Thursday, March 25, 2010

2010 Heritage Blaster Break (and a little rant)

Since we're all but 2 cards shy of completing Topps' base set, it's time to pick up something new and since Topps is the only "official" supplier now, there aren't alot of options. Opening Day and Heritage are it. So, we picked up a blaster of Heritage. Overall, I like the set though it is quite plain compared to last year. It does a good job of mimicking the '61 set in colors and photography, but there isn't a lot of action. There is too much of something else, though which I will get to a little later in my mini rant. First up let's check out the packs.

Pack 1. We aren't gonna build this set, so most of the cards are available for trade unless otherwise noted. No one we collect in this pack, though I kinda like Rajai Davis for some reason so I think I'll keep it. Ozzie looks so peaceful, doesn't he?

Pack 2. Nobie wants the Zambrano and Han-Ram/Longo, not to be confused with Ham the Chimp.

Pack 3. That's more like it. 4 of the 8 are players we collect - CC, Russ, Prince and Matsui. I don't like photos with no caps though. Zach wants you to see that's his ball, not yours!

Pack 4. We'll keep Miguel and the Diamond Corners. Topps added a Pirates jersey to Aki, they should have given him a cap as well.

Pack 5. Nothin' for us here.

Pack 6. Alexei is one of my guys but not much else. Arroyo is a short print, don't forget, rant coming soon.

Pack 7. Hit of the box is a Volquez gray jersey. I like the card design but not a guy we careabout. Anyone want to trade for someone we do?

Pack 8. That's it, the end of the box. Sanchez is another short print and that is the topic of my mini rant.

Why does there have to be short prints at all? Isn't that what insert sets are for? One of the cards I want from this set is Kurt Suzuki. I collect all his cards I can and while he is a good player, he is far from a superstar. But guess what, short print. Since we aren't building this set we won't buy much of it which means I'll have to go some other route for Kurt. If I'm not able to trade for him, I'll have to buy which currently means between $4 - 6 including shipping from most online retailers. I can get a Pujols and many other SUPERSTARS for a quarter. How does that make any sense? Base sets should be just that. BASE. All cards printed in the same quantity, equally easy to obtain. What random formula does Topps use to decide who is gonna be a short print? I don't get it. Oh well, like I said, mini rant. Later.

10 comments:

  1. Jeez, I've never seen so many Reds in a single blaster! I'm jealous!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'll see if I have any thing to trade you for your Red Sox and that Grienke. That pose is awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've seen a lot of posts on 2010 Heritage and the vast majority say they're not collecting the set. Is anyone collecting it? I think people are really starting to turn on Heritage because of the short-printing. Topps should start re-thinking this because they're starting to lose people with this set.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I agree about the short printing, that was what the inserts were supposed to be for.

    Also, I would take Mets, Matthewson, and Smoltz off your hands. I'll email you in a second with some stuff I have that you might be interested in.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Short printing is for the apes. It used to be the only think that separated us...but now? Now I just don't know.

    ReplyDelete
  6. My son and I decided (Ok, I decided) that we were going to get the base set and forget the SPs.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am hunting chromes(updated list is on my blog), If you need base or sps I broke a box this month, and would love to help you build for a chrome or two...holler.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I think the prevalence of "no cap" cards is to mimic the 1961 set as well; the Twins for instance were brand new that year after the move to MN, and all but the later cards were head shots with no caps when they could finally get pics with the TC

    http://twinscards.com/viewcardscategorydetail.php?catnum=4652

    ReplyDelete
  9. you're dead right about the sp's. and i could do without the three 15 card '61 chase insert sets as well. i subscribe to the old school concept of inserts as one a pack and something that represents a well-designed departure from a card. like dayf may have been hinting at, the stamps should have been included at this ratio.

    ReplyDelete