With all the time I've spent talking about team collecting this week, it seems fitting to do a top 5 cards post of one of my favorite and most-collected Red Sox players of all-time.
One of the greatest 3rd baseman to ever play the game, Wade Boggs hit .328 over the course of his 18-year career. While he spent most of his time with the Red Sox, he played a few seasons with some of Boston's division rivals; the Yankees and the Devil Rays.
Boggs captured 8 Silver Sluggers and 5 batting titles, many of them coming during his time in Boston. Largely due to the era he played in, I've been able to accumulate more cards of Wade Boggs than a lot of other Red Sox players. Yet unbelievably, he never captured an MVP award during his career.
Currently, my Boggs player collection consists of 170 cards, so it was pretty difficult to narrow it down to 5, especially since he didn't play in the 60s where I can count on some fabulous cards of nearly any player.
Even with some slightly less familiar decades to choose cards from, there was no shortage of available cards for this top 5 cards list.
#5 2004 Fleer Greats of the Game
Simplicity can truly be an excellent trait when it comes to Baseball cards, and that is further proven with the 2004 Fleer Greats of the Game set. It's one of the most classic sets that Fleer has ever put together and featured a checklist of some of my favorite players of all-time, Boggs being one of them.
There's hardly a dull card in the entire set, and the Boggs is no exception. While photos of hitters at the plate can become overdone, the angle and timing of the photo allow for a far more interesting picture and a better overall card.
#4 1985 Leaf
One day, I'm hoping my constant rambling about the beauty of black-bordered Baseball cards will accomplish something. But for now, I'll keep on insisting that there needs to be a base set made with black borders like 1971 Topps and '85 Donruss. Not just parallels but a complete set.
An already nice card like the one above is only enhanced by black borders. It looks awesome while also drawing attention to the photo and a number of smaller details on the card.
#3 1995 Topps Embossed Golden Idols
The scanner certainly does not do this card justice, for the card looks far brighter and overall, far better in person than it does when scanned. To my knowledge, this is my only card from the '95 Topps Embossed Golden Idols set, but the design and look of the cards is so stellar that I don't even care that Boggs is shown on the Yankees.
Plus, the picture of him taking off or putting on his sunglasses is one I don't think I've seen all too often on Baseball cards, especially not in a set as intriguing as the '95 Topps Embossed product.
#2 2016 Topps Stadium Club Black Foil Parallel
This card, along with the Gold Foil parallel version, is one of the newest additions to my Wade Boggs player collection. Despite how familiar I am with the 2016 Topps Stadium Club set, I didn't come across Boggs' card until over 2 years after the set was released.
I suppose it's better late than never, because the photo is definitely a standout, even in a photo-centric set like Stadium Club. Not to mention, the black foil only adds on to what is already a fantastic choice for the top 5 cards list.
#1 2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites
I usually go into top 5 cards posts with a firm idea of what card is going to be at the #1 spot. Or at least, I usually have a few cards that have a good chance of taking the top spot. However, this time around, I didn't have any idea of what card would end up at #1. With that being said, I'm very pleased with my choice.
The card is an enhanced version of Boggs' actual 1986 Topps card with an excellent image and perfect lighting in addition to a superb replication of the 1986 Topps set. Everything about the card screams "Red Sox" which is the main reason why I decided on it for the #1 spot.
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