Buyback Franken-set: More from Dimebox Nick!

Let's take a look at some more great buybacks I received this summer from Dimebox Nick, shall we?

1960 Topps #139 - Carl Mathias

Coming out of the gate strong tonight with a Rookie Star subset buyback from 1960 Topps.  Carl's career consists of just 29 innings across two MLB seasons, and he lost his only two decisions.  A cool buyback nonetheless though, as you just don't encounter that many from the 1960 set.

This Dane Iorg, which came out a full twenty years later, is currently in slot 139 of the binder.

Gotta go with the '60.

1987 Topps #127 - Vance Law

Next we have a 1987 Vance Law.  Vance was a solid glove at third base throughout the '80s, and was even an All-Star in 1988.  He also made an impressive seven career pitching appearances in mop-up situations, to the tune of a more than respectable 3.38 career ERA!

Had this Heritage buyback featuring a couple of Angels rookies in spot 127 already...

...and there it will stay for now.

1988 Topps #421 - Ed Vande Berg

Here's a relatively bland Ed Vande Berg.  Hey when you're trying to form a franken-set this large, they're not all going to be winners.

Does the '88 Vande Berg have what it takes to unseat hat-less Pat Dobson?

Negative.  In a rare move for me, I'm sticking with the cap-less player in this instance.

1987 Topps #268 - Pat Corrales

Speaking of cap-less, here we have Indians skipper Pat Corrales.  The Indians were widely predicted to be the best team in baseball heading into the 1987 season (including a cover story by Sports Illustrated), but they famously underachieved finishing seventh in the AL East.  It was Corrales' final season as a Major League manager.

Corrales has a rough road to franken-set glory too, as this fantastic dugout shot 1978 Gil Flores currently calls slot 268 home.

Flores has already defeated quite a few hopeful buybacks at this stage of the project, and Pat Corrales becomes the latest victim.

1990 Topps #176 - Luis Quinones

This one is pretty cool, not only because I'm one of the few who loves 1990 Topps, but because Quinones was the utility guy for the World Series champion Reds team of 1990.

Already had this 1979 Aurelio Rodriguez in the binder though.  I sort of like the washed out crowd in the background of this one for some reason.

I ended up leaving Rodriguez in the binder, but I'm really doubting whether this was the correct call.  I may have been unfairly influenced by the fact that I've officially decided to go after a 1990 Topps buyback set which I can now use this one for (I've even got a binder with pages now, so there's no going back).

1993 Topps #347 - Luis Sojo

Oddly enough, we have a second straight Luis, and not only that but a second straight Luis who served as a utility player!  Sojo was even more successful than Quinones, as he won a World Series with the Blue Jays in '93, then four more with the Yankees during their late '90s dynasty.

If Sojo is to make the binder, then this Royals team card has to get tossed out.  This one has already faced and defeated at least a couple of competitors.  I just love all the green, and I wish the flagship Topps set still had team cards like this one.

The Royals maintain their hold on spot #347 for now.

1988 Topps #63 - Jimmy Jones

The Padres were the first team Jimmy Jones pitched for, before he moved on to stints with the Yankees, Astros and Expos.  He even played overseas in Japan before wrapping up his career.  I love the mesh jersey, so '80s.

I think Jimmy's in trouble though when it comes to this project, because with a Red Sox fan like myself making the calls this smiling Jack Brohamer represents some serious competition.

Took me about half a second to make that decision.

1987 Topps #288 - Tito Landrum

Having seen my fair share of 2017 Rediscover Topps buybacks at this point, I would have to guess that 1987 Topps is the most represented set within the program.  Most every lot I see for sale online contains more of the wood-grain border than any other design. 

In what's become a common theme for tonight's post, I've already got a buyback in this slot:

Hmm..not exactly a clash of the titans here.

Pretty much a case of '79 beats '87.

2006 Topps #464 - Nick Swisher

We jump way ahead to 2006 for the last two buybacks of tonight's post.  First up, Nick Swisher.  The A's, and later the Yankees, are the teams that I associate Nick with most.  Swisher is now retired, and recorded a single All-Star selection and a single World Series championship (both during his time in New York) in his career.

Unfortunately for Nick, Joe Nolan, with his pinstripe Braves jersey and classic specs, is blocking his entrance to the franken-set binder.

I chose Swisher, but once again I'm second guessing myself just a couple days later as I type up this post.

2006 Topps #316 - Craig Breslow

Last card for tonight, a buyback rookie card of lefty Craig Breslow.  This one is significant to me as a Red Sox fan given that Craig was a member of the 2013 World Series winning team.  Seems like a solid candidate for inclusion in the franken-set for sure, but...

...Breslow runs up against a buzz-saw in the form of another Red Sox World Series champ, Curt Schilling!

Breslow goes down.

In a true sign of just how tough it's getting to crack the binder, there were no new numbers for the project in this batch at all, for possibly the first time ever.  A couple of them still fought their way into the binder over the competition however, plus I received another new 1990 Topps buyback, so still a solid round when all is said and done.

If I were to process these same ten again next week, at least two or three of them would probably go the other way in their match-ups.  The decisions are starting to get tough as the buyback count rises.  I've got one final batch from Nick coming up next, then it'll be back to some I picked up myself...   

Franken-set Progress:  480/792 (60%)
"Rejected" Buybacks:  331
Total Buybacks in Collection: 811