Sensational Red Sox Hits; Card Show Recap #21 Part 3

The more I think back to Monday's Memorial Day Baseball card show, the more I realize that it will go down as one of the greatest shows that I've ever attended in my life, even including my trip to The National last year. 

Thus far in my mini recap series, you've seen my posts about player collection additions and an entire 2019 Panini Prizm hobby box recap of the box that I purchased before leaving the show. 

Per usual, however, I've saved the best for last. This rather brief post, dedicated solely to Red Sox cards, features my top pickups of the entire Mansfield show. 

Specifically, there are 2 cards that I bought that have the potential to be a couple of the most valuable cards in my collection someday in the future. Even if that does not happen, the 2 autos are absolutely gorgeous, truly some of the most beautiful cards that I've seen in a while.

As the title suggests, the 3rd and final recap post from my trip to the Baseball card show on Monday is devoted solely to Red Sox hits. 

This post, somewhat shorter than the other 2, features 5 relic cards or autographs of Red Sox players that I purchased towards the end of my time at the show on Monday. As the post progresses, I'll be working my way up to the crown jewels of the entire visit, the 2 previously mentioned autographs.

But first, I have to begin with cards that may not be as glamorous or valuable as the final 2 autos of this post, but they're still, nevertheless, nice additions to my always-growing Boston Red Sox PC. Starting things off, for only $2, is a jersey relic of Don Baylor from SP Legendary Cuts.

Considering the incredibly low price, this card is an absolute bargain, especially since the jersey swatch is both a reasonable size and game-used. I'm just noticing now that the beige/sepia background features a scorecard from an MLB game, a minor detail that I appreciate.

Admittedly, the card isn't going to knock your socks off, but it's a well-made 2000s jersey relic nevertheless. I'm always looking to add inexpensive Red Sox relics to my collection, and for only $2, it was pretty much a no-brainer for the Don Baylor card above.

Next up, a game-used bat relic of a player whom I associate more with the Red Sox than Don Baylor, perennial Gold Glove outfielder Dwight Evans. Across the 19 seasons in which he was a member of the Boston Red Sox, Evans won 8 Gold Glove awards in RF.

The relic, on the other hand, honors Evans' offensive abilities as he finished his career with well over 1,300 RBI and nearly 400 home runs. Although the gold Archives stamp directly over the bat relic is something that has always bothered me about these cards, I've grown used to and accepted it as a part of these relics.

The wood bordered 1987 Topps set is a nice accompaniment to the bat relic, and I'm really fond of these Archives relics as a whole. I don't remember the price of this one, but I recall purchasing it for a reasonable cost.

At this point in the post, it's time to shift our attention over to the 3 Red Sox autographs that I purchased during my time at the Mansfield Show on Monday, all of which are from the Topps Five Star product. 

A high-end set that delivers just 3 cards per box, I believe that this brand includes only autographed cards; some of them are serial numbered, like the Jim Rice auto above, others may not be.

Speaking of the Jim Rice auto, I appreciate how elegant and pristine this card looks, from the gorgeous on-card auto to the background choice and, especially, the banner that contains the player's name. 

To my knowledge, every Topps Five Star autograph is on-card, but I could be wrong about this. My one critique would be the print run (386) is not only an extraordinarily odd number but a high number as well. You'd think something around 250 or 300 is more appropriate, but I suppose that's what allowed me to purchase this card for a moderate price.

This is my first autograph of Jim Rice, and it's a spectacular and beautiful card, especially considering it only cost me half a blaster box in money. However, I will admit that the next 2 cards were far more pricy, but neither myself nor my Dad regrets splurging in order to add these beautiful autos to our PC.

The first of the 2 magnificent Five Star autos that I alluded to earlier is from 2017; a rookie auto of Andrew Benintendi from their Golden Graphs mini-set. Although the scan makes it challenging to see the on-card auto, rookie symbol, and the player's name, I can assure you that all the factors of this card are more profound in-person.

Serial numbered out of a mere 25 copies, this card has to be one of the most beautiful autos that I've ever seen in my life. The black surface is perfect for the bronze ink that Benintendi signed with, and I adore the purple and gold combination as far as the borders are concerned.

Although I don't typically stray away from purchasing cards from high-end products, I've never done something quite like this; a top tier rookie auto from a high-end set. However, I've been pondering buying a Benintendi auto for well over a year now, and I feel as if he's a consistent enough player for this investment to be worth it.

In the case of the final Five Star auto and card from Monday's show, it's yet another player who's auto I have been chasing for over a year. As of late, he's been swinging an insanely hot bat, and the dealer at the show admitted to me that he hadn't changed the prices on the player's autos following his hot streak.

So, it was at that moment in which my Dad and I collectively decided that we would be splurging and buying not 1, but 2 sensational Red Sox rookie autos from Topps Five Star, both numbered out of just 25 copies. 

This time, the card was from 2018, and the rookie was Rafael Devers who's currently hitting .325 with 7 homers, 31 RBI, and even 7 stolen bases. He's making a strong case to be a starting All-Star for the AL this season and is even putting up numbers that could, ultimately, land him in the MVP discussion.

A performance like this from Devers is not unexpected, for many suspected that he'd have a breakout year in 2019. As of now, that is coming to fruition and as a result of his recent performance, we felt it was time to invest in a Devers auto as well.

Certainly, both of these rookie Five Star autos are absolutely gorgeous, and I'm a huge fan of both Benintendi and Devers as they are incredibly different yet talented stars. 

Now, more so than ever, I'll be cheering for Benintendi and Devers as individuals in addition to the team as a whole. Although I cherish the cards simply because of how stunning they are, it wouldn't hurt for Devers and Benintendi to continue playing at a high level for years to come.

The Red Sox's Biggest Surprises of 2019 So Far

With 1/4 of the 2019 MLB season already in the books, there have been plenty of surprises involving individual players as well as entire teams. 

Guys like Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich are performing at an unprecedented level while Bryce Harper and Vladimir Guerrero Jr seem to be overhyped given their current stats.

While I can't say that I've been following every aspect of the game, I've seen enough to know that the first 40 or so games of the 2019 season have been interesting. We've already seen a no-hitter, #2 in the career of Mike Fiers, and there have been numerous no-hit bids by guys like Chris Sale and Hyun-Jin Ryu.

Defensive wizards like Jackie Bradley Jr and Ramon Laureano have established themselves as Gold Glove candidates with their spectacular plays in CF while, at the plate, Eddie Rosario and Mitch Moreland cracked the top 5 in home runs.

Granted, it's still quite early in the season, but I've enjoyed witnessing all these surprise performances throughout Baseball. Although I'm a little biased, I've noticed an unexpected number of surprises by the Boston Red Sox team and their players.

Through the first month and a half of the season, the Red Sox have seen their fair share of positive and negative moments. Their recent 3-game sweep of the Seattle Mariners gives me an idea on how the team, as a whole, has been performing as of late.

Things could certainly change, but, as of now, there have been numerous surprises related to the Boston Red Sox team, both ups, and downs. Today, I'll be assessing the most unexpected moments from their season thus far.

Everything Michael Chavis

Truth be told, nearly everything about Michael Chavis so far in 2019 has been a shock, for I didn't expect the power hitting 23-year old to be called up until September of this year. However, Boston was forced to recall their #2 prospect when Dustin Pedroia, Eduardo Nunez, and Brock Holt found themselves on the injured list. So far, he hasn't disappointed.

In addition to being a respectable 1st, 2nd, and 3rd baseman, Chavis has established himself as one of the Sox's best power hitters despite only having 71 at-bats. He's already launched 6 dingers, including the 3 longest Red Sox homers so far this year.

Not only that, but Chavis has proven himself to be more than just a power hitter. Yesterday, during Boston's 11-2 victory over Seattle, he drove in 5 runs, all on singles.

Rafael Devers' batting average

If the 2019 MLB season ended today, Rafael Devers would be crowned the AL Batting King with his remarkable .336 average through 149 at-bats. Needless to say, he's come a long way from his .240 average during his first full season in 2018. 

Even though Devers will most likely be unable to maintain this spectacular batting average, the 22-year old has proven that he can hit for contact, not just for power. Though he only has 2 home runs, he's already driven in 21 runs and has had numerous multi-hit games over the last couple of weeks. 

He's also done a reasonable job of avoiding the strikeout; he only has 24 so far in 2019. On the contrary, he's been racking up doubles, (12) at a much higher rate.

Christian Vazquez's offense and defense

It still baffles me as to why the Red Sox decided to DFA Blake Swihart and recall Sandy Leon, a liability as far as offense is concerned. Yes, Leon hit a home run last Saturday, but that's something that Christian Vazquez has been doing all season. 

The 28-year old is hitting .278 with 5 homers and 14 RBI through only 97 at-bats. The decision to call-up Leon baffles me, for Vazquez is an equally strong defensive catcher with far better offensive production. 

If it were up to me, Vazquez would be Boston's primary catcher with Leon catching only when the former is injured or resting. Only then can Vazquez reach his full potential at and behind the plate.

Mitch Moreland's 12 home runs

Against all odds, 1st baseman Mitch Moreland is leading the Boston Red Sox with 12 home runs, and it's not even close between him and his teammates; the Betts, Bogaerts, and Martinez are all tied for 2nd place on the team leaderboard with 7 apiece.

Though his .231 batting average needs some work, I think that Red Sox fans will be more than willing to forgive that stat given the 33-year old's 29 RBI in addition to his 12 moonshots. His nickname, Mitchy 2-bags, may no longer apply, for he has twice as many dingers as he does doubles.

Like Devers and his batting average, I'm not expecting Moreland to continue hitting home runs at this rate. However, he's 3 away from matching his total from 2018 with less than 1/3 of his at-bat total from last season, so there's definitely something to be said for that.

Chris Sale's 1-5 record

Obviously, given the Red Sox's shaky start, to put it mildly, to the 2019 season, it hasn't been easy for the defending World Series Champions to get back to their winning ways. Part of this is due to Chris Sale's 1-5 record, something I don't think anyone expected out of Boston's ace.

After signing an extension to remain in Boston for 5 more years, Sale started the year 0-5. Part of his struggles stemmed from his lack of command and velocity. Other times, Boston failed to score runs for the left-hander, like his last start when he struck out 14 batters through 8 innings and finished with a no-decision.

The Red Sox's Entire Season

Although a .537 winning percentage at this point in the season is nothing to sneeze at, Boston's journey towards their current 21-19 record, as I mentioned earlier, hasn't been easy. Everyone has struggled, from young reliever Colton Brewer to the reigning AL MVP Mookie Betts. 

Their first few weeks were especially troubling as the Red Sox found themselves stuck in 5th place in the AL East. Through patience, hard work, and sheer determination, the Red Sox have fought their way back.

Only time will tell what will happen next for the Boston Red Sox and all the individual players. However, all I can hope is that they continue to improve and be successful and that the remaining 3/4 of the 2019 MLB season is full of as many positive surprises as the first month and a half.

Top 5 Cards; Rafael Devers

The first pitch of today's Red Sox vs Diamondbacks game was thrown just as I began writing today's blog post. In hopes that they finally turn their performance around, I'll be writing a top 5 cards post for Rafael Devers today.

Win or lose, I'm ecstatic that the Red Sox's insipid West Coast trip will be over after game #3 against Arizona later today. Next up, they'll be heading home to Boston where the players will receive their World Series rings. Hopefully, this will boost the player's confidence and inspire them to step it up.

I understand that every talented team goes through a slump like this, but it's incredibly frustrating that I haven't seen this team play a good game of Baseball whatsoever this season. 

Their pitching, especially their starters, has been incredibly rocky; the club's 6.97 ERA is 2nd worst in all of Baseball. Even when the offense provides a ton of runs, the pitching blows the game, and that's why this team has only managed 2 wins so far.

Nevertheless, I still remain incredibly hopeful that the Red Sox will quickly bounce back from this poor performance, especially when they return home this Tuesday. One thing's for sure; I'm going to dread every road trip for the rest of this season.

I've already written top 5 cards posts for most of the current Red Sox players that I collect. Alas, my next option was Rafael Devers, a player that I've been collecting for about a year now. 

Even though I haven't been collecting cards of Devers for that long, the ones I do have are from as long ago as 2014, his first year as a prospect. Now, I have 20 total cards of the 22-year 3rd baseman; let's see which ones made my top 5 list.

#5 2017 Bowman's Best Baseball America Dean's List

The 2017 Bowman's Best Baseball America Dean's List cards are already standouts on their own, so it doesn't take much for one of these inserts to impress me. With that being said, there's something about this Devers card that impresses me, and I'm not talking about the A+ grade that he received.

Rafael Devers cards, in general, are pretty fantastic looking. In this case, the stellar insert set combines with a great photo of the Sox's star 3rd baseman. It's difficult to explain exactly what it is, but there's something about this card that's incredibly appealing to me.

#4 2017 Topps Heritage Minor League 1968 Discs

I had a couple of Heritage Minor League cards that I could've featured on my top 5 cards list, but none of them came close to beating out this 1968 Topps Disc reproduction from 2017. Although he's shown as a member of the Portland Seadogs, Devers was already in the major leagues by the time this set was released.

I don't focus a lot on collecting vintage oddballs, so I don't have one of the original 1968 Topps Discs in my collection. Still, it's really great to have one of the reprinted insert cards, for I don't have that many true minor league cards in my collection in the first place.

#3 2017 Bowman's Best Prospect Refractor

So far, I haven't included a single rookie card of Devers on this list since the first 3 slots have been reserved for prospect/minor league cards. The top 2 spots on this list happen to feature rookie cards, so this is the last card of Devers from his pre-MLB days.

My favorite part of the 2017 Bowman's Best cards is how colorful the base set is. Every single card features a wide variety of various colors that correspond with the team colors, and Dever's prospect refractor is no exception. 

In addition to having red and blue represented, there's a little bit of purple on this base refractor as well.

#2 2018 Topps Gallery Heritage

Since the brand's revival in 2017, Topps Gallery has produced some of the most beautiful cards that we've seen this decade. In addition to a colorful base set, this product includes a couple of artistic insert sets, including Gallery Heritage.

In 2018, these cards were modeled after the first every Topps Flagship set; 1952 Topps. Although I agree that the '52 set is over-replicated in modern times, I'll give Topps Gallery a pass due to their unique approach to these insert cards.

#1 2018 Topps Now

Even though this rookie card of Devers from 2018 Topps Now isn't the most exciting card in the top 5, this card is a lot more special to me than the others on this list. That's because this card is the very first Topps Now card that I ever purchased.

After watching Devers hit this grand slam on TV last June, I decided to add the first-ever Topps Now card to my collection. I remember the exact moment that this home run was hit, and it was one of many special milestones for the 2018 Boston Red Sox team. 

Like I said, the set design isn't too exciting, and a lot of the other Devers cards in my collection are more visually appealing. However, this card symbolizes the countless clutch moments that the Sox had last season.

At this point, all I want today is 1 of those clutch moments. 1 big play that'll lead the Sox to victory against the Dbacks.

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.