Red Sox PC Pickups; Card Show Recap #20 Part #3

Every once in a while, I think about how fortunate I am to be a fan of the Boston Red Sox while also living in Massachusetts. 

Not only am I frequently surrounded by fellow Red Sox fans, but it's incredibly easy to purchase Red Sox cards and memorabilia when I go to Baseball card shops and shows, something that not every team collector gets to experience.

In particular, every Baseball card show that I often attend, no matter how big or small, features dealers who specifically designate certain sections of their table for Red Sox cards only. Whether it's a small stack or an entire bin, I never have much trouble finding Sox cards for my player and team collections.

Obviously, this has paid dividends over the years, for I have more Red Sox cards than that of any other team by a substantial total. Furthermore, some of my largest PCs (Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz), are Red Sox players, and I've been steadily adding to my team collection for months now. 

I don't typically set goals for myself before attending a Baseball card show, but I keep a few things in mind that I'd like to check out. Usually, I try to make a Red Sox-centric purchase in which I purchase primarily Red Sox cards from a certain dealer.

Judging by the title of this post, it's clear that I fulfilled this goal during my trip to the Shriner's show last Sunday. While I would rate the entire show as a definite success, I was pleased to make a purchase that consisted solely of Red Sox cards, especially after their 3-game sweep of the Oakland A's following their 7-3 victory earlier today.

Another one of my largest player collections, Pedro Martinez achieved gold tier status years before I created the tier system towards the end of last year. His player collection currently sits at 198 total cards, the 8th largest PC in my collection.

At the time in which I'm writing this post, I haven't updated my player collection inventory to include the cards from Sunday's show. This means that the 4 cards shown above took Pedro over the 200-card mark, making him the 8th member of the platinum tier.

All the cards except for 1 come from a time when Pedro was playing in the major leagues. By contrast, the 2019 Diamond Kings card in the top left corner is from a very recent release, honoring the 2002 Donruss DK product.

Speaking of 2019 Diamond Kings, Panini is paying tribute to a surplus of past products with this year's set, and I'm quite satisfied to find that multiple Red Sox players are included. Basically, most of the insert sets in this year's product pay homage to a past design, featuring today's stars as well as Baseball legends.

One of my favorite Baseball card products ever produced, Panini recreated the 2003 Topps 205 card with an insert set that features Mookie Betts along with some other guys I collect whose inserts I also purchased on Sunday.

On the other hand, the Ted Williams card mimics the Hall of Fame Heroes mini set that was produced during the 1980s. It would be interesting to compare today's checklist to the one from 35 years ago, for there would definitely be some new players included in the set.

I was pretty disappointed to hear that the Cleveland Indians designated Hanley Ramirez for assignment so early on in the 2019 season. While he may have driven in their first home run of the year with a moonshot against the Twins, he did little to impress following that moment.

I've always been a huge fan of Hanley Ramirez, especially during his sensational 2016 season with the Red Sox. With that being said, being DFA'd by the Indians likely makes this the end of the road for the 2006 NL Rookie of the Year.

Understandably so, neither one of these Hanley Ramirez cards, even the 2017 Topps Bunt parallel, numbered 34/99, were too expensive. I've always been a huge fan of Hanley Ramirez, and his impending retirement gives me zero reasons to stop collecting cards of a player who has achieved gold tier status as far as my PCs are concerned.

I probably paid a little too much money for these 2 refractors of Andrew Benintendi from 2018 Topps Chrome, but I feel like it's justified following his stellar 2018 season in which he hit .290 with 16 homers, 87 RBI, and even 21 stolen bases.

Topps Chrome is also a marquee product, so it makes sense that these 2 cards would cost a little more than your average non-numbered parallel. Moreover, I've never tried to complete a refractor/parallel rainbow before, and, if I ever decide to do so, Andrew Benintendi's 2018 Topps Chrome rainbow could be a relatively inexpensive way to start. 

As I mentioned yesterday, I stumbled upon a 2019 Bowman Chrome card of Michael Chavis that was already in the dime bins just 11 days after the product was initially released. Now, following his incredible start to the 2019 season, I considered it wise to add another couple of Chavis prospect cards to my collection.

Clearly, the highlight here is his 1st Bowman card from 2014 which I believe set me back only $1 or $2. It may not hold as much value as a chrome 1st Bowman card, but this card is certainly nothing to look down upon, especially if Chavis continues to blossom into a superstar slugger. 

Last week, I mentioned how the retail-exclusive green parallel of this very card was one of the best pulls from my 2019 Topps Gypsy Queen rack pack and blaster box break. Thus, when I saw the indigo parallel, numbered to 250 copies, at the show for a very fair price, I made the easy decision of purchasing this stunning card.

The image is truly unlike anything that I've ever seen before on a Baseball card, and I mean that in an amazing way. The card is incredibly unique, and I'm ecstatic that I have 2 different parallels of it. 

Even though the black and white parallels from 2019 Topps Gypsy Queen look awesome, something tells me the full-bleed colors would take away from the beauty of this card.

I doubt that Topps Finest made relic cards like the one above for all that many years, for this is the first time I've ever seen a jersey card from this product. Admittedly, the chrome cardstock and a jersey swatch aren't a traditional pairing, but I'm still a fan of this Derek Lowe relic card, especially since it only cost me $2.

Not only is the design very sleek and modern, especially for the mid-2000s, but it's hard to pass up a relic card, featuring a member of the '04 World Series team, for such a low price. 

With relics on the decline and rookie autographs becoming more desired, it's comforting to have a card like this that takes you back to the height of relic card popularity. 

Speaking of which, this could very well be one of the most beautiful relic cards that I've ever seen before in my life; I was beyond thrilled to add this no-brainer of a card to my collection, especially since it features game-used memorabilia of Red Sox legend, David Ortiz.

If I could select any of Topps' previous products to be revived, it would likely be the 2010 Topps National Chicle set. I purchased the base set from a vendor at the Baseball card show back when it was released, and the cards are downright beautiful.

I'm not a huge fan of the "C" that covers up part of the jersey relic, but everything else about the card works in tangent with the product. There are many different colors that are used, the art looks fantastic, and the blank squares adjacent to the uniform piece are a nice touch.

On the back, the card is serial numbered out of 199 copies, for it features a National Chicle back. Still, I'd choose this card hands-down even if it wasn't numbered. 

I don't have all that many David Ortiz relic cards, so this card could very well be the greatest purchase made throughout Sunday's entire show.