Signature Sundays - My Finest Bogaerts

Yesterday the Red Sox clinched the AL East for the second consecutive season, the first time they've won back to back division titles since divisions came into existence.  Seems like an appropriate time to post one of the best Xander Bogaerts cards that I've acquired to date:

Oh yeah!  2014 Topps Finest is quite possibly the brightest set to be released since I returned to collecting in 2007.  Luckily for me Xander was one of just three Red Sox to make the checklist.  It was his first season as well, making for some gloriously colorful rookie cards of the Red Sox shortstop.  I was early enough on the Bogaerts train that I grabbed quite a few versions before prices got crazy, but this X-fractor autograph is easily the craziest of the bunch. 

Xander did have a down year personally, suffering from one or two prolonged slumps over the course of the season.  It wasn't as poor as you might think at first glance though.  He still appeared in 145 games at shortstop, holding down the position for the third straight year after the stupid third base experiment during his rookie season.

Bogaerts finished the year at .273 which, while not exactly stellar, is only 10 points off his career average to date.  That number doesn't look so bad either when you factor in his 55 walks for a .343 on-base percentage.  While his home run numbers were down in a year where seemingly everyone else's were up, power has never been his strong suit anyway.  He did still manage to top the 30 doubles plateau for the third season in a row, not bad from your shortstop.  All of that and he just turned 25 years old today!

Along the way, Xander climbed from around 75th up to 58th on the franchise's all-time hits list, and should have no problem cracking the top 50 next year if he stays healthy.

I'm not sure the Red Sox have what it takes to top Houston in the ALDS, but it'll be enjoyable to have some post-season baseball to watch no matter the outcome...