Frankenset Redux, Page 7: Numbers 55-63

Page #7 (Numbers 55-63):

Completion Status: 9/9

Numbers Needed: None.

The Players

1978 Topps #55 Mitchell Page 

A first-ballot member of the Funny Face Hall of Fame.

1992 Topps Kids #56 Bip Roberts

Happy Bip. 

1994 UD All-Time Heroes #57 Jerry Coleman

A thrilling old-time double dip. 

1999 Topps Gallery #58 Rusty Greer

Two things you don't see much these days: eyeblack and guys named "Rusty." 

1994 Score Rookie/Traded #RT-59 Tony Pena 

Is that Leslie Nielsen behind the plate?

1998 Pacific #60 Dave Martinez

Now those are throwbacks. 

1997 Upper Deck #61 Mark Lewis

Turning two in spring training.

1998 Upper Deck #62 Chris Snopek

Long live the multiple exposure! 

1994 Collector's Choice #63 Ryan Bowen

Classic sac-bunt form from the pitcher.

Stats

Cards By Decade:

1970's -- 1 (Running total: 6)

1990's -- 8 (Running total: 34)

Mini-collection Hits:

Double Dips -- 2 (Running total: 11)

Throwbacks -- 1 (Running total: 6)

Pitchers at the Plate -- 1 (Running total: 2)

Multiple-Exposure -- 1 (Running total: 1)

Best Cameo

Have to give it to that emphatic ump.

This Magic Moment

On June 16, 1997, the Cubs and White Sox faced off for their first-ever regular season matchup thanks to some new fad called Interleague Play.

Both clubs wore 1906 throwback jerseys to honor the only other time the two teams had played one another -- which was nearly a century earlier when the Sox upset the 116-win Cubs in the 1906 World Series. This fantastic image of Dave Martinez was taken by the good people at Pacific to commemorate the historic interleague contest.

The Cubs got revenge (however minor) for that bitter Fall Classic defeat 91 years prior, defeating the White Sox on that June afternoon at Comiskey, 8-3.

Kick Out the Jams

I dare you not to be happy looking at this card.

 Lessons in Card Backs

A new nugget of baseball trivia for the ol' brain box...

Q: Who threw the first shutout in Marlins' history?

A: Ryan Bowen.

Best of the Rest

2009 Upper Deck OPC #63 Emilio Bonifacio

Green grass, scattered equipment, sunflower seed buckets, bystanders in cargo shorts, tractors...this is spring training at its finest (except for maybe the cargo shorts part).

Toughest Draw

1995 Collector's Choice #55 Sid Bream

The Mitchell Page is a classic piece of '70s ephemera, but it can't take down one of the most famous plays at the plate in baseball history and arguably the defining moment of a generation.

Second Guessing

1997 Upper Deck #59 Walt Weiss

Horizontal double dips always make for beautiful specimens (see: Walt Weiss, 1991 Topps), but considering I own well over 1,000 different double play cards, perhaps I should've gone for the unique catcher-ump combo on Tony Pena's 1994 Score Traded issue.

Favorite Card

While this week's page was utterly dominated by the '90s -- eight of the nine featured frankensetters came from the decade -- it's the lone non-'90s card that remains my favorite.

Mitchell Page quickly faded into obscurity following his Rookie Cup-worthy 1977 season, but he'll always have this famous baseball card to his name, one that will surely be treasured and adored by generations of collectors to come.

Another frankenset page in the books.

Thanks for reading!