More Than Manny - A Side Of Rice

Last Monday, I showed off a buffet of Manny Ramirez cards sent to me from blogger and card collector extraordinaire John (Johnny's Trading Spot). This feast of Manny cardboard wasn't all he sent however. Along with the main course, he included a side of Rice! 

 

 

Favorite card from this group: 2023 Panini Chronicles - Zenith #15 Jim Rice

 

Favorite card from this group: 1992 Sportflics Kellogg's Corn Flakes All Stars #8 Jim Rice

 

Favorite card from this group: 1986 Topps #320 Jim Rice

 

That's a lot of Rice! Now, some of you may be wondering why I didn't show off my TCDB ranking and how much it changed as a result of this bundle. Truth is, out of the 32 cards listed here, only a dozen were new to my collection. That wasn't going to move the needle very far I'm afraid. 

 

Dessert Time!

 

Also included were a few extra Red Sox power hitters:

 

 

Those two J.D. Martinez did not improve my standings on TCDB by the way. That 2007 Topps Ted Williams insert set is on a short list of sets I'm thinking of chasing.

 

Thanks for the cards Johnny!

Climbing The Ranks With Manny Ramirez

Johnny (Johnny's Trading Spot) has been culling through his collection and shortening the list of players he collects. He's been generously sending out those cards to other collectors. Back in March, he sent me a whole bunch of cards featuring J.D. Martinez. This time around, I received a package of cards primarily featuring former Red Sox legend Manny Ramirez.

 

As I mentioned before, I'm not specifically a player collector, but I do appreciate some players more than others. Ramirez is a former player I can look back at fondly, but only if I compartmentalize his off the field issues away from the many highlight reel moments he had during games. He should be a Hall of Famer, but too many bad decisions on his part have keep him out. 

 

Just like I did with Martinez, I thought it would be fun to look at my Manny collection before/after. According to the TCDB, I had 72 Manny Ramirez cards prior to this gift. 

 

 

Those 72 cards are close to the same starting point I had with Martinez (70). However, Manny was a mega-star and has over 8,000 more cards than Martinez does. That means my meager 72 cards was only good for 439th place on the TCDB list of collectors. I jumped 101 places after entering in all those J.D. Martinez cards. Will I see a similar jump with Ramirez? Let's find out!  

 

 Group 1

 

Favorite card from this group: 2002 Fleer Focus Jersey Edition #190 Manny Ramirez

New cards to my collection: 8

Total Manny Ramirez cards: 80 

 

OK, a 55 place gain with only 8 new cards! As for my favorite of the bunch, you'll soon see there aren't many cards of Manny fielding a ball. It was not his strongest skill set...

 

Group 2

 

Favorite card from this group: 2003 Bazooka - Comics

New cards to my collection: 10

Total Manny Ramirez cards: 90

 

 

Exactly 55 more places gained! For a player with over 14,000 cards, it's interesting to see how tightly grouped collectors are. I only added 18 new Ramirez cards so far, and I've moved 110 places. It doesn't take much!

 

Group 3

Favorite card from this group: 2003 Ultra

New cards to my collection: 10

Total Manny Ramirez cards: 100

 

Exactly 100 Manny Ramirez cards! If I were a player collector, that sounds like a good arbitrary stopping point. (OK, maybe 99 if I was going to put them all in a binder...)

 

Group 4

Favorite card from this group: 2005 Merrick Mint Colorized Statehood Quarters

New cards to my collection: 7

Total Manny Ramirez cards: 107

 

This batch includes a couple of cards celebrating the Red Sox 2004 postseason run. I bet a lot of  non-Red Sox fans forgot Manny was the MVP of that curse-breaking World Series.

 

Group 5

Favorite card from this group: 2008 Upper Deck

New cards to my collection: 8

Total Manny Ramirez cards: 115

 

 

I received 58 Manny cards, and 43 of them were new to my collection! Those 43 cards allowed me to jump an impressive 206 places. Despite the volatility of  these lists, I doubt I'll crack the Top 100 anytime soon - I'd need another 100 cards to reach the level where the big boys play!

Thanks again Johnny! You're awesome!

The Red Sox Free Agent All-Stars! (2026 Update)

 

Over the weekend, MLB announced the full AL and NL squads for this year's All-Star game. Three Red Sox players made this year's team: starting pitcher Ranger Suarez, closer Ardolis Chapman, and 1st baseman Willson Contreras. Suarez was Boston's big free agent signing over the winter, an unexpected pivot when Boston failed to sign a premium hitter like Pete Alonso or Alex Bregman (neither of whom made the All-Star team I might add).

 

It reminded me of a post I did 3 years ago when closer Kenley Jansen made the All-Star team. His selection led me to wonder how often a free agent signed by the Red Sox made the All-Star team in his first year with Boston. You can't make a better first impression than that! I updated that post just last year when Bregman and Chapman joined the list.

I figured I might as well update the list once again. According to my research, Suarez represents the 13th time the Red Sox have signed a free agent and had that player make the All-Star team in his first year. It's an unusual group of guys, from a future first ballot Hall of Famer to a couple of guys even hardcore Red Sox fans might not remember. 

Bill Campbell, RP, 1977

 

1977 Topps #166 Bill Campbell

 

The first big free agent signing by the Red Sox turned out well. After winning the very first Rolaids Relief Award in 1976 for the Twins, Campbell signed a 5 year contract with Boston. He made his only All-Star team in 1977, and finished the year leading the league in saves and winning the Rolaids Award again.

Erik Hanson, SP, 1995

 

1995 Upper Deck #483 Erik Hanson (TR)

 

Probably the oddest entry in this list, Hanson signed a one-year contract prior to the 1995 season. He made his only All-Star squad en route to a 15-5 season, parlayed that into a multi-year contract with Toronto, and ended up as one of the worst free agent signings in franchise history. 

 

Jose Offerman, 2B, 1999

 

2000 Upper Deck
#61 Jose Offerman (AS)

 

The Red Sox badly needed a second baseman and lead-off hitter. They thought they were getting both when they signed Jose Offerman to a 4-year deal. His first season was actually pretty solid, and he made the All-Star team as a reserve. Wheels completely fell off after that, and he became Jose "Awful-man" to the Boston fandom.

 

Manny Ramirez, OF, 2001

 

2002 Ultra
#206 Manny Ramirez (AS)

 

Arguably the greatest free agent signing in Red Sox history. Not only did Manny make the All-Star team during his first year in Boston, he made the All-Star team every single season of his 8-year contract. Outside of his personality shortcomings and PED usage, he was (statistically) worth every penny.

 

Johnny Damon, OF, 2002

 

2002 Fleer Tradition Update
#U327 Johnny Damon (AS)

 

Lightning struck twice as for the second straight year, Boston signed an outfielder who became an All-Star. Damon was actually the very first AL player to earn an All-Star nod by the now-defunct "All-Star Final Vote" gimmick  (beating out Jim Thome, Eric Chavez, Magglio Ordonez, and Darin Erstad).

 

Matt Clement, SP, 2005

 

2005 Topps Updates & Highlights
- All-Star Stitches #ASR-MCL
Matt Clement (MEM)

 

Clement was one of a handful of starters the World Champion Red Sox signed in an attempt to replace the departing Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe. He had a great first half of the 2005 season, going 10-2 and being named as a replacement for the injured Roy Halladay. Shortly after the All-Star break, he was struck in the head by a line drive and was never effective again.

 

Hideki Okajima, RP, 2007

 

2007 Topps Updates & Highlights
#UH247 Hideki Okajima (AS)

 

Prior to the 207 season, Boston made international news by signing a star pitcher from Japan. Who would have thought their second, less herald Japanese import would be the one to make the All-Star team? Okajima was fantastic out of the bullpen, and like Damon before him was named the winner of that year's "Final Vote", although he didn't get in the game. Later that year, he became the first Japanese pitcher to pitch in the World Series.

 

Adrian Beltre, 3B, 2010

 

2010 Topps Update
#US-328 Adrian Beltre (AS)

 

There was a time when no one, and I mean no one, thought of Adrian Beltre as a Hall of Fame player. I'm not saying that the one-year pillow contract he signed with the Red Sox in 2010 jump-started his Hall of Fame candidacy, but without that one amazing season in Boston, the Rangers would never have known what he was capable of. Why the Red Sox let him go after that I'll never understand...

 

J.D. Martinez, DH, 2018

 

2019 Topps Heritage
#359 J.D. Martinez (AS)

 

J.D. Martinez was one of the most impactful signings in franchise history. The professional hitter at the heart of one of the greatest Red Sox teams ever, Martinez made the All-Star team every single year of his 5-year contract aside from the 2020 season (when the All-Star Game was cancelled).

 

Kenley Jansen, RP, 2023

 

2024 Topps Pristine
#297 Kenley Jansen

There were many raised eyebrows at his nomination. Stat-wise, he was solid but unspectacular. One could even argue that he was not the most deserving reliever on the team. Yet, his inclusion was merited as the Red Sox lone representative that year. The Red Sox hadn't had a true closer since Craig Kimbrel, and the future Hall of Famer helped turn the Boston bullpen into a strength. 

 

Alex Bregman, 3B, 2025

 

2025 Topps Update - 2025 All-Star Game
#ASG-41 Alex Bregman

 

Bregman was an interesting selection, mainly because he hadn't played in the 6 weeks prior to his selection! It's unusual to have someone who has missed that much time be considered an All-Star. Yet, he was so incredible at the start of the season that even with all that time missed, he was still 2nd among AL 3rd basemen in WAR, and top-6 in HR and RBI. 

 

Aroldis Chapman, RP, 2025

 

2025 Topps Chrome Update - 2025 All-Star Game
#ASGC-50 Aroldis Chapman

Like Jansen before him, Chapman's 1 year contract the previous off-season was one of those minor transactions that wasn't shaking the landscape. Since his last All-Star selection in 2021, he had been on a journeyman's path with stops with 5 different teams. In his two years with Boston, he's turned back the clock with his best seasons since his days in Cincinati! Oh and he recently broke the all-time strikeout record for relievers this year too.

 

Ranger Suarez, SP, 2026

 

2026 Topps #440 Ranger Suarez

 

Although  Suarez has had a solid season so far, many Red Sox fans were surprised he's earned the nod over fellow starter Sonny Gray, who was leading the AL with 10 wins. Suarez was injured and couldn't play the last time he made an All-Start team in 2024, and unfortunately lightning might have struck twice, as he left his last start early with a left groin strain. (Update: He was placed on the 15-day IL yesterday..)

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! 

 

***EDIT: A Blog Revived With An Awesome Contest!***

After a big hiatus (a dozen years!) the blog Red Cardboard is back! To celebrate, he's looking for 100 shares of his post. If he reaches that goal, he'll do a drawing for a 1963 Topps AL batting leaders card! (Red Sox Pete Runnels is of course in the center, but some guy named Mantle also makes an appearance...) So check out the revived blog, give it a follow, and share that contest!

 

 

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! 

Trapped In Time: Remnants Of The 161st - 165th Trades

 

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! Just like last month, I have a large number of cards on the chopping block! I'm going to keep this short and sweet..

 

Trade #161 Alan M. (Blog Reader)

Traded 04/06/22: 1978 #373 Jim Willoughby, 1978 #385 Tito Fuentes, 1978 #482 Rick Miller, 1978 #631 Danny Ozark (MGR), 1977 #164 Tug McGraw, 1977 #350 Bill Bergey (AP), 1975 #79 Gary Matthews, 1975 #574 Tony Taylor

 

Received 04/17/22:

• 1974 Topps #84 Rick Wise (See Trade #259)
• 1974 Topps #113 Dick Drago
• 1974 Topps #247 Rick Miller
• 1974 Topps #427 Bobby Bolin (See Trade #259)
• 1974 Topps #495 Dick McAuliffe (See Trade #259)
• 1974 Topps #543 Danny Carter (See Trade #259)
• 1974 Topps #590 Rogelio Moret (See Trade #259)
• 1974 Topps - Traded #151T Diego Segui

 

Every now ad then I'll get a trade offer from someone who isn't themselves a blogger or on the TCDB. Such was the case with this trade with Alan, who sent me a good chunk of Red Sox cards from the 1974 Topps set.  

 

Trade #162 Jeff (Wax Pack Wonders)

Traded 04/27/22: 1973 Topps #14 Sonny Siebert, 1973 Topps #22 Ted Abernathy, 1973 Topps #102 Rudy May, 1973 Topps #349 Dick McAuliffe, 1973 Topps #492 Pedro Borbon

 

Received 04/23/22:

• 2002 Upper Deck World Series Heroes #85 Tino Martinez (See Trade #246)
• 2002 Upper Deck World Series Heroes #88 Andy Petitte
• 1979 Topps (football) #298 Ron Yary (See Trade #168)
• 1972 Topps #11 Bobby Valentine (See Trade #214)
• 1972 Topps #55 Clyde Wright
• 1972 Topps #70 Mike Cuellar (See Trade #359)
• 1971 Topps (football) #108 Dan Sullivan (RC) (See Trade #168)

Jeff (Wax Pack Wonders) originally sent me this next trade, with just 2 cards remaining. Is it me, or does Wright's card make you feel like you're tipping over?

 

Trade #163 Brendan (The View From The Third Floor)

Traded 04/27/22:1974 Topps (football) #410 Andy Russell, 1975 Topps (football) #60 Jack Youngblood, 1976 Topps (football) #163 Norm Snead, 1977 Topps (football) #409 Pat Fischer, 1977 Topps (football) #430 Isiah Robertson (AP), 1978-79 O-Pee-Chee (hockey) #127 Ian Turnbull, 1987 Donruss #3 Dale Murphy (DK), 1989-90 O-Pee-Chee (hockey) #322 Patrick Roy (AW), 1990-91 O-Pee-Chee (hockey) #66 Pierre Turgeon, 1990-91 Score Rookie and Traded (hockey) #106T Bryan Trottier, 1991 Pacific (football) #451 Junior Seau

 

Received 04/23/22:

• 1992 Score #162 Omar Vizquel (See Trade #214)
• 1990 Topps #510 Doc Gooden
• 1988 Fleer - All-Star Team #2 Tom Henke (See Trade #173)
• 1987 Fleer Update #U-82 Kevin Mitchell (See Trade #222)
• 1986 Topps Baseball Champion Superstars #18 Fred Lynn (See Trade #200)
• 1984 Topps #167 Marshall Edwards
• 1984 Topps #368 Hubie Brooks
• 1982 Topps #412 Luis Leal
• 1980 Topps #110 Fred Lynn (AS)
• 1978 Topps #210 Jose Cardinal
• 1974 Topps #185 Jose Cardinal
• 1974 Topps #199 Mike Kekich
• 1974 Topps #305 Tito Fuentes
• 1972 Topps #110 Ron Hunt (See Trade #349)
• 1970 Topps #276 Ron Hunt 

 I'm genuinely surprised to see a trade with 10 cards still remaining after over 3 1/2 years! Yet here we are! Poor Jose Cardinal - unwanted no matter what uniform he wears!

 

Trade #164 - No Remnants!

 

Trade #165 Alex (TCDB)

Traded 04/27/22: 1970 Topps #238 Jose Laboy (ASR) 

Received 04/26/22:

• 1968 Topps #229 Fred Klages 

  

Finally, another rarity - granted it's just a single card, but a dead end as far as trade trees go (unless someone trades for it before it's too late!)

 

Last call for these cards! Unless someone wants them, they get retired from the Time Travel Project and filed away in my personal collection. All it takes is an older card! 

 

Repack Haiku #439 (Ryne Sandberg)

Joined Teddy and Frank

As guys hired to manage

After call to Hall

 

1990 Topps #398 Ryne Sandberg (AS)

 

When Sandberg was hired to manage the Phillies in 2013, he became just the 3rd person to manage a team full time after being elected into the Hall of Fame, joining Ted Williams and Frank Robinson.

Comparing MVP Worthy Seasons

Just a fun little exercise I though of while trying to come up with some off-season stuff to blog about...

 

It's safe to say that a player had a pretty good season if they received at least one MVP vote that year. Most players would be lucky to have one or two such seasons. Recent Hall of Fame inductees Ichiro Suzuki and Dave Parker each had 9 such seasons, while Dick Allen had 7. Barry Bonds, who won more MVP Awards than anyone, had 15 seasons with MVP votes (in a row no less)! 

 

Obviously, the number of MVP-worthy seasons isn't an indicator of greatness on it's own, but it does paint a decent picture about how good a player was compared to his peers, especially if they get into the Top 10 or top 5.

 

With that in mind, take a look at the following chart:

 

All 5 of these players have had 7 seasons where they received at least 1 MVP vote, right on par with Allen. Based purely on this information, how would you rank these guys? Do you think any of them are Hall of Famers? There's some interesting data here. Player E, for example, never won an MVP award, but has more Top 10 finishes than the others and is tied for the most Top 5 finishes. Player B did win one, but it was the only time in his career he finished in the Top 5 and just 1 of 3 times in the Top 10. Players A and D have the same number of Top 10 and Top 5 finishes, but one was shut out for the MVP Award while the other won twice.

 

Before I reveal the players, again I'm going to ask: How many of these guys do you suspect are Hall of Famers? How would you rank them? (Personally, I'd go E, C, D, A, B but since I know who these guys are I can tell you in advance it is NOT how I would rank them given their careers and legacy.)

 

OK here we go...

 

 

Player A - Carlos Delgado

 

Player B - Jeff Kent

 

Player C - Don Mattingly

 

Player D - Dale Murphy

 

Player E - Gary Sheffield

 

Pretty interesting, huh? If you want to know why I picked these 5 players, it's because these 5 players are on the Hall of Fame's Contemporary Baseball Era Committee ballot, along with pitchers Roger Clemens (who had 10 MVP worthy season by the way) and Fernando Valenzuela (4 seasons), as well as the previously mentioned Barry Bonds. It's just a coincidence that each of these 5 had exactly 7 seasons with MVP votes. 

 

What do you think? Do any of these guys deserve to make the Hall?