Frankenset Page 18

It's been quite a while since my last frankenset post. In fact, my last frankenset post nearly 3 weeks, or 17 posts ago back when I was still in Cleveland attending The National.

The reason I haven't done one of these in a long time is likely due to how busy I've been with other posts this month. First, I had many recap posts planned from The National. Then, I celebrated my 1-year anniversary and National Baseball Card Day last weekend. Finally, my Topps Archives post from yesterday happened to be my 300th post on Cardboard Greats.

Needless to say, August has been a busy month for me and the blog, and I'm extraordinarily happy about that. 

Another thing I'm really excited about is the way the Red Sox have been playing. Even though they've lost their last 2 games, they still own baseball's best record and have been a blast to watch all season. With a little over a month to go in the baseball season, I intend on taking one last trip to Fenway Park before it's too late.

As for the next frankenset page, the 18th page in the frankenset means that I'm 1/4 of the way from showing the entire custom set. Now that I'm 1/4 of the way in, I might do a top 10 cards from the first 1/4 of the set and continue doing that at 1/2, 3/4, and the end of my frankenset. It could also be something else, all I know is I want to do something more for this frankenset besides simply showing the pages.

But for now, here's the 18th page of my frankenset, featuring cards #154-162.

#154 2016 Topps Allen & Ginter Ervin Santana

In the 2016 and 2017 Allen & Ginter sets, Topps seemed to struggle with finding a cardstock that would work well for the set. In 2016, the cardstock was well made but too thick. The 2017 cardstock was not as well-made as the 2016 set, but the thickness was about right. In 2018, they seemed to finally perfect the thickness and quality used for the A&G cards.

#155 1997 Skybox Circa Carlos Baerga

This card definitely seems to have a lot going on. First, there's the players' last name in big letters and the full name, team name, and position in silver in the bottom right corner. Then, there's the quote by John Franco and finally, all the colors going on in the background. I guess the 1997 Skybox Circa set never got the meme; sometimes less is more.

#156 2003 Topps 205 Willie Mays

Not only is the 2003 Topps 205 set on the list of my top 10 favorite sets of all-time, but the retired players' cards are some of my favorites from the set. Even though the Mets are an odd choice for the card given the obvious choice of showing Mays on the Giants, I'm able to look past that and appreciate how fantastic this set is.

#157 1990 Leaf Gary Sheffield

Knowing myself, I bet I chose this card for the frankenset because of the jersey Sheffield's wearing on the card. I like the way this old-school jersey adds excitement and makes the frankenset page a little more interesting as opposed to having another regular card with a boring grey road jersey. I appreciate what a card like this can add to a frankenset page.

#158 2012 Topps Gypsy Queen Rickie Weeks

The 2012 Topps Gypsy Queen set is pretty interesting. The pose that Rickie Weeks is striking in this card is also pretty interesting as well. All in all, this is one of the more unique cards of the frankenset, even though there are multiple Gypsy Queen cards besides this one that I chose to be represented in my frankenset.

#159 2005 Fleer Tradition Adam Kennedy

For some reason, there are quite a few 2005 Fleer Tradition cards showing the players diving into bases with clouds of dirt flying around the area. I can't think of another set beside '05 Fleer Tradition that has so many cards resembling the Adam Kennedy one shown above.

#160 2006 Fleer Tradition Todd Helton Sepia Parallel

COMC won't tell me what color this parallel is, so I'm just going to assume it's sepia given how much it resembles other sepia parallels that I've seen before. Moreover, in the first year of producing the Fleer Tradition set, Upper Deck did a very good job, I must say. If you take a look at the '05 Tradition Kennedy card next to the '06 Tradition card of Todd Helton, you can definitely see some resemblance in the 2 sets.

#161 2001 Fleer Platinum Sean Casey

Just like there have been '05 Fleer Tradition and 2012 Gypsy Queen cards in this frankenset before this page, the Sean Casey card above from 2001 Fleer Platinum is not the first card to represent this set so far. From what I know, I believe the '01 Platinum set was done as a way to modernize the 1981 Fleer set during the company's 20th anniversary.

#162 1991 Sporting News Conlon Collection Del Pratt

Without a doubt, the continuous Sporting News Conlon Collection that began in 1991 and lasted through, I believe 1995, remains one of the greatest sets ever made. It features players from the very beginning of the 1900's and is made up of the brilliant artwork of Sporting News photographer, Charles Conlon.