More Frankenset and Lots of Mail

Four more Frankenset pages are posted. Do you agree with my favorite from each page?

Page 6: Cards 46-54 - Favorite: Pat Kelly error

Page 7: Cards 55-63 - Favorite: Rickey Henderson brushback

Page 8: Cards 64-72 - Favorite: Fun at the Ballpark

Page 9: Cards 73-81 - Favorite: Roger McDowell with the umpires

I've been working on getting signed baseball cards and index cards for players who played in Fargo. I've gotten some cards, and the index cards, on eBay and through trades on SportCollectors.net. Others I've gotten through some requests through the mail. For these, I always ask if they have any memories of their time playing in Fargo. I've gotten a few that have responded to the question, which has been fun. Someday I might get some of that posted here, but as you can see above, I have a few more pages of my Frankenset to post first. But here's a sampling:

I found an old Fargo-Moorhead Twins program image online and printed it on cardstock. I've sent and received five replies from former players: Womack, Hal Stowe, Bill Dailey, Bud Zipfel, and Jim Perry. All of these guys made the majors. I've sent out five more to players who never made the majors, but since they are all in their mid-80s, I'm not sure if I'll get any replies. I'm already working on sending to players who played in Grand Forks (about an hour north of Fargo). We'll see how that goes. 

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?