The New Frankenset: Page #3

Apologies for the 3-day hiatus that took up most of the week; recently, though my number of posts have been down, I've tried not to miss more than 2 days in a row.

Hopefully, I can use the weekend to put some more content out there. For instance, continuing with my brand new frankenset by exploring the 3rd page, home to cards #19-27.

Skipping the rambling introduction that I often have before these posts, let's jump right into things.

#19 1989 Sportflics Robin Yount

Starting off with a 3D card of a Hall of Famer, page #3 is already a win in my books. Though Sportflics may not have the same appeal as Kellogg's, they still do a respectable job.

Plus, it's kind of hard not to be excited about 3D cards in a frankenset. I don't recall the first binder having more than 1 of these cards, and there happens to be another on the 3rd page of frankenset #2.

#20 1980 Topps Dan Ford

I have mixed feelings when it comes to the 1980 Topps Flagship set. Some cards don't make that great of use of the design which, if complemented with the right photo, can be terrific.

Others, like Dan Ford's, make me rethink my feelings towards the set as a whole. Everything from the color combinations to the photograph works tremendously well in the case of his card. Now, if only Topps could have spread the wealth equally across the entire set.

#21 2005 Bowman Heritage Brian Roberts

I was caught a little off guard toward the end of last year when Topps released a Bowman Heritage set for the first time in over a decade. I first started seeing it listed around the holidays, but my splurge on Bowman's Best around the same time prevented me from getting my hands on any of it.

I'm almost certain that the revival is a hobby exclusive, but I'd like to get my hands on a small sampling of the cards at some point. I'll likely use the card show, specifically the show's case breaker, to accomplish that the next time I visit.

#22 2014 Topps Opening Day Stars Justin Upton

I can count on a single hand the number of 3D insert sets that Topps has attempted over the last decade, so when one does come along, it definitely piques my interest.

First, we had Topps 2020, a 3D insert back in 2010 (which, unfortunately, featured no Red Sox or Cubs players). Next, an insert from 2014 Topps Opening Day, creatively named "Stars."

Boring name or not, I actually like the design better than the Sportflics from 25 years prior. The modern look and new age photography pair nicely with one another, and the blue and silver together are quite sleek.

#23 1991 Studio Bert Blyleven

As recently as a couple of years ago, Target would sell these 20-pack repack boxes by the Fairfield company that featured a plethora of recent packs as well as a few from the 90s. It's how I ended up with my Mookie Betts Chrome Update rookie card as well as my Kris Bryant rookie from 2015 Topps Series 2.

I haven't seen one of these in years, so I'm left mainly with the few that I opened back in 2016 and 2017. For whatever reason, I remember there being a pack or 2 of 1991 Studio in one of the boxes, featuring black and white photos and a magenta frame.

One of the guys I ended up with, as you can see, is Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven.

#24 2009 Topps Heritage Marco Scutaro

My Dad and I collected Topps Heritage pretty heavily from 2005-2008, 2011-2014, and again from 2016 until the present day. In these on and off periods, however, we missed out on the 2009 release which paid homage to one of my favorite Topps Flagship sets: 1960.

I only have a handful or 2 of cards from the '09 product, but thankfully, Topps also replicated 1960 Topps in the 2017 Archives release. It may not feature as excessive of a checklist as when Heritage came out, but it's certainly better than nothing.

#25 1973 Topps Roy White

3D cards, Heritage replicating one of my favorite Flagship sets, and now something vintage: the 3rd page of the new frankenset truly has a wide range of cards to offer.

The oldest card of the page is from 1973 Topps and features Roy White who would go on to win 2 World Series with the New York Yankees in both 1977 and 1978. Even though I can't point out exactly what it is that I like about this card, I must say that it's one of my favorites on the page.

#26 2006 Bowman Gold Parallel C.C. Sabathia

The recently-retired C.C. Sabathia didn't hold anything back when discussing his thoughts on the MLB's recent sign-stealing scandals, especially in light of the penalties handed out to the Houston Astros.

I can't necessarily blame Sabathia for being upset, but I'm refraining from commenting further on the Red Sox's role until the investigation is complete, for we truly do not know the extent of what happened.

#27 2012 Topps Gold Standard Jim Thome

Out of all the team's Jim Thome played for, throughout his Hall of Fame career, it's interesting that Topps chose to feature him as a member of the Chicago White Sox in this insert set back in 2012. I assume it's because he hit his 1,500th RBI as a member of this team.

Gold Standard wasn't the only "gold-themed" insert set released in 2012. There were also Golden Moments and Golden Greats, 2 more large insert sets released in both Series 1 and 2.

Top 5 Cards; Ryan Howard

Approximately a week and a half ago, former Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard was honored with a retirement ceremony at Citizens Bank Park, in front of the fans that cheered him on for over a decade. 

From 2006-2011, there were few hitters more feared in all of Major League Baseball than Howard. A 3-time All-Star, he was a vital part of the perennial championship contending Phillies team, especially the club that won it all back in 2008.

Unfortunately, the 2006 NL MVP began to falter after a successful 2011 season. He began to suffer injuries, causing his performance to fall drastically even when he was healthy. 

Even when the 2005 NL ROY award winner was healthy, like in 2014, his .223 average with 190 strikeouts proved that he was a shadow of his former self which is quite unfortunate given that he was on track for a Hall of Fame career.

After the Phillies declined his player option for the 2017 season, he had 2 unsuccessful minor league stints with the Braves and Rockies, though he'd never see major league action ever again. He ended his career a .258 hitter with 382 home runs.

A lot of the late-2000s and early-2010s superstars suffered the same fate as Howard. Guys like Brandon Phillips, C.J. Wilson, and Josh Hamilton simply couldn't keep up the momentum, and they ended up faltering. 

As someone who still collects and has respect for Ryan Howard, I pray that his final few seasons in the major's don't end up defining him as a person. Before the injuries became overly intense, Howard was one of the best players in the game, and the Phillies would not have won the 2008 World Series without their renowned slugger.

I don't find his cards in the dime bins all that often, but I have amassed a Ryan Howard PC of 61 total cards. Without further adieu, here are my 5 favorites.

#5 2015 Panini Prizm Red, White, & Blue Mojo Parallel

Just seeing this card gets me excited for the progress that I'm bound to make with the 2019 Panini Prizm project when I attend The National next week. With well over 20 parallels included in the set, the mission is definitely ambitious and, frankly, crazy.

However, I'm in love with the funky Prizm parallels, and I expect them to be available and relatively cheap at the show.

Though Howard was well past his prime in 2015, Panini still included him in the Prizm set. I'm not very familiar with the past Prizm Baseball products, but it appears that the parallels are fairly similar.

In the 2019 release, there are red, white, and blue as well as mojo refractors. However, the combination of the 2 makes this card worthy of the top 5.

#4 2007 Topps Allen & Ginter

Furthermore, seeing this simple yet stunning base card of Ryan Howard from 2007 Topps Allen & Ginter gets me excited about this year's A&G product, another set that I'm looking to track down at The National. This year, the non-sports cards include dogs, horses, and plants. Sign me up!

This card also demonstrates how much Allen & Ginter has changed since the inaugural set in 2006. Although the premise is virtually the same each year, the difference between the first set design and the 2018/2019 base cards is like night and day.

In some ways, I long for the older Topps Allen & Ginter sets, for the simple set designs were absolutely incredible. However, I love the direction that Topps is taking the set. Nonetheless, cards like the one above will forever be timeless.

#3 2010 Topps 2020

Unless I'm missing something, Topps hasn't produced a 3D insert set since the beginning of the 2010s with the 3D cards in Lineage as well as the 2020 insert. Though there aren't any Red Sox included in the 20-card set, there are a reasonable number of players that I collect, including Howard.

The insert set design, especially the stars in the background, fits perfectly with the 3D theme. On its own, the card is on the simple side, but the 3D cardstock allows the colors to pop and creates something incredibly unique, especially since we rarely see 3D cards anymore from any Baseball card company

#2 2011 Topps Lineage Stand-Ups

While I expect the original versions of these cards to be quite expensive, it would be awesome to find a vintage Stand-Ups insert for a reasonable price at The National this year. I don't want to get my hopes up, so I'll instead focus on the replicated insert from 2011 Topps Lineage, a set that recreated a ton of past Topps oddballs.

The yellow and green background holds true to the original cards, and the photo of Howard is expertly chosen. Apart from the batting helmet, the picture looks like something from the original 1964 set.

I'm rarely a fan of facsimile signatures, but they appeared on the original cards as well, so I suppose it's not too major of a deal.

#1 2016 Topps Archives Red Parallel

2016 marked the end of Howard's 13-year MLB career, all of which was spent with the Philadelphia Phillies. By that point, he was barely hanging around, for he hit .196 in his final MLB season. 

Don't get it twisted, Howard was a far better player throughout his career than he was in 2016. As far as I know, this is the last card of his that I ever pulled. I always enjoy when the color of a parallel or refractor matches the team's uniform, and this red parallel numbered 1/50 from 2016 Topps Archives, does exactly that.

I recall pulling this card during the summer of 2016 when Archives was first released. Now, roughly 3 years later, Howard was honored, deservingly so, with a retirement ceremony in front of the fans in Philadelphia.

He may not have ended his career on a high note, but I'll always collect cards of Ryan Howard.

A Huge Haul of Vintage Pickups; Card Show Recap #20

With all the Baseball card box purchases that I've been making this year, both retail and hobby, I haven't been making all that many trips to the Baseball card show through the first 4 months of 2019.

Excluding an abbreviated visit towards the end of March which was designed for supplies, dime cards, and a box of Gypsy Queen, I haven't attended a card show since the middle of February. I can't really give a reason as to why I've been absent from them for so long, especially the weekly Woburn show which is just 25 minutes away from my house.

I've been attending Baseball card shows since I first started collecting cards, and they've become a vital part of my collecting habits. Without them, I'd struggle, immensely, to collect cards the way I d. I'd most certainly have to change ways of collecting Baseball cards without trips to the card show every now and again.

I try to visit the Woburn and Mansfield shows as much as I can, but there's another card show near me that only runs 2 times a year. Located at the Shriners Auditorium, you may recall that I visited this show towards the end of last April as well. 

Other than The 2018 National in Cleveland, Ohio, this is the largest card show that I've ever attended. With hundreds of vendors present and legends like Juan Marichal signing autographs, this isn't a show that I'd ever want to miss out on. I really couldn't think of any better way to ease back into going to card shows more regularly than going to the Shriner's show for the 2nd straight year. 

Of course, there are a million different directions and options for collectors at this show but setting goals for myself is not something that I typically do. Instead, I'd rather just walk into the room, look around for a bit, and see what happens. 

However, I didn't purchase any of the cards featured in this post. They were all my Dad's choices as he loves to boost our vintage card collection totals, whether we collect the player or not. While I'm more focused on adding to our various player collections, my Dad's main objective, usually, at card shows is to acquire as many well-priced vintage cards as possible.

I'm fairly sure that I don't have either of these 2 cards in my respective Cubs and Red Sox team collections, so I'm still pleased to pick both of them up. I often find myself taking old cards for granted nowadays with all the focus being around autographs and low-numbered parallels. 

Sure, it can be a blast to open new packs of cards and chase after autographs and low-numbered rookie cards, but there's something about the simplicity of vintage cards that cannot be beaten.

Even so, I'll almost always choose cards of players that I collect above all others, especially with the development of my player collection tiers. At 142 total cards, the Reggie Jackson player collection is 21st largest among guys that I collect, and Sunday's show boosted that total by at least 2 cards. 

There's a very good chance that I picked up some Jackson cards in the dime bins yesterday as well, but even if I didn't, I'm more than happy with the 2 cards from 1978 Topps. Seeing the record breaker and World Series highlights cards remind me of how dominant of a player Reggie Jackson was. 

He may hold the all-time record for most career strikeouts, but at the time in which he played, very few players could hit as well as Mr. October.

Although Topps was the only major Baseball card producer for over 2 decades, they made sure to keep their Flagship sets interesting with subsets within the product, including boyhood photos of the stars and big league brothers cards from 1973 and 1977 Topps respectively.

While I've seen the childhood photos cards in 1972 Topps, I don't recall seeing big league brothers in any other Topps Flagship set. We've seen father and son a couple of times, but I'm fairly certain that 1977 Topps was the only set to feature siblings. 

In addition to Ken and George Brett, I recall seeing this same card of Rick and Paul Reuschel. 

Upon seeing the backs of these (I believe) 1962 Post Baseball cards, it makes sense why these were available for only $1-$2 each. 

On the bright side, as if the fronts weren't informative enough, I'll at least be able to know who the player is based on the writing on the back along with a weird shape near the checkmark on Don Zimmer's card.

At last April's Shriner's Show, I remember purchasing my first-ever Post Baseball card of Yogi Berra for $5. Come to think of it, a $5 card from this set of a Hall of Famer is a far better deal than paying $1-2 for a Don Zimmer card with a ton of writing on the back.

I rarely get the opportunity, especially at my regular Baseball card show, to buy cards from the 1962 Post set, so, if nothing else, I appreciate the fact that they were at this show. 

With the exception of The National, I doubt I'll get another chance to buy these oddballs at a Baseball card show for the rest of the year.

Truth be told, it's hard to have a conversation about vintage oddballs without mentioning the 1969 Topps Deckle Edge set. One of the first true insert sets of all-time, these cards were brilliantly recreated as a part of the 2018 Topps Heritage product. However, as is usually the case, nothing can beat the originals.

At the 2018 National, I scooped up a ton of these cards for my player collections for a very reasonable price. That list includes legends like Willie McCovey and Rod Carew, but I was never able to find Bob Gibson, for whatever reason.

Now, almost 9 months after returning home from Cleveland, I have the Bob Gibson Deckle Edge card for my collection.

One of Bob Gibson's teammates from the 1960s, Curt Flood, is one of the most difficult player collections to maintain, for it can be impossible to add new cards to this PC. Every so often, when one of them comes along, I take it as a huge victory.

As you can tell, it's not every day that I add a new card of Curt Flood to that respective player collection. Not only are his vintage cards scarce, but there are virtually zero reproduction cards of his.  

It's likely that, given his lawsuit against MLB, that Topps is forbidden from producing cards of the 3-time All-Star

Given that Flood refused to play a game for the Philadelphia Phillies, I don't quite know what to think of this card. Truthfully, I didn't completely connect the dots until just now. Rather, I'm just pleased to add another card to the Curt Flood player collection.

As far as cards of guys I don't collect are concerned, I'm far more lenient with 3D cards, particularly those from the 1970s Kellogg's set. I currently have 2 binders dedicated solely to my 3D cards, so there's automatically a place set aside for these oddballs which cost my dad roughly $1 each.

I'm familiar with basically every Kellogg's 3D card design, but I had never seen the 1976 set until yesterday's show. The yellow banners and bright colors quickly made this set one of my favorites of all-time, especially given the players featured in this product.

1976 Topps is one of my favorite Topps sets ever produced for a lot of the same reasons, so I'm not surprised with how fond I've become of the '76 Kellogg's product in such a short period of time.

To my knowledge, the 1970 Kellogg's 3D cards are some of, if not the oldest 3D cards ever produced. Going into yesterday's trip to the Shriner's show, I had just one card from that set. Now, that number has grown to 3 and includes a Cubs player as well as the first 3D card in my collection that features a member of the Seattle Pilots.

I don't recall ever seeing a Pilots 3D card before in my life, and it may be quite some time before I see another one, if it even exists. Other than a Jim Bouton card from 2004 Fleer Greats of the Game, this Don Mincher 3D card is the only non-Flagship Pilots card in my collection.

Now that I've completed the 1969 and 1970 Topps base sets for the Seattle Pilots, it's time to move onto any available oddballs. Evidently, Kellogg's is a fantastic place to start.

As I've mentioned before on the blog and to other collectors at Baseball card shows, there comes a point, for me personally, when a card's condition is no longer a huge factor. Yes, you want your cards, especially the valuable ones, to be as close to mint condition as possible, but it doesn't always work out that way.

After all, if this 1968 Topps card of Juan Marichal had been in better condition, I doubt that it would be in my collection right now. Somebody else might've purchased it before my Dad got the chance, or the price for this card without the crease could've been too high.

Yes, a noticeable crease across the entire card isn't exactly ideal, but this card is so classic looking, a near-perfect embodiment of 1960s Baseball cards. 1968 Topps is one of my favorite vintage sets, and Marichal is one of my favorite HOF players to collect as well.

Nothing for nothing, but I'll take this card over a pack of some over-priced modern product any day.

3D Cards Reimagined

One of the many different projects and tasks I completed over the weekend was a complete reorganization of the 3D card binder, a collection of cards that have been around almost since I began collecting.

Even with stacks from the Mansfield show waiting to be organized, I took it upon myself to completely reorganize the 3D card album which had become more of a mess than I would've liked. 

With cards from different sets spread out throughout the sheets, nothing in numerical order, and the sheets themselves being incredibly dusty, a lot had to be done in order to give these cards the organization and neatness they deserve, and I'm proud to say that after spending Sunday afternoon working on it, I accomplished that task.

Due to the purchases of 3D card lots at past sports card shows, I've accumulated respectable totals from a select few sets, hence why they can now be found on the want list. Besides those few sets, I've also put together a selection of about 7 different 3D sets in the miscellaneous part of the binder. 

Because I'm only missing a handful of cards from each 3D set, it shouldn't be all that difficult to piece together the rest of the cards given each checklist is no more than around 75 cards with some as low as 60. First up, I have the oldest of all the sets, 1980 Kellogg's, a set that I am just 8 cards away from completing.

One of quite a few Kellogg's sets without traditionally-sized cards, 1980 Kellogg's includes the common blue borders made exciting by the bright colors of many 80s jerseys. In a way, it's not too dissimilar from the 1972 Kellogg's set, a card from which is shown at the top of this post, though the 1980 cards are a bit smaller with yellow banners instead of red. 

Next, quite possibly the greatest 3D card set ever produced, the 1981 Kellogg's set, so vastly different from the 1980 Kellogg's set above. From the extreme difference in color and size, you wouldn't have a clue these sets were 1 year apart if the logo were to be removed.

Like the 1980 cards, 1981 Kellogg's is another set in which I stacked up on at past card shows when I first got into collecting. With a little larger checklist as opposed to the 1980 counterpart, I'm missing just 10 cards from '81 Kellogg's. If we're talking priorities, this will likely be the first 3D set I complete.

Taking a page out of the book of previous sets, the 1983 Kellogg's product features mini cards, this time with an image that extends throughout most of the card, blocked only by a very 80s design of white lines to form rectangles.

The '83 set is quite unlike any of the previous years of Kellogg's 3D cards. For starters, the image takes up most of the card, something that had rarely, if at all, been done before. Additionally, there isn't as much color as previous sets, and what color is there doesn't pop as much as it once did. 

With that being said, the players of the time help to make this set more interesting than it originally was, not to mention I'm only 6 cards away from completing it.

Though the 3D cards I have as well as the options for them in the collecting world is dominated by Kellogg's, there is one set I intend to finish in the future that wasn't made by the cereal company. Instead, I have the 1986 Sportflics Decade Greats set, a 3D card product filled with stars from all decades leading up to the '80s.

With players like Babe Ruth to Jim Palmer featured in the product, the set is chock-full of superstar players. Better yet, each 3D card is created to show 2 or even 3 images, depending on whether the card pays tribute to 1, 2, or 3 different MLB stars. 

However, this set may take a bit longer than the others since, as of now, I have roughly half of the 75 cards in my collection.

The next set is a quick 10-card product, also made by Kellogg's, from 1992, much newer of a set than the previously listed products. Though it's quite a small checklist, I have all the intentions of completing it and am missing just 1 card, #5.

So, if anyone out there has a spare Tom Seaver from this set that they'd be able to send my way, it would be much appreciated.

The final set is one that I don't know as much about as the others, but it's one that I bought completed, so I'm pretty pleased about that. As you can see, we've flashed forward quite a bit to the 2010s with what I believe to be an insert set, Topps 2020.

Though the name "2010 Topps 2020" can be perceived as confusing, it was certainly nice to see 3D cards brought back for modern players, even if such a thing hasn't been done since, to my knowledge, and the Red Sox were left out completely of the product.

As I said before, there's still some space in the binder for miscellaneous 3D cards. That is cards that I don't have large totals of and which will remain in the binder, but grouped together rather than spread apart. 

For example, as much as I'd love to complete the 1972 Topps Kellogg's 3D card set, I have just 10 cards from the product and would have to track down dozens of major names. Same goes for '76 Kellogg's as well, so I figured it'd be best to focus on realistic sets for now and maybe worry about the others someday in the future.

Even though there are a lot of other sets to worry about on the want list, products that have been there for a while, the 3D card sets, especially Kellogg's, are missing so few cards that I figured "why not include them on the list?" 

Not only does this help me appreciate 3D cards more so than I ever have before, but it brings back the joy in collecting them that I felt so long ago.

After all, along with Hostess, Kellogg's cards have to be some of the most fun oddballs to collect in all of the baseball cards out there.