1st Impressions: 2013 Topps Heritage

The preview for 2013 Topps Heritage Baseball I wrote for Sports Collectors Daily is probably the best such preview I've ever written for them. 

SRSLY, go read it.

A Vote of No Confidence

They're not a sponsor of this website, nor are they paying me to mention this, and no I'm not getting a cut of the sales.

But right now, you can buy a Hobby box of 2012 Topps Heritage for $46.95 (plus shipping, handling, and appropriate sales taxes) at Dave & Adams.  That's less than two bucks per pack.

Let that sink in for a moment.  

I can never, ever, recall Hobby boxes of Heritage selling for less than $50 -- and keep in mind, this was a product that was released less than four months ago.


Of course, there is a good reason for this.  With all the variations, gimmicks, retailer-exclusive parallels, and meaningless "value added" content, Heritage has become a uncollectible bloated mess -- yet another "marathon" product that most collectors know they'll never be able to fully collect.  So why even bother starting?

The $46.95 Heritage Hobby box is an indictment against the current product development regime at Topps.  The Hobby has spoken with their wallets.  But are they listening?

UPDATE:  Blowout has matched D&A's $46.95 price.  Not surprising if you ask me.

The Target "H" Loosey Myth: BUSTED

Ten more "special" packs of 2011 Heritage.

4 SPs...

2 inserts...

1 Chrome parallel of Brad Lidge...

...and three packs with nine base cards.

Oh well.

OBTW: 01849.

More Loaded 2011 Target "H" Looseys.

The Loaded Target "H" Loosey Conspiracy.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER: Chris Harris is NOT a pack searcher; he just plays one on YouTube.

If you want to know what the "secret" is, there are ways to figure it out.

Stale Gum LIVE! Three boxes of 2011 Topps Heritage Hobby

On-Location Blaster Break: 2011 Topps Heritage.

What the hell, it was only 100 miles away.

On-Location Blaster Break: 2010 Topps Heritage

They still don't have any Panini World Cup stickers. So, you have to make-do with what they have.

Stale Gum $ell$ Out

Yeah, I know, I know. But if you saw that card, with an $8 price tag, don't tell me you wouldn't have bought it either!

Video Box Break and Review: 2010 Topps Heritage

One Hobby box of 2010 Topps Heritage (paid $85)
24 packs per box, eight cards per pack

Part One



Part Two



The Pulls

Box Toppers

1 Buy-Back (1:2 boxes): R. Hansen
1 Stamp Page (1:2 boxes): D'Backs

Base Set: 169 of 501 (33.73%)

short-set 161 of 425 (37.88%)
Short Prints: 8 of 76 (10.53%)

Variations

1 Dice Game (18 cards, 1:72) V. Guerrero

Parallels

5 Chrome (100 cards, 1:5, numbered to 1961): B. Posey, J. Lackey, A. Jones, R. Romero, E. Longoria
2 Chrome Refractors (100 cards, 1:18, numbered to 561): R. Ibanez, L. Berkman

Inserts

6 Ruth Chase '61 (15 cards, 1:4)
2 New Age Performers (15 cards, 1:15): T. Hanson, M. Cabrera
2 Then & Now (10 cards, 1:15) Kaline/Mauer, Ford/F. Hernandez
2 Baseball Flashbacks (10 cards, 1:12): R. Maris, F. Robinson
2 News Flashbacks (10 cards, 1:12) A couple of spaceships

Autogamers

1 Clubhouse Collection (1:29) R. Baldelli

Product Rating: 4 1/2 Gumsticks

2010 Topps HeritageTwitter Break

At 8PM ET this evening, I will be live-Tweeting a 2010 Heritage box break. You can join in on the fun here:
http://twitter.com/stalegum

Be there!

Card-Ola: 2009 Topps Heritage High Numbers

One box of 2009 Topps Heritage High Numbers (supplied by Topps)
24 packs per box, six Topps Heritage and two Topps Updates & Highlights cards per pack

Part One



Part Two





The Pulls

Chiptoppers

1 Buy Back: B. Grim
1 Promo Sheet: Green/Redding/Carroll

Base Set: 125 of 220 (56.82%)

short set: 117 of 185 (63.24%)
Short-Prints (1:3): 8 of 35 (22.86%)

Parallels

10 Chrome (100 cards, 1:3, numbered to 1960): J. Marquis, M. Diaz, D.Aardsma, C. Guzman, R. Garko, J. Francoeur, M. LaPorta, J. Hariston, Jr., N. Morgan, D. Holland
1 Black-Bordered Refractor (100 cards, 1:102, numbered to 60): P. Burrell

Inserts

72 Updates and Highlights Base Set (330 cards, two-per-pack)
2 2009 Flashback (10 cards, 1:12): R. Johnson, Ichiro
2 Rookie Performers (15 cards, 1:12): T. Hanson, G. Beckham
2 Then & Now (10 cards, 1:12): Banks/Rollins, B. Robinson/Wright

Autogamers

1 Clubhouse Collection Dual Relic (1:2020, numbered to 60) Lincecum/Marichal

The Review

The second year of "Topps Heritage High Number Series Presented by 2009 Topps Baseball Updates & Highlights" (yes, that's this product's official name), is much like the first year. The set contains 220 cards, 35 of which short-printed which represent the same 15% proportion that is seen in Topps' other retro-themed sets (i.e. Heritage, A&G). The insert program repeats last year's ("Then & Now" and "2009 Flashbacks," and "Rookie Performers"), but for some reason the Then & Now inserts are numbered as a new ten-card set and not a continuation of the Then & Nows from the first series. Very confusing if you're trying to build a set. In addition, you get a autograph or a gamer in each box.

Each waxpack has two base cards from the Updates & Highlights set. Many of you may not know this -- and I was made privy to this information recently -- but the reason there are two TU&H cards per pack is so to get around the MLBPA's product quota. If this product did not have U&H cards, it would count as a distinct product, and it would count as one of Topps' 17 baseball card products. However, this set is technically considered a re-release of Updates & Highlights, so it doesn't count.

The Bottom Line

Can't really complain about this box. Everything fell as promised including the inserts, parallels, and hits.

The big "hits" were a Pat Burrell Black Refractor (numbered to 60) and a Clubhouse Collection double jersey of Tim Lincecum and Juan Marichal (also numbered to 60).

Product Rating: 4 Gumsticks.

Hoooo Boy.

UPDATE: Did someone say something about the White Sox?



Does anyone even care anymore?

Cardola: 2009 Topps Heritage Hobby

Editors note: Stale Gum will be on vacation in Florida for the next week. So, here's something to tide you over.

Insulting Our Collective Intelligence, One Gimmick at a Time.

The sad thing is, someone at Topps has convinced himself that collectors actually want these gimmicks.

Seriously, Who Cares Anymore?

It's like they're not even trying.

(h/t topps-heritage.com)

Video Box Break and Review: 2008 Topps Baseball Updates & Highlights Presents 2008 Topps Heritage High Number Series Hobby

One Hobby box of 2008 Topps Heritage High Numbers (paid $65)
24 packs per box; six Heritage and two Updates & Highlights cards per pack

Part One


Part Two


The Pulls

Chiptoppers
1 Advertising Strip (one per box): D. Navarro/J. Crede/R. Ludwick
1 Buy-Back (1:2 boxes): S. Bilko

Base Set
Heritage High Numbers: 106 of 220 (48.18%)
Five Doubles

Short Set: 97 of 185 (52.43%)
Short Prints (1:3): 9 of 35

Updates & Highlights: 48 of 330 (14.55%)

Variations
15 Black Backs

Parallels
8 Chrome (100 cards, 1:3, numbered to 1959) K. Wood, J. Soria, E. Longoria, J. Cueto, A. J. Pierzynski, D. Span, E. Aybar, M. Gonzalez
2 Chrome Refractors (100 cards, 1:11, numbered to 559) J. Wright, R. Barajas

Inserts
2 Rookie Performers (15 cards, 1:12) M. Aviles, M. Scherzer
2 Then & Now (Ten cards, 1:12) L. Sherry/M. Lowell, L. Aparicio/O. Cabrera
2 Flashbacks (Ten cards, 1:12) KosFu, C. Delgado

Autogamers*
1 Clubhouse Collection: C. Granderson

*Odds of finding an autograph or a gamer: 1:24

The Review

The one thing I always thought was missing from the Heritage brand was an update. Think about it. Imagine if the 2001 set had an Update with RCs of Albert Pujols and Ichiro? So it's great that Topps has finally gotten around to issuing "2008 Topps Baseball Updates & Highlights Presents 2008 Topps Heritage High Number Series" -- and yes, that's the full name.

The set contains 220 cards, and like most Update sets is heavily weighted towards rookies (KosFu, Jay Bruce, Evan Longoria, and the like). 35 of the cards are short-printed, and has become par-for-the-course for Heritage, it's up to you the collector to figure out which ones are SPed. There are also another 35 black-backed variations, and Chrome parallels for your collecting pleasure. Inserts include another batch of "Then & Nows" and "Flashbacks," and a 15-card "Rookie Performers" which replace the "New Age Performers." In addition, you get a autograph or a gamer in each box.

Each waxpack has two cards from the Updates & Highlights set. All of these cards are base cards. (Yay.)

The Bottom Line

The box yielded about half the base set, and each pack had either a black-back or an SP. All the inserts, including the Chromes, were as promised.

The big "hits" were an Evan Longoria Chrome and a Curtis Granderson game used pants card. (Although I'd hate to know what part of the pants it came from.)

Product Rating: 4 Gumsticks.

UPDATED!!!! 1st Impressions: Various Topps Late-Season Products

UPDATED!!!!

Updates & Highlights

The sell sheets for TU&H have been posted for a while on this one. There are the usual inserts, and one-per-box autogamers. But the selling point is, of course, the 330-card base set.

A certain player who should have been card #645 in series two, is listed on the checklist as card #UH1. Then again, this is Topps, and given their track record this year I wouldn't put it past Topps to find a way to gimmick this up as well.

Stadium Club Retail

2008 Stadium Club is starting to look a lot like last year's Ultra SE after all, as Topps will release a stripped down version for retail. That the good news. The bad news: I finally figured out what's actually in Stadium Club.

Of the 150 cards in the base set, 50 are gimmicked "rookies" each numbered to only 1499 copies. If that's not bad enough, while each Hobby five-card pack will have a base rookie, retail has a "Retail Exclusive Rookie First Day Issue Parallel Card." So, are we supposed to believe that the base set rookies are Hobby-exclusive and the retail (read: the version for the rest of us) is stuck with a one-per-pack parallel?

That would royally suck.

Topps Heritage High Numbers

UPDATE:

Base Set: 220 cards (numbered 501-720). 45 cards are of rookies, 35 will be short-printed -- no odds stated.

Each pack will have two cards from the Topps Updates & Highlights set -- therefore giving you an excuse NOT to buy TU&H.

Inserts: 15 Rookie Performers, 10 Then & Now, 10 2008 Flashbacks.

Two Chrome/Refractors per waxbox.

One Autogamer per waxbox.

Street Date: Oct. 13

Video Box Break and Review: 2008 Topps Heritage (Hobby)

Part one...




Part two...


The Pulls

Paid $69

Chiptopper: 1 J. Pierre, B. Molina, D. Murphy Advertising Panel

Base Set: 154 of 500 (30.8%)

short set: 146 of 425
Short Prints: 8 of 75 (1:3)

Black Backs: 25 (one-per-pack)

Parallels:
3 Chromes: T. Hunter, R. Oswalt, J. Francis (1:8, numbered to 1959)
1 Chrome Refractor: E. Byrnes (1:29, numbered to 559)

Inserts:
2 New Age Performers: D. Wright, J. Peavy (1:15)
2 Then & Now: E. Mathews & A-Rod, D. Drysdale & J. Peavy (1:15)
1 Baseball Flashbacks: O. Cepeda (1:12)
2 News Flashbacks: Dalai Lama, Hawaii (1:12)

Autogamers:
1 Clubhouse Collection: T. Hunter jersey (1:24)

Video Box Break and Review: 2008 Topps Heritage Target Blaster

We interrupt this Fleer tribute to present a video Blaster box break of 2008 Topps Heritage.

Seven packs + one "Bonus Pack" per box; eight cards per pack. (Paid $19.97 + tax)



Base Set: 46 of 500

short set: 43 of 425
Short Prints: 3 of 75 (1:3) K. Gregg; Snell, Capps, Maholm, Gorzelany; Verlander All-Star

Variations
7 Black Backs: B. Lidge, P. LoDuca, B. Penny, C-L Hu RC, M. Cameron, A. Lind, R. Ankiel

Parallels
1 Chrome: J.J. Putz (1:15, numbered to 1959)

Inserts
1 New Age Performer: Ichiro (1:15)
1 Then & Now: Aparicio & Reyes (1:15)
4 T-205: C-H Hu, R. Howard, V. Guerrero, W. Balentien

Autogamers
NONE