With all of the pages from my first Frankenset finally uploaded (view them all here), I decided to do a recap of my 10 favorite cards from the set. I recently recapped the cards that just missed the top 10. Today, let's take a look at the bottom half of the favorites.
#10 - 1993 Stadium Club #257 - Oscar Azocar
This card appears on many "funny card" lists and for good reason. This classic sneaks in at #10 of my favorites from the Frankenset.
#9 - 1973 Topps #530 - Jim Kaat
An American League pitcher batting became a rare occurrence this season (1973), with the designated hitter coming to the AL. As of last season, the DH is now universal across MLB, a rule change that I dislike the most out of the Manfred Mess (and there's a lot of bad ones to choose from). The fact that this card features an all-time great, an AL pitcher, and an action shot secures its spot at #9.
#8 - 1976 Topps #564 - Kurt Bevacqua (Bubble Gum Blowing Champ)
Another notable "funny card". The back of this card is great, too, as it gives us the full championship bracket from the bubble blowing competition. Ralph Houk's Tigers and Danny Murtaugh's Pirates did not send a player to compete. Kurt Bevacqua beat out Johnny Oates for the title in a competition I wish would return.
#7 - 1994 Stadium Club #400 - Orel Hershiser
Someone unfamiliar with baseball would likely be surprised to learn that this card depicts one of the most dominant pitchers of the mid to late 80s. And that this man's nickname was Bulldog.
I once knew what precisely was occurring in this photo, but couldn't track it down for this post. The only reference I found was behind an LA Times paywall.
I once knew what precisely was occurring in this photo, but couldn't track it down for this post. The only reference I found was behind an LA Times paywall.
#6 - 1994 Topps #705 - Jose Rijo
One of several mid-90s cards showing Jose Rijo with a squirt gun (Super Soaker brand perhaps?), this one is great because it appears Rijo is taking aim at someone in the crowd. I have one or two other Rijo squirt gun cards in the Frankenset.
Do you have a favorite from this group?
Coming soon: the top 5 cards!
I'm familiar with four of these; all except the Hershiser card. It looks like Orel is feeding grass to the Pirates batboy lol.
ReplyDeleteExcept for the Rijo card, I have featured all these on my blog.
ReplyDeleteI might be wrong, but I seem to remember reading a story about that Hershiser where he said the Dodgers would take grass from Dodger Stadium for "good luck" when the team was on the road. Someone at Topps was lucky enough to capture it on a truly strange baseball card.
ReplyDeleteTough call between Bevacqua and Kaat, but I have to go with Kaat - that card pretty much started my "pitchers at the plate" mini-collection. Rijo is a favorite of mine but my frankenset only goes up to Card #666 so it isn't eligible for inclusion. Although now I'm thinking I might try to expand it...
Hershiser story: https://www.mlb.com/news/orel-hershiser-weird-baseball-card
ReplyDeleteThanks!
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