George Bell. George freaking Bell. I still can’t believe Ron Schueler traded Sammy Sosa for George freaking Bell. Imagine The Big Hurt and Slammin’ Sammy hitting back to back in their primes. It would have been something to see! Anyway, here are my two BAS authenticated Sammy Sosa rookies. I think they’re a couple of beauts!
Tag: Cards
Project Rookie Card: Jermaine Dye
I won’t lie, I’m not the biggest Jermaine Dye fan. I’ve met him a few times, and he hasn’t struck me as the friendliest guy. I was actually kind of sad when he won World Series MVP in 2005. I would have loved for a beloved mainstay of the team to win the award. Somebody like Mark Buehrle or Paul Konerko. Still, I can’t deny that he ended up having a pretty good career with the Sox.
I have two copies of his rookie card signed. The one that has been slabbed by PSA has his early full signature, which I think is pretty cool.
Project Rookie Card: Jake Peavy
Jake didn’t quite live up to expectations during his time with the Sox. He made three great starts in 2009, had a solid 2012, and was otherwise pretty mediocre. But there was never any doubt he was giving his all. I met him during spring training in 2011, and he seemed like a really nice guy. He signed tons of stuff for me. I was thrilled to see him go on to win the World Series in his first two seasons after the Sox traded him.
Project Rookie Card: Wilson Alvarez
Alvarez was on the team during my formative years as a Sox fan. So I’ll always be a fan. I was pretty upset when they traded him in the famous “White Flag” trade, though it ended up working out pretty well.
Project Rookie Card: Tim Anderson
Tim Anderson has come a long way in his time with the Sox. He won the 2019 AL Batting Title, and nearly won it again in 2020. He would have given Jose Abreu a run for his money for the 2020 AL MVP award if he hadn’t gotten hurt and missed a chunk of the season.
Project Rookie Card: Carlton Fisk
Another one of the greatest players in Sox history, and one of the five or so best catchers in MLB history.
Project Rookie Card: Minnie Minoso
Minnie is one of the Greatest White Sox players of all time, and these are some of my favorite rookie cards in my collection. It’s absolutely ridiculous that he isn’t in the Hall of Fame. A Hall of Fame with Harold Baines (sorry Harold) in and Minnie Minoso out isn’t much of a Hall of Fame!
Project Rookie Card: Luis Robert
Due to my collecting hiatus, I was a bit late to the Luis Robert party. As such, every autograph I acquire costs a pretty penny. As much as I’d love to have 15 different Luis Robert autographs by now, I’ve had to pick and choose. My first autograph was the bat I posted a few weeks ago. I’ve now picked up his 2018 Bowman & Bowman Chrome rookie cards. That’ll probably be it for quite some time, unless I’m lucky enough to pick up a baseball, 16×20, or mini helmet.
Project Rookie Card: Dylan Cease
While Cease is off to a rather inauspicious start, I still have faith in him. I don’t think he’ll be an ace, but I think he’ll be a solid #3/4 starter for years to come. He just has to get his walks down. That’s no easy task, but I think he can do it. So I went ahead and picked up a couple of signed rookies.
Project Rookie Card: Dane Dunning
Other than a very short and unimpressive postseason start, Dunning had a very promising rookie year in 2020. While Dylan Cease was more highly touted, Dunning definitely had the better season. While I don’t think either of them will be an ace, I expect both to be mainstays of the rotation for the next few years.
