2010 Topps Heritage Baseball

Here's another Heritage blaster.

My Team in Dayf's Heritage Blaster Fantasy Baseball League

So out of the blue dayf came up with a great spin on the fantasy baseball idea. It just so happened I had busted a Heritage blaster a few days ago and hadn't sorted the cards into my set yet so it was great timing. And talk about luck, I think I got a pretty kick ass team out of it too! Here's my lineup:

2 catchers (Victor Martinez, Kelly Shopach)
1 first baseman (Adrian Gonzalez)
1 second baseman (Dustin Pedroia)
1 shortstop (Jimmy Rollins)
1 third baseman (Pablo Sandoval)
3 outfielders (Manny Ramirez, Andre Ethier, Brad Hawpe)
1 corner infielder 1B or 3B (Aramis Ramirez)
1 middle infielder 2B or SS (Troy Tulowitzki)
1 outfielder (Raul Ibanez)
1 utility any position or dh (Jacoby Ellsbury)
7 pitchers starters or relievers (Adam Wainwright, Josh Beckett, Rick Porcello, Tommy Hanson, Ross Ohlendorf, Cole Hamels, John Danks)
1 team card (Cardinals)
1 manager (Bob Geren)

I think I did pretty damn good for myself. This should kick ass!

2010 Topps Heritage Baseball

I needed to take a break from the Tournament of Gimmicks so I picked up another blaster of Heritage.

2010 Topps Heritage Baseball

Another blaster of Heritage.

2010 Topps Heritage Baseball

Video Box Break and Review

One retail blaster of 2010 Topps Heritage baseball
8 packs per box, 8 cards per pack (Paid $19.98 plus tax)

The Video

The Pulls

Base Set: 57/425 (13%)

Short Prints: 3/75 (3%)

Parallels
1 Chrome Refractor (1:59 packs) A.McCutchen 115/561

Inserts
1 News Flashback (1:12 packs) Berlin Wall
1 New Age Performers (1:15 packs) J.Mauer
1 Then and Now (1:15 packs) L.Aparicio, J.Ellsbury

The Review
Without any question the highlight of the hobby season for me is the annual release of Topps Heritage. I know that many other collectors feel the same way about Allen & Ginter but for me I can't get nearly as excited for A&G as I do every year for Heritage. I think it's because more than any other product on the market today these cards remind me of what baseball cards used to be. Yes, it would be even better if the gum wasn't wrapped, wasn't made in China, if the packs were wrapped in wax instead of plastic, if it was one series of 792 cards, if there were no inserts, no autogamers, no serial numbered chrome thingys, if they were closer to 99 cents rather than $2.50 a pack, but this is as close as we will probably get in an era where Topps is enslaved to Joe Collectors.

I am particularly pleased with this year's set. I was really worried when it came time to mimic the 1961 set because I feared Topps would be compelled to meddle with the boring design. Instead these cards are plain and simple, just like their '61 counterparts. Many collectors have complained that this design is just too plain boring but I absolutely savor it's simplicity. Topps deserves credit for remaining faithful. Better yet, the entire base set is printed on gray cardboard stock.

One thing I'm not too crazy about is that the photos have been tinkered with a tad too much in Topps' compulsive zeal to approximate 60's era cards. It seems that they've really softened the backgrounds on a lot of the photos and tried to embellish the players. Rather than look like 1961 baseball card photos they look really "touched up." But that's a minor quibble in a set that in all other respects is very pleasing to the eye.
Like always, the many subsets mimic similar ones found in the original '61 edition. One feature that I think is really neat is that the league leader cards feature old timey head shots on the front and the backs list the past fifty years of league leaders in each category. Every back is worth at least five minutes of wonderment at names you heard of and many one year wonders you haven't while you recall summers long past.

The team cards are here again but the ridiculous backs with "every player's stats against every team in the league in agate size type" are so impossible to read that Topps really should have just put something else on them. I'm guessing the '61's had something to do with this but I doubt seriously they had to list stats against 18 teams on the back.It's also a bit disappointing that with the rookie cards, Topps was forced to use that ridiculous Official Rookie Logo AND the '61 Star Rookie logo. MLB really needs to loosen up. Especially now that there is only one licensed manufacturer. On a positive note, the return of those gorgeous early sixties Topps Rookie Cups are more than a welcome sight.And did I mention that I absolutely love the MVP, All-Star, Baseball Thrills and checklist cards?With all the pluses and minuses considered I have to give Topps an overall thumbs up. I can't wait to break another blaster.

2010 Topps Heritage Baseball

Here's another rack of Heritage.

2010 Topps Heritage Baseball

My Target doesn't have blasters yet so I picked up one of these.

2010 Topps Heritage Baseball

Our long national nightmare is over. Heritage racks have hit Target and here's my first pack of the year...Hey I got an extra card! Bonus! And talk about retro I didn't pull any inserts. I can't remember the last time that's happened. As many others have noticed for some reason Topps really "softened" the photos on these, especially the backgrounds rather than "washing them out" as they have in Heritage sets of the past. I'm not sure how I feel about this. It doesn't really make them look like 1961 cards as much as it makes them look more like all the other retro sets that are clogging the market right now. But I give Topps major credit for remaining faithful to a plain but beautiful design and I absolutely love the gray cardboard backs. I can't wait to rip a blaster. Also on a side note I tried the gum and it's slightly better than last year's although that's really damning with faint praise.

2010 Heritage Retail Is Live!

We can has Heritage? Dayf says, Yes we can! I will stop by Target tommorrow...

Mail Day: 2/24/10

Made a trade with Chris from Nachos Grande and got a bunch of Heritage high numbers I needed. Thanks Chris! You can view my half of the trade here.Here's my want list for 2009 Topps Heritage High Number Series:
505,507,513,515,516,518,525,528,531,537,538,543,544,545,
547,555,557,560,565,570,571,575,577,586,587,595,596,603,
605,613,614,616,618,620,622,635,636,639,640,641,643,652,
654,656,657,659,664,671,674,675,676,680,685

Short Prints:
686,688,689,690,691,692,693,694,695,696,698,699,700,701,
702,706,707,708,710,713,714,715,717,718,720

Flashbacks:
1,2,3,5,6,10

Rookie Performers:
1,2,4,6,8,9,10,11,12,14,15

Then and Now:
1,2,3,4,6,7,9,10

email: jeffwolfe2001@yahoo.com

2010 Topps Heritage Baseball Is Live

In case you've been in a coma the last couple days, 2010 Topps Heritage is live. Here's a buncha scans. It won't be long now till we see these.

2009 Topps Heritage High Number Series

Here's another jumbo of Heritage High Numbers.

2009 Topps Heritage High Number Series

Picked up a jumbo of Heritage High Numbers.

2009 Topps Heritage High Number Series

Picked up another blaster of Heritage High Numbers.

2009 Topps Heritage High Number Series

Here's another blaster of Heritage High Numbers.

2009 Topps Heritage High Number Series

For those of you who missed it, here is the blaster of Heritage High Numbers I busted live on Blog TV yesterday. The show went fairly well, I think I had 7 viewers at one point. I will be doing some more of these in the future and work out some of the kinks. Hopefully I will see more of you guys at the next one.

2009 Topps Heritage High Number Series

Here's two more packs of Heritage High Numbers.

2009 Topps Heritage High Number Series

My Target finally got some Heritage high numbers in stock. Here's the first pack with more to come...

Heritage High Numbers Are Live

As you probably already knew, Heritage high number series hobby boxes are live in certain areas of the country. You can check out a break here and also the ever annoying to watch ye olde Beckett video break starring your boy Chris Olds down below. For your convenience I've posted much more informative and entertaining breaks by Tom the Ripper and Chris Harris as well. Hopefully blasters will begin popping up in the next few weeks.

2009 Topps American Heritage Heroes Edition

Video Box Break and Review

1 retail blaster of 2009 Topps American Heritage Heroes Edition
8 packs per box, 8 cards per pack (Paid $19.99 plus tax)

The Video



The Pulls

Base set: 46/125 (37%)

Short Prints: 2/25 (8%)

Parallels
1 Base Card Chrome (1:8 packs, 125 cards) Mother Jones (927/1776)

Inserts

4 Medal of Honor Winners (1:4 packs, 50 cards)
Thompson, Kelly, Madison, Day

2 Presidential Medal of Freedom Winners (1:4 packs, 25 cards)
Mother Teresa, Arnie

2 Heroes of Sport (1:4 packs, 25 cards)
Mathewson, Magic

2 Heroes of Spaceflight (1:6 packs, 28 cards)
Liberty Bell 7, Gemini V

1 A Hero's Journey (1:8 packs, 15 cards)
Rising Star Emerges in Debates

Hits
1 American Heroism Relic Group B (1:140 packs) World War II Captain's Uniform

The Review
First off, I gotta say that I think the folks at Topps struck gold with the American Heritage concept and it seems to be the gift that keeps on giving. The only problem I can see is if Topps starts using the same designs over and over (1961) or overexposing the same subjects (Abraham Lincoln). As many have already noted, these cards are perfect for young students or anyone who is a history buff. Now for a few quibbles. The one thing I find maddening about this set, and really any Heritage product, is that sorting these cards by number is excruciatingly painful. Not just because of the different backs but because many of the backs are upside down from the card fronts. Considering this is a set-builder's product, that's a big problem. However, as set-building sets go these days, this one is nearly a dream come true. The set is small and easy to complete (a blaster yields over a third of a set!) The inserts are relevant, well done, small in number and collectible. Thankfully we get only a chrome parallel for people who are into those. The relics are actually enticing and meaningful (I was quite pleased with the WWII uniform I pulled). The only complaints I have is the over redundancy of Lincoln cards. Do we really need or want a short print subset of 25 Lincoln/Obama cards that are virtually identical? Or, for that matter, 15 Hero's Journey Lincoln insert cards that are also all extremely similar? But those are small problems in a set that otherwise is fun and easy to collect. I have to give Topps an A for this effort and I look forward to the next American Heritage issue.