The Great Griffey Frankenset: Page 18

Welcome to Page 18 of the Great Griffey Frankenset! I know it's been a while...

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 18 of the Great Griffey Frankenset:

Completeness of page: 9/9

Completeness of the Frankenset so far: 100% (162/162)

Team distribution so far: Mariners: 113/162 (70%), Reds: 45/162 (28%), White Sox: 2/162 (1%), No team indicated: 2/162 (1%)

Approximate retail value of this page: We are going to stop this bit. It's been years since last I posted one of these pages, and in that time Griffey prices have risen exponentially. Even in the last few weeks we've begun seeing massive increases. It's silly to even try to keep up at this point.

Page 18 Notes: Soooooo how you guys been? It's been over fifty months since we got a Frankenset page. My excuse is now four years old, and we are expecting another little bundle of excuse pretty much any day now. I am happy to report that we filled a hole a while back when 2018 DOnruss Optic released a Griffey card numbered 141. I've since gone back and updated the Frankenset, and we are back up to 100% card number saturation. It won't hold forever, though.

Page 18:

154. 2006 Fleer Tradition #154

This was my favorite of Upper Deck's spin on Fleer Tradition base cards. Nice and colorful, great use of a team cap in place of a standard logo, and it's just original enough to not be a direct rip-off of vintage Topps.

155. 2014 Panini Prizm #155 Camo

Down here in South Louisiana we see just about everything draped in camo at some point. I have a neighbor with "Team Realtree" tattooed across the rear windshield of his truck (just above the Yeti sticker). I miss the simpler days of Calvin pissing on another truck brand's logo. When did rednecks become such logo sluts? Was it Nascar? Anyway, sweet parallel.

156. 1990 Upper Deck #156

The Drew Hall card from this set always has me looking for (and missing) a big mouthful of braces.

157. 2000 Upper Deck MVP #157 Silver Script

Not a lot of base-running shots in this here Frankenset. Silver Script is cool, but it's no Silver Signature a la Collector's Choice.

158. 2003 Victory #158 Laying it on the Line

One of MANY failed baseball card gaming sets. They still count, dammit.

159. 2000 Victory #159

That photo gives us several of the most desirable Griffey photo tropes. Backwards cap + focus tongue + Home Run Derby + Mariners card after he had already been traded to the Reds? Fine, I like you, 2000 Victory #159

160. 2009 Topps Heritage Chrome High Number Series #CHR160 #/1960

1960 Topps is flat-out my favorite card design of the 60's. I wish Heritage would include retired player short prints or inserts - something. I just don't have a good reason to buy Heritage packs. I mean, who actually collects Mike Trout? No one I know.

161. 2008 Upper Deck Timeline #161 1994 UD All-Time Heroes

For a LONG time the White Sox had the same number of cards in the Frankenset as "Team Not Indicated." And I actively search for Griffey White Sox cards. There just aren't a ton.

162. 2002 Upper Deck UD Authentics #162 (1989 design) Reverse Negative

I had the regular version in this spot for a long time, but since I originally put the checklist together I acquired this fairly scarce reverse negative SP. This one is definitely better.

Here is the back of Page 18:

Thanks for reading, and look out for Page 19 in Summer, 2024!