My Lowest Numbered Kimbrel Card Yet

Have no fear, I'm still somewhat actively super collecting Craig Kimbrel and tracking down as many cards as possible of the 7-time All-Star. With that being said, I've been a little hasty to acquire valuable cards of Kimbrel ever since he became a free agent following the 2018 season. 

It never appeared likely that Kimbrel would re-up with the Boston Red Sox after the 2018 season came to a close. Rather, both sides seemed content to move on without the other, and it hasn't worked out great for either party. 

The 2011 NL Rookie of the Year remains unsigned, and the Red Sox have been shaky and inconsistent since this season began. Though Boston appears to have turned things around, one can assume that they'd benefit from adding Kimbrel to their roster.

Admittedly, while I've still been picking up inexpensive Kimbrel cards, I've stayed away from low-numbered cards or autographs over the last few months. I'd rather wait and see where he's going to sign before investing in a Craig Kimbrel autograph on the Boston Red Sox.

With that being said, I'm always open to trading for any Craig Kimbrel card that I don't already have. Whether it's a standard base card or a 1/1 parallel, I'm certainly willing to trade for any Craig Kimbrel card not already listed in my inventory.

Recently, Greg of The Collective Mind reached out to me regarding a Craig Kimbrel relic from 2013 Topps Triple Threads that he had available. Of course, I was immediately interested, so I replied back and worked out a trade. 

The card arrived in the mail today, and I quickly changed my posting schedule for this week in order to show off the card today. There it is at the top of this post, serial numbered 31/36.

I must admit that I'm not usually a fan of plain white jersey relics, especially in a high-end product like Topps Triple Threads. However, when paired with Kimbrel's bright red jersey and the extravagant set design, the plain color doesn't bother me quite as much. 

It's also an added bonus that the memorabilia is game-used, something that not every Baseball card relic guarantees. Typically, high-end Baseball card products, as well as Topps Heritage, feature game-used jersey swatches, but the same cannot be said for all sets. 

The game-used vs game-worn jersey swatch issue is even more profound in Football cards where Panini is notorious for using the latter for most of their cards, even those from high-end products.

Although the jersey relic's usage, or lack thereof, isn't a huge concern for me, it's always a plus when the relic is game-worn. The card definitely has a lot going for it, from the relic being game-used to the fact that this is my lowest numbered card of Kimbrel to date.

Beforehand, the lowest numbered Craig Kimbrel card in my collection was 50 copies, a mark that has officially been usurped by this Triple Threads relic. 

After receiving this card in the mail today, The Kimbrel Collection now has 127 unique cards.

My Top 10 Boston Red Sox Cards

Just because one particular team is your favorite doesn't necessarily mean that you're destined to pull countless cards featuring members of that team from packs. I've certainly learned this lesson over the years, for even though the Red Sox have always been my favorite team when I pull a special card or open a blaster box, I don't usually end up with many Red Sox cards.

The Chicago Cubs, my 2nd favorite team, is likely the team that I've pulled the best cards of as well as the team that I see show up the most in my pack openings. Other teams include the Angels and Cardinals, teams that always seem to show up in my pack breaks, whether it be the hits or base cards.

Therefore, because I often find myself not pulling as many Red Sox cards as I would like, I attempt to compensate for that through the Baseball card show or the internet. I'm always buying or trading for new Red Sox cards to boost my collection.

Over the years, I've accumulated a few thousand Sox cards, though the exact total is unknown as of now. Once I figure out a way to organize my non-player collection Sox cards, I could definitely see myself having a completed and up-to-date inventory.

As the title suggests, this post is dedicated to the top 10 Red Sox cards in my collection, not necessarily my favorite 10, a subject I could save for the future. Moreover, only 2 of the cards on this list were actually pulled from packs, and I'll make sure to point out which ones when they come up.

#10 2018 Topps Now World Series Champions Ian Kinsler Blue Auto

At the time, I wasn't too thrilled that my 20-card exclusive set commemorating the 2018 World Champion Boston Red Sox landed me an Ian Kinsler autograph. However, over time, the encased autograph has become a nice addition to my Red Sox collection. Not only is it numbered out of 49 copies, but the card is still an auto of a member of the World Champion team, even if Kinsler was a midseason acquisition.  

#9 1964 Topps Carl Yastrzemski

Aside from another card that you'll see later on this list, my 1964 Topps card is my only other vintage base card of Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski. While I have no shortage of league leaders and All-Star cards, I didn't have an original Yaz base card until I picked up this one at last years' National if my memory serves me right. The condition, especially the surface, isn't perfect, but that didn't affect the card's placement on this list.

#8 1959 Fleer Ted Williams Cards

I kind of cheated on this countdown by grouping all 20 or so of my 1959 Fleer Ted Williams cards into 1 spot, but that's only because there's no one card that I like more than all the others. I currently have roughly 25% of the set complete, and it will truly be an incredible accomplishment the day I finish piecing the set together. With cards like the one above, the 1959 Fleer Ted Williams set is truly a near-masterpiece.

#7 1975 Topps Fred Lynn and Jim Rice

Both Jim Rice and Fred Lynn's 1975 Topps rookie stars cards seem so synonymous with one another which is a major reason why I grouped the 2 cards together for the #7 spot on my list. Both Red Sox icons came up in 1975 and played tremendous roles on one of the greatest Sox teams of all-time, despite eventually falling short in the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds.

#6 2017 Topps Heritage Andrew Benintendi Rookie SP Variation

Graded at an 8.5 solely because of its poor centering, this SP variation is one of the 2 cards on this list that I actually pulled from a pack back before I began blogging. 

The rookie cards in Topps Heritage almost always feature 2 or 3 players on a rookie stars card, but there are additional rookie variations in which some players get there own Heritage rookie card. I pulled Benintendi's card after he came up in the summer of 2016 and have held onto it ever since. If only the centering had been right then I could really have a valuable card on my hands.

#5 2018 Topps Triple Threads Chris Sale Relic

I picked up my very first Triple Threads relic that included spelled out words towards the end of last year at my LCS. For the price of a blaster box, I grabbed this awesome Chris Sale 4-color relic card that spells out "Locked In" in all 4 Red Sox colors, grey, white, blue, and red. Better yet, because the card is a gold parallel, it's serial numbered 3/9 in the top righthand corner.

#4 2010 Topps Triple Threads Carlton Fisk Relic

Fisk's 2010 Topps Triple Threads relic card is the most recently-acquired card to make it onto my list as I picked it up just over a week ago at the MLK Mansfield card show. I'm not sure if there's a specific name for these Triple Threads relics that spell out certain words or stats, but one look at this card affirms why the Topps Triple Threads brand is known for creating beautiful relic cards just like this one.

#3 2014 Topps Chrome Update Mookie Betts

The final 3 cards on this list are all rookie cards featuring some of the most talented Red Sox players of all-time. Coming in 3rd is a card that I pulled out of a repack back in early 2017, a Mookie Betts rookie card, my only one to-date, from the 2014 Topps Chrome Update set. 

This isn't the only bit of luck that I've had with the Fairfield 20-pack Baseball repacks as I've also landed a Zack Greinke relic card and a Kris Bryant Topps rookie card out of them as well. It's just a shame that it's been almost 2 years since I've spotted one of those Baseball 20-pack repacks at my local Target.

#2 1972 Topps Carlton Fisk

There were a couple of expensive cards that I didn't need to worry about finding while I was putting together the 1972 Topps set since my Dad had pulled some of them back in '72 when the set was released. One of these cards was Carlton Fisk's awesome rookie card, featuring the green color used for almost every Red Sox card in the set. As far as rookie stars cards go, this has to be one of the most iconic ones of all-time.

#1 1961 Topps Carl Yastrzemski

I know it's not Yastrzemski's true rookie card, but vintage, in my eyes, will always prevail and make it to the top. Regardless of whether it's Yastrzemski's actual rookie card because of his 1960 card, this is still one of the oldest Red Sox cards in my collection, and, like the Fisk rookie, the 1961 Yaz card checks a major card off my want list for the 1961 Topps set that I'm putting together.

Who knows, maybe 2019 will be the year when I pull an insane Red Sox card to make up for years of missing out, or maybe I'll have to keep on buying or trading for most of the cards on this list. 

Personally, I don't really care too much, because this list has affirmed that I've accumulated some awesome Sox cards and that it doesn't matter how I get them.

Focusing on Red Sox Cards; Card Show Recap #16

With my want list in-hand and certain goals rolling around in my head, I made the trip to the Mansfield card show today after being absent from shows completely for around 2 months.

With roughly 1 show per month, the Mansfield card show is a bigger shown than the Woburn show that I usually attend. It includes some of the same vendors as well as new dealers like the one I bought a lot of Red Sox cards from today.

I usually stay away from setting goals for myself at card shows simply because there's no real guarantee that I'll be able to find exactly what I'm looking for. 

However, I've learned that setting general goals, such as "pick up some nice Red Sox cards," can be accomplished while I might not have as much luck with a more specific goal like buying a certain card.

So when I walked into the card show earlier today, I had a mission to find some Red Sox cards in addition to some dime box pickups and a little bit of vintage. I'll begin today by showing what I was able to find for Red Sox cards, and you'll soon see that there was quite a wide range of different Sox cards for sale.

As I previously mentioned, the dealer I bought most of these Red Sox cards from doesn't sell at the Woburn show, so I took advantage of the fact that he was present at the Mansfield show by going after a few players, in particular, one of them being Rafael Devers.

Despite his injuries and batting average struggles in 2018, I still have high hopes for Devers, and apparently, Baseball America did as well with the A+ grade that they gave to the 3rd baseman in the 2017 Bowman's Best set. 3 of these cards will be going to the Devers player collection while the Heritage New Age Performers is a need for the 2018 set.

While I don't foresee myself buying a box of the product, I enjoy picking up singles from Topps Heritage Minor League of players that I collect in order to add some unique cards to my player collections. For $1 each, it was a no-brainer to pick up these 2 inserts of Devers from the 2017 product back when he was with the Red Sox's AA-affiliate, the Portland Seadogs.

If the card costs me a dime, I usually don't have a problem with unlicensed cards. With that being said, it takes something special for me to spend a few dollars or more on a card without MLB logos. 

Numbered 94/99, this silver framed parallel from 2018 Panini Diamond Kings is an elegant looking card dominated by dark and light grey shades. It's not your usual Red Sox card with tons of red on it, but that's part of the reason why I picked this card up for Devers' player collection.

Because he had a better overall 2018 season than Rafael Devers, Andrew Benintendi's cards were a bit more expensive, many of them more than I was willing to pay. He's still one of my favorite Red Sox players, so I picked up a couple of nice, non-numbered parallels for the Benintendi player collection nonetheless.

Unfortunately, this particular vendor did not have a section of his boxes dedicated to Craig Kimbrel like he did for other Red Sox players, but a little digging around resulted in me finding one of his rookie cards from 2011 Bowman for just a dollar. 

I also spotted an Archives encased auto of Kimbrel today, but my dad wisely advised me to hold off on his cards until he signs in free agency, either with the Red Sox or another team.

One thing that I was very pleased with was the variety of Red Sox players whom I purchased cards of today. Thanks to the vendor's excessive selection of both past and present stars, I was able to add to many of my Red Sox player collections. 

Included in the cards I purchased today was a few different high-end cards, including a Boggs and Bogaerts base card from the 2017 Topps Tribute set, cards that, in my opinion, are unnecessarily too thick.

Topps Triple Threads is usually a set that breaks the typical serial numbering of parallel cards from sets like Bowman Chrome and Topps Finest. With orange parallels out of 150 and greens out of 259, I was pleased to see affordable, high-end parallels of 2 of the greatest players in Red Sox history. 

It's a tough call, but I'd have to say the Williams is my favorite of the 2 because of the improved base set design with the 2018 Triple Threads product.

This is definitely a first for me; a Home Run Heroics card from 2004 Upper Deck Play Ball, featuring the box score from the game in which Ted Williams hit his 500th career home run. 

Easily one of the coolest cards I picked up today, the card has an old-time feel which is something I believe Upper Deck was going for with their Play Ball product. It's a pretty crazy card, and it's opened me up to an insanely cool insert set that I'll have to take a look at later on COMC.

The best word I can use to describe this 2004 Fleer In-Scribed Induction Ceremony relic card of Carlton Fisk is "awesome,' because this silver and black card takes the relic card to a whole new level. It's serial numbered out of just 100 copies, and this is one time where I'm actually thankful for the plain white jersey, for it goes well with the simple colors across the rest of the card. 

Every detail of the card is meticulously chosen, and it shows, big time, with this card already becoming one of my favorite relics in my collection.

Told you today was an excellent day for Rafael Devers cards. In addition to all the cards I showed before, I purchased my first-ever coin card today, also from 2017 Topps Heritage Minor League. Included on the card is a nickel that was minted in 1968, and the colors throughout the card really do embody what the 60s sets were all about.

For someone who doesn't plan on buying a box of Heritage Minor League, I certainly bought my fair share of Devers cards from that set today.

But even with coin cards, parallels, and a few oddballs as well, it was this Carlton Fisk relic card from 2010 Topps Triple Threads that captured my attention more than any other card today, and not just because the card is numbered out of 27, Fisk's jersey number from his time in Boston.

Rarely do you see a card that consists of as many bats or jersey pieces as this Carlton Fisk relic, spelling out his successes from the 1972 season. His All-Star appearance, Rookie of the Year award, and Gold Glove award are all spelled out in pieces of his bat as well as the season that he accomplished all these feats.

I picked up my first Triple Threads letter relic, for the lack of a better word, a couple of weeks ago, featuring Chris Sale and numbered to 9. Now, I'll have a Carlton Fisk to accompany the Sale card, and it's the crown jewel of a stellar selection of Sox cards from today.

A Dime Box Search to End 2018

Well, 2018 hasn't officially ended quite yet, but a shortage of supplies prompted a quick trip to my LCS earlier today where I found myself in a familiar spot; searching through the owner's dime boxes.

In the past, the dime bins at this card shop have rivaled even the best of the boxes that I see at the show. Low numbered cards, high-end base, and major players that I collect are all typically found within these boxes. 

This time around, the owner had replenished the boxes, big time, along with an entirely new box being added to the group.

There are a lot of posts that I'd like to do over the next few days, meaning some will carry over into 2019. The last 2 decades of ranking Topps sets, a recap of my 2018 collecting goals, and a general end of year post featuring my thoughts on 2018 cards and best pulls are all posts that are on the radar for the next few days.

Even with all those posts left to do, I prefer posting highlights from the dime boxes as soon as I possibly can. With the cards still fresh in my mind, I express my thoughts on the cards in a much clearer way.

Oddballs aren't necessarily a strength of these dime boxes, but that didn't stop me from tracking down a few of them, consisting mostly of big-name player collections. I'm a huge fan of the A-Rod Donruss Originals card as well as the Mantle from 2007 Topps Chrome.

On the other hand, the Ken Griffey Jr. Member's Choice and whatever parallel this is of Joey Votto from 2018 Donruss Optic are nice additions to 2 of my fastest growing player collections.

Topps has been running the Bowman Holiday promotion for a little over a month now if I remember correctly. Like last year, I still don't see the appeal of these "holiday" cards that have nothing more than a new logo thrown in the upper right corner. 

Still, it's hard to complain about the set with big names like Trout and Kershaw winding up in the dime boxes. 

Topps has made a point to include no shortage of retired players in many of their sets today, but they haven't necessarily featured names like Vida Blue or Ken Griffey Sr. It seems like the same group of Hall of Famers can be found in year after year of Stadium Club and various high-end sets, but it's a lot more exciting to find cards of sometimes forgotten stars from back in the day.

Tony Gwynn is one of the recently-formed player collections that I created a couple weeks ago along with Corey Kluber, Max Scherzer, David Price, and Robin Yount. Gwynn isn't a guy I see too often at the card show or shop, which is part of what makes finding this Panini Donruss variation card so rewarding, even if it is unlicensed. 

It's been a few months since I've gone through the dime boxes at this shop, so I didn't really have an idea of what to expect out of the bins. While I've seen high-end in these boxes before, I can't say I've seen a selection this strong with 2018 Topps Museum being thoroughly represented. 

I hadn't seen this set design before today, but I'm more interested in the players I found, specifically the Hank Aaron card from his days in Atlanta.

With my Anthony Rizzo player collection hovering around the 90-card mark, any card I'll take almost any card I can find to bring that player collection closer and closer to 100 cards. If nothing else, the collection grew by a card today, thanks to a bronze parallel from the same 2018 Topps Museum product.

It may be from a couple years ago (2014), but I got a similar feeling when I found the Will Clark card to when I spotted the Griffey Sr. and Vida Blue. I was pleased to add to player collections of guys I believe to be underrepresented by card companies, mainly Topps, today. 

It's pretty easy to find a card of a guy like Greg Maddux card in the dime bins if I looked hard enough. Will Clark, now that's a bit more of a challenge.

The duo of cards shown above from 2018 Topps Triple Threads was my very first look at this product entirely just like I saw my first cards from 2018 Topps Museum as well. Even with just 2 cards of drastically different players, I was able to get a sense of what this years' set is like. 

I'm especially fond of the matte finish to the cards, something that could help the surface stay in better shape than having a glossy finish on the front of the cards.

But the biggest surprise of the entire search of the dime boxes was finding 2 original 1965 Topps cards, both in reasonable shape. Granted, I'm not familiar with Mike De La Hoz nor Russ Nixon, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to add 2 cards to my collection from one of my favorite sets of all-time.

The Nixon will be added to my Red Sox binders while the Braves card will have a spot in my older vintage card binders. I've always loved the mini pennants of the 1965 set, and the classic Red Sox logo is another plus. 

And if there's any hope of me completing the 1965 Topps set someday many, many years from now, I'll need every card I can get.