Buyback Franken-set: Thankful for Buybacks

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  I'll be spending the latter portion of my day stuffing my face and spending quality time with my loved ones, but I did have a few minutes free this morning, so figured why not grab a half dozen random buybacks and see if we can't strengthen up the franken-set?

1989 Topps #103T - Bip Roberts

We've got a nice buyback in the lead-off spot too, with this excellent 1989 Bip Roberts.  Bip is a popular guy among card bloggers, and looked absolutely overjoyed in this photograph.  I'd love to add this one to the binder, but there's just one problem.  Because Bip didn't play in the Majors at all in 1987, and appeared in only five games in 1988, he wasn't featured in the 1989 Topps flagship set.  This one's from the '89 Traded set, which means...

 ...it's not eligible for the franken-set at this point.  If I'm ever crazy enough to try a Traded/Update buyback franken-set in the future though, Bip will almost certainly be included in slot 103.

1988 Topps #339 - Kurt Stillwell

I can't say that Kurt Stillwell excites me all that much.  I really don't have any memories of this guy from my period of childhood fandom in the early '90s.  This is a 1988 Topps buyback though, and 1988 was the only time Kurt would be selected as an All-Star, so it has that going for it I suppose.

As far as the franken-set goes, Kurt gets matched up against another Reds infielder; a card that came out a good 20 years earlier.  I've always enjoyed the photograph on this Ruiz, and I prefer 1967 Topps to 1988, so...

...Kurt gets rejected.

1987 Topps #786 - Jimy Williams

This one's a pretty big coincidence.  I grabbed the six buybacks we're reviewing today at random from my backlogged stash, and it's funny that I pulled Jimy Williams' 1987 release.  In my last franken-set post only three days ago, Jimy's 1988 Topps buyback (sent to me by Gavin of Baseball Card Breakdown) got rejected.  Well, there is some justice in the world, because this '87 is my first #786 buyback, so Jimy makes the binder after all!  A nice high number too, in fact Williams resides on the final page of the set.

1993 Topps #455 - Chili Davis

Ah, 1993 Topps.  I have memories of buying jumbo packs of this at the Little League field after our team's games that summer.  As for this card, Chili Davis didn't actually play with the Twins in '93.  The Angels signed him as a free agent in the winter of 1992.  Worked out well for California; in his first season with the Angels in 1993 he drove in a career-high 112 runs!

The only problem for Chili is that I have this Dontrelle Willis buyback from 2006 Topps already in slot 455.  I have fond memories of this guy, and while Davis probably had the better career, Dontrelle had turned in a monster 22-win season the year before this card was printed up (including 7 complete games and 5 shutouts!), finishing second in Cy Young voting.  Plus, I'll always remember his strange delivery.

This may be an unfair call, but I'm sticking with Dontrelle.

2006 Topps #522 - Jason Isringhausen

2006 was a pretty good year for Cardinals reliever Jason Isringhausen.  While he saw his own personal statistics slide a bit from his 2005 All-Star campaign numbers, he was still an integral part of the Cards' bullpen, and the team won the World Series in 2006.

For those reasons I probably should have selected Isringhausen's buyback over this '75 Gary Sutherland.  But...

...I didn't.  This one probably came down to the fact that I like 1975 Topps so much more than 2006 Topps.

1984 Topps #242 - Alex Trevino

I don't know all that much about Alex Trevino, either.  He was a light-hitting catcher and third baseman who was winding down his 13-year career just as I became a fan of the game.  Pictured with the Reds here, he was actually traded to the Braves early in 1984 and finished out the season with Atlanta.

Frank Kostro's 1969 release has been in slot 242 for a long while now.  I don't have much of an affinity towards either player...

...so I'm sticking with the '69.

One number closer to franken-set completion after today's batch.  In fact, the next new number that I fill will be quite significant, as it will take me to the 80% complete mark!  Until then...

Franken-set Progress: 633/792 (79%)
1990 Topps Buyback Set: 101/792 (12%)
"Rejected" Buybacks: 528
Total Buybacks in Collection: 1,262