A Grande Trade Post!

Back in October, I posted about a blaster of Topps Allen & Ginter that I had the pleasure of opening. One of the cards caught the eye of Chris over at Nachos Grande. He recognized it as one he needed, and I was happy to send it over to him along with a few other cards I had for him. He was kind enough to send a package of greatness back in return. I thought it would be fun to look at some of them here.

I hope you agree!

Here we go...

The 1981 Donruss design is starting to grow on me. Instead of being "plain and boring", it's starting to become "classic". The coloring I'm also finding appealing. Whatever the reason, I welcome this change in my opinion.

This Parnell is from the Archives set back when they were actual reprints. While it's not a real 1953, it's still a great addition to the collection. Coming off a less stellar 1952 season, Parnell was a 20-game winner in 1953.

Always nice to be reminded that Dawson was a Red Sox for a while there.

A nice collection of 1995 Score here showing different stages of Red Sox stardom. Frankie Rodriguez was supposed to be the next big thing...right until he wasn't. He went from untouchable in the minors, to being traded to the Twins during the '95 season. Mo Vaughn would, of course, win the MVP in 1995. Roger followed a 9-7 1994 season with a 10-5 1995. After a 10-13 1996 season he was allowed to sign with Toronto to finish out the twilight of his career.

In 1997, Reggie Jefferson was coming off a career year, and competing for a batting title. Well, perhaps "competing" is a stretch. For much of the season, he was among the league leaders...but didn't have enough at-bats to qualify for the title. He wasn't playing regularly enough to get the at-bats he needed. In fact, at one point late in the season he was hit by a pitch that bounced in the dirt first. He didn't attempt to take his base, and the ump didn't seem to realize it hit him. There was always the assumption that Jefferson ignored the HBP because he need the at-bat more. As it happened, Jefferson ended up finishing 8th in the batting race that year, about 30 points behind Frank Thomas.

He also included these cards featuring Red Sox greats Cecil Fielder and Jeff Fassero. Wait...that's not right...

That's better. The other sides of those cards feature actual Sox legends Mo Vaughn and...well...Jeff Suppan. 

Another couple prospects that never really panned out. Trust me, people were excited about Veras and Asadoorian at one point.

People were also excited about this guy. For a long time. Love the way the Gold Label really shows it off. Kudos to Chris for finding a Nomar card I didn't have...that's not easy to do.

And he did it again! Topps Total was a fun brand. A nice clean design.

Chris was nice enough to point out that this card is a SP. Which is good, since there's no way I would have known otherwise. This trade was a big deal at the time. It's also a feature in Moneyball since Billy Beane tried to insert himself into the trade as a way to get Kevin Youkilis from the Sox. It didn't work.

Speaking of Youkilis, here he is on a card with a great design. Makes for a pretty impressive card. Unlike the Ortiz card, which looks like it was cut and pasted together. Literally. By a kindergartener. 

Wally!

While Wells always had too much Yankees stink on him for my taste, always fun to add a Red Sox relic piece to the collection. Does the "Midsummer Swatches" insert name imply this might be a specific jersey? Let's see...

No, not a specific game. Just a regular old generic Padres game. Wait, what? Why would Upper Deck do that? I mean, obviously I know why. But...why?

And there you have it. Trust me when I tell you that this is a small sample of the pile of goodness sent my way. Every last card was very much appreciated.

Thanks Nachos Grande!

2020 Topps Allen and Ginter Blaster!

It's time to open another blaster from Santa! This time we'll go with 2020 Topps Allen and Ginter! This set usually manages to be both fun and frustrating at the same time with the "unusual" subject matter cards being completely hit or miss. How'd I do? Let's see!

Here are the highlights...

Here's what the box looks like. 

Not a ton of packs, but that's to be expected.

The first Red Sox! Been a while since I got a Mo Vaughn card in a pack, so this was a nice surprise. Not sure what the qualifications are to make it into "longball lore" because it's not like Vaughn was David Ortiz. This card celebrates a home run in game 1 of the 1998 ALDS. A playoff game that I've already forgotten. The only home run of Vaughn's I remember is his game-winning grand slam on opening day that year.

A much more important home run was hit by this guy. While still not exactly Ortiz, he at least hit a home run to help seal a World Series clincher. I like the design of the A&G cards this year. I like the shadow effect making it look like the photo is placed on the card. Not sure it's sticking with the "old timey" feel the set is supposed to give of, but it's a nice clean design.

Of course, one of the problems with A&G is that a lot of cards look like this. Which, I suppose is part of that feel I was just talking about. Two Red Sox cards, and two cards of guys with bats on their shoulders. At least Xander has his on the other shoulder.

So, there you have it. A few Red Sox cards, including a blast from the past. I'd call this box a success.

How did your box go?

2020 Topps Archives Blaster!

 It's time to open another blaster! Well, as you know, it's time to tell you about another blaster I already opened! This time we'll go with 2020 Topps Archives. This is actually one of the exclusive Target blasters, so that's always a treat. How'd I do? Let's see!

Here are the highlights...

There's the box. See? It contains a giant card.

And the packs. Including the giant pack.

And, the giant card. I like the look of the card. But, I don't know what to do with it. It doesn't fit anywhere. Maybe if it was a Sox player I could display it on an easel or something. But, with Soto I'll have to figure something else out.

Always great to get a Pedro. I also have a soft spot for the 1976 design ever since I found a lunch bag full of them in my grandfather's house. They were the first really "vintage" cards I had seen. And, this particular card mentions one of the most important transactions of my lifetime.

Pretty standard picture, but I enjoy the 1980 design.

A former player on a former design. I like this one too.

OK. I get the idea. A former player on the 1980 design. I do enjoy getting cards of Ted, though.

A different design! But, still a former player. I don't think Topps should players on designs that they appeared on as active players. This card looks much too similar to the actual 2002 Topps Pedro. I don't need that kind of confusion in my life.

And, that's it. A nice handful of Red Sox players. But, only one of them was an active player. Seems to be the direction Archives is taking with a larger proportion of retired guys. I guess that fits the "archives" theme. And, if it means I can get two Pedros...then that works for me. 

How did your blaster go?

Revised List of 36: The Best Players I've Seen Play in Person

Once again, the awards season has passed. With that, it’s time to revise the list of best players I’ve seen play live. As I’ve said, I make this list based mostly on awards. After all, my grandkids are more likely to ask me if I’ve seen a former MVP than some player who played well for a while (except for David Ortiz, I suppose). Since I’ve pretty much eliminated everyone from my top 36 who hasn’t won a Cy Young or MVP award, I’ll ignore the ROY winners. Which is nice, because I’m not sure I’ve seen either of them play anyway. The two Cy Young winners were Rick Porcello and Max Scherzer. I've seen Porcello once or twice. I know I've seen Scherzer before. Plus, this is his second Cy Young, so that puts him up a notch in quality. For the MVPs, I haven't seen Kris Bryant play yet. But, I have seen Mike Trout. In fact, I'm a little surprised he was't on the list already. Also, looking at the list, I notice someone missing. I don't usually pay much attention to Hall of Fame voting results when it comes to this list. After all, chances are they're already on this list if they're good enough for the Hall of Fame. Not so with Mike Piazza. His measly ROY wasn't enough to keep him on the list. But, his Hall of Fame election gets him back on. So, what about Porcello, Scherzer, or Trout? Looking at the list, everyone has at east an MVP. I think an MVP is better than just a Cy Young, right? That eliminates Porcello and his one Cy Young. Now, the big question. Are two Cy Youngs better than an MVP? Do they make the list? I think I'm going to go with "no". (Do you agree?) It's a tough call, but Scherzer doesn't make the list. That leaves Trout and Piazza to squeeze into spots. So, here’s the new updated list. 

1. Roberto Alomar (HOF)

2. Wade Boggs (HOF)

3. Barry Bonds (MVP)

4. Ryan Braun (ROY, MVP)

5. Miguel Cabrera (MVP, triple crown)

6. Jose Canseco (ROY, MVP)

7. Roger Clemens (MVP, CYA)

8. Josh Donaldson (MVP)

9. Dennis Eckersley (HOF)

10. Jason Giambi (MVP)

11. Tom Glavine (HOF)

12. Juan Gonzalez (MVP)

13. Ken Griffey Jr (All-Century Team)

14. Vladimir Guerrero (MVP)

15. Josh Hamilton (MVP)

16. Bryce Harper (ROY, MVP)

17. Rickey Henderson (HOF)

18. Matt Holliday (MVP)

19. Randy Johnson (HOF)

20. Chipper Jones (MVP)

21. Greg Maddux (HOF)

22. Pedro Martinez (HOF)

23. Andrew McCutchen (MVP)

24. Justin Morneau (MVP)

25. Dustin Pedroia (ROY, MVP)
26. Mike Piazza (HOF)

27. Kirby Puckett (HOF)

28. Albert Pujols (MVP)

29. Jim Rice (HOF)

30. Cal Ripken (HOF)

30. Alex Rodriguez (MVP)

31. Ivan Rodriguez (MVP)

32. John Smoltz (HOF)

33. Ichiro Suzuki (ROY, MVP)

34. Frank Thomas (HOF)
35. Mike Trout (MVP)

36. Mo Vaughn (MVP)

There's my list. Who’s on your list?

Favorite Font from Favorite Players

I don’t know how closely you’ve been paying attention, but I’ve made a change to the font the last couple posts. I got a new laptop not too long ago with a smaller screen than I was used to. It made the print on the blog seem really small. I didn’t know if other people were having the same problem, but figured that I should try to fix it. The problem is, blogger doesn’t seem to give you a lot of choices when it comes to font sizes. (Or, I’m clueless when it comes to figuring out font sizes on blogger. Both explanations are equally possible.) I had been using the “normal” sized font. For the last few posts, I switched to the “large” font. Of course, now, in comparison the font just looks enormous! I feel a little bit like the kid using the biggest font he can find so it’s easier to write his one page book report. But, I don’t know. Maybe the larger size works for people.

So, I need your help. I’m going to write this post using a different font/size combination for each paragraph. Maybe the different sizes work better with the different fonts. If you can let me know which one you like, and or any other comments you have on font size, it would be appreciated. As content for this post, I’m going to talk about the evolution of my favorite Red Sox player by decade.

The eighties were really my first decade of fandom, although it’s probably only the second half. Even still, my favorite players at the time were carryovers from the seventies. When I wanted the Red Sox, I was a big fan of Jim Rice and Dwight Evans. Probably not a huge surprise. They were pretty much the best players on the team in their prime years. Each of them had a special player collection in my baseball card binder. For some reason I never grabbed onto Boggs or Clemens, despite their obvious appeal. (Arial Normal)

The nineties saw a change. Rice and Evans were gone, and I was in need of someone new. Thankfully, the Red Sox had two promising rookies come right in to take their place. Mo Vaughn and Phil Plantier. Both of them became my favorite players because of what they did at the plate. Phil Planter, of course had that squatting batting stance. You knew it was him at the plate just by seeing that. Of course, he also burst onto the scene with one of the best Septembers I can remember. He was my guy. Player card collection number two. Unfortunately, he didn't stick around very long before heading to San Diego. Mo, on the other hand, stayed a bit longer. His batting stance was all intimidation. He just looked t the pitcher over his shoulder like he knew he was going to hit the ball really hard. And, he usually did. It didn't take much to make Mo my newest player collection. (Arial Large)

By the end of the nineties, Mo was gone too. Thankfully, the Red Sox had another player come and take his place. Nomar. he was everything. He could hit for power. He could hit for average. He did that crazy thing with his gloves in the batters box. What more could you want? Nomar would be come my largest player collection yet. Along with Nomar, the Red Sox added Pedro Martinez. My standard answer at the time to who my favorite Red Sox player was, "Nomar, unless Pedro's pitching." I doubt I was alone in that. There's never been anything like Pedro, and there's really nothing more I can saw. If you don't know, then i can't explain it to you. At the moment, Pedro is my only "active" player collection. After all, it's Pedro. (Times normal)

At the turn of the century, I liked Manny Ramirez in Cleveland. When I saw that he signed with the Red Sox, I was beyond elated. Still am. He created a nice Red Sox favorite "trinity" if you will. My standard answer changed a bit to "Manny and Nomar. Unless Pedro's pitching." Oddly, I never started a Manny player collection. Maybe because he overlapped the Pedro and Nomar so much. But, he outlasted the two of them, and for three years, Manny stood along as my favorite. Possibly the only time that's happened. (Times Large)

Which brings us to the 2010's. And, I really don't know what to say. Since Manny left in 2008, I've been a little bit in Limbo. Papelbon was fun for a while. But, can a closer be a favorite? I never really attached to Lester or Beckett. Looking back at the moment, I can't think of one player that has grabbed me. Yes, I know. Ortiz has been on the team that whole time. While I can't deny he's an amazing player, there's always been "something" about him. I've just never latched on as a "favorite player" type thing. I liked Adrian Gonzalez a lot, but that didn't last long. I always knew Ellsbury was leaving soon. Sure, I loved the 2013 team. But, as a team. None of the players had that certain draw. No idea why. (Georgia normal)

Going forward? I think like most people, I'm enjoying the youngsters. Love Xander Bogaerts and Mookie Betts. I know. Going out on a limb there. But, they'd definitely be the ones that I'd pick, with the slight edge to Xander if I had to give one. Either way, it looks like I'm set for a couple more years, at least. Hopefully for much longer than that. (Georgia large)

So, what do you think? Does one of the fonts work better for you? Leave a comment with your favorite. Or, with another helpful suggestion. Or, a comment on to content of the post itself. Or, heck, all three!

Thanks for the help!

Team Sets: 1992 Stadium Club

Players Included: Wade Boggs, Tom Bolton, Tom Brunansky, Ellis Burks, Jack Clark, Roger Clemens, Scott Cooper, Danny Darwin, John Dopson, Tony Fossas, Jeff Gray, Mike Greenwell, Greg Harris, Wayne Housie, Josias Manzanillo, John Marzano, Kevin Morton, Jeff Plympton, Carlos Quintana, Luis Rivera, Mo Vaughn

Best Picture: Mike Greenwell. Here we see the leftfielder expertly playing the famed left field wall. Greenwell has gone back as far as he can, and needs to take a leap. I’m noticing two things. He’s not in the right spot. The ball looks to be headed just to his left. He also has his eyes shut tight, so he has no idea. He’s just stuck his glove up there, and is hoping for the best. I’m guessing it was at least a double.

Hall of Famers: Wade Boggs

Future Hall of Famers: Roger Clemens

Reason to Buy the Set: Stadium Club was known for the quality of the cards, and the quality of the photography. This is the cream of the crop when it comes to 1992 team sets.

Overall Reaction: I love the set. I’ve always been a fan of Stadium Club. The full bleed pictures really add a spectacular element to the set. The player selection is on the weak side. But, as a Red Sox fan, you get what you get. The teams in the early nineties were pretty sad. But, they were the Red Sox.