Red Sox Hall of Fame Wantlist

I've mentioned my side collection/project at least once before. As a way to try to expand my collection into the vintage range, I thought it would be fun to collect at least one card of every member of the Red Sox Hall of Fame. Not only that, but the card needed to picture the player as a member of the Red Sox, and needed to be released during the time he played for the Sox. Otherwise I could just use my 2001 Fleer Red Sox 100th Anniversary set, and be done. I wanted older cards, and some variety. 

Now, of course, I'm well aware that I will never finish this set. A vintage Babe Ruth card from his Red Sox days will never never be in my price range. Even a vintage Jimmy Collins, or Tris Speaker, or Cy Young as a Red Sox would need to be practically ripped in half to even approach my price range. Nor could I most likely trade for any of those. I promise you, I have no trade bait that I'm aware of that would get one of those in return. But, that doesn't mean I can't try to do the best I can. So, as a way to keep the list accessible, I'm posting it here. 

I'm especially eager to try and build up the "middle section" of stars. Naturally, players from the 70's on were pretty easy to find. I had at least one card of them somewhere in my collection. (Sure, I'd prefer to have a Roger Clemens '85 Topps as opposed to '86. After all, having the rookie cards would be fun. But it's not a big deal.) And, as I mentioned, the cards of pre-1950 players are a bit tricky. But, the players from 1950-70 should be at least possible to obtain. So here's the list of players. I have no idea if there are actually Red Sox cards from the years they played for all these players, or not. But, hey, if you happen to have extras.

Tony Conigliaro 64-67, 69-70,75

Boo Ferriss 45-50,55-59

Billy Goodman 47-57

Jackie Jensen 54-59,61

Ellis Kinder 48-55

Jim Lonborg 65-71

Frank Malzone 55-65

Bill Mombouquette 58-65

Rico Petrocelli 63,65-76

Jimmy Piersall 1950,52-58

Dick Radatz 62-66

Pete Runnels 58-62,65-66

Reggie Smith 66-73

Vern Stephens 48-52

Frank Sullivan 53-60

Dick Williams HOF 67-69

Don Zimmer 74-80

And, why not? Here's a list of Red Sox Hall of Famers from pre 1950. Happen to have an extra T206 Tris Speaker? 

Bill Carrigan 

Jimmy Collins 

Joe Cronin 

Dom Dimaggio 

Joe Dobson 

Rick Ferrell 

Wes Ferrell 

Jimmie Foxx 

Larry Gardner 

Lefty Grove 

Harry Hooper 

Tex Hughson

Dutch Leonard

Duffy Lewis 

Herb Pennock 

Red Ruffing 

Babe Ruth 

Everett Scott 

Tris Speaker 

Smoky Joe Wood 

Cy Young 

36 Pack Wax Match: Pack 11

The Stage has been set. The Match is underway. Who will come out on top? There’s only one way to find out.

Keep going, and open that eleventh pack!

As we dive into this pack, 1990 has extended the lead in the match thanks to its victory in pack ten! Can it extend its lead? Let's see!

Red Sox +2

That's how you start it out! This card of World Series hero (from the Mets point of view) Bob Stanley grabs a quick two points for 1988.

Yankees -2

And, then gave them right back In this contest, this card has the wrong gator. So, it's back to even.

Unfortunately for 1988, that's where it's pack ends up. Even. Will that be enough?

Hall of Famer +1

1990 inches in front. This great insert of a Hall of Famer nets one point.

Hall of Famer +1

And another point! This is an absolutely terrible picture of Molitor, by the way. Not even having his head extend over the top border can save it. That's hard to do.

Red Sox +2

At this point, it's not even fair. Another two points for 1990 and the rout is on.

That's where the scoring stops in this round, with 1990 claiming a crushing victory to again extend its lead.

Box Bottom: 1988 +1 (1-0)

Pack 1:  1990 +6 (1-1)
Pack 2:  1990 +4 (2-1)
Pack 3:  1988 +3 (2-2)
Pack 4:  1990 +1 (3-2)
Pack 5:  1990 +1 (4-2)
Pack 6:  1988 +2 (3-4)
Pack 7:  1988 +3 (4-4)
Pack 8:  TIE   +0 (4-4)
Pack 9:  1990 +2 (5-4)
Pack 10: 1990 +4 (6-4)
Pack 11: 1990 +4 (7-4)

What will happen next time? 

Hall of Fame Match-ups

When I recently wrote about how Jim Thome performed in games I attended, I mentioned there were a couple games included where Thome faced Pedro Martinez in a matchup of future Hall of Famers. I wondered, offhandedly, how many of those match-ups I had ever seen where a future Hall of Fame pitcher faced a future Hall of Fame batter. How did those match-ups go?

I decided I should take a look and see. It turns out that there weren’t very many. That was helped because the Red Sox haven’t had many Hall of Fame batters on the team recently. Certainly none that spent their careers here since Boggs and Rice in the early nineties. (I’m not forgetting someone, right?) So, in the rare case where I was at a game where someone like Rickey Henderson played, it was long odds that the game also happened to feature a Hall of Fame pitcher. So, basically, we were looking at time where Pedro Martinez faced a future Hall of Fame batter, and a fluke matchup here or there. Turns out, it happened nine times (so far). Eight of them were Pedro. Here are the results.

What’s that they say about good pitching beating good hitting? Yeah. That’s apparently true. The Hall of Fame pitchers absolutely dominated their hitting counterparts. In 25 at-bats, the batters went hitless and only drew two walks. They struck out, though, nine times. Check out that ridiculous WHIP against the best hitters in the game.

Since so many of those appearances were Pedro, I decided to see what his numbers were just by himself.

As you might expect, they got even better. Pedro faced a future Hall of Fame batter 26 times while I was in the park, only once did he allow them to reach base. The walk to Jim Thome. He basically pitched a no-hitter where the only batters were headed to the Hall of Fame.

That’s just crazy talk.

I know I say it a lot, but damn he was good.

Kylee-Anne Drew Visits Section 36!

Section 36 has another visitor! Kylee-Anne Drew is a talented tap dancer, a Red Sox fan, and the current Miss Gate City. I am so

excited she agreed to visit with us to discuss those topics, and a few more. I'm sure you'll enjoy what she had to say as much as I did!

So, let’s see what happens when Kylee-Anne Drew visits Section 36!

How did you celebrate winning the Miss Gate City Crown?

The night of the Miss Gate City Pageant I celebrated with my family and friends at a restaurant near by. It was a great time with family and being able to see my brother who worked in NYC at the time. We actually celebrated both my win of the title, his new job at Apple, and his big move to San Francisco at the same time! It was a night filled with love and excitement.

What has surprised you the most about your time as Miss Gate City?

Just being able to represent and get to know another area of our incredible state of NH is both surprising, and rewarding. It has been an amazing experience to meet and develop relationships with so many people, businesses, and organizations in the communities of Nashua!

What portion of the upcoming Miss NH competition are you most nervous about?

Having nerves about anything is an emotion that every human faces. I guess I wouldn’t say any particular phase of competition is making me nervous specifically, it’s more of an overall excitement that I have for the competition as a whole. I just want to make sure I portray my personality to the best of my abilities, and really just have fun and taking every moment in.

How did you select your platform: “Turn the Beat Around”?

My platform “Turn the Beat Around; Raising awareness about heart disease”, is a cause that really hits home for me. As a woman who has heart disease deeply rooted in my family heritage, it is very important for me to take good care of my heart and overall health. As the #1 cause of death for both men and women in America, I believe it is incredibly important that our communities and especially our youth, are educated on the importance of keeping a healthy heart. Partnering with the American Heart Association has given me a larger outlet with information and resources to do so. Although prevention is very important, knowing how to take action in a situation dealing with heart disease could be the difference between life and death. So trying to educate as many citizens on the signs of heart attack, cardiac arrest, and

stroke, and how to perform CPR, is one of the missions of my platform.

Your competition talent is tap dance. What is your favorite part about dancing on stage?

As a competitive dancer from a young age, I have always loved the way being on stage makes me feel. The excitement of being able to entertain an audience with a passion of mine genuinely makes me happy. The reason I have always favored the art of tap dancing over other genres of dance, is because with tap dancing I am not only a dancer, I become a musician. As a kid I always wanted

to play the drums, but with tap dancing I can do just that except instead of using my hands and drum sticks, just hand me a pair of tap shoes.

If you had a free weekend, how would you most want to fill your time?

If I had a free weekend I would take that opportunity to travel even if it is just a small road trip. I love to see new places and communities.

Who is your favorite current Red Sox player? Why?

My favorite current Red Sox player is Dustin Pedroia. Since he was drafted in 2004 I have enjoyed watching him play over the years!

If you can’t sit is Section 36, where do/would you like to sit to watch a Red Sox game?

If I couldn’t sit in Section 36, I would like to sit in the dugout box around the 30’s sections! It would definitely be a cool experience sitting so close to the action!

What is your favorite memory from the 2017 Red Sox season?

My favorite part of the 2017 season has to be the first game at Fenway on opening day against the Pittsburg Pirates! It’s always great looking forward to baseball season and coming out with our first win after a great game.

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Agreed! I know I can't wait for Opening Day this season!

As always, I want to thank Kylee-Anne for visiting. It's great to learn a little bit more about a titleholder. I also want to thank her for sending along the pictures that accompany the interview. The one with the shoe just cracks me up!

As Kylee-Anne continues her time as Miss Gate City, I encourage you to follow her on the official Facebook page. 

And, of course, I want to wish Kylee-Anne luck this spring when she competes for the Miss New Hampshire crown. There will be so many women onstage with her this year who have visited Section 36. How awesome would it be for one of them to come out on top?

Thanks again Kylee-Anne, and good luck!

Happy to Walk the Plank

About a month ago, I was one of the winners of a birthday contest at Bob Walk the Plank. Matt promised me that he was putting something special together to add something to my collection beyond a few new Pedro Martinez cards. When the package arrived, I was blown away with the contents, and his generosity. It has take me too long to chronicle the package with a post, but that's how long it took to adequately document everything!

Matt chose to go in a completely different direction. The package I received was from Gypsy Oak (which was a bit confusing until I saw the "From Matt" written on the back). I was somewhat familiar with their art pieces from seeing them on other blogs and social media. But, nothing prepared me for what would come out of the envelope. Ready to check it out for yourself?

Let's see what's inside!

This is a fun label I could put on my very own beer, if I was the type of collector who actually used things like that. (My unopened jars of salsa would clearly say otherwise.) It's certainly unique, and I love the amount of detail that went into this item featuring XX.

According to the backs, these are a few studio created samples of the Gypsy Oak Baseball Art Cards. They're very similar to standard baseball cards in size and thickness. I love the different style on the Cy Young card. 

I can't find anything like these cards on the Gypsy Oak website. So, I'm not sure what they're called. The back isn't much help, with a paisley playing card type feel to it. But, I'm not going to complain about a great couple cards, especially the one of The Kid. (It's just now really bothering me that I didn't scan these in numerical order left to right.)

Here we have three cards calling themselves Helman Art Stamps. These cards are about the size of a T206, but much thinner stock, and have have perforated edges to really sell the "stamp" feel to them. I also love how the tobacco era design works with the player selection, especially Williams in his San Diego uniform. Imagine the outfield this trio would make with Ted in left, Speaker in center, and Hooper in right. Hall of Famers all of them.

More old time feel with these great cards. They call  themselves Colgan's Chips Base-Ball Pictures. They're again about the size of a T206, but approaching relic card thickness. This makes them very sturdy, and wonderfully attractive. Again the style, size, and player selection makes these cards feel like you stepped back in time. Smoky Joe Wood is a player who has too few cards, so it was great to see him included here. Hard to imagine many pitchers will have a season as good as his was in 1912.

As the front of this card clearly says, this is a wood engraving, and it shows. The picture doesn't do this card justice. Again, we're talking about relic card thickness, but all wood. The engraving is so well done, that I don't mind the guy on the right being included on a Red Sox card.

Here we have an uncut strip of micro cards. Each one is about the size of a quarter. It's a fun collection of Red Sox legends, ranging the century plus of Red Sox baseball from Cy Young to David Ortiz. Of course, I love the addition of the great Pedro Martinez!

Speaking of Pedro, Matt clearly knew of my affinity for the greatest pitcher to ever take the mound. The package included several great Pedro items, including these two cards. They're standard card size, but as thick as a relic card because, well, can't you see the relic? The Dodgers version has a 1992 penny in it. Of course, 1992 was the year Pedro made his Major League debut in Los Angeles. The Boston card has a 2004 penny in it. Pedro did something cool in 2004, you may remember.

Last, but certainly not least, we have these two 4x6 art prints of the one and only Pedro. I love how the two styles are completely different, but still capture the essence of Pedro. Incredible.

Clearly Matt went above and beyond with this prize package. I was thrilled to be able to add so many unique items to my Red Sox collection.

Thanks Matt!