A Really Tall Guy, an Error, and a Frightening Delivery: My Favorite Frankenset Card by Page; Page 5 (Cards 46-54)

Page five of the Frankenset is missing card #50, the first time we've explored a page with a missing card. Just waiting for the right #50 to come along. Let's jump right into the fun. As usual, I will give you my top three from the page, in reverse order.

3) 1995 Fleer Ultra #49, Mike Moore

Card #3 in the countdown brought to my mind the sports term "game face." Bob Knight expressed his annoyance about the term in one of his famous interviews. As Knight mimics a series of overexaggerated facial expressions, you could rightly conclude that he just doesn't buy into the notion of the game face. But what about an "accidental game face," as I am calling it. A look that just happens naturally in the course of competition. The Michael Jordan tongue wag comes to mind. So do Mike Moore's crazy eyes, right? They might now after this picture, which cannot be unseen:

The look didn't catch on, for obvious reasons. But what if Moore hadn't posted a 5.42 ERA in 1994 or a 7.53 ERA in 1995? Maybe it could have become the game face to end all game faces.

2) 1992 Donruss Triple Play #46, Pat Kelly

The 1992 Triple Play set is quirky. There are odd "Awesome Action" cards, an awkward "Little Hotshots" subset showing a picture of a player when he was a kid, and some strange photo choices. It makes for an entertaining set in some ways, but you have to feel for a guy like Pat Kelly. Did they really have to do this to him?

I suppose it's not the first card to show a player misplaying a ball. But I say give the guy a break! 

1) 2001 Topps HD #51, Randy Johnson

If you recall the last installment of the Frankenset by Page series, you would remember Blue Jays pitcher Pat Hentgen taking the crown for page 4. A card showing an AL pitcher batting in the DH era but before Interleague play is tough to beat. Well you know what? So is a really tall pitcher batting:

Johnson had a good year in 2001, winning his third straight Cy Young Award and leading the Diamondbacks to their first and only World Series title. Johnson would win the Cy Young for a fourth straight year in 2002. In the 2001, World Series, the Big Unit won three of the four games in the series for the Diamondbacks, posting a super stingy 1.04 ERA. With that kind of pitching dominance, of course you'd show him batting on his baseball card, right?

When Cards Don't Make Sense

What constitutes an illogical baseball card? I would say the simple definition would be when the picture doesn't match the text. The most commonly cited example of this phenomenon is when a player is misidentified on a card. There have been lists and posts covering that topic, so I won't address it here. Instead, I will show you four cards with the same theme. Try to figure out what they have in common.

1983 Fleer #331, Mike Ivie

1991 Donruss #576 Jack Daugherty

1992 Topps #531, Larry Walker

1990 CMC #9 Greg Booker

The final example probably provides the best clue. The first two are players identified as designated hitters playing the field. The third is a player identified (on the back of the card) as an outfielder, but shown playing first base. The final example is a pitcher wearing catchers gear for some reason. The common theme is the player's position on the card doesn't match the photo. Here's a breakdown of each:

1983 Fleer Mike Ivie

Ivie appeared in 79 games for the Tigers the previous season, all of them as a DH, so the photo on the card is likely from the 1981 season or prior. He would play 12 games at first base in 1983 before retiring. He also played first base in 1980 and 1981, so a logical fix would have been to show him as DH/1B.

1991 Donruss Jack Daugherty

In 1990, Daugherty's position breakdown was as follows:
Left Field: 39 games
First Base: 30 games
Designated Hitter: 21 games
Right Field: 12 games

Donruss just needed to add OF and 1B to the card, but the problem might have been the fact they didn't use abbreviations for player positions on the 1991 cards, at least based what I found in my research. So the right call would have been to put Outfield in my opinion.

1992 Topps Larry Walker

In 1991, Larry Walker played in 100 games in right field and 39 at first base. A simple addition of 1B to the back of the card would have sufficed, and unlike 1991 Donruss, would have fit into the existing design.

1992 Topps #531, Larry Walker (Back)

1992 Topps #506, Todd Benzinger (Back)

Todd Benzinger (96 games at first base and 15 in the outfield in 1991) has the designation that would seem more appropriate for Walker, whereas 1B-OF would fit better for Todd. This made me think... maybe Benzinger's expression on the front of this card was his reaction to Topps's choice for his position designation:

1992 Topps #506, Todd Benzinger

Actually, that look appears to be a version of his "game face."

Exhibit B: from 1989:

What was I talking about again? Oh, that's right. So Walker's position in the photo doesn't match his position on the card.

1990 CMC Greg Booker

This card makes no sense and cannot be salvaged in any way. I'm not saying it isn't an interesting and entertaining card, but in a 10 year career across the minor and major leagues, Booker never once played catcher.

I'm not sure how many more examples exist of this phenomenon. They are harder to spot when looking through a stack of cards than, let's say, a pitcher hitting or a player with a team you never knew he played for. If you have other examples, leave a comment below.