Top 5 Cards: Dustin Pedroia

Earlier today, Red Sox first baseman and designated hitter Hanley Ramirez was designated for assignment, thus ending his time as a Boston Red Sox player. This was done in order to create roster space for Dustin Pedroia who is coming back from an injury and is expected to start tomorrow.

Like most baseball fans, I was shocked by this move since it seemed to come out of nowhere. Granted, Hanley had a bad month of May but he was stellar to start the year. It seems bizarre that they'd give up on him so quickly, but it does make sense.

Boston has their outfield all set, Benintendi, Bradley Jr, and Betts. J.D. Martinez spends most of his time at DH, and Mitch Moreland is a gold glove caliber 1st baseman. Therefore, there was no place for Hanley at 1st if you have Moreland, and his offense wasn't good enough to have J.D. rest or move to the outfield. It just didn't work.

Now, I don't agree with the move, but like I said, it makes sense. So, I thought I'd connect this back to Dustin Pedroia who will take the field tomorrow for the first time this year. To celebrate, I've decided to show off my 5 favorite cards of Pedroia out of the 60 in my collection. 

#5 2012 Topps Gypsy Queen

Dustin Pedroia is a Red Sox fan-favorite, through and through. While his numbers have slumped in recent years, Red Sox fans absolutely adore Dustin Pedroia, not to mention he's made numerous remarks about how much he loves playing at Fenway. That is all very evident on Pedey's 2012 Gypsy Queen card which shows him absolutely pumped up after hitting what looks to be a home run given the blurred out cheering fans in the background.

#4 2012 Topps Gypsy Queen Sliding Stars

Yes, I realize the first 2 cards are from the same set and the same year, but I guarantee I put Pedroia's Sliding Stars insert card from 2012 Topps Gypsy Queen on this list for a reason. For much of his career, Pedey was known for his speed. He has 5 15+ steal seasons to his name. But more so than that, he's a very smart baserunner. On this card, Pedroia is seen sliding into home plate at some ballpark that I can't seem to recognize while another Red Sox player appears right behind him. After reading the back of the card, I discovered it was from a May 29th, 2011 game against the Tigers.

#3 2012 Topps Archives 1968 3D

Topps Archives is known for choosing various small sets from different years of Topps and making them insert sets in their sets. Case and point; the 1968 3D cards which appeared in the 2012 Topps Archives set despite 1968 Topps not being one of the sets chosen for the 2012 product. 3D cards are some of my favorite types of cards, and since they're not made all too much anymore, I jump at any chance I can get to add 3D cards to my collection. Overall, they were very well done in the 2012 Archives sets, though I've never seen the original '68 3D's so I can't know for sure.

#2 2009 Upper Deck Goudey Heads Up

The Heads Up cards were part of each year of the revived Goudey set that Upper Deck put out from 2007-2009. Out of all 3 of the Heads Up card designs, 2009 is no-doubt my favorite simply because they're actual full-size cards. I totally appreciate the little comics and blurbs written on the card, so I want to see as many of them as possible. Making the card full-size instead of mini, and the various things Upper Deck chose to write about for their 2009 Goudey set not only helps the '09 Heads Up cards be my favorite of the bunch but also helps this card to #2 on my list.

#1 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen Black Mini Parallel

Since he's been with the Red Sox for over a decade, Pedroia has been a major part of the rivalry between the Sox and the Yankees. One thing about the rivalry is that it's really not captured on cardboard as much as it should be. This mini card does capture the rivalry very well as it shows Yankees player Alex Rodriguez and the subject of this top 5 cards post, Dustin Pedroia. Better yet, it's a black parallel which is numbered 21/199 on the back of the card.