Tuesday, March 7, 2023

A Funny Hat, An Oversized Glove, and More Random: My Frankenset Top 5

Over the past couple of weeks, I finished uploading all of the images of the pages for my Frankenset, and decided to do a recap of my favorite cards from the set. I've already revealed my honorable mentions as well as cards 6 through 10. That leaves the top 5, which I hope you'll enjoy. 

#5 - 1988 Iowa Cubs Procards #538 - Paul Noce



This card has several things going for it. It's a minor league issue, it's a Cubs card, and it's something fun and different (though there's actually another card in my set of a minor leaguer hitting a golf ball). 


#4 - 1984 Fleer #495 - Jay Johnstone



Jay Johnstone was a funny guy. I've read a couple of his books, and this card encapsulates his personality perfectly. Bonus: a Cubs card, again! 


#3 - 1990 CMC #139 - Paul Noce



Hey, it's Paul Noce again! I believe this card was staged using velcro or tape of some sort. See above for reasons for its inclusion. It takes the #3 spot despite the fact that Noce was no longer with the Cubs organization. The Nashville Sounds were a Reds affiliate.


#2 - 1986 Fleer #396 - Mickey Hatcher



Though not the only card to feature Hatcher's oversized glove, this was the original. Fleer does it again with a card that appears on most "funny card" lists. 


#1 - 1994 Collector's Choice #249 - Nolan Ryan



This might be my favorite card of all time. Some of the reasons why:
  • I first got this card as a kid, I believe out of a pack.
  • It is the "rarer" silver signature version of the card, and just looks awesome.
  • It features my first favorite baseball player.
  • It's beautifully framed.
  • The back has 27 seasons of easily readable stats (27!!!) 


So even though it doesn't fit one of the quirky categories found in my Frankenset, it still is #1 to me. It's one of a few "generally awesome" cards from my set, and it just had to be included. 

Do you have a favorite of this group? Any cards you hadn't seen before? 

4 comments:

  1. I hadn't seen the Ryan before. The readability of those stats really is quite impressive.

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  2. Ryan was definitely not one of my favourite players because it felt like he was going to no-hit my favourite teams every time, but 27 seasons of stats on one card is impressive. Heck, playing 27 years in the majors is impressive.

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  3. New about the second Noce card but not the first.

    At some point I will browse through the scans and add cards from your frankenset to my TCDB wantlist. Cards like that Noce.

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  4. That CC Nolan Ryan is a fantastic card, front and back.

    There are so many fun minor league issues I've never seen before. I'd love to see someone put together a minor-league only Frankenset :D

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