite a bit in the second half, but none of the replacements quite worked out, so Shaw looks to be the third-baseman going into next season.  He hit .242/.306/.421 on the year but did contribute 16 home runs, 34 doubles, and 71 RBIs.

YOAN MONCADA
Boston's top prospect had a terrific season in the minors but struggled after his debut in the Majors.  Moncada struck out in nine consecutive at bats in the Majors and was put on the bench for the rest of the season.  He start next season in the minors absent a very strong Spring Training.

DAVID PRICE
Price was not quite the rotation savior Boston hoped they were getting when he was signed to a huge free agent contract.  He did win 17 games and struck out 228 (a record for Red Sox southpaws), but had a rather ordinary 3.99 ERA and struggled in his last few starts, including his postseason start.

STEVEN WRIGHT
Wright was Boston's best pitcher in the early going.  In his first full Major League season, he was named to the All Star team and was 13-6 with a 3.33 ERA and 127 strikeouts.  Injuries unfortunately ended the knuckleballer's season early.

RICK PORCELLO
Like Ramirez, Porcello struggled in his first season with the Red Sox but came back in a big way.  He looks like a Cy Young Award contender after leading the Majors with 22 wins and finishing with a 3.15 ERA and 189 strikeouts.

DREW POMERANZ
The Red Sox acquired the All Star starter from the Padres before the trading deadline but gave up top pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza to get him.  Pomeranz struggled as a starter down the stretch for Boston but found new life as a long reliever in the postseason.  He was 3-5 with a 4.79 ERA for Boston.

CRAIG KIMBREL
Kimbrel was an All Star in his first season in Boston but struggled with his command.  He finished 2-6 with a 3.40 ERA but did save 31 games and notched 83 strikeouts in just 53 innings.

Up next is a new addition to my Jason Varitek collection, my 890th card total of the great catcher.

JASON VARITEK
I saw this and had to have it.  Just a terrific looking card.  Varitek is Boston's all-time leader in games caught.  For his career, he hit .256/.341/.435 with 193 home runs and 757 RBIs.  He was a three-time All Star and won a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger during his career.

I have mentioned before that the Jewish Major Leaguers ongoing set is one of my favorite oddball sets.  This card is a very good reason why.

SI ROSENTHAL:  This is Rosenthal's only baseball card (other than a couple parallels).  Rosenthal spent parts of just two seasons in the Majors (both with Boston) and hit .266/.319/.375 with four home runs and 44 RBIs.  He was the regular right-fielder in 1926.  What is interesting about his life though is that he enlisted during World War II despite being over-age.  Unfortunately this was due to the death of his son in combat.  Rosenthal was paralyzed when the ship he was in struck a mine.  This information all came from this card.

One-Card Wonder Pt. 36: Paul Byrd

Paul Byrd was a lot of fun to watch.  His wind-up was a throwback to a bygone era.  Byrd would swing both arms behind his back while taking a step back then bringing the glove and ball together in front of himself and lift his front leg before throwing a pitch.  Byrd pitched for seven teams over a 14 year career and was an All Star while pitching for the Phillies in 1999 when he won 15 games.  He won 17 games for the Royals in 2002.  It was that season that he developed his unique wind-up.

Byrd spent parts of two seasons with the Red Sox.  He was picked up in a trade with the Indians in August of 2008.  He had been with the Indians and pitched a game against the Red Sox in the 2007 ALCS.  Despite pitching well, he lost the game.  Boston sent minor leaguer Mickey Hall to the Indians to complete the trade.  Byrd made it into just eight games down the stretch for the Red Sox, starting all of them and finishing with a record of 4-2 with a 4.78 ERA.  He struck out 26 and walked 10 in 49 innings.  He pitched one game in the ALCS against the Rays that season, giving up four runs in 3.1 innings.  After the season he was granted free agency.

But the 38-year-old Byrd did not hook on with another team.  So, in August of 2009, Byrd signed a contract to return to the Red Sox.  Byrd was 1-3 with a 5.82 ERA in seven games, starting six of them.  He struck out 11 and walked 11 in 34 innings.  He did not appear in the Majors after 2009.

Byrd's only card with the Red Sox is from the 2009 Topps Heritage High Numbers.  It is not surprising that he did not appear much in card sets.  He did after all only appear in 15 games over two seasons.  But at least he appeared once.  That is better than a lot of other players can say.

Red Sox in Cooperstown Pt. 26: Jim Rice

JIM RICE
Years in Boston: 1974-1989 (.298/.352/.502, 382 home runs, 1,451 RBIs, 2,452 hits)
Best Year in Boston: 1978 (.315/.370/.600, 46 home runs, 139 RBIs, 213 hits)

Following in the footsteps of Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski in left field could not have been easy, but Jim Rice was more than up to the task as he became the third Red Sox left-fielder in a row to eventually be named to the Hall of Fame.  Rice actually arrived when Yastrzemski was still active.  Rice and Yaz alternated between left field and designated hitter, with Yaz also spending time at first base.

Rice was the 15th overall pick in the 1971 draft out of high school in South Carolina where he also starred in football.  Rice was a big, strong power hitter who rose quickly through the Red Sox system, winning the Triple Crown for Pawtucket in 1974 before making his Major League debut that same season.  Rice hit reasonably well in 24 games, but really shined in 1975 when he joined up with fellow rookie center-fielder Fred Lynn to help lead Boston to the World Series.  Rice and Lynn were nicknamed the "Gold Dust Twins".  Lynn ended up taking home the Rookie of the Year and MVP but Rice was nearly as good.  Rice hit .309/.350/.491 with 22 home runs and 102 RBIs and even stole 10 bases.  Rice finished second to Lynn in the Rookie of the Year and third in the MVP vote.  Unfortunately, Rice sustained a wrist injury at the end of the season after being hit by a pitch and missed the entire postseason.  

Rice slumped somewhat in 1976, but still managed 25 home runs.  However, in 1977 Rice embarked on a string of four straight years in which he was named to the All Star team.  He won his first home run title in 1977 with 39 and had his first of four 200 hit seasons.  He also led the league in slugging percentage.

1978 was Rice's best season, and one of the greatest offensive seasons of all time.  Rice hit .315/.370/.600 and led the league in games played, at bats, hits, triples, home runs, RBIs, and slugging percentage while also accumulating 406 total bases.  It was the first time a player had more than 400 total bases since Joe DiMaggio in 1937.  For his efforts, Rice easily won the 1978 AL MVP Award.

Rice had another strong season in 1979, hitting 39 home runs with a .325/.381/.596 line with more than 200 hits for the third straight season.  In 1980, he slumped to .294/.336/.504 with just 24 home runs and 86 RBIs.  1981 was the strike-shortened season and Rice hit 17 home runs.  1982 saw his batting average increase, but his power was still around the same level.  It was in 1982 that Rice had what is likely his most noteworthy moment.  After a young boy in the stands was struck hard in the head by a foul ball off the bat of Dave Stapleton, Rice leapt into the stands, took the young boy in his arms and ran him to the clubhouse where the team physician was able to get him into an ambulance, likely saving his life.

1983 saw a resurgence by Jim Rice as he led the league in home runs with 39 and RBIs with 126 while hitting .305/.361/.550.  His numbers stayed relatively steady for a few years after that, until 1986 when he had his fourth 200 hit season, and his eighth and last 100-plus RBI season.  That was his last good season as he hit .324/.384/.490 with 20 home runs and 110 RBIs.  He also finally appeared in the postseason, hitting two home runs in the ALCS and batting .333 in the World Series.

Vision problems and injuries sapped his hitting ability in the three seasons following 1986 and Rice was a shell of his former self.  He retired in 1989 at the still-young age of 36.  If he had been able to play a little better for a few more years after 1986, his Hall of Fame case may have been a little clearer.  As it was, it took a full 15 years for Rice to eventually be elected to the Hall of Fame.  Rice is a somewhat controversial selection.  He was the fourth player elected to the Hall who spent his entire career with the Red Sox.

Your 1981 Red Sox Pt. 3: Tom Burgmeier

In this series, I will look at each player who played in 1981, the year I was born. Because, why not?

In 1981, southpaw reliever Tom Burgmeier was coming off of his only All Star selection for his career.  Burgmeier emerged as Boston's primary closer in 1980 due to injuries to Bill Campbell and Bob Stanley being versatile enough to start several games.  He was largely successful, going 5-4 with a 2.00 ERA and 24 saves.  In 1981, he was no longer the primary closer, but he still saved six games and had a 2.87 ERA.  He was still a very important part of the Red Sox bullpen in 1981.

Burgmeier had been used exclusively in the bullpen for several seasons for the Royals and Twins before first coming to Boston as a free agent to further solidify their bullpen.  He was not terribly successful in 1978, pitching to a fairly high 4.40 ERA and walking almost as many (23) as he struck out (24).

But in 1979, Burgmeier became much more successful.  His ERA dropped to 2.74 and he was relied upon to finish more games.  He also struck out 60 versus walking just 16.  1980 was his sole All Star selection, though he did not appear in the game.  It was his best overall season.  He struck out 54 while walking 20 in 99 innings, and as mentioned, led the team in saves with 24.  He was fifth in the league.

In 1981, the 37-year-old Burgmeier finished third on the team in saves.  Mark Clear (9) and Bob Stanley (7) were the two ahead of him.  He was part of a three-headed closer platoon and was the sole left-hander of the three.  Burgmeier's record dropped to 4-5, but he still struck out more than twice as many hitters as he walked (35 to 17).  Burgmeier finished 21 of his 32 games and had an impressive 2.87 ERA.

1982 would be Burgmeier's final season in Boston, but he was still very effective, finishing with a terrific 7-0 record and a 2.29 ERA while saving just two games.  Clear and Stanley were the primary closers, shifting Burgmeier to the primary setup man.  He delivered by throwing 102.1 innings in 40 games and striking out 44 versus 22 walks.  After the season, Burgmeier left for the Oakland Athletics where he had two more good seasons before retiring.

Lots of Oddballs and Reprints

I was browsing Ebay the other day and came across a seller with a lot of reprint and oddball cards for sale.  Several players are new to my collection and several more have fewer than 10 cards.  That is a lot of fun for me.  The best part was that the seller included a bunch of extra stuff as well, though only two cards were new to my collection.  I don't mind getting reprints.  Sure, I would love to have the originals, but if I can't get those, the reprints will do.

1.  Nomar Garciaparra.  This was one of the extras.  I was surprised I did not have this one, though I do have the Pedro Martinez card like this.  Nomar's rookie season was one of the best in history as he led the league in hits and triples and had a slash line of .306/.342/.534 with 30 home runs, 98 RBIs, and 22 stolen bases.

2.  Ed Cicotte.  Better known as one of the members of the 1919 Black Sox, Cicotte was portrayed by Steve Eastin in Field of Dreams.  Cicotte was a decent pitcher with Boston for a few years before joining the White Sox.  In 1909 he was 14-5 with a 1.94 ERA.

3.  Harry Lord.  Lord was primarily a third-baseman for the Red Sox from 1907-1910.  He had a couple of pretty good seasons too, especially 1909 when he hit .315/.349/.363 with seven triples and 36 stolen bases.

4.  Bill Carrigan.  I have covered Carrigan a couple of times recently.  He was a very good defensive catcher who could hit a little bit and whose name is in the Red Sox record books as the only manager in team history to lead the team to consecutive World Series titles (1915 and 1916).

5.  Marty McManus.  The 1933 Delong Gum original is probably one that I would like to get.  This is just a cool design and McManus is the only Red Sox player in the set.  McManus had been a pretty good player in the 1920's for the Browns and Tigers before joining the Red Sox in 1931.  McManus took over as the team's player/manager in the dreadful season of 1932 and continued through 1933.  He was still a decent enough player in 1933 as he hit .284/.369/.413.

6.  Vean Gregg.  Gregg had been a three-time 20 game winner with the Cleveland Indians early in his career, but was used sparingly in his time with Boston, never reaching 80 innings pitched.  The Red Sox pitching was stacked in those years with Babe Ruth, Ernie Shore, Dutch Leonard, Rube Foster, Carl Mays, and more.  His best year in Boston was 1916 when he was 2-5 with a 3.01 ERA in 77.2 innings.

7.  John Lazor.  Lazor spent only four years in the Majors, three of which came during the WWII years 1943-1945, when Major League jobs were pretty easy to find.  He had a very good season in 1945, hitting .310/.346/.424 with five home runs.  He only struck out 17 times in 355 plate appearances.  He remained with the team in 1946 when players returned from service, but he did not play nearly as much.

8.  Roy Partee.  Partee was the Red Sox's primary catcher during the wartime years of 1943-1944 and hit pretty well in 1943.  He hit .281/.368/.341 while playing 96 games.  He missed the 1945 season due to military service but returned as a backup catcher in 1946.  He hit .315 that season in just 40 games and was the catcher when Enos Slaughter score on his "mad dash" in the 1946 World Series.

9.  Tony Lupien.  Lupien was the Red Sox primary first-baseman in 1942-1943 as Jimmie Foxx declined.  Lupien was not too bad in 1942, but never had much power.  He hit .281/.351/.384 with just three home runs and 70 RBIs.  He stole 10 bases and struck out just 20 times.  The next season he declined and he was claimed on waivers by the Phillies.

10.  Joe Vosmik.  Vosmik had been a very good hitter for the Indians for several seasons before joining the Red Sox from 1938-1939.  Vosmik's best season in Boston was 1938 when he hit .324/.384/.446 and led the league in hits with 201.  Vosmik was a left-fielder and when he was sold to the Dodgers, Ted Williams took his place in the field.

11.  Rick Ferrell.  The Hall of Fame catcher was a very good contact hitter who got on base at a very good rate for a catcher.  For his career, he never struck out more than 26 times in a season and his career on-base percentage was .378.  Ferrell was an All Star every season in Boston.  His best year was 1936 when he hit .312/.406/.461 with eight home runs.  He was also a terrific defensive receiver.

12.  Herb Pennock.  Another Hall of Famer.  Pennock spent two stints with the Red Sox from 1915-1922 and to close out his career in 1934.  Pennock was just starting to realize his potential in his first stint with Boston.  His best year with the Red Sox was 1919 when he was 16-8 with a 2.71 ERA.  Pennock did not pitch for Boston in the World Series though.  His greatest success came during his time with the Yankees, but he wears a Red Sox cap on his Hall of Fame plaque.

13.   Rico Petrocelli.  Petrocelli spent his entire career with the Red Sox while playing shortstop and then moving to third base when future Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio was acquired.  He was a terrific defensive player, but it was his 1969 season when he hit 40 home runs as a shortstop that really cemented his legacy.

14.  Bruce Hurst.  If Boston had won the World Series in 1986, Bruce Hurst was going to be named the MVP.  He was one of Boston's top left-handers of all time.  He was 18-6 with a 3.66 ERA and 166 strikeouts in 1988, his last season in Boston.  Hurst was an All Star in 1987.

15.  Jody Reed.  Reed had better all-around numbers than Walt Weiss in 1988, other than not playing quite as often.  Reed had three straight seasons of more than 40 doubles for Boston from 1989 through 1991, including tying for the league lead with 45 in 1990.

16.  Wes Ferrell.  The brother of Rick Ferrell was a very good pitcher who won more than 20 games six times.  He was a very good hitting pitcher too and hit 38 home runs in his career.  Ferrell played in Boston at the same time as his brother and turned in a fantastic 25-14 season in 1935 with a 3.52 ERA and 110 strikeouts.

17.  Jack Barry.  Barry had been the second-baseman on the Philadelphia Athletics famed "$100,000 infield".  He played for Boston from 1915 through 1919, missing the 1918 season due to WWI.  Barry was also the manager in 1917.  He was never much of a hitter with Boston, hitting just .224 in 319 games.

18.  Lefty Grove.  Grove was past his prime by the time that he joined Boston, but he still led the league in ERA four times in his eight Boston seasons and won 20 games in 1935.  His electrifying fastball was gone, but Grove became a terrific finesse pitcher.  He is one of two players to win his 300th game with the Red Sox franchise (Cy Young was the other).

19.  Daisuke Matsuzaka.  I need Zippy Zappy to translate this card.  Matsuzaka looked like he would fulfill his promise after his first two seasons in Boston.  He was 15-12 with 201 strikeouts in 2007 and 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA in 2008.  Unfortunately, it was downhill from there.

20.  Rick Ferrell.

21.  Carlton Fisk.  Fisk was a seven-time All Star with Boston and won the Rookie of the Year and Gold Glove Awards in 1972.  He hit .315/.402/.521 with 26 home runs and 102 RBIs while catching an incredible 151 games in 1977.  Somehow he was just eighth in the MVP vote.

22.  Wade Boggs.  Boggs won five batting titles and had seven straight 200 hit seasons with the Red Sox.  In 1987, he hit .363/.461/.588 with 24 home runs and 89 RBIs.  His OPS was an insane 1.049.  He had 200 hits and 40 doubles.  That is a monster season and if Boston was any good that season, he would have been the MVP.

23.  Ted Williams.  This is an action shot I have never seen before, and I love it.  My favorite Ted Williams stat is his career OBP of .482, #1 all time.  For his career, he got on base almost half the time.

24.  Joe Cronin.  At the time that he was bought by Boston, Cronin's $250,000.00 purchase price was the most any team ever paid for a player.  It was twice what the Yankees paid Boston for Babe Ruth.  His best Boston season was 1938 when he hit .325/.428/.536 with 17 home runs and 94 RBIs.  He led the league with 51 doubles.

25.  Hugh Duffy.  Duffy was a terrific hitter who once hit .440 (although that was in 1894 when players hit .400 more often).  He spent most of his career with Boston in the National League, though his career mostly took place before the American League was born.  Duffy was a Red Sox manager in 1921-1922 and was a scout for Boston when this picture was taken.  Here is the full picture:

 
26.  Bill Buckner.  This was another extra card.  This is, of course, a photo of the aftermath of the ball rolling between Buckner's legs in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.  It is a shame that Buckner's career was marred like that because he was a pretty good player.  That season he hit .267/.311/.421 with 18 home runs and 102 RBIs.  He had a 200 hit season the year before.

So that is it.  Lots of interesting history in those cards.

Waiting Til Next Year, a Triple Auto, and More

Well Boston was eliminated from the postseason.  It bummed me out quite a bit, but life goes on.  The real disappointment was that this is the end of the road for David Ortiz.  His career ended with a walk in the postseason, but he had one of the greatest final seasons of all time.  Luckily, I received several packages that brightened up

The end of the Red Sox season is not the only reason for the title.  I received a package from Tom of the excellent Cubs-centric blog Waiting 'til Next Year.  I hope he doesn't mind that I stole his scan of the cards I received.  I am having some issues with Photobucket today.

1.  Harry Hooper.  This was an extra, and unfortunately I already have it, but extras are always welcome.  Hooper was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans' Committee is 1972, just three years before his death.  Hooper was an exceptional defensive right fielder that could also hit quite a bit.

2.  Wade Boggs.  This card was on my wantlist.  Boggs, as I have mentioned multiple times, was my first favorite player.  I will be covering his career more in-depth later, but with the benefit of Sabermetrics, it has become clear that Boggs was easily one of the top five players of the 1980's.

3.  Dustin Pedroia.  This is the gold parallel.  Pedroia had an incredible season this year and looked like the Pedroia of old.  If he has a few more seasons like this, he will be a shoo-in for Cooperstown.

Thanks Tom!

The next package was one of my Top 10 Most Wanted cards, though it was a new addition to the list:

Carlos Baerga.  This card comes from the 2016 Topps Archives Signature  Edition set, a set I am working hard on in my Sandy Alomar Jr. collection.  But there were two Red Sox players I identified that I wanted and Baerga was top on that list because of his brief Red Sox career and very few Red Sox cards.  This is a buyback autograph card of the former Indians great.  Baerga was a valuable bench player for Boston in 2002.

And finally, two orders from COMC and Ebay came in.  The first six cards all came from COMC.  I was browsing and found a card that I could not pass up.  Then the final three cards all came from an Ebay auction.

1 and 2.  Jin Ho Cho.  I was always a little disappointed that Cho was never given much of an opportunity in Boston.  Unfortunately, after two brief stints in the Majors, Cho started taking steps backwards.  He was a highly-touted pitching prospect for a time though and one of the crown jewels of Boston's focus on Asian scouting.

3.  Jonathan Papelbon/Takashi Saito/Jed Lowrie.  This is the card that I could not pass up.  A rare high-end card that I picked up because it was affordable and featured two players I did not have autographs from previously.  I am speaking of Saito and Lowrie.  All three players were on the 2009 team.  Papelbon was the All Star closer and saved 38 games with a 1.85 ERA.  Saito was a setup man who had a 2.43 ERA in 56 games.  Lowrie was in his second season, but struggled with injuries all season and only appeared in 32 games.

4 and 5.  Mo Vaughn.  There are still a ton of Mo Vaughn cards I don't have.  These are both inserts I had of players from other teams (though not anymore).  90's inserts still have a lot of appeal because they were so eye-catching.

6.  Jackie Bradley Jr.  Bradley had a very good year, though his streakiness can be aggravating.  His defense was predictably excellent and he showed some surprising power.

7-9.  Steven Wright.  One of my biggest disappointments was that Steven Wright went on the disabled list in August and never made it back.  He was having a great year and was named to the All Star team.  I am thrilled that Topps finally noticed.  He had no Red Sox cards coming into this season.  This is the Chrome, Refractor, and Purple Refractor.  I have put a Steven Wright have page on the side, if anyone has any Red Sox cards of him that I don't have, please contact me.

Yet Another Heritage High Numbers Bust

As you can see, there are no Heritage cards in the scan.  That is because I also picked up a box of Topps Chrome, and there were no new Red Sox cards in my Heritage box.  I pulled two Red Sox cards, both of which were doubles, and one of those was a card I have pulled three times now.  There are still several more Red Sox cards in the set, but I cannot seem to get them.  I get way too many doubles.  And this was a different store, in a different town.  Still bad luck.  I did get these two cards though.  I love the sepia Ortiz card.  Let's hope tonight is not his final game.

Topps Now: Sept. 9 and Sept. 15

Looking back to happier times after Boston failed to show up in the first two games of the ALDS.  

Rick Porcello led the Majors in wins with 22.  He was the first pitcher to make it to 20 wins this season and remains a leading candidate for the AL Cy Young Award. 

Hanley Ramirez hit a three-run walkoff home run off of Dellin Bettances to beat the Yankees.

So yeah, some good memories to look back on while pondering whether Boston's season is almost over.

Red Sox Team of the Decade: 1910-1919

The Red Sox really were the Team of the Decade in the 1910's.  They had their most successful decade by far, winning four World Series titles (1912, 1915, 1916, 1918).  The major reason for this success was the fact that they had terrific pitching throughout the decade.  Rather than narrow the pitching choices down to just a few, I decided to pick the most deserving pitchers for the team, no matter how many there were.  The results were that 20 game winners Buck O'Brien, Hugh Bedient, and Ray Collins didn't make the cut.

THE TEAM:

CATCHER - BILL CARRIGAN
Catcher is kind of a weak position, without a ton of offense.  Wally Schang had one really good year in the decade, but one bad year too.  Carrigan gets the nod here, mostly due to playing more games than any other catcher in the decade, but he had a good year in 1914 when he hit .253/.395/.309.  He was also the manager for the 1915 and 1916 World Champions.  Carrigan was also a very good defensive catcher.  He did not have much power, but he could get on base and was very good behind the plate.  In this era, that is good enough.

FIRST BASE - DOC HOBLITZELL
I did not want to have Jake Stahl here again, even though he was probably a better player, albeit in a shorter period of time.  Hoblitzell had some good years though.  He was brought over from Cincinnati in the middle of the 1914 season and was terrific, hitting .319/.386/.389 the rest of the year.  He had another very good year in 1915, hitting .283/.351/.396 with 12 triples.  He declined a bit in 1916, but rebounded in 1917.  He was finished in 1918.  For his career with Boston, Hoblitzell hit .269/.345/.346.

SECOND BASE - STEVE YERKES
Second base was really a black hole for this decade.  Yerkes was mostly in competition with Jack Barry.  Though Barry was the better fielder, Yerkes was a better hitter and played quite a few more games.  Yerkes was mostly a shortstop in 1911, his first full season, but switched places with second-baseman Heinie Wagner the following season.  Yerkes had a pretty good year in 1913, hitting .267/.338/.358 while hitting 29 doubles and stealing 11 bases.  It was more productive than any other second-baseman this decade.

SHORTSTOP - EVERETT SCOTT
He could not hit a lick, but Everett Scott was one of the greatest defensive shortstops ever and spent a lot more time at the position than his nearest competitor, Heinie Wagner.  Scott was also the record holder for longest consecutive games streak before Lou Gehrig, a streak which he started toward the end of this decade.  Scott led the league in fielding percentage several seasons in a row, starting in 1916 and continuing through the 1923 season.

THIRD BASE - LARRY GARDNER
An easy choice for third base, Gardner was one of the top hitters for the Red Sox during this time period.  He spent more time at second base in his first couple of seasons but gradually settled in at third and solidified the position for several years.  In 1912, Gardner hit .315/.383/.449 with 24 doubles, 18 triples, three home runs, 86 RBIs, and 25 stolen bases for a terrific all-around season.  It was the best season of his Red Sox career.  For his Red Sox career, Gardner hit .282/.350/.377 with 16 home runs and 481 RBIs and stealing 134 bases.  Gardner's biggest moment was hitting two home runs in the 1916 World Series, despite only hitting two home runs all season.

RIGHT FIELD - HARRY HOOPER
Harry Hooper is a Hall of Famer (elected by the Veterans' Committee in 1972) and is, to date, the only Red Sox player to play in four World Series.  Hooper was a terrific defensive right-fielder and a very good hitter.  Hooper spent the entire decade patrolling right field for Boston.  Hooper's biggest moment was hitting two home runs in Game 5 of the 1915 World Series including hitting the eventual game-winner in the 9th inning.  Hooper still holds the Red Sox career record for stolen bases with 300 and triples with 130.  For his Red Sox career, Hooper hit .272/.362/.367.

CENTER FIELD - TRIS SPEAKER
Speaker was one of the greatest players of his generation.  He got his start in Boston and was a terrific player almost immediately.  Speaker was a great hitter who had a lifetime batting average of .345 and also had quite a bit of power for a Deadball Era player.  He was also one of the greatest defensive center fielders of all time and revolutionized the way the position was played by playing shallow enough to be a fifth infielder.  His tremendous speed allowed him to go back and catch balls that might have gone over his head though.  Speaker had his best season for the Red Sox in 1912 when he hit .383/.464/.567 with a league-leading 10 home runs, 53 doubles, 90 RBIs, and 52 stolen bases.

LEFT FIELD - DUFFY LEWIS
The third outfielder in what is possibly Boston's best outfield of all time was not quite as great as the other two.  Duffy Lewis is not a Hall of Famer, though that may be more due to the fact that his career did not last quite as long.  Lewis was an expert at playing Boston's tricky left field, which at the time included a sloping hill up to the left field fence.  He was so good at it that it became known as "Duffy's Cliff".  Lewis was also a tremendous hitter who hit .289/.340/.395 for his Red Sox career.  He played on World Champion teams in 1912, 1915, and 1916.

PITCHER - SMOKY JOE WOOD
Wood holds the Red Sox single season record of 34 wins and the team's career ERA mark with 1.99.  He had an otherworldly season in 1912, going 34-5 with a 1.91 ERA and 258 strikeouts in 344 innings.  He also led the league in complete games with 35 and shutouts with 10.  It was his second consecutive season with more than 20 wins.  And he was just 22 at the time.  Unfortunately, injuries shortened his Major League career.  Wood was still a very good pitcher through the 1915 season, but mostly gave up pitching after that.  He later resurrected his career as an outfielder with the Indians and had some decent seasons.  He spent his entire Red Sox career as a pitcher.

PITCHER - BABE RUTH
As a pitcher, Babe Ruth was almost as good as he would later become as a hitter with the Yankees.  He came up in 1914 with Boston and was already a great starting pitcher in his first full season.  He went 18-8 with a 2.44 ERA in 1915, but was not used in the World Series that season because Boston had several better options.  Ruth was Boston's best pitcher in 1916 and 1917 though, going 23-12 with a 1.75 ERA and 24-13 with a 2.01 ERA respectively.  Ruth was also terrific in the World Series.  By this point, Ruth's hitting was becoming harder to ignore and he started playing the field on days he was not pitching.  He led the league in home runs with 11 in 1918 and then set a new record with 29 in 1919.  Unfortunately for the Red Sox, they sold him to the Yankees early in 1920 where he stopped pitching entirely, except for a few relief appearances.

PITCHER - CARL MAYS
Carl Mays was a borderline Hall of Famer who had some great years with the Red Sox in the late 1910's.  He was a submarine pitcher and nicknamed "Sub" for his unusual pitching style.  From 1916 through 1918, he was one of the best pitchers in the game.  In 1917, Mays was 22-9 with a 1.74 ERA.  Unfortunately, he struggled a bit in 1919 and was eventually traded to the Yankees, where he rebounded.  He is mostly known now for hitting Ray Chapman with a pitch that eventually killed him.  Mays was 72-51 with a 2.21 ERA for the Red Sox.

PITCHER - DUTCH LEONARD
The answer to the trivia question of lowest ERA in a season for a starting pitcher is Dutch Leonard.  The left-hander had a shockingly low 0.96 ERA in his sophomore season in 1914.  Leonard was virtually unhittable that season, going 19-5 while striking out 176 and walking just 60.  That was no flash in the pan season either, as Leonard was a great pitcher for several years.  He played for Boston from 1913 through 1918 and was 90-64 with a 2.13 ERA for them.  He pitched one game in each of the 1915 and 1916 World Series and gave up just two runs in 18 innings.

PITCHER - ERNIE SHORE
Ernie Shore had a brief four-year career with the Red Sox, but was 58-33 with a 2.12 ERA during that stretch.  He was acquired at the same time as Babe Ruth from the minor league Baltimore Orioles, but was a more developed pitcher at the time and stepped immediately into the rotation and was 10-5 with a 2.00 ERA in 20 games.  Shore was terrific in 1915, going 19-8 with a 1.64 ERA.  Shore pitched four games in the 1915 and 1916 World Series and was 3-1 with a 1.82 ERA.  Shore's most famous moment was taking over from Babe Ruth after he was tossed out of a game after walking the first batter.  That batter was caught stealing on Shore's first pitch and he proceeded to set down the next 26 batters in a row for a bizarre no-hitter.

PITCHER - RUBE FOSTER
Foster had the shortest career of any of the pitchers in this post, pitching from 1913 through 1917, all with the Red Sox.  But he had a record of 58-33, identical to Ernie Shore, and a 2.36 ERA.  Foster's best year was also 1915, when he went 19-8 with a 2.11 ERA.  He pitched in three World Series games and was 2-0 with a 1.71 ERA.

Two More Trades Bring Me More Wantlist Hits

Nothing real exciting here as I am eagerly anticipating tonight's Game 1 of the ALDS between the Red Sox and Indians.  Just more stuff from my wantlist.

 1.  Mookie Betts.  Betts has to be a strong contender for the AL MVP this year.  He hit more than 30 home runs, drove in more than 100, scored more than 100, had more than 200 hits, stole more than 25 bases, and played terrific defense.  He is one of the best all-around players in the game.

2.  Craig Kimbrel.  He had some issues in the last week of the season, but was mostly solid all the way around.  It will be interesting to see how he does in the postseason.

3.  David Price.  He will be starting Game 2 tomorrow night.  His season was not quite up to his usual standards, but he won 17, struck out 228 and led the league in innings pitched.  His ERA was just a little high and he gave up too many home runs.

4.  Roniel Raudes.  I am excited about this kid.  He is currently my favorite Red Sox pitching prospect.  He had a second consecutive strong season and he is still just 18 years old.

5.  Brian Johnson.  I am looking forward to him taking a step forward next season.  He is a left-handed control pitcher and could be eyeing a starting slot next season.

6.  Henry Owens.  He took a big step backwards this year, but one need only look to Boston's Drew Pomeranz to find a highly-touted lefty pitcher who struggled for a few seasons before putting it all together.

7.  Babe Ruth.  I love it when cards of Ruth appear for the Red Sox.  Just love it.

8.  Craig Kimbrel.

9.  David Ortiz.  As usual, an Ortiz sneaks in.  This is his last postseason and he has historically been a very good performer on the big stage.

10.  Carl Yastrzemski.  Yaz was previously considered Boston's best clutch performer as he had terrific showings in the 1967 and 1975 World Series, as well as multiple All Star games.

11.  David Price.

12.  Carl Yastrzemski.

13.  David Ortiz.

14.  Ted Williams.  Williams on the other hand, was often lambasted in the press for not playing well under pressure.  He was injured in the 1946 World Series though, so that is not all his fault.  That is the typical time period that is brought up.

Go Red Sox.

1991-2016 All-Underrated Team: Second Base

I have been watching baseball for 26 years now. In that time, I have been obsessed with under-the-radar players. These are my picks for an All-Underrated Team. I have picked one player for each position and their best season.

I have written about this season once before.  1993 produced a number of under-the-radar seasons for the Red Sox.  A lot of players were having their first real success (Mo Vaughn and John Valentin), and several older players were having one last gasp.  Scott Fletcher falls into the latter category.  The 34-year-old second baseman signed with Boston as a free agent prior to the season to fill in the hole left after Jody Reed was selected by the Rockies in the expansion draft.

Fletcher presented a lot of the same strengths as Reed.  He was a very good defender, even better than Reed in fact, and he put the ball in play.  Fletcher finished fourth in the league in at-bats per strikeout (13.7).  Fletcher was among the league leaders in a number of defensive categories and was fourth in fielding percentage.  His year was one of those that has become more impressive as defensive stats have been improved.  

He was also a pretty good hitter.  For the season, Fletcher hit .285/.341/.402.  He hit a career high five home runs and drove in 45 runs, mostly from the number two spot in the lineup.  He scored 81 runs and led the team with 16 stolen bases, while only getting caught three times. 

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Jody Reed (1991)

Luis Alicea (1995)

Jeff Frye (1997)
Rey Sanchez (2002)

Todd Walker (2003)

Mark Bellhorn (2004) 

Loyalty and Longevity Pt. 3: Ted Williams

In this series, I look at players who played their entire Major League career with the Red Sox, as long as said Major League career lasted at least ten years.

There are tons of books entirely about the career and life of Ted Williams.  His hitting exploits are legendary and are well-known.  I don't really think I need to go much into his actual career, not only for the reasons above, but because I myself have covered his career in various posts.  

What I will discuss here is the fact that Williams spent his entire playing career with the Boston Red Sox.  We are talking about a span of time touching four decades (1939-1960).  He missed three full seasons from 1943 through 1945 due to service in World War II, but otherwise was a constant in the Red Sox batting lineup.  Williams played in 2,292 games, which is actually third all-time in Boston history.  Both Carl Yastrzemski and Dwight Evans have more.  He is fourth all-time in at-bats with 7,706 (Behind Yaz, Evans, and Jim Rice), though that is a function of the number of walks he took.  He is first in walks, home runs, batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage.  

Despite spending his entire career in Boston, Williams's career was not without some controversies and possibilities to leave Boston.  There are rumors that he may have requested to be traded, but he said so many things over the years that there is no way to be sure.  On at least one occasion, Williams was nearly traded, to the Yankees of all teams.  For Joe DiMaggio.  The story goes that Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey and the Yankees owner were drinking and discussing trading Williams, whose swing was tailor-made for Yankee stadium, for DiMaggio, whose swing was tailor-made for Fenway Park.  The trade was basically made, but the next morning Yawkey asked the Yankees to sweeten the deal, since DiMaggio was coming off of an injury and was older than Williams, and asked the Yankees to include a young prospect named Yogi Berra.  The Yankees said no, and the trade was cancelled.

So it was that Williams played his entire career with Boston.

A Disappointing High Numbers Break

I tried another blaster of Heritage High Numbers recently to try to get some more of the newer players.  Here are the results:

So, three new cards, all of whom had some cards before, but not many.  I am okay with this.  Barnes, Shaw, and Hanigan are not huge in my collection and I like all three players.  I am disappointed because these three showed up in the first two packs, and no new Red Sox came after that.  In fact, no new cards at all.  The next six packs were exactly the same as the cards I had received in my first blaster.  There were three SPs, two of which were the same as the last blaster.  Collation is a huge problem for Topps.

Two More Avoid the No Cards List Thanks to Venezuela

I have been having pretty good luck finding cards from Venezuela recently of players that otherwise would not have any cards.  Last time out, there was Geremi Gonzalez, before that was Sandy Leon.  Several minor leaguers also have cards, but I have not been picking those up because they have not played in the Majors.  I am not sure what the story is behind these cards, they do not likely have a Major League license, but are still getting made.

Anyway, two more players arrived recently.  Up first is Niuman Romero:

Romero played in just two games for the Red Sox in 2010.  He had four at-bats, did not collect a hit, but did score a run.  He played one game at first and the other at second, yet is listed here as a shortstop.  He had a an assist and four putouts at first, but did not have any defensive chances at second.  He has been bouncing around the minors ever since, but his only other Major League appearance was the previous season in 10 games with the Indians.

And now, Gustavo Molina:

No relation to the Molina brothers (Jose, Bengie, and Yadier) obviously because they are all from Puerto Rico.  This Molina was a catcher as well though.  Gustavo Molina had a bit more Major League experience than Romero above.  He has appeared in the Majors for five different teams in four seasons, though never for more than ten games.  Molina's Red Sox stint consisted of four games in 2010.  He had seven at-bats, collected a hit and a run, and had an assist and 15 putouts as a catcher.

So, not the most exciting of players here, but I am very excited to cross them both off the list of players without Red Sox cards.

Cards from Chris

Recently, a reader named Chris reached out to me asking me to take some Red Sox cards off of his hands.  Of course I am always willing to oblige and recently received a nice, fat package of cards in the mail from him.  Most of the cards were from the mid to late 2000's, a time period that I was far more focused on my Jason Varitek collection, so there were a surprising amount of new cards in the package.  Here are the new ones:

Jonathan Papelbon:  Tons of Papelbon cards were in this package, including five of these Generation Now cards.  I once considered going for the entire run of these cards, but never really got around to it.  Papelbon is Boston's all-time saves leader and had some terrific seasons.

Kyle Larson:  I had no idea who Kyle Larson is.  I don't really care for these First Pitch cards.  They just don't do anything for me.

Daisuke Matsuzaka:  There were a number of Matsuzaka cards as well.  One of my favorite Matsuzaka memories is of him getting a base hit and driving in a couple of runs in Game 4 of the 2007 World Series.

Manny Ramirez:  And there were a lot of Manny Ramirez cards.  Manny had just a ton of cards issued during his Boston career.  It would have been very easy for me to get 1,000 cards of him, but I just never really wanted to do that.  I did not have to chase them, they would find me.

Josh Beckett:  Beckett was the 2007 ALCS MVP for the Red Sox as well as the 2003 World Series MVP for the Marlins.  He was an incredible clutch performer.

Julio Lugo:  He led the team in stolen bases in 2007, but was otherwise a disappointment.  He did perform well in the World Series though, so no real complaints there.

Mark Loretta:  Loretta spent just one season with Boston, but hit .285, played excellent defense and was voted to start in the All Star Game in 2006.  All in all, that was a pretty good season, but Dustin Pedroia was ready to take over.

Hideki Okajima:  Boston's top middle reliever in 2007 was voted into the All Star Game that year in the final vote.  I always liked Okajima a little better than Matsuzaka.  Okajima came at the same time but was generally more effective, mostly because he did not nibble at the corners so much.

Jed Lowrie:  Lowrie never seemed to put it together in Boston, and still seems to be having that problem.  He did have some moments where he looked like a potential star, including a very impressive run in early 2011 where he was hitting .400 through the first month of the season.

Michael Bowden:  Drafted in the supplemental first round of the 2005 draft, Bowden was one of five players to be picked by Boston in the first round.  All five made the Majors, but Bowden and Craig Hansen did not play long in the Majors.  Jed Lowrie, Clay Buchholz, and Jacoby Ellsbury all became regular Major Leaguers though.

Manny Delcarmen:  For a couple of years, Delcarmen was one of Boston's most reliable middle relievers.  He had a terrific season in 2007 and was very good in 2008.  He declined after that and was out of the Majors after the 2010 season.

Jonathan Van Every:  Van Every spent just a handful of games with Boston in three straight seasons, but he actually pitched a little bit in two of those seasons.  Not many position players can say that.

Thanks for the cards, Chris!

Redemption Received Very Quickly

I bought a redemption card from someone a couple of months back because he was offering a good price and it seemed like it would be a pretty good card.  I know full well Topps's shaky history with redemptions.  Just last year I gave up on a redemption that had been pending since 2013.  But I thought I would take a shot.  I received it in the mail a couple of days ago, only a few weeks since redeeming it.  Here it is:

That is a Hanley Ramirez autograph with a huge patch, numbered out of just 10.  I am very happy with this, and particularly since it did not take much time at all to receive.  Hanley is having a terrific season this year and needs just one more home run in the next four games to become the third Red Sox to hit 30 home runs this year (Mookie Betts and David Ortiz are the other two), for the first time since 1977 (George Scott, Butch Hobson, Jim Rice).

Heritage High Numbers Break

I have been very excited about Topps Heritage High Numbers.  After reviewing the checklist, I noticed that a ton of new players for the Red Sox are appearing in the set.  So when I saw that it had hit the shelves, I had to buy one.

Unfortunately, my Heritage break was not that exciting.  Aaron Hill is the only new player I received.  Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled about about getting new cards of David Price and Junichi Tazawa, but there are cards of Steven Wright, Drew Pomeranz, Brad Ziegler, Chris Young, and Sandy Leon, all of whom I am very excited about.  I did get Aaron Hill though, so it is not all bad.

The #8 Card on My Top 10 and More

Several packages arrived in the mail today.  Included among them were a Topps Now card, some random wantlist hits, and the #8 card on my Most Wanted list.

1.  Rafael Devers.  This card was a one-card trade package.  For some reason I did not include these on my wantlist.  I only had the Rusney Castillo (because of course I did) before.  Devers is one of Boston's top prospects and has the best power potential in their system.

2.  Yoan Moncada.  This represented the high point of Moncada's season.  Unfortunately he started striking out at an alarming rate and has since been buried on the bench.  He remains a work in progress.  Moncada remains Boston's #1 prospect and one of the top prospects in the game however.

3.  Curt Schilling.  This was the #8 card on my Most Wanted List.  This is a short-printed image variation and shows Schilling with the Red Sox instead of the Diamondbacks as the regular version showed.

4.  John Valentin.  Several Valentin cards have found their way into my collection recently.  I am not complaining.

5.  David Ortiz.  I really like this shot of Ortiz's pre-at bat routine.  This is a short-printed card and was on my want list.  Once again, Ortiz finds his way into a package today.

6.  Xander Bogaerts.  Another wantlist hit.  Bogaerts has been struggling a bit lately, but he still managed to get to 20 home runs for the first time in his career.

7.  Will Middlebrooks.  I love this card.  First, there is the action shot, one of the best photos in recent memory for a Red Sox regular Topps card.  Then, there is the fact that this is the red refractor and is numbered to just 25.

8.  Clay Buchholz.  This came in the same trade package as the Middlebrooks, a rare high-end trade for me.  

9.  Team Card.  Finally, this card came from Peter of Baseball Every Night who contact me and offered to send this card and some other base mostly because I needed this one card.  That is Jackie Bradley Jr., Xander Bogaerts, and Mookie Betts in that shot, Boston's "Killer Bees".  Thanks Peter!

Red Sox with No Cards: 2004

2004.  The year Boston won it all for the first time in 86 years.  Afterwards, a number of commemorative sets were released and a lot of players who likely would not have received any cards, did.  Players like Curtis Leskanic, Dave McCarty, Ricky Gutierrez, Adam Hyzdu, Lenny DiNardo, Terry Adams, Mark Malaska, Phil Seibel, and Joe Nelson all had very few cards released, but they still were better off than these players.

JIMMY ANDERSON

The left-handed Anderson had been a starting pitcher for a few years with the Pirates, while the Pirates were pretty much terrible.  He was 24-42 with the Pirates with an unsightly 5.17 ERA.  Control was always an issue.  He bounced around a little bit before 2004 and started the season with the Cubs.  He was traded to Boston in July for a minor leaguer.  Anderson pitched in just five games for the Red Sox, six innings total.  He walked three and struck out three and had an ERA of 6.00.  Anderson did not return to the Majors after his stint with the Red Sox.

PEDRO ASTACIO

Astacio had been a promising pitching prospect with the Dodgers at about the same time another pitcher named Pedro had been starting to make his mark with the team.  Astacio had some good years, including winning 14 games in 1993.  Later, he was traded to the Rockies, where his ERA ballooned, but he managed to win 17 games one year and struck out more than 200 batters.  He pitched well enough, though it is hard to be a good pitcher in Colorado.  He then spent some time with the Astros and Mets before finding himself in Boston as a 35 year old trying to stick around.  Astacio pitched in just five games for the Red Sox, with a 10.38 ERA.  He started just one of the five games.  He struck out six and walked five in 8.2 innings.  After the season he spent some time with the Rangers, Padres, and Nationals.

CESAR CRESPO

After an impressive Spring Training in 2004, Crespo made the Red Sox as a utility infielder.  He did not perform particularly well at the Major League level.  Crespo had been in the Majors for the Padres in 2001 and 2002 and hit .203 with four home runs in 80 games.  Crespo made it into 52 games with the Red Sox into July before being sent to the minors.  He hit just .165/.165/.215 in 79 at-bats with two doubles and a triple.  He stole two bases.  Crespo filled in at shortstop, second, and all three outfield positions.  Crespo does have a team-issued postcard and some minor league cards, but no standard cards with the Boston Red Sox.

BOBBY JONES

For a couple of seasons in the late 1990's, Bobby Jones was a regular starting pitcher with the Rockies, in the same rotation as Astacio.  Jones had a 6.33 ERA in 1999 though, with a 6-10 record, and was traded to the Mets for another struggling starter Masato Yoshii.  He bounced around after that, never making it into more than 16 games in the Majors again.  Jones had been signed by the Red Sox in 2003 and played in the minors for them in 2004.  He pitched in three games for Boston in April, pitching 3.1 innings with an ERA of 5.40.  He struck out three, but walked eight.  He continued bouncing around after that, but never made the Majors again.

SANDY MARTINEZ

A backup catcher for several seasons, Sandy Martinez originally came up with the Blue Jays, though he started in the Dodgers organization.  Martinez also spent some time with the Cubs, Marlins, Expos, and Indians before coming to the Red Sox as catching depth in September after a cash deal with Cleveland.  Predictably, Martinez was a much better defensive catcher than a hitter.  He played in just three games with the Red Sox in 2004 with four at-bats.  He did not record a hit and struck out twice.  He had a passed ball as a catcher and six putouts.  Martinez continued to bounce around after 2004, but never made it back to the Majors.

EARL SNYDER

The winner for the most obscure player on this list is Earl Snyder, whose entire Major League output consisted of 19 games over two seasons, 18 of them for the Indians in 2002.  He played just one game for the Red Sox in 2004.  Snyder had a good year in Pawtucket, hitting 36 home runs and driving in 104 while hitting .273/.323/.558.  He played his only game for Boston in mid-August, playing third base and registering a single and a strikeout in four at-bats.  He left as a free agent after the season and continued to hit well in the minors, but never was called up again.  Snyder does have cards issued with Pawtucket.

Of these players, Cesar Crespo played the most for the Red Sox.  None of the other players even played in more than five games.  Pedro Astacio is the most well-known player, having had a 15 year career in the Majors with some success.  If I had to pick one player I would have liked to have seen on some cardboard wearing a Red Sox uniform, it would likely be between Crespo and Astacio.  I would probably pick Astacio.