It's been almost 2 weeks since the last post in my frankenset series, for no particular reason mind you. Now that I've finished recapping Sunday's trip to the Baseball card show, I figured this was the perfect time to resume.
Picking up where I left off, page #67 ventures into the 600s by featuring cards #595-603. After this post, just 7 pages remain in the series.
I don't usually like to make the frankenset page intros very long, so let's get right into things with the first card from page #67.
#595 1974 Topps Steve Blass
1974 was the 10th and final year of Steve Blass' major league career, though he barely pitched that season at all. Despite being an integral part of the '71 World Championship team, Blass was washed up just 2 years later, posting a 9.85 ERA through 89 innings pitched in '73.
It seems he just lost his ability to command his pitches, something his Wikipedia page claims also happened to Dontrelle Willis and Daniel Bard. Nonetheless, Blass retired after pitching just 5 innings in '74.
#596 1982 Donruss Bryan Clark
The only card on this page not from a Topps Flagship set, the 1982 Donruss set remains one of my favorite base design in the brand's history along with '85.
Though I have a few scattered singles, I've never been able to amass a large number of these cards, nor have I tracked many down for my player collections. I'm pretty fond of the design, especially when paired with the uniforms of the early 1980s.
#597 2015 Topps Matt Shoemaker
Seeing "Future Stars" spelled out in foil at the top of Matt Shoemaker's 2015 Topps card reminds me of how recent his MLB debut was, despite being 33 years old.
Even though he made his debut while in his late 20s, Shoemaker has had a respectable career, but his 1.57 ERA through 29 innings pitched with the Blue Jays this season brought him to another level.
Unfortunately, injuries cut his potential Cy Young award-winning 2019 season drastically short, but I'd love to see him come back just as strong next year. I do not, however, know what he plans on doing.
#598 1980 Topps Fred Kendall
Among the many types of cards that I found while searching through bins at the show last Sunday was a stack of 2011 Topps Platinum Diamond Anniversary parallels of which I purchased 4.
Among the cards which I didn't buy were a couple of San Diego Padres' parallels where the players were wearing the same jersey that Fred Kendall has on above. The combination of this retro jersey with a flashy and modern parallel was certainly odd, but I must say that I'm a fan.
#599 2011 Topps Travis Ishikawa
Truth be told, I didn't even remember that there was a 2011 Topps card on this page until after I wrote the blurb about the set's parallels above. Seriously though, this set featured memorable parallels, legend SPs, terrific photography, and Mike Trout's iconic rookie card.
More so than any other Flagship set, 2011 was the most iconic Topps product (as in Series 1, 2, and Update) of the decade, though I stand by that 2015 was the greatest design of the century.
#600 1977 Topps Jim Palmer
Of course, all the cards in my frankenset that end with -00 or -50 usually feature superstars and Hall of Famers. The 500th card in the set, for instance, was a 2016 Topps card of Albert Pujols, one of the greatest hitters to ever play the game.
Now, for the final card ending in -00 in the entire set, we have a fabulous 1977 Topps card of Jim Palmer. Thanks to the dark background, Palmer's orange jersey illuminates more than on a typical card. This, along with the yellow font that spells out "Orioles," makes for some unique color choices.
#601 2015 Topps Wade Miley
Ever since he left Arizona, Wade Miley has been a journeyman of sorts, playing for the Red Sox, Mariners, Orioles, Brewers, and, now, the Houston Astros. He truly revived his career in Milwaukee, and it seems to have continued into 2019, for I believe he's on Houston's ALCS roster.
Miley was only in Boston for one year (2015), the transition year between 2 consecutive last-place finishes and, eventually, a streak of 3 straight division titles.
#602 1970 Topps Ted Savage
I didn't' go as crazy with Topps Heritage in 2019 as I have in years past (ahem, 2017), so I find that I'm not burned out on the 1970 Flagship design like I was for the past few releases.
Rather, I still find the original 1970 Topps cards incredibly interesting, no matter how simple they may seem by today's standards. In 2019 Topps Flagship, you wouldn't look twice at a card like the one above, but there's something about vintage Topps that can elevate almost anything.
#603 2008 Topps Blake DeWitt
Last up, another of my favorite Topps Flagship sets, especially as far as modern releases are concerned, 2008. If the 2015 design is my favorite of the century, then 2008 is right behind it with 2011 coming in at #3.
The colors used for the team names are an excellent contrast to the white borders while the photography, just like the 2011 Flagship design, is stellar. They used a range of different images, resulting in one of Topps' better efforts over the last few decades.
