Frankenset Page #51

Continuing on with the pages from my 666-card frankenset, today I will be showcasing the 51st page from the set. I'll be picking up where the 50th page left off, meaning that I'll commence with card #451 and continue through #459. At this point, I'm almost 70% of the way through my custom made set. 

#451 2005 Topps Jorge Posada

I wonder why I chose this particular card for spot #451. For starters, I don't like the 2005 Topps Flagship set; there's too much foil and I'm not a fan of sideways text. The player featured on this card, Jorge Posada, always seemed to get clutch hits when the Yankees played the Red Sox. It didn't matter the conditions or the pitcher, Posada dominated against Boston.

I suppose that I selected this card because of the action image that Topps chose to include. After all, I've always liked cards that feature in-action photos of catchers making key plays.

#452 1984 Topps Chuck Porter

A few years back, I found and opened a sealed box of 1984 Topps at the Baseball card show for relatively cheap money. I never ended up trying to complete the 792-card set, so I have a slew of miscellaneous base cards from this stellar Flagship set.

Although some of them ended up in player or team collections, many of these cards didn't have a particular place to go. This is the reason why I have a ton of '84 Topps base cards, including Chuck Porter, in my frankenset.

#453 2003 Fleer Tradition Brian Tallet

Although I don't remember the exact set, I'm aware that the 2003 Fleer Tradition product is based on a previous Fleer release from the 1960s. That set eventually inspired the design for '03 Tradition, one of Fleer's more successful products that lasted for a number of years. 

Even after they went bankrupt and stopped producing cards, Upper Deck continued the Fleer Tradition name for many years. Out of all the designs, the 2000 and 2001 sets are my personal favorites.

#454 2011 Topps Alberto Callaspo

2011 Topps, as far as modern sets are concerned, is one of the best Topps Flagship sets out there. The design isn't overly complicated, and I'm grateful for the days when Topps used borders in their base sets.

The high point of the product is the photos, ranging from action shots to hitters in mid-swing at the plate. Although Joe Mauer's card will go down as my favorite, Alberto Callaspo's isn't too shabby either.

#455 1989 Topps Johnny Ray

The further I get into my frankenset, the more Topps Flagship cards I come across due to how limited the choices can get once I reach the 400s and above. Towards the beginning of the frankenset, I could feature all sorts of inserts and oddball releases whereas, now, my choices are rather limited, forcing me to choose cards from sets like 1989 Topps to fill the pages.

#456 2003 Topps Robin Ventura

From 2000-2003, each Topps Flagship set featured a very distinct border color, either grey, teal, bronze, or dark blue. Personally, I find the dark blue the least successful of the 4 Flagship sets due to how simple and boring the color can get.

While any shade will become repetitive across a 600+ card set, dark blue is such a standard color. Other options like crimson or dark green would be a little more stimulating across an entire Flagship set. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind 2003 Topps. It's just not my favorite Flagship set out there.

#457 1992 The Sporting News Conlon Collection Ted Blankenship

I can never seem to get enough of the Sporting News Conlon Collection set, arguably one of the most intriguing concepts of any Baseball card product ever released. The photographs are stunning, yet they don't become repetitive or boring despite how similar they can be.

Additionally, one can learn quite a lot about Baseball history by reading the card backs from this set. I never knew who Ted Blankenship was before I came across this set, but, thanks to The Sporting News, I do now.

#458 1984 Topps Kiko Garcia

Here we have another card from the 1984 Topps set with an additional powder blue uniform. Clearly, these jerseys were quite prominent throughout the 1980s, for a plethora of teams wore these uniforms on a day-to-day basis.

I often go back and forth between 1983 and 1984 Topps as to which design I prefer as they are fairly similar. Currently, after seeing how well Topps recreated the cards in the 2019 Series 1 set, I'm leaning towards 1984.

#459 1980 Topps Mickey Lolich

We end page #51 with the 7th and final Topps Flagship card of this page, this time from the 1980 set. The card of choice is Mickey Lolich's base card on the San Diego Padres, one of my favorite cards of this underrated pitcher who also spent time with the Detroit Tigers. 

The gold uniforms are pretty bold, but I'm a huge fan of almost all retro jerseys, though I wouldn't mind seeing the brown Padres uniform of the 1980s as well.