Down The Ebay Rabbit Hole #5 - All That Glitters

Happy New Year! I hope you can look back on 2023 fondly, and that this year will be filled with much joy and good health!

 

It's been awhile since I did one of these, so let's kick off the year with a refresh. I had a prepaid gift card that was set to expire soon (this month actually), so I went on a bit of an eBay spending spree. We've reached the penultimate purchase. (Technically, these were the last cards I bought, but I'm saving the biggest purchase for the last post of this series!)

One side project of mine has slowed to a crawl in recent years. In 2018, I decided to celebrate the Red Sox World Series Championship by acquiring the serial numbered gold parallel of every Red Sox card in the base and update sets. 5 years later and I was just a smidge over 1/3 of the way. Furthermore, I almost went the entire calendar year without adding any new cards. I can't have that, can I? I decided to search for some cheap card, and found a seller that had a few I could bundle together. I also picked up a Rainbow Foil parallel, just for fun.

 

 

Ian Kinsler was a trade deadline pickup necessitated by the unfortunate injury woes of Dustin Pedroia. He wasn't quite the offensive and defensive boost the Sox were hoping for, but he didn't hurt the team either, and that consistency was enough. In the World Series, he went 1-10 with an RBI. 

Which is still better than what Hanley Ramirez did. Hanley was a big off-season acquisition in 2014, and just didn't perform well over the course of his contract. He was released on May 30th of the season having only played 44 games. He still got a ring though!

The Rainbow foil is of course of the Orioles' new closer, Craig Kimbrell. Although he was an All-Star every year he was with the Red Sox, he has a tendency to struggle in the post-season (see this year's NLCS). When the last out of the World Series was made, it wasn't Kimbrell pitching but Chris Sale. Good luck with that Baltimore.

The Golden Sox Project is now over 40% complete, and I'd like to get over 50% by this time next year. As far as completion goes, it'll be tough finding an affordable copy of Dever's ASR ...yikes, I should have snagged one before he signed that massive extension...

The Golden Sox Project (Chris Sale League Leaders)

Two weeks ago, I showed off some Red Sox cards that Greg (Night Owl Cards) sent along for his contribution to a Time Travel Trading trade. I immediately claimed the lot, and this card was the key reason why. Chris Sale's League Leaders card becomes the 11th addition to my Golden Sox project.

 

 

For whatever reason, the back of Sale's card lists the 2017 AL ERA leaders, a stat Chris Sale did not lead in that year. He did come in second though to Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber. He did however lead the league in innings pitched and strikeouts, and was the runner up to the AL Cy Young Award.

The Golden Sox Project page has been updated - 11 cards down, 20 to go! Thanks Greg!

The Golden Sox Project (Xander Bogaerts)

It's been over a year since I've added any new additions to my Golden Sox Project. I had an opportunity to acquire one of the bigger names on the list when I traded with a TCDB member named Bob:

 

 

Bogaerts played every game of that 2018 postseason. He didn't have a signature moment, but was a steady contributor batting .224 with a home run and 7 RBI. During the regular season he had his finest season to date, slashing .288/.360/.522 while breaking the 100 RBI mark for the first time.

This card marks the 10th addition to the project, putting me at just under 1/3 of the way there. Just 21 more to go!

The Golden Sox Project (Chris Sale AS)

The Red Sox 2018 World Series Championship seems like ages ago. The years after have been draining for Red Sox fans everywhere. Since that glorious rise, fans have had to endure a cheating investigation, losing a popular manager because of another team's cheating investigation, and the trade of Mookie Betts.  Throw in all the Covid drama and the looming labor negotiations, and that 2018 season seems like a generation ago. Still, I continue my slow but steady pursuit of obtaining the gold parallels of the Red Sox in the Topps base and update sets.

I recently completed a trade with a blog reader named Oren. Among a bunch a great cards (which I'll show off in a separate post) was the latest addition to my quest, the Topps Update All-Star card of Chris Sale.

 

 

This particular All-Star game marked a historic moment for Sale. He started 3 consecutive All-Star games from 2016-2018.

In Sale's only World Series start, he pitched well but wasn't dominant. His signature moment came in Game 5. With the Red Sox 3 out from a World Series title, clinging to a 2 run lead, Sale came into the game in the 9th inning and proceeded to strike out the last three batters, all swinging. The sight of Manny Machado dropping to his knee for the last out is forever etched in Red Sox lore.

 

Thanks for the trade, Oren!

The Golden Sox Project (Kyle Martin)

Last Friday, I showed off a TCDB trade I made with Rodrick from Ontario. I held back one card to show today - the latest addition to my Golden Sox Project!

 

 

Kyle Martin is a shining example of Topps' obsession with rookies. He was never one of Boston's top prospects, and pitched in only 2 games for them in 2017. He didn't pitch for the Red Sox at all in 2018. In fact, he was released in July of that year and was pitching in Japan by the time the Red Sox started their glorious postseason run. Despite being a complete non-factor in their latest World Series Championship, he's still a 2018 Golden Red Sox card, and a welcome addition to my project!

Kyle Martin is the 8th card acquired for this project, leaving me with 23 left to track down!

The Golden Sox Project (Jackie Bradley Jr.)

Yesterday I highlighted a small TCDB trade with a guy name John. Even though the cards I previously showed off were great in their own way, the key card from the proposal was this latest addition to my Golden Sox Project:

 

Jackie is hands down the best defensive outfielder I've ever seen play for the Red Sox. Offensively, he has a reputation of being very hot or cold. When he's hot, he's the kind of player that can carry the team. A perfect example of this was the 2018 postseason. Bradley won the ALCS MVP award despite only having 3 hits that series. Each of those hits however were big hits that helped the Red Sox defeat the Astros in 3 different games:

• Game 2: Go-ahead bases clearing double
• Game 3: Grand slam that turned a small late game lead into a blow-out.
• Game 4: Go-ahead 2-run home run

I don't see the Red Sox spending much this off-season, but I hope they find a way to bring Jackie back. The incredible catches he makes are worth watching games for alone!

Jackie Bradley Jr. is the 7th card acquired for this project, leaving me with 24 cards remaining!

The Golden Sox Project (Drew Pomeranz)

It's been awhile since I last made any progress on my little side project to obtain the gold parallels of all the 2018 Topps and Topps Update Boston Red Sox. I had an opportunity to remedy that recently with another TCDB trade with a guy named Brian. Thanks to him, Drew Pomeranz can be checked off the list:

 

Pomeranz will forever have a place in Red Sox history as one of the strangest trades ever. Pomeranz was an All-Star for the Padres in 2016. It was during that All-Star break that he was traded to the Red Sox in a straight one-for-one trade involving Boston's top pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza. Later that season, it came to light that the Padres were keeping two sets of health records - an internal one within the organization and a modified one they shared with other teams during trade discussions! The MLB eventually suspended Padres GM AJ Preller for 30 days, and the Red Sox declined an opportunity to have this trade rescinded. 

Pomeranz did not appear for the Red Sox during the 2018 postseason. He had a down year with injuries and ineffectiveness, and was left off the postseason roster during the ALDS and ALCS. He was a surprise addition to the World Series roster, but never made it into a game.

Pomeranz is the 6th addition to the Golden Sox Project, with #7 to be featured soon!

Thanks for the trade Brian!

The Golden Sox Project (Did We Just Become Best Friends?)

One of the fun things you can do on the TCDB is create lists that others can see. I was looking at a few and came across one by a member named Kevin. He listed the last few cards he needed to complete the 1973 Topps set. According to the database, I had one of the cards he needed. I don't plan on completing that set anytime soon, so it was a card I was willing to pass along to someone who would appreciate it more. I looked through the card he had available to trade, and he just so happened to have one for my Golden Sox Project:

Kevin included the Mookie Heritage card as well, and I'm quite please to add this fun gold parallel to the collection! The 2018 Red Sox might be taking a bit of a public relations hit lately, but I'm still planning on slowly putting this set together. I now have 5 of the 31 cards needed.

Thanks for the trade Kevin!

The Golden Sox Project (Dustin Pedroia)

My attempt to collect all the Red Sox gold parallels from their 2018 World Series Championship season inches closer with a recent TCDB with a fellow collector named Stan from Champaign, IL. There's nothing quite like a good Laser Show!

Sadly, there's not much to say about Pedroia's 2018 season. After having complete cartilage restoration in his right knee during the off-season, he managed to play a total of 3 games for the season before knee issues wiped out the rest of his season. He did not appear on the postseason roster, but was cheering his team on from the dugout. After an equally frustrating 2019 season, his career may possibly be over.

Thanks again for the trade, Stan!

With this latest acquisition, I'm up to 4 of the 31 cards in the team set. Only 27 to go! If anyone has any they are willing to trade, let me know! You can check out this list on my Golden Sox Project page!

The Golden Sox Project (Nathan Eovaldi)

I was wasting time on the TCDB and figured I'd see if I can unload some base set doubles I had to someone that wanted them. This led me to a collector named Seth, and it turns out he happened to have a 2018 gold parallel I needed for my Golden Sox project! I put together a little package of base cards and inserts for him, which he accepted!

Eovaldi had a fantastic postseason for the Red Sox. He was the winning pitcher in both the 16-1 drubbing of the Yankees during Game 3 of the ALDS, as well as the 8-2 victory over Astros in Game 3 of the ALCS. However, he will forever live in Boston lore for his gutsy performance in Game 3 of the World Series. Scheduled to start Game 4, he instead came on in the 12 inning of the tie game and proceeded to throw 97 pitches all the way through to the 18th inning walk-off by Max Muncy. Despite taking the loss, he received a standing ovation from his teammates and was a key inspirational boost towards their World Series win. 

Seth also graciously gave me a few other cards I needed:

Thanks for the trade Seth!

My little project to collect all the gold parallels of the 2018 Red Sox is picking up a little steam! 3 down, 28 to go! If anyone has any they are willing to trade, let me know! You can check out this list on my Golden Sox Project page!

The Golden Sox Project (Christian Vazquez)

Earlier this year, I announced a side project I was planning to casually pursue: In honor of the Red Sox World Series title last year, I wanted to collect all of the gold Red Sox parallels from the 2018 Topps base and update sets.

The key word is casually. It's not a high priority project, and I haven't been putting much effort into it. I acquired one card earlier this year, but that's been it so far.

To keep a project alive, I feel I really need to make some progress every now and then. I decided to do a little hunting on the Trading Card Database and see if anyone had any golden Red Sox on their trade list. I found one trader that not only had a gold Christian Vazquez available, but also had a gold parallel I owned on their want list!

Next thing you know, I'm sending out a 2019 gold parallel of fellow catcher Yadier Molina to Olney IL. One-for-one swaps don't get much easier than that!

Christian Vazquez becomes the second card in my Golden Sox project, and the first player to actually play in that memorable postseason. His solo home run in game 4 of the ALDS turned out to be the difference maker as the Red Sox held on to beat the Yankees 4-3 in that game. Vazquez played in 4 of the 5 World Series games, going 3-15 with 1 run scored. In that epic 18 inning Game 3, Vazquez caught 11 innings, then moved to first base (for the first time in his Major League career) for the final 7innings!

2 down, 29 to go! If anyone has any they are willing to trade, let me know! You can check out this list on my Golden Sox Project page!

TCDB Trade Recap: Cards From Pembroke, Ontario

During the last Time Travel Trading update, I mentioned a second component to the trade with TCDB member Kari. Kari wanted a bunch of extras I had from this year's base set, and in return sent along a nice stack of recent Red Sox I needed:

That gold parallel of Marcus Walden officially becomes the first card in my Golden Sox Project. 1 down, 30 to go!

Thanks again, Kari!

Who's #100 Contest

Ready for the second clue? This clue is worth 9 points, and if you guessed Wednesday, you can replace that guess with a guess here. Good luck!

Clue #2:  He was once traded for a former Cy Young Award winner.

Just to be nice, here's last post's clue as well:

Clue #1: He's a former All-Star