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...

Opening Day!

Today the Red Sox kick off the 2014 season in Baltimore with a 3pm EST start. It's no surprise that Jon Lester is the Opening Day starter, let's see if he can shut down Chris Davis, Manny Machado and the O's...

To celebrate the start of the season, here's a slick looking red hot foil (aka "blood rain") parallel that pays homage to Lester's second of two wins in the World Series last year.  After the way this guy performed in the post-season (2-0 in the Series with both wins coming against St. Louis' ace!) I really hope the team can sign him to an extension during 2014...

Rules Are Made To Be Broken, Right?

I'm usually very regimented when it comes to my card purchases.  If you've checked in here even semi-regularly over the past couple of years you've heard me drone on and on about staying away from busting wax and instead using my hobby funds to focus on cards I know will fit my collection.  For the most part I've stuck with this philosophy, and it's paying off very nicely.  In fact, I've stayed committed to this so strictly that if my records are correct the only retail wax purchase I've made in more than 6 months was a single (underwhelming) blaster of 2014 Topps Series 1.

Well, on Friday I decided to reward myself for a long week on the road for work.  I needed a few things at Target and while there grabbed a single 20-card jumbo pack of Heritage.  Feels good to scratch the itch every so often.

Would I pull a Real One autograph?  No.

How about a Target exclusive colored parallel?  Negative.

My hopes were the same as they are whenever I take the rare opportunity to open a pack...new Red Sox cards, anything else that satisfies my random collecting interests, and hopefully some trade bait.

Before we get started, I have to say that the value in these hanger packs is better than I expected.  $4.99 for 20 cards works out to a quarter a piece which isn't too shabby by modern standards.  At least that's what I told myself.  Alright, here's the top half...

A hat-less Rick Porcello starts things off.  Yay.  This guy is certainly durable with 5 straight seasons of 27-plus starts before age 25.

At this point, just two cards in, I'm already starting to think this wasn't worth the five bucks.  Don't recognize either of these two, and I'm an AL guy.

Alright this is slightly better, only because it's kind of comical.  I'd seen this one posted on roughly 700 blogs before pulling it.

Don't recognize these two either...

Okay here's where the pack got much better.  This is a Chrome Manny Machado, which looks pretty slick in person and is numbered to 999.  As a Red Sox fan I've had the pleasure of seeing this guy play plenty of times and he's definitely going to be a star for many years to come.  I think I'll hold onto this for now unless someone's got a Red Sox chrome parallel to offer up.

Here's my lone insert.  I'm a big Marichal fan, and Colon has certainly had a lengthy and sometimes successful career, but I'm not generally a fan of combo cards that mix current and retired players.  This one is off to the trade pile.

Yawn...

Second former Red Sox player in this pack. Mark's 2012 season with Boston was rough to say the least, so it was nice to see him rebound so well with the Bucs last season.

I can't stand this guy's stupid "arrow shooting celebration" after a save.  Something about the Tampa Bay Rays on the 1965 Topps design just seems wrong to me.

We finish it off with a Mets 2014 Rookie Stars card.  At least I can send this off to The Card Raven or This Way to the Clubhouse.  Halfway home and, at least for this collector, I've got a dud other than the Machado.  The second half of the pack turned things around though...

Good omen right off the bat, my best card from the first section in base form.  I'll be hanging onto this one as well for now...

Here's a guy for whom many are predicting a dramatic decline in 2014...

Hackenbush, yours if you want it!

I kind of like the classic batting pose on this Adam Eaton, but not enough to save it from being relegated to the trade box.

Definite trade bait...

Man, I really got an Orioles hot pack here.  The Machado, Machado chrome, and now this Chris Davis, which is a short print:

Part of me wants to keep this one just because of the amazing season Crush enjoyed last year and the fact that that's reflected in the stats on the back.  I'd be willing to part with it for a Sox SP though, or if it's needed by anyone I trade with (Douglas, Mark?).

Score!  17 cards in and I land a Red Sox card.  It is definitely going to be interesting to see how Pierzynski does in Boston this year, but if he has an average season he should have no problem putting up comparable numbers to what the Sox got out of the position in 2013.  I was happy to pull this one because I think it's the first card released that has A.J. with the Red Sox.

A card only a set collector could love.  Trade bait.

This one really sealed the deal in terms of making the pack a win.  Two Red Sox out of 20 cards is about all I could ask for.

Finishing things off, a great shot of an under-rated player.

In the end, that turned out decent after all.  Maybe I should try a pack or two a little more often...