Frankenset Page 11

In my next bit of news before frankenset post, it appears that Red Sox 3rd baseman Rafael Devers is involved in some trade rumors and whispers, including a trade to the Orioles for Manny Machado. The 21-year old has not had the season fans expected him to had, but as of late, he has picked up his game, hitting .290 in his last 7 games.

Taking everything into account, I believe it's far too early for the Sox to give up on Devers. Yes, they did the same with Moncada and he's on pace to strike out 200 times this year, but Devers is something special. He proved himself when he was called up and has made strides to improve defensively. They owe it to him and the fans to give him some more time.

In other news, MLB released the leaders in All-Star votes last week and unbelievably, Gary Sanchez had the most votes for the AL catcher position which is borderline absurd. He's hitting .192 right now, yes .192! In fact, he's hitting .103 in his last 15 games and somehow, that's worthy of being an All-Star. This is a perfect example of why as much as I like the idea of fan voting, it may not be the correct way of determining our All-Stars.

With that little bit of baseball news completed, it's time to move on to the 11th page of my frankenset, featuring cards 91-99.

#91 2003 Topps Orlando Cabrera

This is probably one of the best cards from 2003 Topps that you'll be able to find. It's a set that's fairly one-dimensional and doesn't have a whole lot to it other than blue borders. I always appreciate a good Expos card and this Orlando Cabrera card is certainly one that fits the mold.

#92 2014 Bowman Jed Lowrie

Lowrie's 2014 Gypsy Queen card features this exact same image and is quite possibly one of my favorite A's cards of all-time. The 2014 Bowman is nothing to sneeze at either, with tons of parallels available for purchase on COMC, including an incredibly looking black parallel numbered to 25.

#93 2006 Fleer Tradition Miguel Cabrera

Seeing this card of Miguel Cabrera reminds me that the 2012 and 2013 AL MVP is expected to miss the rest of 2018 due to a ruptured tendon. It's pretty sad considering he was on pace not only for a bounce-back season but maybe even 500 home runs this year or next. Now, he'll be 36 in April of next year and might not have too much left in him. However, I truly hope he's able to reach the 500 home run milestone that he deserves.

#94 1988 Pacific Baseball Legends Orlando Cepeda

Over the course of his career, Cepeda was a star for multiple teams such as the Braves, Cardinals, and Giants. I like the choice of the Braves and their pinstriped jerseys for this card considering he's fairly underrepresented with that team. However, I typically associate him more with the Giants.

#95 2010 Topps National Chicle Ryan Braun

I may not be Ryan Braun's biggest fan in the world, but I absolutely love his 2010 Topps National Chicle card. In a set where the cards can get a bit too abstract for my taste, it's refreshing to have a fairly simple card with a nice white and light purple background with a clear abundance of attention to detail.

#96 2005 Upper Deck All-Star Classics Robin Yount

Robin Yount is in the top 3 players of all-time who I should collect but don't, along with Tony Gwynn and probably Kirby Puckett. All 3 played around the same time, so I think it has more to do with the era than it does with anything else. Granted, I do collect cards of many guys who played in that time, so it probably is just the timeline of each of their careers that makes me not have too many cards of any of them.

#97 1973 Topps Willie Montanez

I don't think one could find many cards that encapsulate what 1973 Topps was all about. Landscape style cards, crazy hair, colorful jerseys, and of course, pictures of the players sliding into bases. All of these details come through on Montanez's card which is why I chose it for spot #97.

#98 2005 Bowman Heritage Mini Kyle Davies

Typically in frankensets, there's 1 card per page of a player I haven't heard of before and whose card I chose simply because I like the photo, design, uniform, details, or a combination of what I just listed. In the case of page 11, that card if Kyle Davies and the set is 2005 Bowman Heritage.

#99 1993 Action Packed All-Star Gallery Lefty Grove

1993 Action Packet is a perfect example of some of the creative and interesting sets from the junk wax era. The set is a concept I like very much; it features legends along with some lesser players of baseball history up until the 90's when the set was produced. I don't, however, know if there was any other year of this set other than 1993.