Frankenset Page 19

The sport of baseball truly is fascinating. More so than any other sport, there are countless cases in baseball when a players' stock or value can fall so drastically over the course of just a couple years.

To put this into perspective, Josh Donaldson is currently on waivers. You know, the 2015 AL MVP. I realize that health is a major factor, but I'm still shocked that it's come to this. With waivers still in mind, Daniel Murphy, the 2016 NL MVP runner-up, and a career .300 hitter, was claimed off waivers by the Cubs. They barely gave up anything to get him.

However, among all the stories of players who fell off the map, and there are plenty of them, one that stands out to me is Jose Bautista. A couple days ago, Bautista was traded from the Mets to the Phillies. Keep in mind, Joey Bats has also played for the Braves this year.

Bautista is nearing in on 350 homers and 1,000 RBI. There was a time when he was a perennial All-Star and MVP contender, even leading the AL in homers in 2010 and 2011.

Some of these players bounce back from these situations, others don't. In the case of this frankenset page, players like Johnny Peralta and Curtis Granderson are familiar with a decline in their stats throughout the years.

The 19th page in my frankenset includes cards 163-171. This includes a couple oddballs but is made up of multiple Stadium Club cards as well.

#163 2009 O-Pee-Chee Alex Gonzalez

Upper Deck's 2009 O-Pee-Chee set remains one of the most underrated sets in recent memory. The color combinations were brilliant and even though I doubt I have more than 10 cards from the set, it's one of the most well-done sets of this card collecting era.

#164 2014 Panini Donruss Curtis Granderson

There must have been some slim pickings for spot #164 in the frankenset judging from the card above. Not only is the 2014 Panini Donruss set a mess, but Panini did a poor job in trying to cover up the logoless cap in this card in particular. It looks like they tried to cover it up, but stopped halfway through.

#165 1999 Topps Stadium Club George Lombard

The first of 3 Stadium Clubs on this frankenset page is from the 1999 set. It shows Braves outfielder George Lombard getting ready to make a catch. However, the ball that he's supposedly waiting to catch is nowhere to be found on this card.

#166 2015 Topps Heritage Jhonny Peralta

I didn't collect much of 2015 Topps Heritage when it came out because the 1966 Topps set is very uninteresting to me. However, I can make exceptions for a few cards, and this Jhonny Peralta card is one of them. The yellow and red banners perfectly match the yellow and red colors on his home jersey.

#167 2016 Topps Stadium Club Micah Johnson

The next Stadium Club card to end up on the 19th frankenset page is from the 2016 set, my favorite Stadium Club set design. On this card, Dodgers infielder Micah Johnson is preparing to bunt. Cards that show players getting ready to bunt are incredibly rare nowadays, so it's always worth a look each time you come across one. 

#168 2015 Topps Stadium Club Carlos Baerga 

The final Stadium Club card of the page is most likely my favorite. The sheer 90's feel to this Carlos Baerga card as well as the perfectly-captured image of him diving to make a play encapsulates everything that the Stadium Club brand is about.

#169 1990 Topps Richard Dotson

From shorts, black with white striped shirts and pants, to the red shirts that came around in the 80's, the Chicago White Sox sure have had their fair share of different uniforms over their history. However, they've been sticking with their classic black-striped home uniforms for quite a while now.

#170 1998 Upper Deck UD3 Future Impact 

'98 was a big year for Ben Grieve. With an All-Star appearance and winning of the 1998 AL Rookie of the Year award, it seemed like the beginning of a successful career for the A's outfielder. The 1998 UD3 set is probably one of the most confusing sets of all-time, both in terms of card numbers and all that's happening on the front of the card as well.

#171 2010 Topps Allen & Ginter Michael Young

The 2010 Topps Allen & Ginter set is the only set in brand history to not stick completely to the white backgrounds, instead opting for this shade of green for all the cards. That's likely why this is my least favorite of all the A&G sets ever made.