Catching Up

I'm back! Did you miss me? Alright, first things first - my wife is doing excellent! The surgery went smoothly and she was home the following day. The pathology report came back clean, meaning the cancer didn't spread past her uterus. She's feeling a lot better too, even though she is still under some restrictions and has to be careful not to overdo anything. Everything is trending it the right direction! I appreciate all the kind thought and words from you guys. It meant a lot! 

 

Now that I'm back to blogging, I decide to wrap up a whole bunch of incoming cards that have been sitting around waiting for their moment in the sun. My camera roll needed a bit of a photo dump.

 

Back in February, Jeff (Wax Pack Wonders) included a bonus card in one of our Time Travel Trading dealings:

 

 

Kerry Wood's historic rookie season made this a sought after card back in 1998. As far as multiplayer rookie cards go, this one was pretty good, as all three pitchers eventually made the All-Star team.

 

I also got some free cards recently from Stuart (S.R. '75 Cards). He was kind enough to help with my 1977 Topps set build, as well as add a few Red Sox needs my way:

 

 

Bob Boone giving us that smoldering look that drove all the ladies wild...

 

Next, a TCDB trade with Kurt from Butler, PA. I was able to acquire two more Red Sox from the 1976 set, leaving me just 3 short of the team collection!

 

That Fred Lynn was one of the bigger cards remaining from my quest to obtain all the Red Sox cards from the 1975-current Topps base sets.

 

Last but not least, Greg (Night Owl Cards) was kind enough to send a couple of Red Sox cards along with his most recent Time Travel Trade (which is set for Monday!)

 

 I'm not a huge fan of parallels, but the tree border does add a nice subtle touch to the holiday set.  

 

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming!

 

 

Number 5 Type Generousity

Blogger Matthew (Number 5 Type Collection) is doing a little Spring cleaning, and offered up some team lots to anyone interested. I of course was more than happy to give his Red Sox cards a new home. 

 

As these things go, half of the fun is that you never know what you're going to get. Matthew said the amount of "junk" was overall low, so I was confident there would be a few "new to me" cards to add.  

 

 

Out of this lot of 31 cards, 9 of them were cards I didn't have.  Not to dismiss the other cards (which were full of stars and fan favorites), I'm going to highlight just the nine I needed:

 

2025 Topps - Holiday #698 Zach Penrod 

 

I'm in the camp of collectors that find these parallels pointless and won't go out of my way to collect them. The only Holiday cards I own are ones I pulled from packs or have been given to me. Thanks in part to Topps' fascination with rookies and parallels, Zach Penrod has 109 cards in 2025 despite only having 4 innings pitched the year prior.

 

2025 Topps Heritage #267 Garrett Crochet 

 

Heritage has become a set I just don't buy packs of anymore. Nothing against the product itself, it's just that between the limited selection of in-store product (I rarely see Heritage until months after it's release) and the limitations of my budget, I've become more selective with how I spend my money. I need to get into the habit of just buying the team sets off eBay. 

 

2024 Topps Heritage - The Fred Lynn Files #FLF-8 Fred Lynn

 

This was an exciting inclusion! Last year I added this insert set to my page of sets I'm trying to complete, but this is only the second card from the set I've acquired.  I'll be honest, aside from slowly picking away at the 1977 Topps set, I've not done a very good job whittling away at any of the sets on that page.

 

2023 Topps Heritage #631 Emmanuel Valdez (RC)

 

See my previous comment regarding Heritage. Valdez wins the best photo of the bunch award. 

 

1989 Baseball Cards Magazine Repli-Cards #44 Roger Clemens    

 

I'm pretty sure I had this card once upon a time. When I was younger and regularly bought these magazines, I always kept the cards within the pages. Somewhere in time, these magazines became separated from my baseball card collection and lost. The poor cut job just adds to the whimsical allure of the card. 

  

1987 TCMA Collectors Kits Reprints - 1986 All-Time Boston Red Sox

#9BRS Carl Yastrzemski (VAR)

 

A part of me is genuinely curious how the decision makers at TCMA decided it was necessary to reprint just two cards from a set a year after they originally released it. (They actually did this with a lot of their older sets, not just the Red Sox).

 

1983 Donruss Hall of Fame Heroes #9 Ted Williams

 

This is one of those sets I always love and will pick up cards from when possible, but not actively trying to complete it. Despite this, until know I didn't own either of the Red Sox cards from the set (Joe Cronin being the other).

 

1982 Donruss #208 Dave Stapleton 

 

I own very little early 80's Donruss, so there is a significant gap in my collection of Red Sox cards from that period for both Donruss and Fleer. Maybe now that my Topps run of Red Sox cards is more manageable, I should add these guys to the list. 

 

1981 Donruss #544 Dave Stapleton (RC) 

 

See my previous comment. I will share this oddity though: 1981 Topps and 1981 Fleer are complete. 1981 Donruss however, is just a shade over 5%. Perhaps someday I'll complete the 1981 trifecta...

 

Thanks again Matthew for the cards! 

 

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Announcement!

 

OK, time for an update/announcement. This will be my last post for a short while. Today my wife is having a hysterectomy and will be joining me as a cancer survivor. Her recovery time is around 6 weeks, and I'll be taking the next week or so off to assist with her recovery. For the blog it doesn't mean much - one maybe two weekly haikus skipped, and the next Time Travel Trading Update will be pushed back to the 4th Monday of June. Other than that, I don't think I'll be missed much. ;)  Prayers and good vibes are appreciated! See you soon!

Repack Haiku #463 (Darwin Barney)

Holds big league record

For most straight error-less games 

As second baseman

 

2013 Topps #299 Darwin Barney

 

In 2012, Barney tied the single season Major League record for second basemen by going 141 straight games without an error. He only had two the entire season, and was awarded both the Rawlings Gold Glove and Fielding Bible Award.

A Thank You For Your Thoughts

Two weeks ago, I shared a generous donation to the Time Travel Trading Project courtesy of Jon (formerly of A Penney Sleeve For Your Thoughts). Jon didn't just send some free cards to the project. He also included some Red Sox cards for my collection:

 

 

I'm going to any of my readers who are smarter than I am. Can anyone provide more information on that Ted Williams card? It's a reprint of the 1948 Swell Sport Thrills set, but I can't find any information as to when or by who this reprint set was released. I'm more curious to how old it may be more than anything else. 

 

The star attraction from the group however is this great autographed 1963 Topps card of former infielder Chuck Schilling. Schilling came up to Boston in 1961 along with another Long Islander and his eventual roommate, Carl Yastrzemski. (He even got more Rookie of the Year votes than Yaz that season, placing 3rd). Schilling lasted 5 seasons in the big leagues, and later became a well respected and loved teacher. he passed away in 2021.

 

Thanks for the cards Jon!