A Funny Hat, An Oversized Glove, and More Random: My Frankenset Top 5

Over the past couple of weeks, I finished uploading all of the images of the pages for my Frankenset, and decided to do a recap of my favorite cards from the set. I've already revealed my honorable mentions as well as cards 6 through 10. That leaves the top 5, which I hope you'll enjoy. 

#5 - 1988 Iowa Cubs Procards #538 - Paul Noce

This card has several things going for it. It's a minor league issue, it's a Cubs card, and it's something fun and different (though there's actually another card in my set of a minor leaguer hitting a golf ball). 

#4 - 1984 Fleer #495 - Jay Johnstone

Jay Johnstone was a funny guy. I've read a couple of his books, and this card encapsulates his personality perfectly. Bonus: a Cubs card, again! 

#3 - 1990 CMC #139 - Paul Noce

Hey, it's Paul Noce again! I believe this card was staged using velcro or tape of some sort. See above for reasons for its inclusion. It takes the #3 spot despite the fact that Noce was no longer with the Cubs organization. The Nashville Sounds were a Reds affiliate.

#2 - 1986 Fleer #396 - Mickey Hatcher

Though not the only card to feature Hatcher's oversized glove, this was the original. Fleer does it again with a card that appears on most "funny card" lists. 

#1 - 1994 Collector's Choice #249 - Nolan Ryan

This might be my favorite card of all time. Some of the reasons why:

• I first got this card as a kid, I believe out of a pack.
• It is the "rarer" silver signature version of the card, and just looks awesome.
• It features my first favorite baseball player.
• It's beautifully framed.
• The back has 27 seasons of easily readable stats (27!!!) 

So even though it doesn't fit one of the quirky categories found in my Frankenset, it still is #1 to me. It's one of a few "generally awesome" cards from my set, and it just had to be included. 

Do you have a favorite of this group? Any cards you hadn't seen before? 

A Few Frankenset Pages and Some Odds and Ends

"I should really post something. Anything." This has been the refrain going through my head for quite some time. As usual, I've had a lot going on card-wise, and it gets hard to know what to highlight. 

The last month or so, I have begun trading on Trading Card Database (TCDB) and have been very active getting cards that I have been chasing for a while, as well as jettisoning some of mine that I have no attachment to. To me, that's the great thing about trading on TCDB, and really about trading in general. But the site has a great trade matching feature, so once you get a good base of cards added to your want list and your "For Sale/Trade" list, it's pretty easy to get some trades going. I thought it would be a lot of work to get these lists started, and it has been to a point, but it's been worth it. I couldn't even begin to highlight some of the great cards I've traded for in the last month, and I won't miss anything that I traded away. It's a great deal. 

But today, I want to go back in time to my neglected Frankenset (the completed one, not the one I'm working on as priority #13 or so in my collection). I've put some more scans of pages on my Frankenset page, and wanted to highlight a couple of favorite cards from those pages. 

Card #100: 1990 CMC Iowa Cubs - The Lesser Known Brian McCann:

Card #132: 1993 Upper Deck Fun Pack - Mike Devereaux

I remember Devereaux being a slow defender in Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball for the Super Nintendo. But he was actually a good fielder by defensive WAR metrics and stole 10 bases in 1992. Also, if you were curious, my research indicates #2 is Mark McLemore.

Card #139: 1990 CMC Nashville Sounds - Paul Noce

Another entry from the 1990 CMC minor league set. This is a classic card with a fun backstory. 

Card #140: 1994 Upper Deck - Jose Canseco

Canseco has several fun and unique cards from his career. Not sure what he plans to do with that shovel, but at least he doesn't look angry.

Someday, I might get all of my Frankenset pages uploaded for your viewing pleasure (including pages 12 to 14, which you may have noticed are missing if you followed the link above). At this pace, it might be sometime in 2029.