My First Frankenset: The Top Cards (#10 to #6)

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. 

#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!

Bo Knows Frankensets

As I've alluded to in recent posts, I am very close to completing my Frankenset. Being in the final stages, I've identified my final steps toward completion.

1) Wait for my recently acquired smelly cards to de-stinkify so I can go through the ones I set aside as Frankenset candidates. Hoping I don't have to wait more than another week. I might have to do a fresh batch of baking soda in each box. Stay tuned.

2) File some of my recent acquisitions in their respective slots. (More on this in a moment.)

3) Compile a listing of the cards in Excel (this is mostly complete).

4) Fill in the blank slots with checklist cards (this will probably take the longest of any of the steps). If anyone has created a custom checklist before, I would appreciate tips in the comments below.

After I complete the set, I'll have to decide how to unveil it. I have been posting just my top three cards from each page a page at a time for a few months now, but might go back to the beginning and show each page card by card. Or I might pick a random page to show each time. We'll see. 

I've made great strides in the last couple months on the Frankenset due in large part to Card Barrel, which has a fantastic supply of inexpensive cards from random sets and years for me to choose from. Those people are undoubtedly puzzled each time I place an order, wondering why in the world I would choose the cards I do. 

Sometimes, there are some great Frankenset candidates in the vintage era, and that's where I've sought out other help. Specifically, Bo from Baseball Cards Come to Life and I recently swung a trade for some mostly vintage cards that I would have had to pay way too much for on Card Barrel. Instead, I was able to take advantage of Bo's extensive trade list to nab some great cards for my final push. Behold the beauty:

1976 Topps #639, Fred Kendall; 1981 Topps #541, Steve Swisher

Leading off with a couple "lesser knowns." Both men had more famous sons become major leaguers, Jason and Nick respectively. Bonus points for the Swisher beard. 

1976 Topps #363 Dave Collins; 1972 Topps #284 Ike Brown; 1979 Topps #31 Tom House 

Some solid 70s glasses with some notable facial hair sprinkled in.

1974 Topps #382 Bob Moose

This card checks so many Frankenset boxes. Hair, mustache, facial expression, name. Phenomenal.

1994 Pinnacle #490, Chris Sabo

In a Frankenset where "glasses" is a category, it would be a crime to exclude Chris Sabo's goggles. Bonus points for appearing with the Orioles, for whom he played only 68 games.

1973 Topps #483, Dal Maxvill

A guy named "Dal." I had no idea what that was short for, and I didn't even have to go to baseball-reference.com for assistance. The back of the card has his full name: Charles Dallan Maxvill.

1973 Topps #530 Jim Kaat

An AL pitcher at the plate in a set from the year the DH debuted. Unbeatable. 

So there are nine more fantastic cards for the Frankenset. Bo is a pleasure to trade with and he makes it even easier with his trade list and want lists. Thanks Bo!

Right Here Waiting (Not a Post About Richard Marx, So Please Keep Reading)

Warning: This post contains large pictures. You'll see why.

You may have had the same experience as me growing up. I became a baseball fan maybe around age eight or nine. When I entered my mid to late twenties, as certain players began to retire, I came to the realization that I had never known Major League Baseball without them. It was a weird feeling, and it kind of made me feel old. For my timeline, those players would include the likes of Jim Thome, Frank Thomas, and of course, Jamie Moyer, among others. When baseball season began, these guys were always right there waiting.

I've always been fascinated by players with long careers, and one reason for this was being able to see line after line of their stats on the back of a card. This was my earliest cherished baseball card, and remains to this day right up there on my list:

1994 Collector's Choice #249, Nolan Ryan

27 season of greatness from the Ryan Express. A simple picture and design on the front and 27 years worth of grit chronicled on the back. Years later, I think this card probably served as inspiration for one of my mini-collections. I was able to get a list of players with 15 or more years of service with the help Fred Worth at SABR (Society for American Baseball Research). He was able to mine the baseball-reference.com database and produce such a list. The best I could find was a list of the players with the longest service time, but that only went down to 18 years. At the time (about two years ago), the list of 15+ players amounted to 1,011.

My goal with this mini-collection is to find a card of each of the players on the list, but the card needs to list the statistical record for that player for at least 15 seasons of his career. To date, I have 364 cards in the collection. A recent boon to this collection was a lot of Conlon cards I found at a cheap price. So I thought I would showcase the cards I have of players who played 25 or more seasons in Major League Baseball. There are 10 players that fit that category.

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Can you name them? Quiz yourself if you'd like, or just scroll down.

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Here's the list:

1) Nolan Ryan - 27 seasons

2) Cap Anson - 27

3) Deacon McGuire - 26

4) Tommy John - 26

5) Rickey Henderson - 25

6) Jamie Moyer - 25

7) Jim Kaat - 25 

8) Charlie Hough - 25

9) Bobby Wallace - 25

10) Eddie Collins - 25

I have cards of seven of the players, including the Nolan Ryan card shown above. I probably could easily find one of Cap Anson, and cards of Deacon McGuire and Bobby Wallace probably exist, too, but this is a "passive" collection. That means I don't usually actively seek out cards to put into the binder. It's just as I come across them. Here's the gallery:

Tommy John - 26 seasons (1963 - 1989)

1989 Fleer #255, Tommy John

The career of Tommy John through 1988 is chronicled on the back of this card. Tommy lost a chance to tie Nolan Ryan and Cap Anson when he missed the 1975 season due to injury, but at least he got a surgery named after him as part of the deal. John first pitched during the Kennedy administration and finished his career during the George H. W. Bush administration (7 presidents). Let that sink in.

Rickey Henderson (1979 - 2003)

2000 UD MVP #118, Rickey Henderson

This card shows Rickey's stats through the 1999 season. Henderson first appeared during the Carter administration and finished his career during the George W. Bush administration (5 presidents).

Jamie Moyer (1986 - 2012)

2006 Topps #358, Jamie Moyer

Career spanned Reagan to Obama (5 presidents). Moyer's stats through 2005 are featured. He did not pitch in 2011 after having Tommy John (remember him) surgery in December 2010 at the age of 48. He came back and pitched one final season in 2012, topping out at something like 82 mph on his fastball. Insane.

Jim Kaat (1959 - 1983)

1980 Topps #250, Jim Kaat

 

Career spanned Eisenhower to Reagan (7 presidents). Hard to read the stats due to the horizontal arrangement. This card shows Kaat through the 1979 season, but I have a 1983 Fleer lying around somewhere...

Charlie Hough (1970 - 1994)

1994 Topps #625, Charlie Hough

A great card, though the alignment on the back is again horizontal. Gotta love the photo on the front. Old man Charlie gripping that knuckler and smirking like he knows how ridiculous it is that he's still throwing softballs up there in his mid-40s.  

Hough's career spanned Nixon to Clinton (6 presidents). He finished his career with two years pitching for the Florida Marlins in 1993/1994. Hough pitched the first game in Marlins history in 1993. He got the win, pitching six innings, allowing three hits and three runs against a lineup featuring Brett Butler, Darryl Strawberry, Eric Davis, Tim Wallach, Eric Karros, and Mike Piazza. He beat Orel Hershiser. He was 45 at the time. No biggie. 

Eddie Collins (1906 to 1930)

1991 Sporting News Conlon Collection #21, Eddie Collins

Career spanned the Teddy Roosevelt to Herbert Hoover administrations (6 presidents). Played only 12 games in his final two seasons under Connie Mack, with all appearances as a pinch hitter (as opposed to his usual 2nd base). 

Writing this makes me want Tommy John, Jamie Moyer, Jim Kaat, and Charlie Hough in the Hall of Fame because playing that long is unreal.