The Rest of the Red Sox from Mark Kaz

Today I've got the second and final portion of a fantastic trade package I received a short while ago from my buddy Mark at This Way to the Clubhouse.  The first part resulted in a slew of new Red Sox for my collection, and the other team set bag inside the bubble mailer was no different.  This 2008 Opening Day Okajima might be my favorite card from this section.  I really need to track down the rest of this team set, these cards are perfect for Boston fans thanks to the bright red borders.

I have a couple of sparkly parallels of this card, but didn't have the base version until now.  This is the 21st century card collecting world we live in...

For me, this was a package of many firsts.  This Tony Clark represents my very first Topps Total card of any sort.  I love the concept of these sets, but they came out during a period when I was not collecting at all.

No, I still haven't completed my '88 Topps team set, and needed both of these two.  Of course, I do have a 1988 Topps rack pack box on the bookshelf in my office/card room so it's entirely possible I have these in yet-to-be-opened format.

I love oddballs of all sorts, so this Kay-Bee Dewey card is right up my alley.  I have memories of Kay-Bee (usually about the size of my living room and cramped into an awkward corner of a shopping mall) being the red-headed step child of Toy'R'Us back in the day.

Probably had a dozen copies of this card as a kid, but those cards are all damaged or gone so this one was actually a need.  As '90 Donruss goes, this card doesn't look half bad.

I really dig this 1994 Upper Deck card featuring Mike Greenwell in front of the Green Monster!

Peter Hoy had five total appearances to the tune of a 7.00+ ERA in what was a brief career.

Another great shot of Jason Bay in front of the scoreboard at Fenway.  I think it's great that Jason Bay cards went both directions in this transaction with Mark.

These two Youkilis cards are from the 2010 Topps Cards Your Mom Threw Out insert set.  One is the insert back, one the original back.

The first time I scanned past this Tony Pena card I neglected to see the 1st Day Production foil stamp.  1st Day Issue cards were some of the most coveted parallels back in the day, what a great card!

My first two 1996 Stadium Club cards, what a beautiful set.  I need to pick up some more of these for sure.

21 total games in his MLB career, all played with the Red Sox in 1993.  Just the type of obscure player I love picking up cards of.

It's amazing just how many cards from the junk wax era I don't have yet.  Each great trade package like this one closes that gap just a bit.

What an expression on Reggie Jefferson's face on this '98 Ultra.  Great stuff.

Quite a few Scott Cooper's involved in this trade!

Here's another oddball, 1990 K-Mart Wade Boggs.  I've pulled more than a few of these from repacks but never Wade.

Another Topps Total, this one featuring one of my all-time favorite Red Sox players, Tim Wakefield (with Kevin Millar lurking in the background).

Not to be outdone, Mark included the base set version of the terrific Okajima card that led off this post.

This card does a good job of depicting just how freakishly skinny Lugo was.

This one is actually from the 2008 team issue set, numbered BOS6.  Will be interesting to see what kind of numbers Ellsbury puts up (especially games played) with the Yankees this year.

This one's also from the team set, a guy who's already been a part of two World Series Championship teams and going to be around in Boston for quite some time.

Topps Chrome Rookie Cup mojo!  What a great way to end a fantastic first trade.  This package took me to over 2,800 unique Red Sox cards!  It was a pleasure Mark, I've already got another stack started for you...