Buyback Franken-set: 1990 Topps Gets Slaughtered

Between the trip to Portugal and my new friend Leo, I haven't managed a single buyback franken-set post in over three weeks.  I still haven't managed to find any time for scanning, but thankfully I have one last batch of ten sitting in my drafts folder from before I left for vacation.  These were hand-picked from the same eBay seller as the cards in my last post, and rang in at about 40 cents each.

Let's dive in...

1990 Topps #345 - Harold Baines

We start off with a member of the "Hall of Very Good", Mr. Harold Baines.  Harold was just about at the half-way point of his very long career in 1990, and would wind up in the end with nearly 400 home runs and a very respectable .289 career batting average.  This card makes the cut by default since it's my first #345 buyback, and I could certainly do a lot worse in this slot!

1990 Topps #34 - Tony Fossas

I have a few more 1990 Topps buybacks to get through here, and I have to say it's going to be pretty brutal for these challengers to the franken-set.  Tony Fossas looks pretty sharp here in his warm-up jacket...

...but can I really choose that card over this '73 Dobson that's already in slot 34?

No, I cannot.

1990 Topps #215 - Kirk McCaskill

How about Kirk McCaskill mid-wind-up on a sunny day in Oakland?

Well, his path to the franken-set is blocked by this '87 Mark Langston.

Tough loss for Kirk.

1990 Topps #248 - Dave Anderson

As we keep rolling with the '90 Topps buybacks, next we have a pretty bland Dave Anderson card.

The Anderson is no match for this beautiful '67 Gene Mauch buyback.

Not even close.

1990 Topps #83 - Hensley Meulens

How about Hensley Meulens, a card that for reasons I can't explain I actually remember quite vividly from collecting this set as a 7-year-old in the spring of 1990?

Oh boy.  My Red Sox bias comes into play here...

...Montgomery stays in the binder and Meulens is out.

1990 Topps #151 - Rick Mahler

Next up, Rick Mahler on what has to be one of the least flattering cards in the entire '90 Topps release.

Brutal match-up for him as far as the franken-set goes too, as I have this beautiful (and well-loved!) World Series highlight card already in slot 151.

Sorry Rick!

1990 Topps #761 - Mike Jackson

How about a nice high-number 1990 Topps card in pitcher Mike Jackson of the Mariners?  Well, unfortunately for Mike he's facing off against a local legend...

...the Rem-Dawg!

Remy remains in the binder in what was one of the easier decisions in today's post.  If you're keeping tally that's six straight franken-set hopefuls rejected.

1990 Topps #791 - Alvaro Espinoza

Can uber-high number Alvaro Espinoza break the streak?

Amazingly enough, Espinoza is actually the third #791 buyback I've acquired to date, with Ted Simmons' '88 release currently resident in the binder.

Gotta go with the Simmons, no question.

1992 Topps #429 - Tony LaRussa

After seven straight defeats for 1990 Topps, let's mix it up with a couple of 1992 Topps buybacks to end the post.  While most of my purchase from this seller obviously focused on 1990 Topps buybacks, I just couldn't resist these two, starting with the great Tony LaRussa.  I really miss manager cards in the flagship Topps set, so I'd love to get this one into the binder.

This '74 Dick Lange was already in slot 429...

...but I'm certainly going with the LaRussa over him!

1992 Topps #316 - Curt Schilling

Final card for today is the pitcher with the polarizing personality, Curt Schilling!  I had completely forgotten that Curt spent a single season serving out of the bullpen for the 'Stros in 1991!  The following year he'd convert to a starter with the Phillies and his career would really take off from there.

A nice buyback here of a guy pictured with a team you don't normally associate him with, and even better this is the first card since the Baines that led off the post to actually contribute a new number to the set!

Well, that was a bit rough, with only two new numbers from this batch and seven of the eight competitors losing out.  On a positive note I'm up to an even 40 buybacks from the 1990 Topps release now, which feels pretty significant.  Also, barring a complete shutout I'll be crossing the 450-card mark for the franken-set next post.  Until then! 

Franken-set Progress:  449/792 (56%)
"Rejected" Buybacks:  268
Total Buybacks in Collection: 717