Frankenset Page #34

My plans to complete my ranking of Topps sets by each decade is still scheduled to be completed before the end of 2018. However, I'll be taking small breaks between the posts so there's a greater variety in what I post. 

Despite it being scheduled to arrive today, my Red Sox World Series set has not yet come in the mail at the time in which I started this post. So, I'll be doing the 34th frankenset page instead, featuring cards #298-306. 

#298 1989 Topps Chris James

A card like this is pretty much as good as you can get in a set like 1989 Topps. I like the purple and blue color combination for the Phillies' team name in addition to the powder blue jersey and the pink lining around the image. If the borders weren't unnecessarily too large, I could see myself becoming more fond of the '89 Topps set because of cards like this.

#299 2004 Fleer Tradition Mike Lieberthal

Even though they produce an extensive range of different products, I still wholeheartedly believe that the Baseball card market should not be monopolized by Topps. Fleer, my 2nd favorite card company of all-time, produced a similarly wide range of high-quality products from 1981-2005. I'd be incredibly pleased to see them return to the hobby in the coming years.

#300 2012 Topps Josh Hamilton

If Topps is going to produce a lackluster Flagship set like 2012 Topps, I'm at least pleased that they're able to include unique images from different angles like the Josh Hamilton card above. With countless cards nowadays featuring the typical photos for both pitchers and hitters, it's comforting to see images that are a little out of the ordinary.

#301 2017 Topps Heritage Martin Prado

The 2017 Topps Heritage set, no matter how one feels about the 1968 Topps design, was an incredibly well-made product. The recreation of the '68 design was near perfect, and I love the inclusion of many, many blue sky backgrounds. I just wish the photo included showed Prado in a black jersey rather than white.

#302 1993 Pinnacle Idols Delino DeShields

The Idols subset within the 1993 Pinnacle product is made up of players along with their idols, some of which I believe to be athletes and others not. In the case of 1993 rookie Delino DeShields, his idol was Malcolm X, and the result of which was one of the most special and unique cards from the junk wax era and one of my favorite Expos cards of all-time.

#303 1970 Topps Brant Alyea

It's a small collection, but I do have a binder of Washington Senators cards from the 60s and 70s before they eventually became the Texas Rangers. Most of my cards consist of 1970 and 1971 Topps with Frank Howard making up a good portion of my current Senators card total. In the case of 1970 Topps, the silver borders look especially sharp with the red hats and team name.

#304 2004 Topps Heritage Rocco Baldelli

The total number of cards I have from both the original 1955 Topps set as well as the 2004 Topps Heritage product are fairly limited, but one of the few I have from the '04 set is of current Twins' managers, Rocco Baldelli. 

He was once thought to be one of the next superstars of Baseball, but injuries got in the way of his career. He's worked his way up through the Rays' organization for years before being announced as the manager of the Minnesota Twins a couple of months ago.

#305 1977 Topps Mickey Rivers

Mickey Rivers was a key member of the 1978 and especially the 1977 New York Yankees World Series teams. A .326 hitter in '77, Rivers drove in 69 while also stealing 22 bases and played centerfield at a respectable level. Although I'm a pretty big fan of the set, I will say the orange color doesn't work for the Yankees in 1977 Topps.

#306 1981 Topps Juan Beniquez

Juan Beniquez seemed to embody the era he played in whether he was with the Rangers, Mariners, Angels, or any other team he played for throughout his career. He always seemed to have big hair and a colorful jersey in basically every Baseball card of the 1977 Gold Glove Award-winning outfielder.