Frankenset Page #36

After nearly every page of last week's frankenset included a card from a Topps Flagship set, I'm pleased that this week's page features more of a variety of sets, ranging from 1967-2016.

After the signings of Brian Dozier and Jed Lowrie by the Nationals and Mets respectively on Thursday, it appears that free agency is in full effect. The Machado and Harper rumors sure haven't stopped, but with Topps Series 1 on the horizon, there's more and more Baseball stuff to look forward to.

Speaking of Series 1, I'm quite excited for the 2019 Baseball card collecting season to get underway in just under 3 weeks. While I'm not crazy about the set design, it's only fair to give it a chance by waiting until I see the cards in-person. 

Who knows? Maybe Topps has gone back to a full year of stats on the card backs.

If nothing else, at least we have partial borders on these cards which is more than we've had for the last 3 years of Topps Flagship. This means that 2019 Topps Chrome is likely to feature some of the better-looking refractors that we've seen in years.

This next frankenset page includes cards #316-324 wide a nice variety of teams, sets, and players featured throughout the 9 cards. Now, let's begin the 35th page.

#316 2010 Topps Allen & Ginter Nate McLouth

2018 revived my love for the Allen & Ginter brand, and it's likely that I'll be purchasing some blaster boxes or even a hobby box of this years' set. The designs over the last 2 years have been pretty stellar, but my favorite cards are easily the unique insert sets, ranging from World' Hottest Papers to Magnificent Moons.

#317 1982 Donruss Alan Ashby

I've never been too crazy about the uniforms that the Astros debuted in the 80s like the one shown above. The lack of color and excitement automatically makes the jerseys seem boring in comparison to the rainbow uniforms. It's a good thing that Houston has since stepped it up with much better jerseys today, especially since their move to the American League.

#318 2010 Topps National Chicle Reid Gorecki

Although this is my only short-print from the set, it appears as if the short-prints from 2010 Topps National Chicle are designed based off previous Topps cards with Reid Gorecki's card styled with 1954 Topps in mind. Although the set lasted just one year, I remember being quite fond of the abstract art set and was happy to stumble upon chrome cards from the set as well sometime later.

#319 2008 Upper Deck Luke Hochevar

The use of a throwback uniform that I don't recognize as well as the Stadium Club-style choice of picture prompted me to choose this Luke Hochevar card to make it into my frankenset. While the uniform remains a mystery to me, the landscape card features photography not matched by any card throughout the entire page.

#320 2016 Topps Heritage Madison Bumgarner

Trade rumors for Giants all-star pitcher Madison Bumgarner have been going on since the later months of 2018 and have spilled over into the new year. With the Dodgers and Rockies still strong and the Padres poised to have some success in the coming years given their farm system, it may be time for the Giants to move on, especially if the return could allow them to rebuild around a few top prospects.

#321 2002 Topps 206 Jay Gibbons

When you have an art set like Topps 206, Gallery, or National Chicle, you need to have a small number of cards with a basic, 1-color background like the Jay Gibbons card shown above. With all the different styles of art embedded in a set like this, it's crucial to have as much contrast as possible with different backgrounds, some simpler than others.

#322 1967 Topps Jose Pagan

With 1 '67 Topps card and 1 2016 Topps Heritage card featured on this page, I'm able to take notice of how well Topps recreated their own classic set a few years ago. While I'm not super familiar with 1967 Topps, I'm fond of the overall balance between the amount of space the picture takes up and the simple design that also allows for different colors to be utilized, like purple to spell out "Pirates."

#323 1982 Topps Bill Lee

Many players made their way to the Montreal Expos in the early 1980s, some of which I didn't even know about until recently. I'm uncertain as to why so many different stars joined Montreal, but Bill Lee, Tony Perez, and Pete Rose are just a few of stars from the late 70s and early 80s that either signed with or were traded to the Expos.

#324 1970 Topps Tony Taylor

In around a month and a half, Topps will release 2019 Topps Heritage which will be in the silver-bordered 1970 Topps set. Famous for cards like the one above, showing Tony Taylor at the back rack in the dugout, the slim borders should allow for excellent photography as well as beautiful looking Heritage Chrome cards. 

Topps Heritage has been my favorite product for years now, and I can't see why 2019 will be any different.