With all this mini collecting over the years, I've accumlated a vast assortment of "unwanted" minis. It's not that I don't like them... it's more that they don't fit in any specific collection, so they get set aside.
Today I attempt to change this!
I'm going to be putting together a Frankenset of black bordered Ginter minis with a few rules:
- As is typical of a Frankenset, I must include a single card of every number (1-350 in this case).
- No card subject can be repeated.
- The most "iconic" mini will always make the binder ahead of another mini.
- I will attempt to keep each year of Allen & Ginter represented at least somewhat fairly.
This idea originally started coming together after my case break from last year. In 2014, I pulled a black bordered Bryce Harper rookie card and last year I pulled a black bordered Kris Bryant rookie card. I figured that these cards were the definition of "iconic" (not to mention a bit pricey), so I wanted to do something with them to show them off.
I spent the past month creating a spreadsheet of Ginter checklists over the last 11 years and slowly eliminated cards until now.
I need your help. I'm at an impass. 337 of the 350 potential mini slots are accounted for. These last 13 have yet to be decided.
Statue of Liberty vs. Steve Carlton
Will Clark vs. Orlando Cepeda
Javy Lopez vs. Jack the Ripper vs. Colin Cowherd
Mario Andretti vs. Albert Einstein vs. Rollie Fingers
Alexei Ramirez vs. Garrett Richards
I know those aren't black minis (trying to find pictures of all the black minis would be tough), but they are the base card counterparts. If you have any kind of opinion on the above "matchups," throw your thoughts in the comments. I'll probably listen to you. :)
Lastly, below is a list of Allen & Ginter card #326 throughout all 11 years of its existance. I'm completely at a loss as to what to do with this slot. None of these cards seem iconic to me. So we're doing a poll... over there --->
Go vote on your favorite card #326. I'm curious as to which subject will win. Here's the pictures in case that sways your vote. Thanks for your help!
Alex Rios
Adam Kennedy
Cameron Maybin
Aaron Rowand
Jason Castro
Logan Morrison
Ruben Tejada
Mike Olt
Mitch Moreland
Peter O'Brien
My love of non-baseball (and thus Ginter) is going to shine through, but here goes:
ReplyDeleteStatue of Liberty, great card, classic design
Will Clark, sharper looking card
Jack the Ripper (Ginter needs to do more cards like this again)
Dice-K (toughest matchup for me, neither are terribly appealing)
Maroney, respect the medals
Alou, based on card design alone
Eiffel Tower, again non-baseball trumps!
PT Barnum, because what's a circus without a ringleader
Sacagawea, though a Hellicson RC isn't a bad choice
Einstein, as a math guy this was a no-brainer
Ramirez, sideways minis make me sad in a binder.
Of those, I'd say Dice-K, McKayla (just rowr), and Einstein. Maybe Cepeda too.
ReplyDeleteMy votes:
ReplyDeleteStatue of Liberty. Iconic of the country enough to appear on coinage!
Will Clark. Better photo.
Javy Lopez. Beats a murderer and somebody who murders TV goodness hands down.
Matsuzaka because he looks happy to appear on the card.
Next ones tough. Eisenhower won WWII but moroney is much better to look at. Total tossup.
Eiffel tower. If you want iconic there is little more iconic than it.
Pt Barnum. He would have loved the concept of blogging I think.
Hellickson. Because nobody knows what Sacajawea really looked like because nobody thought to ever draw her.
The next one is toughest of all. Andretti is a legend, Einstein is a legend, Rollie fingers mustache is a legend. I have to give the nod to andretti because I'm a race fan.
Richards, because action shots are rare in a & g
For 326 I voted for Castro because the bright red is unusual to see, most a & g cards are more subdued and pastel.
In order:
ReplyDeleteCarlton
Cepeda
Javy Lopez
Dice-K
McKayla Maroney
Alou
Furcal
Barnum
Hellickson
Fingers
Ramirez
I tend for baseball over all, sports over non-sports, and thought, "P.T. Barnum would have appreciated all the parallels that Topps has issued over the years."
Statue of Liberty
ReplyDeleteWill Clark
Jack the Ripper
Daisuke Matsuzaka
McKayla Maroney
Moises Alou
Eiffel Tower
PT Barnum
Sacagawea
Rollie Fingers (mostly so I have one different pick than Nachos Grande, Einstein would be a great choice)
'Sexy' Alexei Ramirez
As someone with an A&G mini set, my expert opinion:
ReplyDeleteStatue of Liberty
Cepeda over that whiny-ass Giant clown
Jack the Ripper (not a great selection there)
Matsuzaka
Maroney
Vazquez (no Giants!)
Eiffel Tower
P.T. Barnum
Sacagawea
Einstein (toughest of the bunch, skipping Fingers is brutal)
Ramirez (vertical over horizontal)
Chester A. Arthur (ballplayers here are stiffs)
I've got to go with:
ReplyDeleteStatue of Liberty
Cepeda
Jack the Ripper
Matsuzaka
Eisenhower - hey, Maroney is cute, but I'm not American so her Olympic status doesn't cut it over Eisenhower as iconic to me
Vazquez
Eiffel Tower
Barnum
Sacagawea
Fingers - really want to go Einstein, but the iconic mustache
Ramirez - agree with the vertical cards comments above
Arthur
Here is my two cents:
ReplyDeleteStatue of Liberty (Does it get any more iconic?)
Will Clark (Probably one of the better photos I've seen in A&G)
Cowherd (Just for the novelty of it, I suppose. I like Cowherd--most of the time.)
Dice-K (Not too enamored with either, so I'll go with the bigger name)
Eisenhower (He didn't come in second, and I definitely am impressed)
Furcal(Don't like the horizontal, but love the framing with the background)
Moises (One of my favorites of yesteryear, and I've got a good friend named Moises)
P.T. Barnum (such an interesting figure!)
Sacagawea (Props to an amazing person)
Einstein (Who doesn't love Einstein)
Ramirez (Again, not in love with either, but he's better than Richards and, again, I don't love the horizontal)
Liberty
ReplyDeleteCepeda
Ripper
Dice K ( I have a Dice K black double, don't know if it's the correct year for you though)
Eisenhower
Alou
Eiffel
Barnum
Sacagawea
Fingers
Rameriz Richards that's the best of all years combined? A blank may be more iconic
Arthur
-Statue of Liberty
ReplyDelete-Will Clark
-Jack The Ripper (and I say thins in all seriousness, anyone/anything but Cowherd....the man believes Babe Ruth is an overrated player)
-Dice-K
-Eisenhower
-Javy Vazquez
-Eiffel Tower
-Goodyear
-Hellickson
-Einstein
-Garrett Richards
I voted for Chester because history.
After all your feedback (thanks!) I've decided on the following:
ReplyDeleteStatue of Liberty
Will Clark
Jack the Ripper
Dice-K
Eisenhower
*undecided*
Eiffel Tower
PT Barnum
*undecided*
Einstein
I ended up pulling some strings for this last one, going with a 2013 Gary Carter instead. He was being used in another slot which I switched to Johnny Cueto.
Looks like Arthur is far and away the favorite for the last slot. Good to know. I'll still take more feedback on the last two undecided slots.
Alou vs. Vazquez
Hellickson vs. Sacagawea
I'll always remember the Alous as the guys that pee on their hands so they would be tough enough to not need batting gloves. Not sure if that helps your decision one way or another.
DeleteFor Hellickson vs Sacagawea look back at your rule #3, that should make your decision for you.