Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Heritage

I have this love / hate relationship with Heritage baseball. It's akin to a Jeckyll / Hyde scenario. There's that sweet feeling of opening packs, looking at cards, sorting them, building the set.
Then there's the harsh reality of needless short prints, stupid gimmicks, and questionable parallels and inserts.

Topps has nailed the card stock with Heritage. They should do away with that plasticky, glossy crap that they use on the base set and use this. Can you imagine the bliss?
But too many collectors want that, so Topps will never do it.

Since I already started building the flagship set, and I still haven't finished any other Heritage sets, combined with my ambivalence of the '66 set itself, I was going to forgo starting this year's Heritage offering.
Still, I had to buy a few packs, right?

There was a box open on the shelf at the last trade night at one of my local shops. They opened two packs, and pulled the shiny purple parallels in each pack. Hot box! Wooo!!!!

Um. No.

They then pulled the box off the shelf for store use and opened another box for pack sales.

wow.

Not cool.

Moving on.....

Out of the new box, I took the top three packs. They felt good. Clean. Crisp. Gently tearing open the first pack of this new box there is this smiling back at me.

One last hurrah.

Maybe I will chase this set, but I doubt it. At least, not for awhile. I can't find many trade partners for flagship, so I figure Heritage would be doubly tough.
Besides, what card can I pull that will be better than this?

2015 Topps Baseball - EDIT

2015 Topps baseball Series 1

Just a place to put things for now... when my scanner and I settle our differences, I'll have lots of pretty pictures and plenty of things to say...

Anybody have a hammer?

List is updated as of 04/11/15  Anybody else want to swap?

Needs...
#'s 33, 113, 152, 312,

I have a few doubles as well if anyone needs..
4, 6, 10, 16, 20, 28, 36, 39, 41, 45, 45, 55, 58, 66, 67, 70, 76, 76, 78, 80, 83, 86, 86, 90, 97, 99, 100, 100, 104, 106, 110, 112, 116, 125, 125, 127, 127, 129, 133, 135, 136, 139, 139, 139, 144, 144, 146, 151, 157, 158, 158, 161, 161, 163, 163, 163, 165, 174, 175, 176, 177, 180, 185, 185, 188, 188, 192, 192, 194, 202, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 212, 212, 213, 216, 221, 229, 229, 230, 230, 239, 239, 240, 242, 242, 243, 247, 247, 249, 250, 252, 253, 254, 256, 256, 257, 259, 260, 263, 263, 265, 265, 265, 268, 269, 272, 273, 275, 285, 285, 285, 286, 289, 292, 298, 300, 301, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 313, 316, 316, 320, 323, 323, 324, 327, 327, 330, 331, 331, 335, 339, 340, 341, 343, 343, 345, 347, 347

2014 Topps Heritage Baseball

I've completely lost my 2013 Heritage... and my mind...


2014 Topps Heritage Baseball

1, 13, 20, 22, 28, 33, 34, 47, 58, 61, 89, 107, 117, 119, 126, 127, 135, 136, 138, 145, 148, 152, 154, 156, 171, 175, 179, 185, 205, 210, 211, 219, 224, 228, 231, 241, 242, 247, 260, 266, 278, 288, 298, 299, 344, 354, 355, 356, 359, 363, 375, 377, 394, 403, 407, 415, 426, 427, 430, 431, 432, 433, 434, 435, 436, 438, 439, 441, 442, 443, 445, 446, 447, 448, 449, 450, 451, 452, 453, 454, 455, 456, 457, 458, 459, 461, 462, 463, 464, 465, 466, 467, 468, 469, 470, 471, 472, 473, 476, 477, 479, 481, 483, 484, 485, 486, 487, 488, 489, 490, 491, 492, 493, 494, 496, 497, 498, 499, 500

2012 Topps Heritage Baseball

wow.. this one turned ugly fast... I hope I have another stack somewhere...


2012 Topps Heritage Baseball

2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 34, 35, 36, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 46, 49, 51, 52, 54, 57, 59, 61, 64, 66, 70, 71, 72, 73, 75, 77, 80, 82, 85, 87, 88, 89, 90, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 103, 107, 108, 109, 111, 112, 113, 114, 118, 120, 121, 123, 124, 127, 128, 130, 134, 135, 136, 138, 139, 140, 141, 144, 146, 147, 148, 149, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 159, 161, 162, 167, 168, 170, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 182, 187, 188, 189, 190, 192, 194, 200, 201, 203, 205, 208, 209, 210, 212, 213, 215, 219, 221, 227, 228, 229, 230, 232, 234, 235, 237, 238, 239, 240, 242, 243, 246, 251, 252, 258, 259, 260, 262, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 274, 275, 276, 280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 286, 289, 290, 291, 295, 296, 298, 300, 301, 302, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308, 310, 311, 313, 315, 316, 317, 320, 322, 323, 325, 326, 327, 330, 331, 333, 334, 338, 341, 342, 344, 345, 346, 347, 351, 355, 356, 358, 359, 363, 364, 365, 366, 369, 370, 372, 378, 379, 380, 381, 382, 383, 386, 387, 389, 391, 393, 394, 399, 402, 404, 406, 407, 409, 410, 411, 413, 415, 416, 417, 418, 421, 422, 423, 424, 425, ------------------------- 500

Apparently I don't have a single SP... I think I have to go digging again....

Checklists

C1, C2

2013 Topps Gypsy Queen

posted for posterity... that and to get my ass in gear on organizing this bloody mess.




2013 Gypsy Queen Base

7, 14, 15, 19, 28, 32, 62, 76, 81, 85, 87, 92, 97, 99, 103, 111, 114, 122, 124, 126, 131, 137, 150, 162, 177, 181, 183, 187, 189, 198, 204, 208, 213, 215, 221, 239, 248, 271, 277, 288, 295, 302, 304, 307, 309, 310, 318, 330, 334, 340, 346, 350

Collisions

CP-CF, CP-JB, CP-MM, CP-YM

Dealing Aces

DA-CC, DA-CK, DA-CL, DA-CS, DA-DB, DA-JV, DA-JW, DA-RH, DA-SS, DA-YD

Glove Stories

GS-BH, GS-CC, GS-DJ, GS-MT

No Hitters

NH-CH, NH-JW, NH-SK

Sliding Stars

SS-AJO, SS-BH, SS-CG, SS-DJ, SS-JM, SS-PF, SS-RH

Found a bargain? Or more landfill?

Our first local trade night of 2015 happened last night. It was a pretty good time. Bought some stuff, had some decent arguments about everything sports, and generally misbehaved for almost four hours.

Of the pile of stuff I came home with... two items were rather unusual. Well, unusual for around here.

Topps baseball factory sets.

Yep, in the heart of Hockey Town, I bought two Topps baseball factory sets.

2006.
and 2007.

No, we're not talking about vintage here. Or even close. But for $5 apiece, I caved.

The 2006 set is 659 cards... missing #297.

I wonder if Olbermann will lend me one.....

And of course 2007 with 661 cards.
I must admit, I put the original 2007 factory set that I had intended to purchase back on the shelf in favour of this one.

This one came with some "Rookie variation cards" AND a game used Barry Bonds card.
It's always good to have a relic card of a Hall of Famer.

What? Too soon?

Anyways, this card has a piece of base touched by Barry during one of his home run trots in 2007.

This version also cost me $10.

I'm thinking I should've gone for the regular $5 version.....

Now the big question is... do I keep them like this? Or crack 'em open?

The climax! (Giggity)

Let`s finish this thing off and put it out of it`s misery. Gint-A-Cuffs VI, the last packs.

Pack seventeen
+2 Fernandez
+3 Ericson
+1 Klosterman
+2 Holi
Chacin
Cuddyer
Jackson
Cole
Total +8

Pack eighteen
+1 Crime Dog
+1 Andrelton
+12 Straily
+3 Kermit
+2 Wainwright SP
Santana
Price
Total 19

Pack nineteen
+2 Segura
+1 Bulldog
+1 J-Hey
+5 Molina A&G back
+2 Dead Presidents
Hamilton
Raines
Fisk
Total 11

Pack twenty
+2 Cody
+2 Butler
-1 Beltran Yankee
Crawford
Ramirez
Seager
Ryness
Young
Total 3

Pack twenty one
+1 F&*k!n Sheik
+2 Griffey
+2 Kershaw
+2 Brussels
+3 Stuart
Frazier
Portnoy
Newhauser
Total 10

Pack twenty two
+2 Vizquel
+4 Maddux Black
+2 P-40
Tulowitzki
Riezo
Schmidt
Snider
Total 8

Pack twenty three
+2 Kemp
+6 Freddie!!!
+2 Osprey
-1 Soriano Yankee
-1 Mattingly Yankee (BOO!!! DOUBLE WHAMMY)
Segura
Rice
Cueto
Jenkins
Total 8

Pack twenty four
+2 Alonso
+1 Heyward
+2 Hamels
Davidson
Pujols
Lasorda
Okrent
Total 5

The commish wanted us to post a pic of our favourite card for bonus points... so here it is.

A Tim Raines mini in an Expos uni. I didn`t get any points for it, but I damn well should`ve It`s beautiful.So after a quick double check, including bonus points, we`re at 217 pts. No idea if that`s good or not. We`ll see I guess. Good luck to everyone else.

 

The middle child...

Well round one was a smashing success. A couple of people even read it apparently. Let's keep up the momentum with the next eight packs in random order...


Pack nine
+2 Anderson
+8 Blogger (Really?)
+2 Peralta SP (no scan)
Castro
Stanton
Braun
Todd
Total +12

A relic card of a blogger? Really?
I just sent in a package of various clothing items to Topps.
The sweat pants I was wearing for my first post. The stained t-shirt I wore during the Bipping of 2012. Socks from the 2010 World Cup all nighter... look for me in your favourite Topps products in 2015.
No autographs, please.

Pack ten
+1 Aaron
+2 Ryu
+2 Utley
+2 Bowler
+2 Maris Past time, -1 Yankee
Ryan
Clancy
Jennings
Total 8pts

Pack eleven
+2 Alvarez
+2 Gyorko
+5 Freddie!
Bogaerts
Snider
Dawson
Williams
Skaggs
Total +9

Pack twelve
+2 Stanton
+3 Griffey
+2 Athens
Harvey
Archer
Myers
Burroughs
Schefter
Total +7

Pack thirteen
+2 Mussina -1 Yankee
+1 Gattis
+8 Bruce
Dell
Choo
Dawson
Ripken Jr
Total +10

Pack fourteen
+4 Howard
+3 Kitty
+2 Olt
-1 Jeter
Santiago
Lake
McCutchen
Piazza
Total 8

Pack fifteen
+5 Utley
+2 Killebrew
-1 Gehrig
Cingrani
Stargell
Garciaparra
Gilligan
Rollins
Total 6pts

Pack sixteen
+1 Spahn
+2 Craig SP
+2 Biggio
Frazier
Ortiz
Raines
Robinson
Clemente
Total 5 pts

part three might be up tonight... if not, it'll be tomorrow morning.

Is it that time already?

Well, actually, it's waaaay past that time. It's Gint-A-Cuffs time. I've been waiting on the commish to make a couple of scoring rules. That finally happened, and then I fell asleep. Figuratively. For like a week or two.
Oops.
So here we go. With no fan fare or frills, may I present to the world, Gint-A-Cuffs VI. (I think)

Box topper...

mine was a pack of five red bordered minis /33 These are a case hit. (a rip off from Gypsy Queen)

 four points each plus a +1 for Upton = 21pts

Pack one? (these are out of order... but it'll all wash in the end)
+2  Altuve
+3 Sasquatch
+2 Festivals
Trumbo
Rosario
Romero
Uehara
Avila
Total +7

 Pack two
+2 Gray
+3 Clancy
+1 Mathews
-1 Hernandez Yankee
Verlander
Hosmer
Kaline
Gibson
Total +5

Pack three
+2 Pig
+2 Garcia
+2 Shea Stadium
Kershaw
Gyorko
Harper
Sullivan
Schoop
Total +6

 

Pack four

 

+??? not listed no numbered A&G back Hellen Keller mini
+2 Newsworthy
-1 Gardiner Yankee
Flores
Miller
Hernandez
Lambo
Guerrero

no idea on the total... (turns out it's +6 for no number and +2 for A&G)
Total 9 pts

Pack five
+2 Verlander
+3 Goldschmidt
+2 Taipei
-1 Rancic
Salazar
Scherzer
Paxton
Zito
Total +6

Pack six
+1 Gattis
+2 Ryu
+1 Murphy
+2 Jerusalem
Masterson
Sandberg
Abreu
Rizzo
Total +6

Pack seven
+2 Donaldson
+2 Molina
+2 Darvish
+3 Wolf
Fernandez
Cano
Cepeda
Williams
Total +9

Pack eight
 +2 Strawberry SP (forgot to scan)
+1 Teheran
+3 James Whistler
+1 Deion
-1 Snoop Lion. Snoop Lion???
Smith
Robles
Corbin
Total +6

more to come soon.....

Let's hear it for 1991 Score baseball!

Who knew that a junk wax set would create so much interest? I guess maybe people are tiring of the $200-$400 per pack high end same old crappola.

or they're looking for a place to dump '91 Score.

Either way there's hope for humanity after all.

After a few emails, and some cards I found in the wrong box, here is my updated need list.

#'s 452, 457, 507, 559, 565, 577, 606, 629, 631, 636, 649, 686, 714, 719, 722, 738, 739, 841,

Quite an improvement. But, still a long way to go.

Yay team!

to celebrate, here's 1991's Miss Surfboard ... or something.

You can't even make a phone call for that anymore...

.25 cents. You can't get much for .25 cents anymore. Not even a phone call. IF you can find a payphone that is.

But I found something I wanted, and yes, it only cost me .25 cents.

 

At a card show, one of the regular sellers brough a big box filled with small sets from the late '80s and early '90s. Mostly hockey. Stuff that really no one wants, but everyone had at one time when they were sure it was part of a well thought out retirement plan.

 

You know what I'm talking about.

1991 Score Young Superstars set.

1990 Classic set

1991 Upper Deck Hi number set.

1991 The Tuxedo set.

 

You get the drift. Nothing worth grabbing. In fact, it might be better if it was burnt for warmth.

 

But at the very bottom, tucked in a corner, was this beauty. Still in it's original package.

 1992 Kellogg's 3-D All Star set. 10 cards, sealed for freshness.

How much is this package of goodness? .25 cents was the answer. And just like that, it was mine.

My buddy Brett asked me, "Are you going to open it?"

Hell yeah! It's mine now... not going anywhere.

Now I'll share it with you. Aren't you lucky? Of course you are. It's why you come here.

According to my up to date and highly accurate 2009 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards, this is the highly sought after Canadian version. What are the odds?

Like a lot of Kellogg's cards, they're oddball sized at 2 1/2" x 2 5/16"

 being the Canuck version, you of course have bilingual backs.

 The American version had only English backs naturally.

 Also, the Canadian cards were found in boxes of Frosted Flakes...

 while the U.S. cards were distributed in boxes of Corn Flakes.

 So you can tell the difference in the sets from the front, and back.

 Schmidt seems to be the most valuble card in the set...

 I was hoping to find a Brave inside, and I did!

 Quisenberry was on the front of the package...

 ... and Schmidt was on the back.

 Pretty decent player selection, but not who I expected in a 1992 set.

Pops seems a great way to end off in a Post dedicated to Cereal cards.

See what I did there? Post cereal? Pops? As in Corn Pops?

2006 Fleer Greats of the Game

One of the card shops here in town has wax specials on their trade night. It's a random assortment of boxes, marked down to yummy low prices.

 

I picked up a box of (if you didn't bother reading the title...) 2006 Fleer Greats of the Game baseball for $20.

 

I could've bought a 2010-11 SPx baseball for $20, a 2011 UD Football for $20, a 2011-12 Parkhurst Champions Hockey box for $30.... and there was another hockey from this year..... but my memory of it eludes me.

 

No matter. You're here for the baseball.

 

One thing, I cracked the box in the store and then foolishly threw away the wrappers and the box. So I have no idea how many cards per pack etc.... but if you know how to work the interwebs, I'm sure you or your 5 year old will be able to find it.

 

The basecards are kinda cool. They give off an oldtimey feel which is what this set is about.

 I meant to show off a couple of base cards featuring players from different eras but screwed the pooch and scanned Will Clark after I had scanned the Crimedog. Oh well.

 The backs are simple, but simple is good. Lotsa stats. Something I like to see with any set, but especially when featuring older retired players.
(BTW, Whitey wasn't injured or in the minors for those missing years kids. Google 'Korean War' to find out more)

 Of course every set needs a pointless parallel. This is no exception. Instead of green borders, we get a pewter border. But at least you get to see a base card with a guy from the '50's. Ever heard of him?

 A few insert sets to chase as well.... Decade Greats featuring the '50's, '60's, '70's and '80's.... Here's Lefty to demonstrate.

 A few teams get to show off some of their Greats. Detroit, St Louis, New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago and Cincinnati. The Bird is the Word.

 Finally, you get 4 hits in each box. Two relic and two autos. I did okay....

Bruce Sutter of the Cubs.

 Yogi Bear's game used bat.

 an Eric Davis auto

 and an auto from the 'Nickname' insert set... Burt Happy Hooton.

A pretty fun break for $20.

and yes, all cards are up for swap. Although I believe the Berra and Hooton may be spoken for already....