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!

Things I Like (That you probably don't)

I have tossed around the idea of starting a baseball card blog for a couple of months now. I have really enjoyed reading some of the other card blogs out there over the past year and felt like I had something to offer with my perspective. And that's what's been fun about reading the various card blogs out there: unique perspectives. I have visited Nick's Dime Boxes and Night Owl Cards most often, but have enjoyed many others along the way. The inspiration for my inaugural post is something Night Owl recently wrote about, adapting a "things I don't like" theme and turning it positive. I liked the idea and thought it would give you a good introduction to me as a collector. So here are ten things about baseball cards that I like and that you probably don't.

10) Topps Opening Day

Pretty simple reasoning here. I am of the belief that cards should be affordable, especially for young kids. I feel one way to get more kids into the hobby would be to make more inexpensive products available. Topps Opening Day packs are usually only a dollar or two, and as such, are the only new product I typically buy. It's either because I'm cheap, stubborn, or both that I can't pony up more than that for a pack.

9) Any brand of plastic pages (except those old, hard, brittle ones of course)

They can be the far superior Ultra Pro pages or flimsier pages probably meant for photos or something (but still the standard size). I'm good either way.

8) Miscut Cards

I know some people actually do like these. But I'll go out of my way to buy a 1977 miscut of a random guy out of a dime box. It's kind of a shame these cards have gone extinct (unless there are still miscuts today of which I am unaware).

7) Commons

I love looking through a big box of cards, even if I know most will be commons. Why? Because of my Frankenset/many mini-collections (more on those at a later date). It's fun to be able to find a "hit" that most people would pass by without a thought. This Frankenset card sums up how I view a box of commons:

6) Manager Cards

Especially when they are of a player from my youth (mid-nineties). And more especially if they have managerial stats on the back.

Love the 1992 Topps. So many stats on the back. Here we are treated to the lengthy and successful managerial career of George Anderson.

5) Duplicates

I'm not sure why I enjoy having a dozen or twenty or thirty of the same card, but I do. It might stem from my younger days when I had far fewer cards and thus, had a better grasp and appreciation for my inventory. Filling a page with nine of this card was an early thrill for me.

Am I or was I ever a Mark Langston fan? No, but it didn't matter!

4) and 3) Jumbos AND Minis

They're hard to store and display, but other than that, I think they are really neat. I like minis more, but my aging eyes prefer jumbos.

2) 1988 and 1989 Donruss

The designs aren't great. Neither are the photos. But they are the cards of my youth. And I'm partial to a team logo on the front, so there's that.

1) "Junk" Wax Rookies

These were the gems of my youth. The most exciting of them all was the 1989 Donruss Ken Griffey Jr. I didn't grow up with a lot of money to spend on cards and rarely got them as gifts because I just don't think they were on people's radar. So when I did get my hands on some packs in the mid-nineties, it was often the reviled "overproduction era" cards. Junk wax as they are so unfairly called. So I say, give me your 1988 Alomars, Graces, and Glavines yearning to breathe free. Your 1989 Griffeys, Biggios, Schillings, Smoltzes, and Sheffields. Even your 1990 Thomases, Sosas, Gonzalezes, and Oleruds. After all, these were the guys I grew up watching. Why not add a few more to the dozens I already have? No one else wants them anyway, right?