Buyback Franken-set: Arrieta RC!

Well, the blog went dark for a week there as I attended an intense cyber-security training course.  It's nice to be back home and no longer living out of a suitcase, let's get back at it with another ten cards for my Buyback Franken-set project...

2010 Topps #US-251 - Jake Arrieta

As newer buybacks go, this is one of the better ones I've come across.  Although Jake Arrieta is better known for his time with the Cubs, when he was one of the most dominant pitchers in the game, it's cool to score his official rookie card in buyback format.  I would love nothing more than to welcome this one to the binder, however...

...since it's from the 2010 Topps Update set, it's ineligible for this project.  You can rest assured that if I ever attempted an Update franken-set Jake would have a lock on slot 251, but for now he's off to the rejected box.

1988 Topps #731 - Rick Schu

I'm not all that excited about this buyback of Rick Schu, who actually spent the '88 season with Baltimore, playing about half of the team's games that year at third base.  As much as I enjoy the 1988 Topps design, I'd say this one's a long shot.

I already had this 1991 Jeff Gray in slot 731.  Not exactly a jaw-dropper of a buyback either...

...but I certainly prefer it to the Rick Schu.

1987 Topps #387 - T.R. Bryden

Despite rabidly collecting baseball and hockey cards as a kid in the late 1980s/early 1990s I have zero recollection of T.R. Bryden.  Not all that surprising I suppose, as I see that his entire MLB career consisted of 16 appearances out of the bullpen for California in 1986.  While that is 16 appearances more than I'll ever have, it doesn't bode too well as far as franken-set induction goes.

Especially not when matched up against the great Phil Niekro on one of the more under-represented sets in buyback form, 1981 Topps.

So long, T.J.!

1988 Topps #716 - Lenn Sakata

Next up is Hawaiian Lenn Sakata.  Lenn was a long time backup/utility infielder with the Brewers, Orioles, A's and Yankees.  Again, a nice enough specimen of 1988 Topps, but not exactly lighting the world on fire.

I had this 1990 Steve Balboni, not exactly a "looker" either, in slot 716.  You know what I'm doing here, right?

Sakata takes up residence in the franken-set binder, and Balboni shifts over to the 1990 Topps buyback binder.

1990 Topps #257 - Jose DeLeon

Speaking of 1990 Topps, here's a smiling and slightly confused-looking Jose DeLeon.  Jose lost an astounding 19 games for the Cardinals in 1990.  It doesn't get much rougher than that.

Since I already had this 2012 Seth Smith card in slot 257, and I'm not all that compelled to move a 19-game loser into the franken-set...

...Jose will move to the 1990 Topps binder.

1987 Topps #355 - Don Carman

Don Carman was the definition of durable in 1987.  He started 35 games for Philadelphia in that one season alone, throwing over 200 innings, and a couple of shutouts to boot.  As for the franken-set, Don draws a tough match-up...

...just because I love 1975 Topps, and I love bad air-brushing.  The color combination on this particular card is just so jarring and wrong that I actually kind of enjoy it.

Yeah, I'm sticking with the '75 buyback for now.

1981 Topps #248 - Joey McLaughlin

Our second 1981 Topps buyback of the post, though the first was a prior resident of the binder whereas here we have a new challenger.  Joey McLaughlin was a regular out of the pen for the Blue Jays in the four seasons between 1980 and 1983, appearing in 189 games for Toronto across those four years.

Unfortunately for Joey he gets matched up against a sweet vintage manager buyback.  I got this buyback from the great Mark Hoyle!

That was an easy call.

1988 Topps #362 - Juan Castillo

If you've read this far I give you credit, it hasn't exactly been a line-up of All-Stars today.  Juan Castillo isn't going to help the situation much, as his struggled to hit the Mendoza Line in his four career MLB seasons.  There is one nice thing about this card though.  As my first #362 buyback Juan makes the binder...

...and he completes a new page!  I'd say my favorite here is the Leon Wagner in the lower left corner, although it's hard to ignore Claude Raymond and his famously unzipped fly just above that card.  This isn't the most exciting page in the binder, but hopefully I'll improve it down the road.

1990 Topps #314 - Donald Harris

I can distinctly remember this Donald Harris card from my first go-round at collecting.  I opened a ton of packs of 1990 Topps as a 9-year-old, and just assumed that Donald must have been a star.  This was before the days of the internet, baseball cable packages and all that, so as a kid at the time something as simple as that #1 Draft Pick logo in the upper right was enough to make a card seem significant.

As it turns out, Donald batted just .205 with 2 home runs, 3 doubles and 11 RBI in 82 career games.  Whoops!

Already had this Sterling Slaughter (how can you not love that name?) in slot 314.

He'll stay in place, and Donald Harris goes to the 1990 Topps buyback binder where he belongs.

1987 Topps #43 - Gene Michael

Last card for today, another manager.  I actually ran across this buyback before (in bronze foil format - this is the silver) and at the time...

...it lost out to this 1990 Dante Bichette buyback.  With the passage of time, and the fact that I'm working on a dedicated 1990 Topps buyback set as well now, my feelings have changed.

I'm going to insert Gene Michael into the franken-set, and bump Bichette to the 1990 Topps set.

That was a pretty rough grouping outside of the Arrieta RC if you ask me.  The good news is that I completed a new page, and added a few new cards to my 1990 buyback binder as well.  In case you couldn't tell, today's buybacks came from a random lot I picked up online sight unseen.  When you've accumulated as many of these things as I have now you're going to have some duds I guess.

I promise I'll make the next installment of this project much more interesting.  Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy your Sunday!

Franken-set Progress: 623/792 (78%)
1990 Topps Buyback Set: 89/792 (11%)
"Rejected" Buybacks: 498
Total Buybacks in Collection: 1,210