Frankenset Page #54

Towards the beginning and middle of May, I struggled to find material for the blog, leading me to miss more posts than I would like during this time period, including 3 posts in a 1-week time frame.

Thankfully, I've since broken free of my temporary writer's block thanks to Monday's Memorial Day Baseball card show and my best 30 cards from all 30 teams series. While I'll pick up where I left off with the AL West tomorrow, today's post is reserved for the 54th page of my frankenset.

At this point in the frankenset series, I'm nearing the 3/4 mark of my custom-made set. This particular page includes a ton of Pirates cards, 4 to be exact, as well as another spectacular Conlon Collection photo.

As I mentioned, I'm nearing the 75% mark as far as these frankenset posts are concerned. Page #54 showcases cards 478-486 and includes cards spanning 4 different decades (1970s-2000s).

#478 1990 Fleer R.J. Reynolds

The initial card of the 54th page is also the first of 4 Pittsburgh Pirates cards on this on the page as well. Nonetheless, I wasn't too keen on showcasing this card, for it's far from my favorite one on the page. 

I've never been a fan of the 1990 Fleer set, nor do I like the overly-bright shade of yellow utilized across the card. If that wasn't enough, the Pirates logo in the top right corner is one of my least favorite insignias of all-time. 

While I realize that some collectors and fans cherish this logo, there's something about it that's simply not true to the Pittsburgh Pirates teams that I recognize and adore.

#479 1981 Donruss Billy Martin

One of the most profound characters in Baseball history, Billy Martin was one of the most outspoken managers in Baseball history along with Earl Weaver. This might not be my favorite Billy Martin card that I own, but the limited amount of gold jersey that is visible, nevertheless, stands out.

The inaugural Donruss set, like the Billy Martin card above, isn't a personal preference of mine. I definitely prefer the '82 and '83 sets, despite their similarity, and the black-bordered '85 design to the initial Donruss release.

#480 1971 Topps Manny Sanguillen

As someone who is thoroughly familiar with the 1971 Topps set and many of its cards, I can confidently declare that Manny Sanguillen's card above is one of the greatest of the entire black-bordered Flagship product.

'71 Topps is home to a surplus of iconic cards; Nolan Ryan, Thurmon Munson, and Willie Stargell all come to mind when I think about this product. However, Sanguillen's clipboard photo is right up there with the best of the best from this sensational set. 

The helmet, the uniform, and, especially, the black-bordered design work brilliantly together. The result? A fabulous card of a key contributor on the dominant Pirates teams of the 1970s. 

#481 2007 Topps Jim Thome

By the middle/end of the 2000s, the greatest years of Hall of Famer Jim Thome's MLB career spent with the Indians and Phillies were behind him. However, he remained a power threat up until the day he retired while playing for teams like the Twins, Dodgers, and White Sox.

Preceded by a card from the only other black-bordered Flagship set in Topps history, Thome's time in Chicago was, nevertheless, nothing to look down upon. He hit .265 with 134 home runs during 4 seasons on the South Side of Chicago.

#482 1990 Leaf Jack Morris

Similar to how we had back-to-back black-bordered Baseball card sets, cards #481 and #482 represent consecutive Hall of Famers in Jim Thome and Jack Morris, both of whom were members of the 2018 HOF class.

While I personally collect both of these retired superstars, it's much easier to find cards for the Thome player collection than it is for the Jack Morris PC. As of now, I have 75 total cards of Thome while Morris' PC is much lower at 22 cards.

#483 1992 The Sporting News Conlon Collection Red Faber

Because of the sheer number of packs of Conlon Collection that I've had the privilege of opening, I've been able to feature a surplus of these gorgeously-photographed cards in my frankenset, specifically over the last 10 or so pages.

This time, it's Chicago White Sox pitcher Red Faber's turn, featuring a photograph likely from 1917. Though he was not involved in the Black Sox Scandal, Faber was a member of the infamous 1919 White Sox team, though he'd go onto have a HOF career with Chicago.

 #484 1982 Fleer Vance Law

Although having 4 different Pittsburgh Pirates cards on 1 frankenset page can be somewhat repetitive, I enjoy seeing the colorful and striking gold and black jerseys of the 1980s, just like the one worn by Vance Law in the card above.

I'm also fond of the flat hats worn by the Pirates throughout this time period as well. I'm not sure if any other MLB clubs wore these caps, but I love the way they look with the rest of Pittsburgh's uniform.

#485 1983 Topps Omar Moreno

When I initially created this frankenset page a couple of years ago, I had no intentions of featuring this many cards from the same team on 1 page, so there must've been a lack of options for at least a couple of these spots. 

With that being said, seeing this page right now, I have no problems with the number of Pirates cards that I included. Granted, I'm not a huge fan of the 1990 Fleer card, but all of the others are true standouts.

#486 1992 Fleer Ultra Reggie Sanders

Last up, a card from another set that's been quite prevalent across the 54 frankenset pages thus far; 1992 Fleer Ultra. Like the 1990 Fleer card that commenced this page, I don't have much to say about the Reggie Sanders card above. I like the uniform and all, but there's not much else to talk about.

Truth be told, if I could find an exciting card that's #486 in a set, I wouldn't mind having a 5th Pirates card rather than the standard Fleer Ultra card above.

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.