It will be all Red Sox, all the time at the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies this summer. Both Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice were elected for enshrinement. Rickey went in on his first try, while Rice needed his last ups to join the immortals. Both players are former members of the Boston Red Sox, though only Rice will actually “go in” as a member of the Red Sox.
The voting went about as I expected it to. I had previously posted that were it up to me, I would have only voted for Henderson. While I wouldn’t have voted for Rice, I expected him to get the vote. For one thing, people who saw more of him during his playing days than I did keep saying how wonderful he was. Plus, he only ended up seven votes short last year. There was no way that seven people wouldn’t think, “I don’t want to be the guy who makes him miss out on his last chance.” So, I figured he’d collect the votes he needed. Everyone else was left out, as I thought they should be.
So, congratulations to Rickey and Jim. I, for one, can’t wait to hear Henderson’s acceptance speech. It should be must-hear.
Next up, I guess, is the long awaited retirement of Rice’s number 14.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Calls from the Hall
I’ll give baseball writers some credit. They know how to time things. In mid January, baseball is in the middle of its off-season. Most of the major free agents will have signed by now…although this year Manny is still lingering. The writers don’t have many hot stove headlines to write about. They can’t write their stories about the trucks leaving for Spring Training yet. They’re in a quiet spot of the year. So, even though the induction ceremony won’t be until July, they announce the Hall-of-Fame class in January. That way they can fill weeks of columns with Hall-of-Fame talk. Who should get in? Who did get in? Who should have gotten in? It’s pure genius. It’s much better than releasing the class during the World Series…or Super Bowl…there’s already plenty to talk about there. So, here we are in the middle of winter with lots of baseball to discuss.
This year’s ballot is a little less impressive than it has been in the past. It does include a few people who wore the Red Sox uniform at some point. What are the chances of a former Sox player getting the needed votes for enshrinement? Here’s what I think.
I’ve mentioned it before, but I have only three criteria when it comes to whom I would vote into the Hall, if they let me. I have no magic stats. 3000 hits or 500 home runs don’t make you a Hall-of-Famer. I don’t care about rings or playoff performance either. The three criteria?
1. Five Hall-of-Fame years. I need five years of your career to be otherworldly. Five years where you’re in the conversation as the best player in the game. At the very least, the best at your position. I don’t need MVP awards, or Cy Young awards. But, if somebody asked who the best player was, your name should come up at some point. (Think Ken Griffey Jr 1993-1999, Pedro Martinez 1997-2002, or Nomar Garciaparra 1997-2002)
2. Five more All-Star Years. Again, I don’t need actual selection to the All-Star team. As long as teenage girls keep voting Derek Jeter to the team, actual selections are meaningless. But, for five more years, you should be one of those guys you expect to make the team. If Fox was promoting the game in April, they should feel comfortable using your face in the commercial. There was a year that Pedro was hurt, and couldn’t make the team. But, a poll of AL managers said he deserved to be there, so they asked the League for a special spot to put him on the team. It didn’t seem right to have an All-Star team without him on it. That’s the type of player I’m talking about.
3. Don’t embarrass yourself. For the rest of your career, don’t be a fourth outfielder. Don’t be a washed up hanger-on. Continue to play at a high level, and be a top player on your team.
So, would any former Sox make the cut if it were up to me? Let’s see who’s on the ballot.
David Cone – Cone was with the Sox during the 2001 Red Sox season. By then, he was just hanging on trying to squeeze an extra year or two out of his career. Cone won the Cy Young with the Royals in 1994, although his best season may have been in 1988 with the Mets. Cone practically invented the “hired gun” position, joining two teams midseason to carry them to the playoffs. He threw a perfect game with the Yankees, and was in the Bronx long enough to collect a couple rings. He was a mighty fine pitcher that any team would be glad to have on their team. But, he’s short of being a Hall-of-Famer. I can’t find many superstar seasons in his career. He’ll go down as a great pitcher, just not an elite one.
Andre Dawson – Dawson played with the Sox in 1993 and 1994. As I’ve mentioned in an earlier post, by then he was a shell of his former self. Injuries to his knees had sapped him of the skills he once had. Admittedly, I’m probably not informed enough to rate Dawson’s career. Looking at the numbers, however, I just don’t see the otherworldly stats. He won the MVP award in 1987, but the rest of his years look above average. He ended up with some nice career stats, collecting 438 home runs and 2774 hits. He just looks to fall short of my first two criteria. He’s close, and a contemporary of his might say otherwise, but I couldn’t put him in.
Rickey Henderson- He played for the Red Sox in 2002, at the end of his career. I remember seeing him on base one game and just marveling. The pitcher couldn’t take his eyes off him. The whole game had changed from pitcher vs. batter to pitcher vs. runner. The pitcher was off his rhythm and out of sorts. Clearly the batter now had an advantage. The whole inning turned to the Red Sox favor, just by having this old guy on first. It was unbelievable. I remember thinking, “My gosh. If he can do this in his forties, how did he not win every MVP award in his prime?” As it turns out, he only won the award once, finishing second once and third once. But, that’s why I don’t care about awards. Awards don’t tell the whole story of his dominance. A quick look at my Total Baseball shows Henderson leading the league in their Total Player Rating six times. (For comparison, Joe Dimaggio did it twice, Hank Aaron three times, and Ted Williams seven) So, he met my fist criteria with six years he was considered among the best in the game. He had the other five all-star years to meet criteria two. And, while he sure shopped himself around at the end of his career, he met criteria number three. He may have hung around getting some career records, but that day at Fenway proved to me that he was still a star…even as a fourth outfielder. Put him in the Hall.
Jim Rice – Rice played his entire 16-year career with the Red Sox from 1974 to 1989. He was the obvious successor to Yaz in front of Fenway’s left field Wall. It would be nice to say he continued the string of Hall-of-Famers at that position following Williams and Yaz. Instead, he looks like part of the steady decline at the position. From Williams ( all-time great) to Yaz (Hall-of-Famer) to Rice to Greenwell. I want to say Rice deserves to be in the Hall, I really do. I just can’t get there. If I look over his career, I see about 4 career years in ’77-79 and 1983 that he was at the top of the league leaders is all kinds of categories. I could even be convinced to give him “otherworldly status” for those four. After that, I just see “really good” and not enough of it. People who saw him play more than I did swear he had the cache I want to see in a Hall-of-Famer. That may be. I just can’t support it. He’s the definition of borderline and, for me, just below the line.
Lee Smith – Smith was with the Sox from 1988 to 1990, collecting 58 saves as the Red Sox closer. My problem with Lee’s Hall-of-Fame eligibility is I don’t know where closers fit in. There are ten starting positions in a ballgame, including the DH. Smith wasn’t any of those. He was brought in at the end of the game when the starter couldn’t finish. How is that different than a defensive replacement? Or a pinch hitter? Do we need to start looking at Doug Mientkiewicz as a Hall-of-Famer because he plays great defense at first during the ninth inning? Or Dave Roberts because he runs well in the ninth inning? Smith pitched pretty well, although his career 3.03 ERA seems high for a closer. Since closers are prevented from giving up big innings, they need to have much better numbers than starters. Smith doesn’t have them. I can’t put a guy with his numbers who averaged 71 innings a year into the Hall-of-Fame.
Mo Vaughn – Mo played for the Sox from 1991 to 1998, and he was my favorite player on the team for most of those years. His grand slam in the bottom of the ninth in the 1998 home opener is still one of my favorite live memories. Unfortunately for Mo, after he left the Sox injuries never really let him continue a Hall-of-Fame path. His years in Boston were pretty good, including an MVP award. But, not enough of them were at the elite level needed for enshrinement. He was a 2008 inductee to the Red Sox Hall-of-Fame, and that will have to be enough.
It look like just Rickey this Year. Do you agree?
This year’s ballot is a little less impressive than it has been in the past. It does include a few people who wore the Red Sox uniform at some point. What are the chances of a former Sox player getting the needed votes for enshrinement? Here’s what I think.
I’ve mentioned it before, but I have only three criteria when it comes to whom I would vote into the Hall, if they let me. I have no magic stats. 3000 hits or 500 home runs don’t make you a Hall-of-Famer. I don’t care about rings or playoff performance either. The three criteria?
1. Five Hall-of-Fame years. I need five years of your career to be otherworldly. Five years where you’re in the conversation as the best player in the game. At the very least, the best at your position. I don’t need MVP awards, or Cy Young awards. But, if somebody asked who the best player was, your name should come up at some point. (Think Ken Griffey Jr 1993-1999, Pedro Martinez 1997-2002, or Nomar Garciaparra 1997-2002)
2. Five more All-Star Years. Again, I don’t need actual selection to the All-Star team. As long as teenage girls keep voting Derek Jeter to the team, actual selections are meaningless. But, for five more years, you should be one of those guys you expect to make the team. If Fox was promoting the game in April, they should feel comfortable using your face in the commercial. There was a year that Pedro was hurt, and couldn’t make the team. But, a poll of AL managers said he deserved to be there, so they asked the League for a special spot to put him on the team. It didn’t seem right to have an All-Star team without him on it. That’s the type of player I’m talking about.
3. Don’t embarrass yourself. For the rest of your career, don’t be a fourth outfielder. Don’t be a washed up hanger-on. Continue to play at a high level, and be a top player on your team.
So, would any former Sox make the cut if it were up to me? Let’s see who’s on the ballot.
David Cone – Cone was with the Sox during the 2001 Red Sox season. By then, he was just hanging on trying to squeeze an extra year or two out of his career. Cone won the Cy Young with the Royals in 1994, although his best season may have been in 1988 with the Mets. Cone practically invented the “hired gun” position, joining two teams midseason to carry them to the playoffs. He threw a perfect game with the Yankees, and was in the Bronx long enough to collect a couple rings. He was a mighty fine pitcher that any team would be glad to have on their team. But, he’s short of being a Hall-of-Famer. I can’t find many superstar seasons in his career. He’ll go down as a great pitcher, just not an elite one.
Andre Dawson – Dawson played with the Sox in 1993 and 1994. As I’ve mentioned in an earlier post, by then he was a shell of his former self. Injuries to his knees had sapped him of the skills he once had. Admittedly, I’m probably not informed enough to rate Dawson’s career. Looking at the numbers, however, I just don’t see the otherworldly stats. He won the MVP award in 1987, but the rest of his years look above average. He ended up with some nice career stats, collecting 438 home runs and 2774 hits. He just looks to fall short of my first two criteria. He’s close, and a contemporary of his might say otherwise, but I couldn’t put him in.
Rickey Henderson- He played for the Red Sox in 2002, at the end of his career. I remember seeing him on base one game and just marveling. The pitcher couldn’t take his eyes off him. The whole game had changed from pitcher vs. batter to pitcher vs. runner. The pitcher was off his rhythm and out of sorts. Clearly the batter now had an advantage. The whole inning turned to the Red Sox favor, just by having this old guy on first. It was unbelievable. I remember thinking, “My gosh. If he can do this in his forties, how did he not win every MVP award in his prime?” As it turns out, he only won the award once, finishing second once and third once. But, that’s why I don’t care about awards. Awards don’t tell the whole story of his dominance. A quick look at my Total Baseball shows Henderson leading the league in their Total Player Rating six times. (For comparison, Joe Dimaggio did it twice, Hank Aaron three times, and Ted Williams seven) So, he met my fist criteria with six years he was considered among the best in the game. He had the other five all-star years to meet criteria two. And, while he sure shopped himself around at the end of his career, he met criteria number three. He may have hung around getting some career records, but that day at Fenway proved to me that he was still a star…even as a fourth outfielder. Put him in the Hall.
Jim Rice – Rice played his entire 16-year career with the Red Sox from 1974 to 1989. He was the obvious successor to Yaz in front of Fenway’s left field Wall. It would be nice to say he continued the string of Hall-of-Famers at that position following Williams and Yaz. Instead, he looks like part of the steady decline at the position. From Williams ( all-time great) to Yaz (Hall-of-Famer) to Rice to Greenwell. I want to say Rice deserves to be in the Hall, I really do. I just can’t get there. If I look over his career, I see about 4 career years in ’77-79 and 1983 that he was at the top of the league leaders is all kinds of categories. I could even be convinced to give him “otherworldly status” for those four. After that, I just see “really good” and not enough of it. People who saw him play more than I did swear he had the cache I want to see in a Hall-of-Famer. That may be. I just can’t support it. He’s the definition of borderline and, for me, just below the line.
Lee Smith – Smith was with the Sox from 1988 to 1990, collecting 58 saves as the Red Sox closer. My problem with Lee’s Hall-of-Fame eligibility is I don’t know where closers fit in. There are ten starting positions in a ballgame, including the DH. Smith wasn’t any of those. He was brought in at the end of the game when the starter couldn’t finish. How is that different than a defensive replacement? Or a pinch hitter? Do we need to start looking at Doug Mientkiewicz as a Hall-of-Famer because he plays great defense at first during the ninth inning? Or Dave Roberts because he runs well in the ninth inning? Smith pitched pretty well, although his career 3.03 ERA seems high for a closer. Since closers are prevented from giving up big innings, they need to have much better numbers than starters. Smith doesn’t have them. I can’t put a guy with his numbers who averaged 71 innings a year into the Hall-of-Fame.
Mo Vaughn – Mo played for the Sox from 1991 to 1998, and he was my favorite player on the team for most of those years. His grand slam in the bottom of the ninth in the 1998 home opener is still one of my favorite live memories. Unfortunately for Mo, after he left the Sox injuries never really let him continue a Hall-of-Fame path. His years in Boston were pretty good, including an MVP award. But, not enough of them were at the elite level needed for enshrinement. He was a 2008 inductee to the Red Sox Hall-of-Fame, and that will have to be enough.
It look like just Rickey this Year. Do you agree?
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
100th Post!
This post marks the 100th in the history of Section 36. While it’s not exactly at the same level of Seinfeld’s 100th episode or anything, it’s pretty cool. For my reader(s?) I want to thank you. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed it, and you keep coming back…and bring friends!
Also, with the new year, we’re on the downhill side of time remaining for the Section 36 Scavenger Hunt. The deadline for entries is the day pitchers and catchers report to Red Sox Spring Training. So, we’re down to a couple months. If you’ve lost you list of items to find, check the link on the right. We’ve had some interest in the hunt, but nobody’s found all 36 items so far.
Keep looking!
Also, with the new year, we’re on the downhill side of time remaining for the Section 36 Scavenger Hunt. The deadline for entries is the day pitchers and catchers report to Red Sox Spring Training. So, we’re down to a couple months. If you’ve lost you list of items to find, check the link on the right. We’ve had some interest in the hunt, but nobody’s found all 36 items so far.
Keep looking!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Fixing the Baseball Economy
OK. Here’s my plan to fix everything. If Bud Selig is listening, he can feel free to take notes. It’s all based on television money, and it’s all fair and even. It’s great. I should point out that I don’t have any actual facts or numbers to use in support of my plan. But, heck, this isn’t the New York Times or anything. So, here we go.
The basis of my plan is this. I think the football salary cap works pretty well. Teams in Green Bay and Indy can compete with New York very easily. Much of the football salary cap is based on the money the NFL gets from television contracts. So, I think baseball should do the same. I’ll admit that I don’t really know what MLB does with the money it currently gets from its Fox or TBS contracts. Nor do I know where monies from the recently launched MLBTV channel goes. I also don’t want to do away with the regional broadcasts. One of the reasons watching Patriots games makes me want to throw up is that they’re all broadcast for the national audience. The hype and ignorance involved with every broadcast is too much to handle. I’d hate to give up my NESN coverage of Sox games. But, I don’t see why the money NESN pays for the rights to cover the games can’t go right into MLB pockets. (I know that NESN is owned by the Sox, so there may not be an actual payment to cover the games. But, there must at least be a numbers used internally for accounting purposes) How much are team’s regional contracts to cover the games? I have no idea. Can I guess? I can try.
If I remember correctly, at the end of its run, the cast of Friends was making $1 million each per episode. So, six stars for 20 episodes brings us to about $120 million that NBC was paying the stars per season. So, the revenue they brought in through ads must have been more that that, right? So, if I were paying for the rights to broadcast Friends, wouldn’t it be a contract in excess of $120 million? Now, I know that baseball games don’t get the ratings that Friends got per episode. But, if you add the ratings that Friends got for 20 episodes, and compare it to the total ratings baseball games get for 162 episodes, aren’t we in the same ballpark? (I know, clever pun) For number’s sake, could we say $100 million would be a number to use for broadcast rights to baseball games? How about if we included radio as well? Can I use $100 million for the sake of this plan? Thanks.
So, let’s say each team or television station pays MLB for the rights to regionally broadcast baseball games. Just like it does now, the rights could go to the highest bidder. (We can work out some arrangement for team-owned stations like YES or NESN. Either use some industry number to charge the team, or just let them bid along with everyone else. If FOX25 wants to pay more than NESN to broadcast the games, so be it.) Teams in major markets would bring in more money than teams in smaller markets. But, it would all go into a pool at MLB. Then, it would all be split up back to the teams to use for their salaries. So, if the total pool ended up at $3 billion, each team would get $100 million for salaries. That would be the salary floor. Every team would be required to spend that much on salaries for the year. The Pittsburgh owner wouldn’t profit from the NY television contract. So, every team starts with an equal chance. Pretty good start.
Now, what about the reward for teams doing a good job? Well, since that number was the floor, there will be a ceiling. Say we cap it at some amount higher than that floor. $20 million seems about right, either as a flat amount, or as a percentage of the floor. So, if teams want to use the money they get from other marketing or ticket sales to improve their teams, that’s great. They should be allowed to do so. But, it keeps everyone within the same $100- $120 million range of salaries. It’s the best of both worlds. The small market teams get to compete. The well-run teams get rewarded. Nobody is on baseball welfare. Plus, the system improves itself. As teams like Kansas City improve their teams using the minimum payrolls, their fans will return. This in turn increases their television bids, which increases the floor, and so on. As for the biggest hurdle…how do we get the union to buy in? Aside from the whole improving the game improves everyone argument, there’s a straight monetary argument as well. The 2008 Opening Day payrolls had the Yankees at the top with $210 million. The Marlins were at the bottom with $21.8 million (wow). In total, there was $2.6 billion in MLB payroll…or $87 million per team. This plan would put even more money into play. The alpha dogs like ARod may not make as much, but every other member of the union should have more money out there to gobble up. It’s a win-win.
Yes, I know that there is a lot more to it than that. Like I said, I don’t know how the money is split up presently, or how much TV revenue would really bring in. But, I bet there is some way that MLB could provide the $100 million I used to the teams. Whether it’s through broadcast rights, or internet revenues, or trips to Japan. I also know it’s not exactly a plan you could just start next year. There would have to be some easing in period. Maybe a Kevin Garnett-type exception for players already making too much for the caps. But, considering all that, I think this may be the start of the answer.
Anyone else have a better idea?
The basis of my plan is this. I think the football salary cap works pretty well. Teams in Green Bay and Indy can compete with New York very easily. Much of the football salary cap is based on the money the NFL gets from television contracts. So, I think baseball should do the same. I’ll admit that I don’t really know what MLB does with the money it currently gets from its Fox or TBS contracts. Nor do I know where monies from the recently launched MLBTV channel goes. I also don’t want to do away with the regional broadcasts. One of the reasons watching Patriots games makes me want to throw up is that they’re all broadcast for the national audience. The hype and ignorance involved with every broadcast is too much to handle. I’d hate to give up my NESN coverage of Sox games. But, I don’t see why the money NESN pays for the rights to cover the games can’t go right into MLB pockets. (I know that NESN is owned by the Sox, so there may not be an actual payment to cover the games. But, there must at least be a numbers used internally for accounting purposes) How much are team’s regional contracts to cover the games? I have no idea. Can I guess? I can try.
If I remember correctly, at the end of its run, the cast of Friends was making $1 million each per episode. So, six stars for 20 episodes brings us to about $120 million that NBC was paying the stars per season. So, the revenue they brought in through ads must have been more that that, right? So, if I were paying for the rights to broadcast Friends, wouldn’t it be a contract in excess of $120 million? Now, I know that baseball games don’t get the ratings that Friends got per episode. But, if you add the ratings that Friends got for 20 episodes, and compare it to the total ratings baseball games get for 162 episodes, aren’t we in the same ballpark? (I know, clever pun) For number’s sake, could we say $100 million would be a number to use for broadcast rights to baseball games? How about if we included radio as well? Can I use $100 million for the sake of this plan? Thanks.
So, let’s say each team or television station pays MLB for the rights to regionally broadcast baseball games. Just like it does now, the rights could go to the highest bidder. (We can work out some arrangement for team-owned stations like YES or NESN. Either use some industry number to charge the team, or just let them bid along with everyone else. If FOX25 wants to pay more than NESN to broadcast the games, so be it.) Teams in major markets would bring in more money than teams in smaller markets. But, it would all go into a pool at MLB. Then, it would all be split up back to the teams to use for their salaries. So, if the total pool ended up at $3 billion, each team would get $100 million for salaries. That would be the salary floor. Every team would be required to spend that much on salaries for the year. The Pittsburgh owner wouldn’t profit from the NY television contract. So, every team starts with an equal chance. Pretty good start.
Now, what about the reward for teams doing a good job? Well, since that number was the floor, there will be a ceiling. Say we cap it at some amount higher than that floor. $20 million seems about right, either as a flat amount, or as a percentage of the floor. So, if teams want to use the money they get from other marketing or ticket sales to improve their teams, that’s great. They should be allowed to do so. But, it keeps everyone within the same $100- $120 million range of salaries. It’s the best of both worlds. The small market teams get to compete. The well-run teams get rewarded. Nobody is on baseball welfare. Plus, the system improves itself. As teams like Kansas City improve their teams using the minimum payrolls, their fans will return. This in turn increases their television bids, which increases the floor, and so on. As for the biggest hurdle…how do we get the union to buy in? Aside from the whole improving the game improves everyone argument, there’s a straight monetary argument as well. The 2008 Opening Day payrolls had the Yankees at the top with $210 million. The Marlins were at the bottom with $21.8 million (wow). In total, there was $2.6 billion in MLB payroll…or $87 million per team. This plan would put even more money into play. The alpha dogs like ARod may not make as much, but every other member of the union should have more money out there to gobble up. It’s a win-win.
Yes, I know that there is a lot more to it than that. Like I said, I don’t know how the money is split up presently, or how much TV revenue would really bring in. But, I bet there is some way that MLB could provide the $100 million I used to the teams. Whether it’s through broadcast rights, or internet revenues, or trips to Japan. I also know it’s not exactly a plan you could just start next year. There would have to be some easing in period. Maybe a Kevin Garnett-type exception for players already making too much for the caps. But, considering all that, I think this may be the start of the answer.
Anyone else have a better idea?
Friday, January 2, 2009
36 Years of Red Sox Cards (Part III)
Let’s keep looking at some Red Sox baseball cards from years gone by.
2008 Upper Deck Season Highlights Clay Buchholz
One way card companies like to fill up their sets with popular players is with highlight cards. This gives them an excuse to put even more cards of players people want into their sets. In this case, the play is Red Sox bright star Clay Buchholz. Clay started the trend of young Sox starters throwing no-hitters by firing his gem in only his second major league start. I like the look of this card showing both his celebration, and the scoreboard in the background. It’s one of the things I said I like about collecting cards…it transports me back in time to an important event. Clay may turn out to be a bust, but his no-hitter will always stare me right it the face.
1973-Topps Carlton Fisk #193
I like this card for a couple reasons. For one thing, I’ve always liked Fisk. His battles with Munson alone are enough to move him up on any list of favorite Sox. Plus, our paths always seem to “cross”. I was at the All-Star game in ’99 when he was honorary captain. I was at the game where they retired his number. I happened to visit the Baseball Hall-of-Fame the year he was inducted. That sort of thing. This card is his first card where he’s pictured alone. His ’72 rookie card shows him with two other players crammed onto one card. It’s just a classic looking old card for a classic old ballplayer.
1991-Donruss Phil Plantier
I thought Phil Plantier was great. I loved the squatting batting stance he used. I could recognize it on a t-shirt from across a store. When he came up at the end of the 1991 season he was super-exciting. He was getting hits and smacking home runs left and right. He was sure to be a
star. I wanted as many of his ’91 rookie cards as I could get my hands on. Donruss must have been listening to me. I seems that every pack of Donruss cards I opened that year had this card in it. I think I ended up with 11 of them by the end of the year. Of course, he never really became the star he was destined to be. So, all 11 of these Donruss cards are pretty much worthless. But, I still keep then, along with the other 100 or so of his cards I amassed during his two years with the Sox, to remember the excitement he brought.
1978 Topps Bill Lee
OK. I’ll admit it. I’ve never even seen this card. But, any discussion of the 1978 Red Sox has to include Bill Lee. If you’re making a set of 1978 Red Sox cards, this would be the first one to go after. He was one of the most colorful characters the Sox have ever employed. His battles with Don Zimmer are legendary. (Despite him being a certified Yankee killer, he wasn’t used late in the year while the Sox were collapsing. He was shipped off to the hole that is Montreal the next season.) While we may never know what actually happened in the clubhouse, any player who calls his manager a gerbil when he deserves it is OK in my book.
2008 Upper Deck Season Highlights Clay Buchholz
One way card companies like to fill up their sets with popular players is with highlight cards. This gives them an excuse to put even more cards of players people want into their sets. In this case, the play is Red Sox bright star Clay Buchholz. Clay started the trend of young Sox starters throwing no-hitters by firing his gem in only his second major league start. I like the look of this card showing both his celebration, and the scoreboard in the background. It’s one of the things I said I like about collecting cards…it transports me back in time to an important event. Clay may turn out to be a bust, but his no-hitter will always stare me right it the face.1973-Topps Carlton Fisk #193
I like this card for a couple reasons. For one thing, I’ve always liked Fisk. His battles with Munson alone are enough to move him up on any list of favorite Sox. Plus, our paths always seem to “cross”. I was at the All-Star game in ’99 when he was honorary captain. I was at the game where they retired his number. I happened to visit the Baseball Hall-of-Fame the year he was inducted. That sort of thing. This card is his first card where he’s pictured alone. His ’72 rookie card shows him with two other players crammed onto one card. It’s just a classic looking old card for a classic old ballplayer.
1991-Donruss Phil Plantier
I thought Phil Plantier was great. I loved the squatting batting stance he used. I could recognize it on a t-shirt from across a store. When he came up at the end of the 1991 season he was super-exciting. He was getting hits and smacking home runs left and right. He was sure to be a
star. I wanted as many of his ’91 rookie cards as I could get my hands on. Donruss must have been listening to me. I seems that every pack of Donruss cards I opened that year had this card in it. I think I ended up with 11 of them by the end of the year. Of course, he never really became the star he was destined to be. So, all 11 of these Donruss cards are pretty much worthless. But, I still keep then, along with the other 100 or so of his cards I amassed during his two years with the Sox, to remember the excitement he brought.1978 Topps Bill Lee
OK. I’ll admit it. I’ve never even seen this card. But, any discussion of the 1978 Red Sox has to include Bill Lee. If you’re making a set of 1978 Red Sox cards, this would be the first one to go after. He was one of the most colorful characters the Sox have ever employed. His battles with Don Zimmer are legendary. (Despite him being a certified Yankee killer, he wasn’t used late in the year while the Sox were collapsing. He was shipped off to the hole that is Montreal the next season.) While we may never know what actually happened in the clubhouse, any player who calls his manager a gerbil when he deserves it is OK in my book.
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