After well over a year of posting frankenset pages several times a month, I've reached the 50th sheet out of 74 total pages, indicating that I'm over 2/3 of the way done with posting pages from this 666-card custom-made set.
Originally, I created this frankenset out of a combination of boredom and a desire to try something new. Now, roughly 2 years after the original set was finalized, it's become a staple of my blogging habits. In any given month, I tend to post 4 total frankenset pages.
Not only do I enjoy going in-depth regarding each and every frankenset page, but I've grown accustomed to having these posts as an option for when I don't necessarily have an idea for another blog post.
The only thing I'm worried about is what I'll do once I eventually finish up the final 24 pages of this binder. For the last 13 months, frankenset pages have been a reliable option for my blog content.
Because of that, I can foresee myself creating an entirely new custom-made frankenset to share on the blog as soon as I finish the 1st one up, whenever that may be.
As is the norm with frankenset pages, some of them, overall, are superior to others. Although I personally selected each and every card that made this set, some pages are just better overall. Page #50 is an excellent example of one of those pages.
Featuring cards #442-450, cards on this page can be traced back as far as 1963 and as recently as 2016. Now, let's go in-depth and see what this page has to offer.
#442 1963 Topps J.C. Hartman
J.C. Hartman's 1963 Topps card is one of a handful of cards that I have in my collection featuring members of the Houston Colt 45s team. Just like the Washington Senators and Seattle Pilots, I tend to pick up inexpensive Colt 45s cards, when available, at Baseball card shows. After all, there aren't that many cards of those teams out there.
As for my favorite Houston Colt 45s card, it really isn't a question. For the price of a blaster box of Baseball cards, I snagged Joe Morgan's rookie card, showcasing the Hall of Famer as a member of that club, at a Baseball card show a few years back.
#443 2016 Topps Heritage Yu Darvish
To put it lightly, the Yu Darvish signing has not paid dividends thus far for the Chicago Cubs. Barely 1 year into his 6-year $128 million dollar deal with Chicago, Darvish has an ERA of 4.98 in just 68.2 innings pitched. He was also limited to only 40 innings in 2018 due to an injury in his throwing arm.
From the moment he first took the field as a member of the Chicago Cubs, it seemed apparent that the Darvish signing would come back to haunt the Cubs. He's yet to find his groove, and although I'm pulling for him to be successful, I fear that his best seasons could already be behind him.
#444 1988 Topps Cal Ripken Sr.
Although his son, Cal Ripken Jr, was very successful during the 1987-1988 seasons, the same could not be said for the Baltimore Orioles team, led by manager Cal Ripken Sr. Under the leadership of the latter, Baltimore went just 67-101 before he was fired following the Orioles' 0-6 start to the 1988 season.
#445 1992 The Sporting News Conlon Collection Hal Newhouser
Though I highly doubt that a product like this would ever be made nowadays, it would be awesome to have a set, similar to the Conlon Collection cards, that featured solely black and white images. However, I suppose I'll have to be satisfied with the occasional black and white photo that appears in Topps Stadium Club.
It's also fairly amusing that this card asks "why not in the Hall of Fame" considering the fact that Newhouser was enshrined in Cooperstown later on in 1992.
#446 1974 Topps Len Randle
As soon as I complete one of the vintage Topps sets that I'm currently working on, I'll likely move on and begin collecting 1974 Topps. It encompasses the thing I love the most about 1973 Topps, interesting and slightly unusual photographs, while also featuring a more exciting set design.
Better yet, '74 marked the first year that Topps wasn't released in different series so I won't have to worry about expensive, pesky high-number cards.
#447 2007 Topps Heritage Mark Redman
It was brilliantly recreated for the 2007 Topps Heritage set 12 years ago. Now, in 2019, the 1958 Topps Flagship set is set to appear in 2019 Topps Archives alongside the '75 and '93 set designs.
Although some collectors don't like the fact that there's no grass or dirt featured in this set, I'm very fond of this set, especially the untraditional background colors like pink and light blue.
Even though only 100 subjects will be featured in the '58 design in 2019 Archives, I can't wait to see what Topps ends up doing with this set 3rd time around.
#448 1994 Flair Matt Williams
Thanks in large part to the dime bins at the Baseball card shops and shows, I've seen quite a few different cards from the Flair product, manufactured in the early 1990s. While I'm not exactly sure what collector's thought about this set when it was first released, I like both the cardstock and the photos from this set.
#449 1972 Topps Bob Lemon
When I first started collecting the 1972 Topps set, I recall going to the Baseball card show and picking up a few singles that I needed in order to make progress towards completing this 787-card product.
One of these cards was Mickey Lolich, a sensational pitcher for the Detroit Tigers for a number of years. The other was Kansas City Royals manager, Bob Lemon.
#450 1991 Topps Wade Boggs
I sincerely hope that, in addition to having this as the 450th card of my frankenset, this Wade Boggs card is also present in my player collection of the 12-time All-Star. The 1991 Topps set is already nice enough, but that background image is just insane. The angle, the clouds everywhere, everything about it is sensational.
Take notes, Topps, especially for the Topps Heritage cards. This is how you make proper use of sky in the background of a Baseball card.
