As the end of 2024 approaches, it's time to once again list the 10 greatest Red Sox cards of the past year. According to the TCDB, there have been 11, 225 Red Sox cards produced this year. Now, I'm not going to tell you I looked at every one, but I did manage to weed through thousands and thousands of useless parallels to bring you the cream of the crop. Enjoy!
10. 2024 Stadium Club
#9 Jarren Duran
'Murica!
9. 2024 Choice Salem Red Sox
#02 Juan Montero
I try to stick with Major League cards on this list, but every now and then a minor league issue just looks so artistically pleasing it beats out the "player on a computer generated background" inserts of the world. I couldn't tell you anything about the player, but this shot of a happy ballplayer behind a fence just represents everything innocent and good with the game.
8. 2024 Topps Update
- Legendary Homefield Advantage
#LHA-11 Babe Ruth
I don't own this card yet, but I can tell it would look sweet in person. Well done collage of black and white photography, with a shiny overlay.
7. 2024 Topps Now
#438 Jarren Duran
I'm not a fan of the All-Star Game jerseys, and the more I look at Duran's arm tattoos the more they look like a toddler scribbled on him, but there's a lot to like about this card. Bat-shaped trophies are cool, you get a double shot of Duran thanks to the Jumbotron, a great view of the Globe life park field, and as a bonus, a Ted Williams name-drop.
6. 2024 Topps
#187 Joe Jacques (RC)
I was all set to comment how his name appropriately sounds like a term for an athlete, but according to Baseball Reference, it's pronounced like "jakes" and not "jocks". Oh well, he still wins the best Red Sox card in the base set award thanks to some rather pretty but probably cold weather.
5. 2024 Topps Now
#59 Boston Red Sox
Hard to believe that the team that broke the curse was 20 years ago already. Red Sox fans were treated to a great look back this year with an on the field reunion plus a great Netflix documentary (highly recommended). I'm pretty sure those are Tim Wakefield's kids on the right (R.I.P. Wake).
4. 2024 Topps Heritage
- Baseball Flashbacks
#BF-15 Fred Lynn
These two cool cats took the baseball world by storm in 1975, and the "Gold Dust Twins" have never looked better in their dapper tuxes!
3. 2024 Topps Now
#194 Romy Gonzalez
All the recent talk about the idea of a Golden Batter rule being discussed makes me appreciate this card even more. Romy is a bench/utility guy who stepped up when the team needed him and delivered. No one could have expected him to be the hero that day, but for his efforts he got one amazing card.
2. 2024 Choice Portland Sea Dogs
#11 Tyler McDonough
I became aware of this one-of-a-kind card thanks to a post from The Best Bubble. The only thing preventing it from being the #1 card of the year is that it's a minor league card. I'd love to see a shot like this in a Topps base set though...
1. 2024 Stadium Club
#69 Jason Varitek
Varitek, in full catcher's gear, stares intently as an orbital streak of light and motion hits his glove. I bet he didn't even blink. Throw something that fast at me and I'll flinch every time. I am not the statuesque warrior that Varitek and the men who play that position can claim to be.
Man, those are some sharp-looking cards. Jacques must have been freezing with no sleeves on. And on the Fred Lynn card, is it just me, or does Rice sorta look like Apollo Creed?
ReplyDeleteYa just gotta wonder if Tek is catching a twinkie or a bar of gold but my favorite in the 10 is a tie between the Heritage Insert & the 10 reunion Now minus like you mentioned Wakes
ReplyDeleteThat Varitek is amazing.
ReplyDeleteThat's a pretty good 10. I don't know if I could come up with 10 distinctive Dodgers. Lot of samey sameness in 2024.
ReplyDeleteSome pretty good ones there.
ReplyDeleteSolid list. I knew this list was going to be impressive when the Stadium Club Duran appeared in the #10 spot.
ReplyDelete