Buyback Franken-set - Closing in on 100

Happy Saturday everyone!  It's been a long week for sure, let's kick off the weekend here on the blog with a look at another ten buybacks that could potentially be inducted into my buyback franken-set...

#379 - 1975 Bernie Carbo

All ten of the cards queued up for today are from the large buyback lot that I picked up to kick-start this project.  I'm finally getting towards the end of that giant stack, which is good because it means that soon these posts will feature cards I hand picked that are a bit more notable/interesting.  As far as that lot goes though, I was pretty excited to find this Bernie Carbo in the stack.  This is the second '75 Red Sox buyback that's made the cut for the franken-set recently!

#220 - 1976 Manny Sanguillen

Manny Sanguillen's '76 release joins the set in slot #220.  Sanguillen didn't possess a ton of power at the plate and was more of an average hitter, but he was one of the best catchers of his day as far as swinging the bat goes.  Love those stirrups!

#130 - 1979 Bob Watson

Bob Watson was actually traded to the Red Sox in the middle of the 1979 season, and would hit for the cycle with Boston that September!  He would go on to serve as GM for the New York Yankees when they won it all in 1996, and later served as MLB's Vice President of rules and on-field operations.  Right now Bob has no competition for slot #130, so he's in!

#406 - 1974 Steve Arlin

Steve Arlin is a name that's not familiar to me in the least.  Unfortunately for him, he's got some previous competition for card #406 as well:

Wow, talk about a weak contest here.  Two guys I have no attachment to whatsoever.  I like the '74 Topps set better than the '79 release, and Steve Arlin is also sporting my initials on his hat, so...

...you're out Joe Wallis!

#57 - 1973 Derrel Thomas

Derrel Thomas was known mostly as a second baseman, however he was very versatile as he played every position but pitcher over the course of his career.  That sure is an "interesting" Padres uniform, isn't it?  Derrel is the only #57 buyback I've got so far, so that's back-to-back Padres that made the cut here.

#23 - 1976 Brian Downing

Though I'm not really familiar with Brian Downing, I do like this pre-game warm-up photo with players strewn about the infield and some extra bats lying on the ground.  Unfortunately, for Brian he's got some stiff competition in the form of a Heritage buyback from the decade prior:

I just don't see how I can possibly select Brian Downing's card for the set over this one.  The '65 stays...

...and the '76 goes.

#32 - 1979 Jerry Mumphrey

Next, we've got a '79 Topps Jerry Mumphrey trying to make the set in slot #32.  Once again he's got competition though.  It's certainly becoming harder and harder to make the set without conflict here.  Let's see who Jerry is up against...

Ouch, a '66 Heritage buyback that came my way courtesy of Mark Hoyle.  An easy decision here...

So long Jerry!

#277 - 1974 Gary Nolan

The man who struck out Willie Mays four times in a single game his rookie season, Gary Nolan!  You don't see too many locker room shots either (outside of '90s Studio cards).  A member of the Big Red Machine teams of the mid-'70s, Gary is a member of the Reds HOF, and makes the franken-set with no competition.

#429 - 1979 John Urrea

I have no idea who John Urrea is.  That's understandable given that he wrapped up his brief and uneventful career before I was even born.  He's saved by having a relatively high card number though, it could be some time before another card challenges him for slot #429.

#8 - 1970 Jose Martinez

Last card for today is a nice one, a 1970 Jose Martinez.  I like the photograph on this one, but Jose didn't accomplish much of note (at least that I'm aware of), and he's got some competition:

Chuck Harrison was no All-Star either, but I'm more a fan of the Heritage buybacks than the standard flagship versions.  I also prefer the '67 Topps set to the '70 release (though the '70 cards are certainly growing on me)...

Jose is out!  Tough call there too, because I really like the photograph on this one.  I doubt either of these cards would be hanging out in the binder for long though, I'm sure a better #8 will fall into my hands at some point.

Well, that's it for today.  At the outset of the post I was hopeful that I'd cross the 100 card mark for my franken-set, but thanks to four conflicts I'm still just short.  Odds are the next batch of ten does the job!

Franken-set Progress:  97/792 (12%)