All the Way From Canada

Even though I consider myself a die-hard Red Sox fan, I feel like I need to start stepping up my game a little bit when it comes to collecting cards from my favorite team separate from player collections.

To be clear, I'm very pleased with the Red Sox PCs I have now, consisting of a wide variety of players from Carlton Fisk to Andrew Benintendi. I'll never stop adding on to my player collections, meaning my Red Sox PCs won't be a worry for me. I'm talking about my overall Red Sox card collection, cards of players I don't collect.

Right now, I have about 5 binders of non-player collection Red Sox cards, from 1954-2018. Some sets are grouped together because I have a lot of cards from them while others are put into a miscellaneous Red Sox card binder. I'd like to be able to continuously add to these binders, but I'd like to figure out a better way to organize them first.

As for how I'd add to this part of my collection, I took a step in that direction today thanks to Curtis of Condition Sensitive who sent me a package of Red Sox cards all the way from Canada. 

The player collection Red Sox cards he sent me will be added to their respective collections. However, as for cards like the 1977 TCMA Jackie Jensen, those will join the rest of my Red Sox cards in binders.

Player collection cards like these 4 above, 2 of which are from 2018 Topps Update, a set I haven't invested too much into thus far. The Ortiz insert is a new one I haven't seen before that will aid in the process of getting his player collection to 200 cards The Pedroia is one of a select few inserts from 2014 Topps Upper Class that I still need for PCs. The Fred Lynn is a holofoil 2013 Topps Chasing History parallel, and finally, the Kimbrel is a blue parallel  Legends in the Making card from Update.

In some cases, player collection cards that I receive in trades are already in my collection, but not this time around. In fact, every PC card Curtis sent me is one I don't have in any of my player collections yet.

That includes this oddball 1988 Starting Lineup Wade Boggs card, a product I've never seen before in my life, but a card that'll fit right into the Boggs player collection nevertheless. Coming off a 1967 season in which he hit .363, it's no wonder that the Hall of Fame 3rd baseman was a subject of choice in many different sets, including this unfamiliar one.

From one of my first player collections to my newest, there were plenty of different cards to go around, ranging from different players, brands, sets, and decades. David Ortiz was one of the first players I ever collected, and his player collection, as I mentioned before, is closing in on 200 cards.

On the other hand, David Price's PC is in the process of being created now after his sensational performance in the World Series. I expect it to consist of around 20 cards when created, almost all of them from his days in Tampa Bay and Boston.

Typically, I would know about an insert set paying tribute to a Red Sox legend sooner than a year and a half after the product was released, but I guess that's part of what made discovering the 2017 Panini Diamond Kings Ted Williams Collection set so enjoyable. Not only is it hard to notice that the cards are unlicensed, but the 2nd one, showing Williams presumably in his fishing gear, is one of the most bizarre and awesome cards I've seen in a while.

Don't worry, my lack of interest in Topps Update won't stop me from finding some Red Sox players included in the checklist. Thanks to Curtis, playoff participant Ian Kinsler and rookie reliever Marcus Walden's cards from Update will make their way into my Red Sox binders, no matter what way I decide is the best to organize them.

I certainly do feel fortunate having received my 3rd David Ortiz card from the trade, bringing his player collection all the way up to 194 cards. If Ortiz cards have a good turnout in the next dime box, or I specifically track 6 of them down from a dealer, the next card show I attend could finally bring his PC over the 200-card mark.

On top of sending 2 Chrome refractors my way, I also received 2 different gold parallels from Curtis including a gold Craig Kimbrel that I saw on his blog, causing me to initiate the trade. Both will go to their respective player collections as I continue to add to the Kimbrel Collection as well as build up Lester's PC with Red Sox and Cubs cards from the last decade or so.

Ultimately, there was 1 card, in particular, I wanted when I negotiated this trade. I saw it on the blog after Curtis opened up a blaster of 2018 Topps Update and due to the way this post has gone so far, you can bet it was a Red Sox player.

I'm not usually a huge fan of manufactured relic cards, but there was something about this Andrew Benintendi Jackie Robinson Day "patch" that drew me in more so than these cards typically do. For starters, the dark purple shades in the background and on the patch are an interesting touch, not to mention the patch itself looks better than manufactured relics typically do.

Benintendi is coming off a sensational season in which he improved in nearly every stat category. He's improved to an All-Star caliber player, and this card is an above average manufactured retail-exclusive relic, the best card in what was a trade filled to the brink with Red Sox cards, and I wouldn't have it any other way.