Climbing The Ranks With JD Martinez

In February 2018, J.D. Martinez signed a 5-year, $110 million contract with the Boston Red Sox.  A month later, I was able to get his autograph at a Spring Training game in Sarasota, Florida:

 

He became a personal favorite of mine that day, and that contract became one of the best free agent signings in Red Sox history. That first season alone, Martinez hit 43 home runs with a league leading 130 RBI. He was the starting Designated Hitter for the AL All-Star team, won Player of the Month for the month of August, finished 4th in MVP voting, and became the first player in history to win 2 Silver Slugger Awards in one year (OF and DH). Oh, and the Red Sox won the World Series that year too. Needless to say, he was awesome.

 

I'm not a player collector, but I do enjoy the cardboard of some more than others. J.D. Martinez is one of those players. So of course, I was over the moon thrilled to receive a bunch of cards from Johnny (Johnny's Trading Spot) that contained an incredible amount of J.D. Martinez cards.

 

I thought it would be fun to look at my J.D. Martinez collection before/after. According to the TCDB, I had exactly 70 J.D. Martinez cards prior to this gift. 

 

 

Actually, I'm in a 8-way tie for 130th place. (Johnny, if anyone is curious, is listed in 10th place!) I'm only 7 cards away from cracking the Top 100, which I'll do easily enough, but with what Johnny sent I'll be making quite a leap! I decided to show these off in groups of 15.

 

 Group 1

 

Favorite card from this group: 2021 Topps - 1952 Topps Redux 

New cards to my collection: 10

Total J.D. Martinez cards: 80 

 

Just like that, I've moved into a 6-way tie for 87th place with 80 cards. If the other groups have a 2/3 success rate as new cards to my collection, I'll be making some impressive gains!

 

Group 2

 

Favorite card from this group: 2020 Stadium Club

New cards to my collection: 12

Total J.D. Martinez cards: 92

 

 

I'm not even half way through the cards Johnny sent, and I've already leaped 70 spots from 130th to a 3-way tie for 60th. You will notice some of the cards are the same within each group. I didn't bother sorting the cards prior to entering them in. I just took the first 15, put them into the database and moved to the next group. It led to quite a few deja vu moments!

 

Group 3

Favorite card from this group: 2019 Topps High Tek

New cards to my collection: 8

Total J.D. Martinez cards: 100

 

A couple of Diamondback cards, but that's perfectly OK with me! Martinez started out in Houston before famously getting released and being picked up by the Tigers, where he made his first All-Star team. He was a trade deadline deal to Arizona in 2017 before signing with Red Sox that off season.

 

Group 4

Favorite card from this group: 2021 Bowman's Best - Heatwave Die Cut

New cards to my collection: 8

Total J.D. Martinez cards: 108

 

All it took was 8 new cards to find myself firmly within the Top 40! One more group to go:

 

Group 5

Favorite card from this group: 2019 Panini Leather & Lumber - Lumberjacks

New cards to my collection: 15

Total J.D. Martinez cards: 123

 

  

81 J.D. Martinez cards were sent my way, and 53 of them were new to my collection. (That's 65% if you wanted to know the math). Thanks to Johnny, my collection of this player jumped 101 places into a tie for 29th all-time on the TCDB. Not bad, not bad at all! Will I ever get higher up the ladder? Who knows! For now I'm just thankful for the journey! 

 

Thanks again Johnny! You're awesome!

 

Oh, he sent me more than just Martinez! That, however, will be a post for later! 

Repack Haiku #451 (Alejandro Pena)

His first World Series, 

Lifted for a pinch-hitter:

Limping Kirk Gibson

 

1990 Donruss #664 Alejandro Pena

 

Pena won his first of three World Series rings in 1981 with the Dodgers, but didn't play during the World Series. He got his first taste of the big stage 7 years later when he came on in relief during Game 1 of the 1988 Fall Classic. Trailing to the Athletics 4-3 in the bottom of the 9th, Pena was due to hit 4th. With two out and a man on first, the manager pulled him in favor of a pinch-hitter, a hobbled Kirk Gibson. It worked out well for Pena, who earned the win and eventually his second Championship.

TCDB Trade Recap: Cards From Wintersville, OH

Another quick and easy TCDB trade, courtesy of a member named Dave. he helped me knock out a few more Red Sox from this years Series 1. Just five more to go!

 

Favorite Card: Glad to have Roman Anthony's rookie card! I have high hopes for him and feel the value of this card is just going to go up!

 

Thanks for the trade Dave! 

Playing In the Snow

By now, most of us have had there fill of snow and winter in general. We're ready for Spring, and with it the start of a new baseball season.

 

Still, there's just something about playing in the snow. When Tom (Batting Out Of Order) offered up some Uno football cards, I couldn't help but claim one card in particular:

 

Although I am a Bills fan, I'm not really a football card collector. But how could I pass up this fantastic photo of superstar quarterback Josh Allen doing what he does best and making things happen for the team. It's a beautiful shot of one of the more memorable moments from the season.

Amazing. Tom was also kind enough to send a few extra cards too: 

 

 

Three more down just seven to go to complete this Glossy All-Star insert set!

 

Thanks for the cards Tom! 

Repack Haiku #450 (Henry Rodriguez)

His home runs led fans

To throw candy bars on field

"Oh Henry" indeed!

  

1993 Stadium Club #226 Henry Rodriguez

The Expos' single season home run leader before Vladimir Guerrero came around, Rodriguez was a fan favorite. Here' a clip I found of some MLB greats enjoying Rodriguez's  appearance at the 1996 All-Star Game:

TCDB Trade Recap: Cards From Nacogdoches, TX

Kicking off March with a quick post here. I was proposed a trade on the TCDB by Wayne, who offered up three cards in exchange for just one that he needed. Sounded like a good deal to me!

 

The 2002 and 2012 Topps cards knocked off two more cards from my Missing Sox list, with the Active Leaders card being the last Red Sox card I needed from that set (not including the corrected versions or short print). The Craig Hansen was on my want list only because Johnny from Johnny's Trading Spot gifted me almost the entire team set of 2006 Fleer last Autumn.

 

Favorite Card: Nomah!

 

Thanks for the trade Wayne! 

Top 5 Hall Of Fame Tribute: Bill Mazeroski

Earlier this month, baseball and its fans lost another all-time great when Hall of Fame Pirates legend Bill Mazeroski passed away at the age of 89. In honor of his legacy, I present a Top 5 tribute of cards, consisting of the 3 cards of his I own plus 2 favored classics.

 

1957 Topps #24 Bill Mazeroski (RC)  

 

I do not own either of these first two cards. Mazeroski began his MLB career in 1956 at the age of 19 and would continue having a 17-year career. 

 

1961 Topps #312 - 1960 World Series Game #7

- Mazeroski's Homer Wins It! (WS)  

 

Although his claim to fame was his otherworldly defense, his single defining moment was his walk-off home run in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series. It's one of the greatest upsets in all of sports, as the juggernaut Yankees were playing in their 10th World Series in the past 12 years. (They actually outscored the Pirates in that series 55-27!)

 

1970 Topps #440 Bill Mazeroski  

Of course Mazeroski's Hall of Fame resume is based largely on his defense. One of the greatest fielders ever, he won 8 Gold Gloves  in a 10 year span. He led the league in putouts 5 times, assists 9 times, and double plays for 8 straight years! His 1706 double plays is still the record for 2nd basemen.

   

1971 Topps #110 Bill Mazeroski  

Maz won a second World Series with the Pirates in 1971. By then, he was relegated to part-time duty, and would eventually retire after the 1972 season at the age of 35. 

 

2016 Topps Archives #118 Bill Mazeroski 

 

The 10-time All-Star spent 15 years on the Hall of Fame ballot without getting elected, but was finally given his due by the Veterans Committee in 2001.

 

Rest in Peace, Mr. Mazeroski.