A Swing and a Trade Post

A few months ago I got a note from Swing and a Pop-Up saying he had some Red Sox dupes that I could probably use more than he could. I'm always willing to get new Red Sox cards, so I graciously accepted and a swap was made. I couldn't believe the generous pile that arrived at my door! Let's check out just some of the highlights.

The "Trading Places" card is funny to me. I don't remember that subset being all inclusive. So, the fact that they decided to make a card celebrating Mark Loretta changing teams seems like an interesting choice. The UD Masterpieces is another oddity. The whole idea of the set, I thought, was to make the cards look like classical paintings. The added inset seems out of place, even if I understand that they wanted to show off the ankle.

Jay Payton looks scared, to me.

Rickey Henderson was 43 years old with the Red Sox in 2002. He only saw limited action, but I remember being blown away by how he terrorized pitchers on the base paths. When he was on first, you could just feel the game change. I can't even imagine what that would have been like in his prime when he was stealing 100 bases a year. He should have been MVP every year. Sort of like Pedro. Always fun to get a card of his I don't have.

Nomar too. I know he has a TON of cards out there, but I have a ton of Nomar and Pedro cards in my collection so it always surprises me to find ones I don't have.

Look! Two more! I don't know if I've ever seen 2001 Opening Day before. That logo isn't exactly subtle.

More Nomars!

These are the Opening Days I'm used to seeing. The small logo making them basic duplicates of the base Topps sets. Can you even tell which one of the four isn't Opening Day?

Papi was supposed to be a utility guy and ended up a legend. Ball was supposed to be a legend...but wasn't.

A picture of Will Middlebrooks diving on a 2013 card. That, of course, reminds me of the terrible interference call on Will during the 2013 World Series. I don't like being reminded of that.

What did I JUST say?

That's better. Hard to remember a more dominant pitching performance than Beckett during the 2007 postseason. (Well, other than Pedro during every stretch of his career.) 

Always enjoyed the Bowman Platinum brand, even when it features Ryan Kalish.

A couple more Sox stars.

Love that Lester card.

And, of course, the Pedro card.

Not sure if there was a more overrated player during his tenure. For some reason Boston fans prefer dirt to talent. I may never understand that.

This set basically escaped me. So glad to be able to add some to the binder.

Way back to the early years of Topps Gold.

Even a little earlier.

Lots of pitchers. Some good, some not so good.

So, there are the highlights of an incredible shipment. I can't thank SAAP enough for sending them along.

Hopefully more Red Sox swings lead to line drives.

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!

I Scored on May 21, 1999!

I know I do it a lot. But, when I look at cards from the 1999 season, I'm always stunned that this team made it to the ALCS. How Pedro didn't win the MVP that season is beyond me. But, more on that later. Let's look at the card, shall we?

I always like to start looking at scorecards by checking out the pitchers box. What high powered match-up did I get to see this day?

Pat Rapp. 

Yes, it was the rare Escobar-Rapp showdown. Rapp was followed by Lowe, Corsi, and Gordon. In a game the Red Sox won. Seriously. Rapp even pitched pretty well, striking out seven over six innings for a quality start.

So, how did the lineup fare? I use the term “lineup” loosely. Look at those names. No mar was the lone star, and he actually went hitless on this day. (I guess Varitek became a star, but he certainly wasn't one when he was wearing #47.) How did they win? One big inning contained two walks and three hits. That accounted for four Red Sox runs, and was the difference in the ballgame.

The hero on the day? Has to be Darren Lewis. He went 2-3 from the lead off spot, scoring a run and driving in two others. That would account for all the runs the Sox needed.

The goat? Let's go with the aforementioned Nomar. The 3-6 batters all went hitless on the day, but you really expect and need more from Garciaparra. He has to come through.

But, the Sox were able to work around it on that day. The offense did just enough to support a pitching staff that did just enough. That's all it takes sometimes.

And the scorecard shows how it happened.

I Scored! July 28, 2002

It's been a while since I did one of these. So, I thought it was time to take another trip in the wayback machine, and see how my scorecard looks for a game from the past. In this case, July of 2002. Things were different in Boston sports around this time. The patriots had shocked the world just over four months earlier by winning their first Super Bowl. The rest of the Boston teams were working on pretty lengthy championship droughts. So, how did this game between the Red Sox and Orioles end up? Let's see!

Seriously, how did I survive with a scorecard that has 16 batting positions, but only nine innings and four pitchers spots? No wonder I made my own.

But, how did the Sox do it this game? Pretty well it appears. You can just see all the black on their card. Derek Lowe starting things off strong for the Sox. While Time Wakefield struggled a bit, it didn't affect the outcome.

The star of the game? I waffled a bit, but I think it has to be Nomar. 3-3, 2R, and 1 RBI would probably be enough. But, look at the timing of his production. First inning, he drives in the game's second run from the three-hole. Third inning, following a double play, he doubles to start a five run rally with two outs. Fifth inning, he leads off with a single, sparking a three-run inning. Three key at-bats.

The goat? I have to go with Carlos Baerga, if only so that I can remind people that Carlos Baerga once played for the Sox. But, he was the only starter without a hit or run. And, once he was replaced, his pinch-hitter clubbed a two-run home run. That's not what you want.

But, it didn't matter. The offense came early and often, giving the stars a nice restful day.

And the scorecard shows how it happened.

Blog Bat Around: Why Do I Collect Who I Collect?

I’m not sure I’ve ever participated in one of the blog bat arounds before. Not really sure why (or if that’s the case) but I thought I should give it a whirl this time.

P-Town Tom of the wonderful Eamus Catuli blog offered the topic this time: What is the reason for collecting the players you collect?

It was an interesting question, one that I wasn’t sure I had an answer for. I think, like most people, that reason has evolved over time.

When I first started collecting cards there was no real organization involved. I kept my limited inventory sorted by team in the Topps Sports Card locker that my aunt gave me for my birthday.  Eventually the collection outgrew the locker, and moved into boxes sorted by set. But, when I started finding friends who also collected, and who wanted to trade cards, I needed to be better. So, binders were introduced pulling out star players that my friends might want to trade for. While the binders were now sorted by player, I wouldn’t call them player collections quite yet.

The only two players that somewhat stood out at that point were Jim Rice and Pete Rose. Jim Rice was the fading star of the Red Sox, and my favorite player at the time. Pete Rose was an “old time star” who was on his way to breaking the all-time hits record. Plus, he was a player-manager. That was pretty weird, and a unique feature to collect.

But, while those two players had their own pages in the book, so did lots of other players. I didn’t really do a lot to actively collect either one, and don’t actively look for either of their cards today.

Juan Gonzalez was the first player to really change that. I started to actively seek out his cards. He was a hot-shot rookie hitting all those home runs. He also had that fun Donruss error rookie card that looked fun when displayed. It was also during a boom in baseball cards shows. So I had lots of opportunities to easily add to a budding player collection. But, when he started to fade as a player, my desire to collect him faded as well.

He also faded because another player came to take his place. I mentioned that my Phil Plantier collection formed almost by accident. Sure, he was my new favorite player. But, it seemed like I didn’t even have to try to get his cards, Every pack of 1991 Donruss I opened, it seemed, had Phil’s card in it. Again it was the card show era, so hunting down more of his cards was fun and easy. I was getting everything I could find. It’s the first player I’ve mentioned whose player collection still resides separated from the team in its own binder. I’m also still adding to it as I find cards I was never able to track down back in the day.

After Phil left the Red Sox, player collecting hit a bit of a snag. Then, along came Nomar Garciaparra. If you were a Red Sox card collector in 1997 and didn’t have a Nomar player collection, you were doing it wrong. My collection was given one big boost to get it started. I pulled a rare Hideo Nomo card from one of those packs in the late 90’s with the million parallels. Can’t even remember which one at the moment. But, it was about $150 book value. For some reason, I agreed to trade it via the AOL boards for a stack of Nomars. Like 100 or so. Looking back, it was a ridiculous idea to trade one $150 card for 100 $1 cards. But, it worked out for me, and I don’t really regret it. Even if my Nomar player collection has since been resorted into the team binder.

Which leaves Pedro Martinez. He is the only other player with a separate binder housing his collection. (Well, technically he’s in the same binder as Phil Plantier but you get the idea.) The best pitcher in at least a generation was the highlight of the Red Sox at the start of the 21^st century. He was something unique and special. Not only do I collect his cards, but he has his own shelf of collectibles. It’s a true player collection, even if it’s not as active as it could be. But after years of saying “Nomar’s my favorite player, unless Pedro’s pitching” or “Manny’s my favorite player, unless Pedro’s pitching” I realized that by saying that I was declaring Pedro as my favorite player. In the years since, his legend has aged like a fine wine. Time and again the Sox would have a star pitcher that would only prove how amazing Pedro was. Beckett’s amazing postseason, Sale’s dominating start? Bah. Pedro had an entire career better than those hot stretches. 

How could I not collect him?

How Good was Nomar Garciaparra?

Ok. It's time to once again to look back through my scorecards and see how a Red Sox favorite performed while I was keeping score. Did he perform up to his expectations? Or beyond? Or was I a bad luck charm?

Today I decided to look at Nomar Garicaparra. Things sure did change for Nomar's fortunes with the Sox in a hurry, didn't they? But before it all fell apart, how did he perform while I was watching? Let's find out!

Wow. I'd say he did just fine. Wouldn't you?

Looks like I saw about a half a season worth of Nomar games. That's a fun thing to realize. In those games, I'd definitely say I saw a representative sample. A .362/33/129 extrapolated season is nothing to sneeze at from a shortstop. Or anyone else, for that matter. He was an absolute on-base machine. But, you knew that. That's a big reason why he ended up with a career OPS of 1.017 while I was in the building. That's one of the highest of the players I've done so far. 

Which always makes me happy. This is exactly what Nomar was. A terror at the plate. So, I'm glad I got to see who he really was. I always hate to think I happened to catch a great player on an off night. But, that didn't happen here. Nomar was definitely Nomar. How about you?

How did he do when you were in the park?

The Price Goes Down

During Spring Training 2001, the news came out that Nomar Garciaparra had a wrist injury. He would need surgery. 

It was crushing news. In fact, it bothered me how much it bothered me. It was just a baseball team, after all.

But, back then we were all still waiting. The Boston area hadn't had a world champion since the Celtics in 1986. The Red Sox, you may remember, hadn't had a title since a few years before that. 

But, this...THIS...was their year. They had Nomar, the two-time defending batting champion and all around MVP type. They still had Pedro Martinez, coming off the two best years any pitcher had ever had. That wasn't quite enough to bring a title. So, in the off-season they added Manny Ramirez. The best right-handed hitter in who knows how long. They were all set. Finally. This was going to be their year. 

Then, suddenly it wasn't. 

Devastating.

In 2017, things are a little different. The Red Sox have won three title in the years since 2001. The rest of Boston sports added seven more. We don't need THIS to be the year. The Patriots are the World Champs. The Sox won a title just over three years ago.

So, when news came out that David Price was having elbow issues, I was surprised by my reaction. "That's too bad. At least we still have Chris Sale and can give this a good run."

The urgency was gone. Even now that Price appears to be OK, it's not jubilation. More like just being happy to be able to see everything I expected. Cool.

I'm thinking that's a good thing. I know it's easier on me to not live and die over every single game. I know I'm enjoying looking forward to a fun season without worrying that they might not actually pull it out. If they don't, I'm sure they will soon. 

Two injuries to two superstars, and I couldn't have felt more different about them. Because everything changed years ago.

What a time to be a Boston fan.

I Scored!

September 19, 1999

Let’s go quite a few years back, and check out a game from a playoff stretch run. This game is from late September1999, a year that the Red Sox would win the Wild Card, and make it to the ALCS before Pedro could carry them no farther. Let’s see how this one played out!

My favorite part about this card is the pitchers box. Check out Derek Lowe doing his best Andrew Miller impression. He entered the game in the sixth inning, and finished the game from there. He struck out three, while only allowing one baserunner. Not a bad performance at all.

The second thing I notice is the number three hole in the line-up. Not only is it weird to see Jason Varitek in that spot, it’s weird to see him wearing #33. Well, weird at the time. This is the first game I scored where Varitek wasn’t wearing #47. Does that make this card more valuable?

I know I say it every time I do a 1999 game, but I still can’t get over the rest of the line-up. Pedro really did carry this team all by himself, didn’t he? Damon Buford in the two-hole? Scott Hatteberg at DH? Wow.

But it worked, because the Sox had one inning big enough to seal the deal. The four-spot in the second was all the pitching would require in this game. The Sox added on three more just for fun to make sure Tim Wakefield could cruise until Lowe finished it off. 

The player of the game? Tempted to go with Wilton Veras and his key bases loaded single. But, I’m giving the nod to Nomar Garciaparra and his insurance two-run homer. The Tigers had just inched their way closer by scoring a run in the fourth when Nomar got it right back. 

The Goat? Everyone on the Red Sox got a hit in this game, so there’s nothing super-obvious. But, the aforementioned Damon Buford was the only player not to drive in or score a run. His 1-5 in the second spot wasn’t the sort of production you’re looking for. His strikeout in the second was particularly annoying because the first six batters in the inning had reached base before him.

But, of course, it didn’t matter. The Sox pounded out seven runs despite his best efforts to the contrary. The pitching did its job to seal the deal. Another convincing win from the hometown boys.

And the scorecard shows how it happened.

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!

The 2015 Hall of Fame Ballot

It's that time of year again. It's time for the Baseball Hall of Fame to announce its Hall of Fame election results. These have been more fun for me recently, since I've started to be old enough to have really experienced the players involved. I feel like I can make a more informative opinion on who should, or shouldn't be, elected. I bet you're just dying to know who I would vote for if I had a ballot, aren't you?

Too bad. I'm going to do it anyway. Well, at least I'm going to tell you which former Red Sox players I would vote for. That makes this a much shorter, more manageable post, after all. Shall we get on with it?

First of all, what's a Hall of Famer? I've said it before, but once again, here's how I answer that question. The Hall of fame requires a ten year career. This is how they eliminate flashes in the pan. It makes sense to have some sort of minimum, and ten years seems about right. So, I figure, if you only play ten years, they better all be "All-Star" years. I don't mean actually being an all-star, since those team elections are jokes. But, I mean years where people would consider you all-star caliber. As luck would have it, baseball-reference actually puts a number to it. They call a WAR above 5 an all-star season. While I would never use a stat like that as an absolute, it's a handy way to think about things. So, above and beyond having ten all-star seasons, if you want me to call you a Hall of Famer, five of those years better be elite years. I'm not looking for long-time mediocrity. I want superstars. (This requirement, BTW is where players like Tim Raines and Craig Biggio fall off my ballot. Lots of all-star years, but not enough elite seasons) Baseball-reference to the rescue once again. They call a WAR of 8 to be an MVP season. Again, that's a great guideline to keep in mind. Now, if you played more than ten years, I don't give you much credit for it. You just can make a fool of yourself out there. (Again, sorry Biggio...I don't care if you hung on long enough to reach those 3000 hits everyone gets so excited about. I mean, you never even won a batting title.)

So, know that, what would my Red Sox ballot look like? Glad you asked.

Tony Clark. An easy one off that bat. I like Tony Clark a lot. Not that I know him personally. Never actually met him. (Met his wife once, but that's a different story.) He seemed like a nice enough guy. But, his career doesn't even warrant further discussion. Fine player, not a Hall of Famer.

Roger Clemens. Interestingly, for a guy with seven Cy Youngs, he only had six seasons with 8+ WAR. Not that his resume is really the question here. It's all those PEDs he kept using in order to establish the resume. My hunch is that if you can keep Joe Jackson out of the hall for something he wasn't found guilty of, you can do the same for Clemens. Is it fair? No. Is it fair that Jackson is banned but Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker were two of the first six Hall of Famers? No. Sorry.

Cliff Floyd. A long major league career is something to be proud of. Playing in the league for 17 years is quite an accomplishment. There's no shame in having a career that long that isn't good enough for the Hall of Fame. Hope Floyd feels the same way.

Nomar Garciaparra. At first, I thought this one was going to be tougher. After all, he was a monster when he was healthy in Boston. Plus, he made that all-star team in LA. I thought, maybe, He'd squeak in. It pains me to no end that he didn't. He just didn't have the years. I could make a case that his had the five years I need. He never had a WAR over 8, but he was pretty steadily a valuable player. He had six seasons over 6, including two over 7, in Boston. I could almost stretch it. But, that was all he had. He had nothing after Boston. Even the actual all-star year was under 3. Damn.

Tom Gordon. As much as I like the fact that he wore #36 for a lot of his career, and all he did for the Sox in 2004...I can't do it. The numbers just aren't there.

Pedro Martinez. Remember when I said I wouldn't use the 8+ WAR as an absolute? This here is why. Pedro Martinez is the type of pitcher you create a Hall of Fame for. But, he only had four seasons of 8+ WAR. One of the years he didn't was 2001. That year he had a 5 WAR in half a season. That's also the season that he made the all-star team as a special inclusion. While the manager/coaches of the team realized that his season didn't warrant it, they couldn't imagine an all-star team without Pedro Martinez on it. So, they added a roster spot just for him. That's really all you need to know about his career. They changed the rules of the all-star game just for him. He gets a vote as fast as possible.

Curt Schilling. I have to admit, he was closer than I thought he would be. Looking at the numbers strictly, I see two seasons with a WAR over 8, with another at 7.9. Then, I see five other seasons over a 5.0, with a 4.9 and 4.8. So, he's a bit short on the peak years, and stretching it on the overall excellence. But, as I mentioned with Pedro, these aren't "chiseled in stone" type requirements. So, can I give him anything to help push him over the edge? Four times he finished fourth or better in Cy Young voting, but never won one. He was pitcher of the month four times. Never in the top nine for MVP. Led the league in wins twice, and WHIP twice. I also notice that he was a much better pitcher playing second fiddle as a #2 man in the rotation. No idea what that means, but it's something. Like I said, it was closer than I though, but I can't see a way I would vote for him.

Lee Smith. I can't imagine voting for a modern closer. I certainly can't imagine doing it for an old-time one. A top WAR of 4.8 for his career? Pass.

John Smoltz. Much like Nomar, I thought this might be a close one. Once I looked at the numbers, though, I don't get it. His highest WAR was 7.3, and only two other times was he over 5. People keep talking like he's a shoe in. But those numbers certainly don't scream at me. Even "classic" stats don't seem to help. He won twenty games once. Saved 40 games three times. I look at Pedro's career stats, and am just in awe of all the bold numbers. I look at Smoltz, and I feel "eh." I'm not saying that any team wouldn't be thrilled to have him. But, I don't elect "eh" to the Hall of Fame.

So, there you go. Looks like I would only vote for one former Red Sox player. I guess that makes sense.

It's supposed to be hard to get in the Hall of Fame.

Do Olympic Cards Belong in a Team Collection?

With the London Olympics starting up, it reminded me of an important question. Do I put cards of players shown as members of Team USA in my Red Sox collection?

This wouldn’t be a big deal were it not for two players. Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Varitek. They are both major Red Sox stars. If you made an all-time Red Sox team, they would both be on it…probably as starters. They both started their careers with the Sox. Nomar was drafted by the Sox. Varitek made his ML debut with Boston, and never wore another uniform. I’m not talking about Tino Martinez in a Cardinals collection. These are Red Sox players. Unquestionable.

But, not on their rookie cards. Ordinarily, that would be an obvious reason for exclusion. I don’t have any David Ortiz rookie cards in my Red Sox binders. (Or anywhere else in my collection, for that matter.) He’s not a Red Sox player on his rookies. Bleh. That’s clearer though. There’s he is on his card looking at me from his Twins uniform. It just shouts out at you as being wrong.

Varitek and Nomar are different. It’s not a card of another Major League team. Is it more similar to a minor league team? I have Nomar minor league cards in my Red Sox collection. Of course, they were Red Sox minor league affiliates. So, they were clearly Red Sox Organization cards. Not quite the same.

It’s probably closer to a college card. Since both of them were at Georgia Tech at the time, that’s the team they were on. Would I put other college cards on my Red Sox collection? I have. I grabbed a Mo Vaughn card from his Cape Cod League days, and it resides in my Red Sox binder. Although, that’s really a remnant from a Mo Vaughn player collection that has since dissolved. The card was too neat not to hold onto. But, it does give me a precedent…sort of.

So, what’s the standard practice? Do Olympic cards make it into a team collection? Does the player matter? Does the timing of the Olympic appearance matter? Does anything else?

Can I have a 1992 Topps Red Sox collection without two all-time greats? 

All-Star Games

It was on this day in 1999 that the best all-star game of them all was played. OK. Maybe I’m a bit biased, but it was a pretty darn good game. The rosters were full of actual stars, which is always good. And, not just stars. That game had some truly elite talent. Now that it’s been more than ten years, we’re able to really evaluate just how good the players ended up being.

On the American League side, Pedro Martinez was the starting pitcher. What he did in this game was legendary, striking out five of the first six guys he faced. He’ll be on his way to the Hall-of-Fame. Probably on the first try. Catching him was Ivan Rodriguez. I-Rod might be the best combination of offense and defense the catching position has seen since Johnny Bench. Whispers of PED use would be the only thing stopping him from first ballot Hall-of-Fame election. On first is Jim Thome. With a bat in his hands, he’s about as good as it gets. He’s been slowly climbing his way up the all-time home run leaders list. He has a good shot at a spot in the Hall. Roberto Alomar was at second base. Most people consider it an outrage that he wasn’t elected to the Hall-of-Fame in his first ballot. He appears a shoe-in for election next year. Cal Ripken was the third baseman that year. Maybe you heard about him when he went to the Hall of Fame on his first try. Nomar Garciaparra was the starting shortstop. His career fell apart. But, his numbers as a shortstop are still pretty elevated. The outfield included Manny Ramirez and Ken Griffey Jr. Manny might be the best right-handed hitter ever, and on his way to the Hall. Junior was named to the all-century team later that year, and will waltz into the Hall-of-Fame. Could he be unanimous? Kenny Lofton rounded out the outfield. At DH was Rafael Palmiero. He was a borderline HOFer before the PDH era caught up with him. So, to recap. Ten starting positions. Six locks for the hall of Fame, if they’re not already in. Two more on the cusp. That’s amazing. How about this year?

It’s a little early to say, since much of the starting line-up is from the new comers. David Price is a toss-up at this point. Joe Mauer certainly looks like he’s well on his way. Miguel Cabrera will probably be borderline. Robinson Cano is at least the third best second baseman in the AL at the moment, let alone all time. Evan Longoria certainly has the potential for greatness. Derek Jeter will be in the Hall, whether he deserves it or not. Ichiro Suzuki might just make the Hall. All he does is hit singles, but people seem to like that. Carl Crawford is at least a borderline guy at the moment. Josh Hamilton is too old to get the kind of career numbers he’ll need to be great. David Ortiz won’t have the stats to get past the DH position. So, it tonight’s game, let’s say there are four or five guys who look like HOFers. Not bad, but not up to the ’99 standards. What a game that was.

I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the passing of George Steinbrenner. If I was a Yankee fan (shudder the thought) I can’t imagine not loving an owner who would throw money at the team all day and night in order to win. As a Red Sox fan, I can’t imagine a better villain on the other side.

He’ll be missed.