Ryan Westmoreland on baseball cards

The Red Sox fifth-round pick in 2008, Ryan Westmoreland had a great first professional season in 2009, hitting .296 with 7 HR, 35 RBI and 19 SB at Class-A Lowell. Unfortunately, the next spring a tumor was discovered in his brain, leading to two surgeries in three years, prematurely ending his playing career. Now an Assistant Coach at UMass Dartmouth, he kindly answered my questions about baseball cards.

"So one of my first cards was right when I signed-it’s a picture of me touching my neck in the dugout. What isn’t noted was I was feeling at a small cyst I had. I got it removed but always thought it was funny being my first card. My favorite card ever was a Pedro Martinez card and on the back was a description of his performance in the All Star Game when he mowed down some of the best hitters in the game."

Thanks! Here is a card of him from my collection.