Buyback Franken-set: Uni-brow & Stars

It's been a good couple of weeks here since I took a crack at my Buyback Franken-set project.  Let's snag another ten cards from my stash and see how they fare!

1964 Topps #353 - Wally Moon

Off to a real strong start here!  Wally Moon's uni-brow has long been celebrated by collectors young and old, and it sure is on prominent display on his '64 Topps issue.  I stumbled across this card months ago when looking at other items being offered by a seller I'd won an auction with, and immediately threw it into my cart.  $2.99 and another new number gets crossed off the list, welcome to the binder Wally Moon!

1990 Topps #172 - Tom Lampkin

Next up, catcher Tom Lampkin.  I bought this buyback for one reason and one reason only, to strengthen my 1990 Topps buyback set.

Since I already had this 1979 Mike Bruhert (who?!?!) in slot 172...

...that's exactly what will happen.  Into the 1990 Topps buyback binder goes Tom Lampkin.

1999 Topps #385 - Curt Schilling

Curt Schilling's 1992 Topps card has been in the franken-set for some time now, and has defeated more than one challenger to retain its spot too.  Will his 1999 card join it?  Yes it will, since it's my first #385 buyback.  This one may stick around for a while too, since Curt had a solid season in 1999, hitting the 15-win mark for the third consecutive season for Philadelphia.

1990 Topps #119 - Billy Hatcher

Billy Hatcher was actually dealt to the Reds at the outset of the 1990 season.  He'd appear in over 130 games with Cincinnati, and would win a World Series that year.  I'd say that trade was a favorable one for Mr. Hatcher here.  Unfortunately, his franken-set match-up is not so favorable...

It's going to take a real winner of a buyback to unseat a '60s combo card.

1990 Topps Billy Hatcher is not that buyback.

2006 Topps #468 - Johan Santana

I grabbed this one because it was dirt cheap, and because Johan Santana was one of the better pitchers of his day.  Even better, this is a 2006 Topps buyback, and in 2006 Johan was arguable the best pitcher in baseball.  He lead the American League in starts (34!), innings pitched, wins, ERA, strikeouts, WHIP, and a host of other categories.  This one has to make the binder, right?

Oh man!  Look, Tom Griffin is no Johan Santana, but this is about as good as it gets when it comes to '70s cardboard.  Close to perfect if you ask me.  What an agonizing decision here!

In the end, I can't turn down a Cy Young year buyback.  I do feel a pang of guilt though in removing Griffin from the binder.

1990 Topps #371 - Jimmy Key

Back to 1990 Topps, this time with lefty Jimmy Key.  Key went 13-7 for the Jays in 1990, with an ERA on the wrong side of 4.00.  Not exactly the most exciting card in the '90s Topps set if I'm being quite honest.

Sal Bando's 1969 card has held down slot 371, and I don't see a reason to remove it for Jimmy Key.

Off to the 1990 binder with Jimmy.

1988 Topps #14 - Sparky Anderson

Love this one, what a great shot of the aged baseball lifer.  Unfortunately for Anderson, his Tigers would finish one game behind the Red Sox in 1988.  With a very low card number of 14, I figured this would not be an open slot in the binder.

That was indeed the case, as Sonny Siebert's 1973 card was found there.  I love the Red Sox as much as anyone, and really enjoy 1973 Topps as well...

...but I have to go with Sparky Anderson in this case.  The Red Sox may have had his number back in 1988, but he ousts a Sox card to push his way into the franken-set here 30 years later..

1990 Topps #338 - Dennis Lamp

I know, I know.  Another 1990 Topps buyback.  Dennis Lamp answered the call to the pen quite often in 1990, as he appeared in 47 games that year, just one of which was a start.

Already had this 1970 Paul Schaal in the franken-set in slot 338.

The Schaal is just fantastic, and certainly won't be displaced by Lamp.

1987 Topps #212 - Mike Fitzgerald

Next up, Mike Fitzgerald, who seems like he was a serviceable if unspectacular catcher for a few years there.  His '87 Topps card is a good one though, perfect photograph and equally important is the fact that it's perfectly cropped.

Greg Brock looks concerned.  He's been in slot 212 for a bit, but will he remain there?

Nope, looks like Greg had cause for concern after all.

1969 Topps #423 - Bert Campaneris All-Star

Last card for tonight, another impressive one if you ask me.  1969 wasn't Campaneris' best year offensively by any means, but he did swipe 62 bags nonetheless!  It's just too bad nobody told him to put his hat on here.  Still, an interesting buyback and a nice-enough looking card; I never get tired of these '69 All-Stars.

Had this 1990 Fred Toliver in slot 423.

But he's off to the reject box.  Why not the 1990 Topps buyback binder, you ask?  Well, I've already got the blue foil version of this buyback in that set.

I've completed the page where this card number sits, here's a look at how it looks now after Campaneris supplanted Toliver in the lower right:

Not bad!  The highlight here for me is the '87 Will Clark, a card I remember fondly from my youth, and one that I sought out in buyback form specifically for this project.

A couple of new numbers, a couple of cards that battled their way in to strengthen the franken-set, and a whopping four new additions to the 1990 buyback set.  I'll take that any day!  Thanks as always for stopping by...

Franken-set Progress: 636/792 (80%)
1990 Topps Buyback Set: 105/792 (13%)
"Rejected" Buybacks: 541
Total Buybacks in Collection: 1,282