by popular request.....

at the April trade night, the owner of the shop called me over and handed me this.

 

As most of us know, these box toppers from 2013 Heritage are a wee see-through. For the box he opened for pack sales, he saved this for me for being "the resident Braves guy".

 

Oooohhh..... who could it be? I flipped over to the back, and could see a partial number. 50?

I could only see the first two digits. Could it be #500?? Topps puts stars on those even numbers! Could it be Hank Aaron?!?! Was Hank #500?!??!

 

Open it!!!

 

No.

 

It was not #500.

 

It was not Hank Aaron.

 

It was.....

 

 

A very beat up Bobby Bragan. Card #506
This baby is warped, has a few creases, and has no idea what the word 'corner' means. It's almost oval.

HOWEVER.

I happen to need this card for my Braves team set. So it will fit nicely in my binder until a replacement without that gold shield comes along.

And I think..... card #506 was card #1 of the sixth series of seven in 1964. So it's kind of a high number. Someone may no better... let me know.

Either way, it's ALWAYS a good day to add a '64 Brave to the old collection.
Thanks Darren!

Probably my only Heritage post...

Ahhh... Topps Heritage. The one set every year that sends collectors off on a rant... either good or bad. Love it or hate it.
The love of retro, the hatred of thin, shiny cardstock. The love of set building, the hatred of needless short prints and gimmicks.

I could argue and debate until the cows come home. (usually around dusk, depending on the weather) but instead, today, we'll just talk about cards. (with one, minor exception.) Focus on the positives!

At trade night last Thursday, the card shop owner called me over as he wanted help busting a box of this year's Heritage. He knew I was pretty much the only one there out of the 25-30 people that would appreciate it.
So I grabbed a few packs and tore in.

And I have to say, other that a few poorly chosen photos.... it looks like a fun set to build and put in pages.

Will I?

Maybe... but later on. I can't right now... tight budgets you know.

A few cards were thrown my way for "helping."

A brand new Adam LaRoche for my rather large LaRoche collection. I've ignored it over the last couple of years and I feel bad about it.

The Braves starting SS, Andrelton Simmons.

Michael Bourn shows his displeasure after finding out no one would sign him because of the 1st round pick compensation rule.... Cleveland finally caved.

The best pitcher in all of baseball early last year until his elbow fell off, Brandon Beachy.

The best pitcher in all of baseball in the 2nd half, Kris Medlen. 11-1  1.57 ERA. Yes please.

Kris Medlen hot box!

There was also a couple of Braves purple refractors and a Tim Hudson relic, but those were kept towards his master set that he's building. Hopefully he gets dupes.

I also bought a pack out of a fresh box. I won't bore you (too late) with all of the cards... but I will show you two.

First, this card of Red Sox thirdbaseman Will Middlebrooks.

What in the hell is that??? What a horrible airbrushing job. And why? Will Middlebrooks plays for the Red Sox. Will Middlebrooks has only ever played for the Red Sox. Will Middlebrooks has never played for anyone other than the Red Sox.
Sooooo.... they airbrushed out a Red Sox uni and hat, and replaced it with a Red Sox uni and hat?

Whatever. Stay positive. Right?

How about this for positive?

Boo yeah!

Regular blue ink autos fall once every 5 boxes.... no idea what the odds are on these red ink autos /64. But I pulled one.

Now if I can only trade it for a Brave.