The Great Griffey Frankenset: Page 7

Welcome to The Great Griffey Frankenset!

 

If you're not familiar with the idea of a Frankenset, it is a customized set of cards properly sequenced by card number that all tie into a connecting theme. Some Frankenset themes include whole teams, mini-collections, and even just generally great cards or photos. This is the first Frankenset I'm aware of that is made up of just one player: Ken Griffey, Jr., the man of a million cards. I took the liberty of including things like inserts, parallels, cameos, and oddballs for the sake of variety and because it's just more fun that way. Enjoy!

Here is page 7 of the Great Griffey Frankenset:

Completeness of page: 9/9
 

Completeness of the Frankenset so far: 100% (63/63)

Team distribution so far: Mariners: 50/63 (79%), Reds 12/63 (19%), White Sox: 1/63 (2%)

 

Cards not listed in Beckett Magazine: 3/9 (25/63 total, 40%)

Approximate retail value of this page: $76.25 ($1593.75 running total)

 

Page 7 notes: Another great cross-section of cards from all over the spectrum of Griffeyness. We have issues from 1989 all the way to Junior's final year in 2010. This page includes everything from base cards to parallels, subsets, inserts, oddballs, throwbacks, three great die-cuts, and even a 1 of 1 (probably the only one in the Frankenset). A nice sampling of Griffey cardboard.

Page 7 selections:
 

55. 1993 Upper Deck #55 Pacific Sock Exchange (w/ Jay Buhner & Kevin Mitchell)

Not a cameo - more like a multi-player special issue from one of the greatest base sets of the 90's. Named for a famously massive trade, this is very much a "what could have been" card even when it was issued in '93. Injuries for both Junior and Mitchell as well as Mitchell's trade to the Reds not long after this photo was taken combined to make this card a little anti-climatic. Plus we all know it's weird seeing Kevin Mitchell in a Mariners jersey.

56. 2002 Upper Deck Honor Roll #56

A beautifully-designed subset from Upper Deck. OK, look - I'm totally against beating a dead horse. There are only so many times you can bring up some awesome feat a particular player has accomplished before it's like, "OK, we get it - they hit back-to-back home runs as father and son." But even with all the cards that herald that feat, I'm not sick of it. That shit is a dream. Well played, baseball card. You do you.

57. 2002 Upper Deck Ovation #57 Silver

This year of Ovation was all about embossed cards draped in greenish-blue for all players and all teams. It was a color combo that suited Mariners a lot better. When you add in the subset that featured even more Junior Cincy cards, that made for several greenish-blue cards featuring Junior in a Reds uniform. This silver parallel is a nice respite from the weird color combos that dominate this base set.

58. 1997 Donruss Jay Buhner #58 Press Proof Gold /500 (cameo)

A fairly rare parallel of a parallel of a cameo. A thrice-removed Griffey card that is still more awesome than some of the other cards on this very page.

59. 2007 SPx #59

One of the wackiest SPx base designs, but also a favorite. Huge die-cut X's were everywhere in the late-2000's, and at 15 corners this is one of the binder-unfriendliest cards I own. Still, it's damn cool.

60. 1998 Upper Deck UD3 #60 (Technology FX60, Subset PC30) Die Cut #/2000

A very confusing, multi-faceted base set. There are several different Griffey cards available, but I'm never quite sure which version I'm looking at because they're all so similar. The card numbering is just as confusing and includes three different numbers: set, subset, and "technology" along with die-cut versions. The set number for this one is 60, and that's good enough to get it a spot on this page.

61. 2008 SPx Ken Griffey Jr American Hero #KG61 Box Score 1/1

 

Okay, so cards on the table: there are more than one #KG61 Box Score 1 of 1's, each with a different box score embedded in the card. I've read that there are about 18 different box scores made for each of the 100 cards in this set. That makes 1800 1 of 1's available - kinda goes against the spirit of a 1 of 1, I know. On top of that, of the 1800 box scores they put into these cards, this may be the worst of them all. Just look at it. On May 30th of 1999, Tamba Bay hung 15 runs on the Mariners and Griffey went for 1-for-2. Jesus - why are you telling me this?!? It may as well say "5-30-1999: Some days Junior sucks. This was one of them." This box score belongs out of my face and onto a Devil Rays card.

Still, while it's not as "1 of 1" as some other cards and the box score is a huge downer, I love the stylized "1 of 1" stamped into the card front. That kind of makes up for everything.

62. 2010 Bowman 1992 Bowman Throwback #BT62

I'm a big fan of this 2010 tribute to the iconic '92 Bowman set, especially given that Junior was back in Seattle at this time. You've got to admit it looks completely legit. A well-executed throwback.

 

63. 1989 Baseball Cards Magazine Rookie Stars of 1989 #63
 

Here's a throwback for the ages. 1960 Topps included a subset called "The Sporting News Rookie Stars of 1959" with this very same design. Then in 1989, Baseball Cards Magazine created this uber-faithful cut-out, replacing The Sporting News with their own name and even keeping the same font. Well done, guys. Sure, it was most likely made for older collectors already familiar with the iconic Topps rookie cards, but it's also one of my favorite oddballs ever.

Here's the back of page 7:

 

Thanks for reading, and look for page 8 next Friday!