Frankenset Page #59

Following my 2-week absence from blogging, I've gradually been getting back into my regular posting schedule. However, I've yet to pick up where I left off with my 74-page frankenset series, so I'll be overviewing the 59th page today.

Featuring cards #523-531, this page dates back to the very beginning of the 1970s and continues through the mid-2010s. I don't want to ramble for too long about anything, in particular, so let's get started with the subsequent page. 

#523 2005 Topps Total Timo Perez

Initially, I had my hopes up after Topps announced the revival of the Topps Total set for the 2019 season, but I was extremely disappointed when I learned that it would be an online exclusive released in "waves." 

Making a product like Topps Total into an online exclusive is not only unnecessary, but it also goes against what the set used to be; an affordable release destined for set builders. Now, it's virtually impossible to complete the Topps Total set because of the new format.

For everyone's sake, I pray that Topps brings back Total once more in 2020 but changes how it's released. I'd love for it to be an inexpensive alternative to Opening Day, similar to Big League and Bunt, with a hobby box format as well.

#524 1987 Topps Bob Shirley

Although I've grown tired of the 1987 Topps set as a whole, there are occasional cards that draw my interest back into the wood-bordered product. There's something about the pairing of Yankee pinstripes with this iconic design that makes for an awesome card, no matter who the player is.

Other times, the set is so redundant and over-produced that I simply lose interest, for it's challenging to stay invested in a product when many of the cards look similar. Thankfully, Topps is finished with 792-card checklists, for the past Flagship sets have had 700 total cards.

#525 2005 Topps Total Austin Kearns

Although I've never opened a pack of Topps Total in my life, I certainly see the appeal of a set like this as well as Upper Deck 40 Man. Especially in today's card collecting world, most sets feature only the brightest stars and rookies, so guys like Reds outfielder Austin Kearns tend to be ignored.

Total should serve as an alternative to Flagship in terms of the number of players featured in the checklist and an alternative to Opening Day as it pertains to the price. One can only hope that Topps will accomplish both of these things in 2020.

#526 2014 Topps Avisail Garcia

Despite how bland some of the 2010s Topps Flagship sets can be, there's always some sensational photography in every one of these sets. A few cards tend to stand out with particular stellar photos, and as far as 2014 Topps is concerned, one of those cards is Avisail Garcia of the White Sox.

In 2017, Garcia hit .330 as was voted onto the AL All-Star team while still with the Chicago White Sox. This stellar performance still baffles me given that the 2nd best batting average in a full season of his career is .257.

#527 1992 Fleer Ultra Bobby Bonilla

Earlier this month, the Baseball world "celebrated" Bobby Bonilla Day, the day in which the New York Mets pay the 6-time All-Star approximately 1 million dollars. These payments will continue through the mid-2030s as part of an alteration of his contract.

I'm sure Bonilla can't complain about this deal, for he earns a million dollars each year without even being on the Mets' roster. To a certain extent, I understand the initial contract, for Bonilla had some stellar seasons in the early 1990s, including an MVP runner-up year in '90.

#528 1975 Topps Eddie Leon

In the case of numerous Topps Flagship sets, if you don't like 1 particular card, then you likely won't like the set as a whole. However, with a set like 1975 Topps, the color combinations differ across the 660-card set.

You may not enjoy the purple and green combo on Eddie Leon's card, featuring the red striped Chicago White Sox uniforms. However, that won't stop you from appreciating some of the other cards in this set, such as Bert Blyleven's red and light blue combination, for example.

It's somewhat rare, as far as Flagship sets are concerned, for the cards to differ so widely because of various color combinations. This typically, however, results in top-notch sets like '72, '75, and 2015.

#529 1970 Topps Bob Aspromonte

I've always loved the silver-bordered 1970 Topps set, but I fear I have too few cards from this product to collect and eventually complete it. In a perfect world, however, 1970 Topps would be the next set that I'd collect.

This year, Topps replicated this set extremely well, as they always do, in Topps Heritage. However, the odds of pulling special variations and hits decreased, resulting in a lackluster product from a value standpoint. 

I still pulled some great cards from the packs that I opened, but it failed to match the precedent that the 2017 and 2018 Topps Heritage releases had established.

#530 1989 Upper Deck Jack McDowell

One of the cards that I'd like to pick up at this year's National is Ken Griffey Jr's iconic rookie card from 1989 Upper Deck, easily one of the most iconic cards in Baseball history. I happen to have his Donruss rookie as well as a few oddballs from his freshman year. 

Obviously, the Upper Deck version is far more sought after. I've seen a few of them in person, but acquiring this card has never really been a priority of mine until now. Griffey Jr is one of my top tier player collections, and I'd love to add a graded version of this iconic card to my collection.

#531 1983 Topps A's Team Leaders

The fact that a .267 batting average and a 4.21 ERA led the 1982 Oakland Athletics team highlights how lackluster that particular squad was. Though they'd go onto have success later in the decade. the 1982 Oakland Athletics finished the year 68-94 which earned them 5th place in the 7-team AL West.

They were far from the worst clubs in baseball that year, for both the Twins and the Reds had 100+ losses. Ultimately, the 92-70 St. Louis Cardinals would go on and win the Fall Classic.

So Predictable

It seems as if Topps is going through the same cycle, year after year, with their Series 1, 2, and Update sets for the last couple of years now. 

Since 2017, we've seen a previous Topps set honored with 3 100-card insert sets across 3 sets. Additionally, Topps has also attempted a couple of unsuccessful promotions, starting with Rediscover Topps, then the Home Run Challenge cards.

Similarly, 2017 featured an homage to the wood-bordered 1987 Topps set as it was included as an insert set in Series 1, Series 2, Topps Update, and Topps Chrome as well. 2018 featured a similar story, only this time, it was 1983 Topps instead.

This was probably the best Rediscover Topps card that I pulled out of all the 2017 products. A 1989 Topps card of Roger Clemens with a bronze buyback stamp. Considering that most of the promotional Rediscover Topps cards were from the late 80s, pulling a card from 1989 isn't all that uncommon. Despite steroid rumors, Clemens appears on this card on the Red Sox, and if nothing else, it's one of the better buybacks you can get from this era.

While the Clemens buyback is the best Rediscover Topps card that I pulled, my favorite promo cards would have to be these 2 Montreal Expos buyback cards from 1971 Topps. It's hard to go wrong with one of my favorite Topps sets ever made and one of my favorite teams in Baseball history.

Apparently, different there are certain color stamps that cause some cards to be rarer than others. Although it's hard to see, the gold stamp on the Dan McGinn cards signifies that it's less common than the silver-stamped Bob Bailey.

Also found in Allen & Ginter and Topps Heritage, the buybacks weren't that well-received, and I must say that I wasn't a huge fan of them due to their confusing nature. I don't understand why this 1985 Topps common has a blue stamp, meaning it's the 2nd rarest type of buyback. 

Rather than giving away 2 million cards consisting mainly of late 80s cards, it would've been nice to see cards from the early 80s and earlier, even if it meant fewer cards would be given away.

With a drastic rise in power hitting in 2017, the 2018 promotion across multiple Topps set was the Home Run Challenge contest. Another promotion that failed to blow collectors away, cards were inserted in packs with codes on the back and a player on the front. 

When you entered the contest, you had to choose the game in which you think the player on the front of the card would hit a home run. If you guess correctly, you would win an exclusive parallel card of that player.

I pulled this Aaron Judge Home Run Challenge card out of Allen & Ginter at The National last summer, but he was injured for multiple weeks after. By the time he was healthy and back in the lineup, I had completely forgotten to enter the code for a chance to win for the Judge and Votto cards.

Still, with the unpredictability of hitters in Baseball, I doubt my picks for either of these guys would've been successful.

Bryce Harper has had a lot of success on Opening Day throughout his career, so I felt it was a no-brainer to enter this card for the first day of the season. However, when the Nationals game was canceled due to rain, my pick did not carry over. I had zero control over the game being canceled due to rain, and yet my pick didn't count. 

It was just 1 day into the 2018 MLB season, yet I already knew I wasn't going to be entering a code from another Home Run Challenge card. 

Like I mentioned earlier, both 2017 and 2018 Topps paid tribute to previous Topps sets, both from the 1980s, starting with the 1987 set which was included as an insert throughout the 2017 products. It seemed like a good idea at first with 100 different players, both past and present, being represented in Series 1.

With that being said, the idea was definitely overdone in Series 2 and once Topps Update came along, I don't think anyone wanted to see another card in the 1987 Topps design again. Even with Topps Chrome providing a shiny alternative to the regular 1987 cards, Topps definitely went overboard with this insert set, and I was hoping they'd rectify that with 1983 in 2018.

Despite the fact that Topps went totally overboard with the 1987 cards in 2017, they made virtually no adjustments when commemorating the 1983 set last year. In fact, they downgraded the cardstock, one of my favorite parts of the massive 1987 Topps insert set, to a cardstock nearly identical to the Topps base cards.

Just like 2017, 1983 Topps was included in Series 1, Series 2, Update, and Topps Chrome as an insert set that ended up being over 300 total cards total with the 4 sets being counted. I understand that Topps wants to utilize this opportunity to commemorate past products, but is it really necessary to do it at this level. I mean, they already have Archives and Heritage.

As for 2019, 1984 Topps is the set that Topps has decided to run with, and it's quite likely that it'll get the same treatment as 1987 and 1983 Topps. 

While I'm not thrilled to be burned out on yet another set, I'm intrigued to see what Topps will choose to do to commemorate the 150 years of Professional Baseball. Whatever they do, I hope the promotion is more successful than what they've attempted for the last couple of years.