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...
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.
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!
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.
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.
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
3 comments:
I might have gone with the Trevino personally just because of the sort-of action shot. It looks like he just caught a foul pop up.
Building a Topps Traded Frankenset would be sweet. Although... Steve Sax and Pete Rose might give Bip a run for his money if you ever stumbled across their Traded buybacks.
Hope you're having a great Thanksgiving!