Frankenset Redux, Page 8: Numbers 64-72

Page #8 (Numbers 64-72):

Completion Status: 9/9

Numbers Needed: None.

The Players

2015 Stadium Club #64 Brett Gardner

I think the reason(s) I love these "at the wall" shots so much are the fans' faces. 

1994 Leaf #65 Jose Lind

Talk about a perfectly timed photo: look at the laces on that baseball.

1993 SP #66 John Jaha

John Jaha, seen here sitting on the quad during his days as a college hipster. 

2013 Topps Opening Day #67 Marco Scutaro

Double dipping with funny cars in the background. 

1995 Stadium Club Virtual Reality #68 Wilson Alvarez

Wilson Alvarez pictured in (what I assume is) his native Venezuela. 

1999 Just #69 Chin-Feng Chen

A rare crossover mini-collection hit, with both my "anthemic" and "cards with kids" themes represented. 

1993 Stadium Club #70 Casey Candaele

Taking flight while turning two. 

1995 Upper Deck Minors #71 Ryan McGuire

There's something highly postmodern about photographs of people taking photographs. 

1973 Topps #72 Ron Reed

Crooked photo, wicked follow-through: the off-kilter nature of this shot is so quintessentially '73 Topps.

Stats

Cards By Decade:

1970's -- 1 (Running total: 7)

1990's -- 6 (Running total: 40)

2010's -- 2 (Running total: 15)

Mini-collection Hits:

Double Dips -- 3 (Running total: 14)

At the Wall -- 1 (Running total: 6)

Cards with Kids -- 1 (Running total: 4)

Anthemic -- 1 (Running total: 1)

Behind the Camera -- 1 (Running total: 1)

Best Cameo

I'll go with the young fan taking the field for the San Bernadino Stampede(?) here.

This Magic Moment

Marco Scutaro wasn't yet a Giant during the team's lone regular-season homestand against the Reds in 2012, so it seems likely that this double dip comes from that year's Giants-Reds NLDS.

Specifically, I'm almost confident in pinpointing this moment to Game 2 of the 2012 NLDS -- played on October 7, 2012 -- when Joey Votto's 5th-inning single was negated by a ground-ball double play by the next batter, Ryan Ludwick.

Though the Reds pounded the Giants that night, 9-0, San Francisco would get the last laugh, winning the NLDS in five games on their way to their second World Series crown in three years.

Kick Out the Jams

I'd say about 95 percent of my Spanish vocabulary is made up of the lyrics to "La Bamba" (the other five percent are mostly curse words).

Lessons in Card Backs

Once again, '73 Topps proves educational: longtime pitcher Ron Reed did indeed play two seasons with the NBA's Detroit Pistons, averaging eight points a game as a power forward before committing to baseball full-time in 1968.

Best of the Rest

2015 Topps Update #US-72 Brett Gardner AS

A terrific post-ASG high-five shot (despite the ugly-as-sin pillbox caps), and a fitting one considering this year's Midsummer Classic took place earlier this week.

Toughest Draw

 1984 Fleer #67 Rudy Law

While the Scutaro is a fantastic postseason double dip, Rudy Law maintains his stranglehold on the #67 slot in my inaugural frankenset...in no small part because I'm scared Law might personally come to my house and strangle me if I replaced him.

Second Guessing

1998 Collector's Choice #72 Eduardo Perez

The Perez has a lot going for it: it's a terrific multiple-exposure shot from the nostalgia-inducing days of Collector's Choice.

But I sometimes wonder if '73 Topps is like that freakishly tall and/or strong kid most of us played against in Little League, the kid who'd have to hold something back in order to not completely destroy us mortals. Am I easing back on the '73 Topps -- a set that could almost be a frankenset unto itself -- in order to give other cards a fair shot?

Perhaps so, perhaps not, but Eduardo Perez gets the #72 slot in my inaugural frankenset.

Favorite Card

For now, Ron Reed will have to live with being my favorite from this week's Frankenset Redux group of nine, the second straight week in which the lone '70s card of the page has earned the crown.

That's another frankenset page in the books.

Thanks for reading!

(P.S. -- In honor of National Give Something Away Day, the first person to leave a comment on this post (US only, sorry) with their favorite card from this week's page will receive a little something special from me.)