Buyback Franken-set: Bo Knows Buybacks

Happy Sunday, everyone!  Let's grab another ten buybacks from my stash and see if we can strengthen the Buyback Franken-set, shall we?

1988 Topps #750 - Bo Jackson

Coming out strong today with one of the biggest names in the game in the late 1980s, the great Bo Jackson!  I know a lot of collectors feel that this is one of the better looking cards in the 1988 flagship set, and I tend to agree.  The buybacks in today's post came in a random lot I won on eBay, and I couldn't have been more pleased to find this one in the stack when it arrived.

I already have Bo's iconic 1987 "Future Stars" card in the binder, will this one make the cut as well?

Royals teammate Bret Saberhagen stands in Bo's way believe it or not.

I like the Bo Jackson card so much that I threw it in without much thought.  Based on pure aesthetics, the Jackson is supreme, but I fear I didn't give Bret enough credit here.  Saberhagen won the Cy Young in '89, thanks to leading the league in wins, ERA, WHIP, complete games, innings pitched and quite a few other categories.  This might be the worst decision I've made yet.  In fact, I tagged this post with 'Revisit', and will definitely come back to this at some point down the line.

Alright, let's see which nine cards I plucked along with Bo...

1989 Topps #241 - Brett Butler

This one's pretty great also.  Brett Butler was definitely one of the premier lead-off men during his time in the league, and in 1989 he was on that powerhouse Giants team that won a National League pennant.  This one's a rarer "red foil" buyback from the 2017 Rediscover Topps promotion, and best of all it's a new number for the franken-set at #241.

1985 Topps #407 - Bobby Ramos

Bobby Ramos wrapped up his Major League career in 1984, so this is his final Topps card.  Though he appeared in 6 seasons, he never played more than 31 games in any one season.  He does have a uni-brow that I think even Wally Moon would admire.

This '79 Pete Vuckovich, currently sitting in slot 407, is a much better card in my humble opinion.

Ramos is rejected.

1991 Topps #19 - Jeff Robinson

I'm a big fan of 1991 Topps, in fact I've got an unopened box of it on my pack shelf that I grab a pack or two from when I feel the urge to open some wax.  This Jeff Robinson is not one of the more interesting cards on the checklist, however.

Certainly nowhere near as interesting as this 1965 Gates Brown buyback that stands in its way for slot 19.

Easy call.

1987 Topps #124 - Ray Fontenot

Another guy whose MLB career had already wrapped up by the time this card hit the shelves (for the first time).  Holy air-brushing!

Slot 124 is already occupied.

Again, not a tough decision there.

1993 Topps #805 - Terry Jorgensen

1993 Topps takes me back to buying packs at the concession stand after my Little League baseball games.  I always enjoyed the design for the Coming Attraction subset in that release, so I'd love to welcome this one to the binder.  Just one problem...

...at card #805 it's just not eligible.  I have to keep the set at 792 cards, otherwise there's a lack of competition for the final slots.  Sorry Terry!

1982 Topps #209 - Gary Lavelle

Next up, Gary Lavelle.  Gary was a key component in San Francisco's bullpen in 1982, getting the call to the mound 68 times that season (and finishing with a respectable 2.67 ERA).  It looks more like Gary is filling out a form here than signing an autograph.

Had this '88 Richard Dotson in slot 209 up until now...

...but I like the Lavelle much better.

1986 Topps #723 - Marty Bystrom

In what's becoming a common theme for this post, we have yet another player whose career wrapped up the season prior to the card being featured.

Bob Kipper's 1988 card is already in slot 723, and I see no reason to bump him for Bystrom.

Nope, not a one.

1988 Topps #784 - Joe Sambito

This is getting unbelievable at this point.  I swear I pulled these at random, but here's another player who'd appeared in his final Major League inning before this was printed up.  Sambito's two seasons with Boston to end his career were largely forgettable.

Then again, this Alan Bannister buyback that sits in slot 784 is quite boring.  For what it's worth, this card was also printed after Bannister had hung up his cleats for the final time.

Probably based on my Red Sox bias, Bannister is out.

1985 Topps #104 - Mike Fitzgerald

Last card for today, a nice enough photograph from 1985 Topps.  Serving as the primary backstop for the Mets in 1985, Mike Fitzgerald hit just .207.  That's pretty rough.

Lee Lacy on the other hand, hit .261 for the Dodgers in 1978, chipping in with 13 home runs, 16 doubles and 40 RBI.

That'll do it for today. 

Just one new number for the franken-set with the Brett Butler.  I'm still torn on that Bo Jackson/Bret Saberhagen battle.  What do you think?

Franken-set Progress: 631/792 (79%)
1990 Topps Buyback Set: 100/792 (12%)
"Rejected" Buybacks: 512
Total Buybacks in Collection: 1,243