Frankenset Page #44

With less than 3 weeks to go until 2019 MLB Opening Day, I'm finding it more difficult to wait for the remaining big-name free agents to sign contracts before creating my predictions and sharing them here on the blog.

MLB and other sports news sites are constantly updating us on possible destinations for guys like Dallas Keuchel, Craig Kimbrel, and others. However, most players have been at Spring Training camps for almost a month now, yet days continue to go by without a new free agent signing.

I'll likely give it another week or so before I say "enough's enough" and just form my division predictions for 2019, but you have to wonder if any of the remaining unsigned players could be the X factor for a certain team. After all, you never really know when it comes to Baseball.

Still, the Japan series between the Mariners and Athletics starts in just 10 days and all 30 teams will be taking the field on Thursday, March 28th, for Opening Day. If these players still haven't signed a contract by then, it's going to damage MLB's reputation. 

A bit of a side note, but I try and fail to get interested in Spring Training games year after year. I'm not sure if it's that they don't excite me or that the games don't count for a whole lot, but I usually don't get my first look at Baseball until Opening Day. Thankfully, I don't have all that long to wait.

I'll plan on getting to my divisional, playoff, and award winner predictions towards the end of this upcoming week while continuing to post in the meantime. At the same time, I'm continuing to complete trades on Twitter which you'll see later this week as well. 

Today, I have the 44th page of my frankenset, encompassing cards #388-396. Spanning each of the last 4 decades, let's explore what this page has to offer.

#388 1981 Topps Andre Thornton

I'm personally more fond of the alternate red Indians jerseys rather than the dark blue, but I dig the color combination between the uniform color and the orange borders of Thornton's 1981 Topps card. Although the 80s were well underway by the time this set was released, the photo is reminiscent of something that you'd see out of a 70s set, like 1973 Topps.

#389 1980 Topps Pete LaCock

Continuing with the 1980s theme, one of the most underrated Topps Flagship sets ever produced, 1980 Topps, is represented on this page as well. Due to the costly price of Rickey Henderson's rookie card and the scarcity of this set in my collection, I don't foresee myself adding this product to my want list. However, I still have positive feelings towards the card fronts and backs of this set.

#390 2008 Topps Heritage Ryan Braun

Manny Machado's long-term move to the National League may finally revoke the "villain" role that Ryan Braun has maintained for years on end. I fully understand the controversy regarding steroids, but it seems to me that he's more than redeemed himself in the years that followed. 

To me, Braun's simply a respectable player on a relatively small market yet talented team, though I do end up pulling his cards a bit more than I'd like.

#391 1992 The Sporting News Conlon Collection George McQuinn

When I scan through my Sporting News Conlon Collection cards and binders, they give off the very same vibe that I get when looking through recent Topps Stadium Club cards. Only in this product, every photo is in black and white and taken by the exact same photographer. 

You don't need to know who George McQuinn is to appreciate this card along with the entire set, and that's the best overall quality of these Conlon Collection cards.

#392 2006 Topps Heritage Rich Aureilla

I don't necessarily wish that the Reds would bring back these jerseys permanently, but it would be nice to see them worn as throwbacks one of these days, even if the team wore them as recently as a decade ago. 

Ken Griffey Jr was able to bring attention to these Cincinnati Reds uniforms, for I have a surplus of cards of The Kid in this exact jersey. Thus, seeing current Reds players like Votto, Puig (still weird to think about), and Suarez wearing them would definitely intrigue me.

#393 1987 Topps Pete Rose

1987 was the first time in well over 2 decades that Pete Rose didn't play the game of Baseball, but that didn't mean he was separated from the sport he loved. He became the full-on manager of the Cincinnati Reds and would go onto maintaining that role for a couple more years. From '84-'89, he had a record of 412-373.

#394 1998 Bowman International Parallel Fernando Seguignol 

Though Bowman did bring back these Internation parallels for a year or 2 in the early 2010s, I would love to see them make a return to the Bowman product once again as When you think about it, Topps will take any chance they get to add more cards and earn money, so why not re-introduce the rookie, prospect, and veteran parallels to the Bowman and Bowman Chrome sets?

#395 1987 Topps Damaso Garcia

I like the combination between the powder blue uniform and the classic wood border, but besides that, this card doesn't do a whole lot for me. It's not my favorite card on this page, but rather, a space filler at #395. Nothing for nothing, but I wish I would've found a better card than this one for this particular spot.

#396 2016 Topps Heritage Atlanta Aces

I'm always keen on seeing Topps' combo card recreations every time a new Topps Heritage set is released, and while the card itself is well-done, a couple of the details are somewhat confusing.

First, while Nick Markakis has gone on to do excellent things with the Braves, especially in 2018, I wouldn't consider him an "ace" at the time of this sets' release. Also, the term "Atlanta Aces" would make much more sense for pitchers, not necessarily hitters like Markakis and Freddie Freeman.