Buyback Franken-set: Updating a Couple of Pages

It's Friday, it's hot as hell out, and it's Buyback Franken-set time!  Today's batch is a bunch of random pulls from my backlog, sourced from all over the place really.  Let's do it!

1964 Topps #164 - Bud Daley

Bud Daley was an All-Star pitcher with the Kansas City Athletics before being dealt to the Yankees in the summer of '61.  The trade worked out well for Bud, as he'd win World Series' with New York in both 1961 and 1962.  I picked this buyback up from an eBay seller way back in January because it cost just a buck and didn't add any shipping costs to a purchase I already had going.  A fantastic example from the '64 Topps set for sure.  This looks exactly how a vintage baseball card should in my humble opinion.

Mickey Lolich's '79 release is in slot 164 of the binder.  Hmm...neither one of these is a bad card, tough choice.

I'm going to oust Lolich in favor of Daley, based largely on aesthetics.  The '64 Topps set is just far superior to their '79 effort if you ask me.

1988 Topps #363 - Willie Fraser

Willie Fraser carved out an 8-year MLB career, mostly with the Angels.  This is a nice enough card I guess, if a little bland.  I do like that Willie overlaps the Angels team name, and the photo is cropped pretty well.  As for the subject though, Fraser finished 1988 with a sub-.500 record and an ERA on the wrong side of 5.00.

Had this '93 John Smiley in pocket #363 already...

...and I don't see any particular reason to oust him for Willie Fraser.

2006 Topps #158 - Mike Timlin

Here's a cool one, at least for a Red Sox fan like myself.  If memory serves I actually hand-selected this one for a quarter from a huge lot of buyback single auctions that were all ending around the same time on eBay.  Timlin was a solid relief guy for the mid-2000s Red Sox and ate up a ton of innings.  I'd love to be able to welcome this buyback to the franken-set binder.

1966 Topps Jim Brewer has something to say about that though, blocking Timlin's path.  This one has some things going for it as far as '60s cards go.  For one thing, the subject is actually wearing a cap.  We've got some interesting background trees here as well.

In the end though, that wasn't enough to beat out Mike Timlin.  My Red Sox bias may have played a part here, but it's my franken-set, my decisions!

1991 Topps Traded #2T - Roberto Alomar

I think I grabbed this one from the same seller as the Timlin, also for a quarter.  Alomar was the man in the early '90s, and it's cool to have the card that signifies his trade to the Jays in buyback format.  Just one problem though, this is from the 1991 Topps Traded set.

As such, it's not eligible for the franken-set.  Nevertheless, a very solid addition to the box of rejected buybacks.

1970 Topps #36 - Danny Breeden/Bernie Carbo

Here's one from COMC, records show that I shelled out a whole $1.25 for this card.  Not really sure why to be quite honest, probably because Carbo had some memorable moments with Boston later in the decade and I thought it would be cool to have his rookie in buyback form.  A low number here at 36, how's it looking as far as the binder goes?

Well, it wasn't a vacant slot, as Joe Lovitto's '75 release has been resident there for some time now.  Kind of a tough choice here...

...but I'm going with the Carbo rookie.  I just don't really have any connection to, or recollection of, Joe Lovitto, simple as that.

The fourth page of the binder is a complete one, and it was altered based on the outcome of that last battle.  Here's the way it looked prior, with Lovitto in place...

...and the updated look, with Carbo (and Breeden!).  1973 Topps is dominating here, with a full third of the page.

1967 Topps #439 - Byron Browne

Byron Browne earned the Topps All-Star Rookie Cup treatment in the '67 Topps set, after he collected over 100 hits in his rookie season of 1966.  He also hit just .243 that year though, and struck out a league-leading 143 times.  Still, a nice photograph, and I think it's impossible to like vintage baseball cards and not appreciate that gigantic trophy logo.  This one makes a strong case for inclusion!

Standing in Browne's way is yet another '75 buyback.  There's no Rookie Cup logo to be found here, but I enjoy the "nerdy" look of Ed Brinkman, and there sure is a whole lot going on in that tilted background.  For reasons I find hard to properly articulate, I like this card quite a bit.

Down goes Browne!

1967 Topps #184 - George Thomas

Sticking with '67 Topps for a moment, here's Red Sox outfielder George Thomas.  I'm particularly fond of any '67 Red Sox card since it's one of the more infamous seasons in team history.  True, Thomas had less than 100 plate appearances for Boston in '67, but he was on the roster (and in the team set!) anyway.

This '65 John Boozer buyback is already in slot 184.  What a bold, colorful example of why 1965 Topps is one of the finest sets of its decade.

Even as a Red Sox fan, I couldn't lift Boozer in favor of Thomas.  Maybe this off-sets the earlier Mike Timlin decision a bit?

1989 Topps #193 - Sparky Anderson

Final card for this evening, a nice buyback of baseball lifer Sparky Anderson.  The Tigers may have gone 59-103 in 1989, but this is a cool card regardless.  A worthy opponent for the existing #193 buyback in the franken-set, which is...

...a Chris Ray?  Despite a 6-year MLB career, I couldn't tell you the first thing about this guy.  Sorry Orioles fans.

Sparky Anderson wins in a route!

This number is part of a complete page.  You can see Chris Ray halfway up on the left there.

Looks a little better with Sparky in there if you ask me.

That's a wrap for tonight.  Not a single new number for the set among the 8 challengers, but we had some good battles and a few cards fought their way in to strengthen the binder overall.  Still hanging at 82% complete here, and creeping ever closer to 1,400 total buybacks.

Thanks for stopping by!

Franken-set Progress: 651/792 (82%)
1990 Topps Buyback Set: 118/792 (14%)
"Rejected" Buybacks: 598
Total Buybacks in Collection: 1,367