Buyback Franken-set: Wrapping Up Brett's Package

Tonight, at long last, we finally reach the end of the large stack of buybacks that reader and friend of the blog Brett sent along a while back.  I typically ingest these in batches of ten, and Brett sent so many my way that this is the fifth buyback franken-set post that resulted from his bubble mailer alone!

Tonight's post will be an abbreviated one, as I have half a dozen remaining to preview here.  Let's get right to it!

1989 Topps #205 - Dwight Evans

Love the start here, with a nice candid dugout shot of Dewey Evans courtesy of 1989 Topps.  This is a blue foil Rediscover Topps buyback, which matches nicely with the blue painted cement backdrop there.  This card reminds me of how good a hitter Evans was even in his later years.  1989 was his age 37 season, but he still hit 20 home runs (the 11th 20-HR season of his career) and 100 RBI (for the 4th time in his career) while batting a very respectable .285.

This is also my very first #205 buyback, so I'm pleased to welcome Dwight to the franken-set binder without contest.

1984 Topps #435 - Neil Allen

Next up, Neil Allen, who really wants to keep those hands in his pockets on this 1984 Topps card.  Neil got the call from the bullpen quite frequently for the Cardinals in '84, appearing in 57 games for the team that year (just one spot start).  With that kind of frequency I guess I can see why he wanted to protect those mitts!

Unfortunately, Neil draws a rough match-up for the franken-set binder...

The great Dave Concepcion against a sea of green.  You know what has to happen here, right?

I'm pretty sure ousting that Concepcion in favor of Neil Allen here would've violated some unwritten franken-set law.

1985 Topps #764 - Jamie Easterly

Continuing with the theme of guys who frequently got the call from the 'pen, Jamie Easterly saw action in no less than 50 games for the Indians in 1985 (though he did make 7 starts).  Today's franken-set candidates certainly ate up some innings!  Once again we have some pre-existing competition for the franken-set:

A "dazed and confused" looking Tim Teufel on my favorite childhood set, 1990 Topps.

Since I'm somewhat indifferent towards each of these two, it just makes sense to slide Tim over to the dedicated 1990 Topps buyback binder and plug Easterly into the franken-set.

2006 Topps #455 - Dontrelle Willis

Love this one!  I know he didn't necessarily pan out long-term, but I remember when Dontrelle Willis was one of the hottest names in baseball for a brief time there between 2003 and 2005.  I love that this is a 2006 buyback as it lists just those first three stellar seasons as far as stats on the back.  Willis really began a downhill slide beginning in 2006 and was never able to regain the form of those first few fantastic seasons.

I was happy to find that this is my first #455 buyback, Dontrelle is a great unique addition to the project.

1989 Topps #680 - Gary Carter

Here's a nice 1989 Gary Carter.  Maybe not my best Gary Carter buyback, but a solid card nonetheless.  This one's a virtual lock for spot 680, right?  Not so fast!  I've already got a #680 buyback in the binder and it's...

...1989 Topps Gary Carter?!?!  This is the blue foil stamp version, whereas the one Brett sent is a bronze foil stamp version.

Honestly, this is really the definition of nitpicking but I'll stick with the blue foil since it matches the Mets jersey.

1999 Topps #331 - Roy Halladay

Here's the final buyback, the late Roy Halladay's 1999 Topps release.  A nice Spring Training shot here I presume, with the ball cart (?) in the background.  This one is cool too because while Roy's official rookie card came in the 1998 Topps set, that was a three-player combo card, making this issue his first solo Topps flagship card.

The first proper Topps card of one of the few pitchers in history to win a Cy Young in both the American and National Leagues has to be a lock for the franken-set I'd imagine...

Well, Doc Halladay does face some competition here, as I have this Braves rookies buyback from this year's Heritage release in slot 331.  Gil Garrido?  Tom House?

Nope, I'm going with Roy Halladay!

Brett, thanks again for this incredibly thoughtful and much appreciated lot of buybacks you sent my way.  I had a blast going through all of these and subjecting each of them to the franken-set test to see who made the cut, and you gave me about a solid month of buyback-related blogging material too!

Next up on the buyback front, I have one more post featuring a PWE of buybacks I received from a new contributor to the project.  After that maybe, just maybe, I'll have a chance to show off a few that I've picked up for this project myself!

Franken-set Progress:  592/792 (74%)
"Rejected" Buybacks:  502
Total Buybacks in Collection:  1,094