2018 Topps Heritage High Number Baseball Hobby Box Break & Review

Holy smokes!  What a box!  This is by far the best Heritage High Number Baseball box that I’ve opened!!!

The original 1969 Topps Baseball set brings two cards to my mind.  The first is Reggie Jackson’s rookie card #260.  Coming in second would be Mickey Mantle’s final card as an active player #500.  Given that its a vintage set, non-rookies of popular players in mint condition can fetch quite the price.  Its definitely worth a look if you’re wanting to put together a vintage set.

Between Heritage, Heritage High Number, and Heritage Minor League Baseball, collectors have gotten their fill of the 1969 Topps Baseball design this year.  In 2019, the 1970 design will be used.  Its going to be interesting how they handle 1971 with all of those black borders.

2018 Topps Heritage High Number picks up right where the regular Heritage set left off.  It consists of (225) cards (#501-#725).  The last (25) cards (#701-#725) are short prints and fall 1:3 packs.  The main set has four parallels – Black Border (50 copies, hobby), 100th Anniversary (25 copies), Magenta Backs (10 copies), Flip Stock (5 copies, hobby).  Of those four, the Flip Stock would be the one that could easily be skipped over.  I pulled one of these in the past and almost missed it.  When it comes to these, the fronts are rough with the backs being smooth.

(50) players have Chrome cards.  Parallels include Hot Box Refractors, Refractors #’ed/569, Black Refractors #’ed/69, Gold Refractors #’ed/5, and Superfractors #’ed 1/1.  (50) players also have mini parallels #’ed/100.

You wouldn’t be wrong to make the observation that many products today feature photo variations.  The ones found in the Heritage lines seem to garner the most attention.  CMP codes can help.

• Base – #575
• Short Prints – #585
• Nickname – #601
• Team Color Swap – #600
• Action – #599
• Throwback – #598
• Error – #597
• Trade – #477

The folks at Topps made it even easier to spot these variations without having to look at the CMP codes.  Beneath the card number it will state what type of variation it is.  That helps a bunch.

Every hobby box comes with (1) relic or autograph.  For the most part, you’re going to pull a Clubhouse Collection Relic.  At least that’s what I’m use to pulling.  I’ve always appreciated the high-end autographs and patches that come out of this product.  I think it has a lot to do with the retro designs and on-card signatures.  Gotta love that Wendy’s Founder Dave Thomas has a cut signature in here.  Wendy’s was founded in 1969.

Here is what I pulled:

Auto

• Shohei Ohtani Real One RC Auto

Parallel

• Daniel Palka RC Black Border

Photo Variation

• Matt Kemp Action

Short Prints

• Jake Arrieta
• Lewis Brinson
• Yonder Alonso
• Alex Cobb
• Randal Grichuk
• Arodys Vizcaino
• Eric Hosmer
• Stephen Piscotty

Inserts

• Shohei Ohtani/Mike Trout Combo Cards
• Nolan Ryan Miracle Of ’69
• Reggie Jackson Highlights 1967
• Shohei Ohtani 1969 Deckle Edge
• Christian Yelich 1969 Deckle Edge
• Joey Lucchesi Rookie Performers
• Amed Rosario Rookie Performers
• Shohei Ohtani Rookie Performers
• Bryce Harper Now & Then
• Didi Gregorius Now & Then
• James Paxton Now & Then
• George Springer Award Winners
• Aaron Judge Award Winners
• Jose Altuve Award Winners
• Shohei Ohtani 1969 Bazooka Baseball Extra Ad Panel Box Topper #7

Notable Rookies

• Shohei Ohtani
• Juan Soto
• Gleyber Torres
• Ronald Acuña Jr.

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Card of the Day: Asdrubal Cabrera 2012 Topps Heritage #435

Card of the Day: Joe Mauer 2002 Bowman Heritage Auto

Card of the Day: Adam Morgan 2012 Topps Heritage Minors #128

Astros ’18 Topps Heritage Relic Contest Winner Announced

Congrats to Nick m on being the lucky winner of the Carlos Correa 2018 Topps Heritage Clubhouse Collection Jersey.  Once Nick m sends me his mailing address, I will ship this card ASAP.  Thanks!

Astros ’18 Topps Heritage Relic Contest! – NOW CLOSED

This contest is for a Carlos Correa 2018 Topps Heritage Clubhouse Collection Jersey.  Good luck!!!

Contest Details:

• This contest will end Friday, March 16, 2018 @ 8:00 p.m. EST.
• To enter, please leave a comment in this post.
• You can enter once per day.
• The winner will be selected at random.
• Please provide a valid e-mail address when entering.
• The winner will receive an e-mail when the contest is over.
• The winner has one week to send me their contact information or the contest will be held again.
• Once the contest is over, I will need the winner’s mailing address so I can ship them this card for FREE!!!

2018 Topps Heritage Baseball Box Break & Review

The year was 1969.  Mickey Mantle decided to call it quits.  A guy who would one day be known as Mr. October was just getting started.  Professional baseball celebrated it’s 100th anniversary.  Mankind first landed on the moon too (or did they).  A lot was going on, much like what you’ll find inside a box of 2018 Topps Heritage Baseball.

2018 is the year that Topps Heritage receives the 1969 Topps Baseball treatment.  At least when it comes to it’s design.  I can’t wait to see what happens in two years when the 1971 Topps Baseball design is on the chopping block.  Those solid black borders should make things fun.

Topps Heritage seems to always have something for everyone.  It doesn’t matter if you’re a set collector or someone picking up high-end singles on the secondary market.  I really appreciate the high-end cards that come out of products like this.  They just look so good.

2018 Topps Heritage consists of (500) cards.  #1-#400 are base while #401-#500 are short prints.  There are six parallels – 100th Anniversary #’ed/25, Black Border #’ed/50, Flip Stock #’ed/5, Magenta Back #’ed/25, Minis #’ed/100, and Chrome.  The Chrome parallels come in a variety of colors such as Base #’ed/999, Refractor #’ed/569, Purple, Black #’ed/69, Gold #’ed/5, and Superfractor #’ed/1.

The heart and soul of today’s Heritage sets are the variations.  Some can jump right out at you while others take a little more time to identify.  You simply cannot rip open a box and quickly breeze through the cards.  By doing that you could easily miss what could be your pull of a lifetime.  I find the best way to identify variations is to flip over every card and check the tiny CMP code.  When it comes to 2018 Topps Heritage, if that code ends in a number other than #65 you’ve found something worth looking into.

CMP Code List:

• Base – #65
• Base Short Print – #85
• Nickname – #04
• RC Cup Year Error – #03
• Team Color Swap – #02
• Action Image – #01
• Throwback – #00
• Traded – #99
• Error – #98

Real One Autographs continue to be a favorite of mine.  They’re simple and easy on the eyes.  Red Ink versions #’ed/69 are especially fun when pulled.

The original 1969 Topps Baseball set contains lots of great vintage cards.  But one stands above them all, and that would be the Reggie Jackson RC #260.  Topps got Mr. October to sign (10) original rookies and inserted them into Heritage this year.  Given that there are only ten copies, not everyone will find one.  Very cool though.

Before the Brewers ended up in Milwaukee, they played their initial season in Seattle as the Pilots in 1969.  The Pilots only lasted for one season.  Merchandise from the Pilots in some cases is highly sought after.  To celebrate their 50th anniversary, Topps was able to get (15) guys from that team to sign autographs for Heritage.  Its been a long time since we’ve seen new Pilots cards.  One of the autographs is that of Jim Bouton, who went on to help create Big League Chew bubble gum.

Collectors are ripping into boxes looking for rookies of Shohei Ohtani.  He has two Real One Autographs – Base and Red Ink #’ed/69.  These are his first MLB autographs.  Ohtani lacks a base rookie, but is an Action Image variation for card #17.  Most #17 cards have Zach Davies, but some have Ohtani.

Here is what I pulled:

Relic

• Carlos Correa Clubhouse Collection Jersey

Parallels

• Gary Sanchez Chrome #’ed/999
• Cody Bellinger Chrome Refractor #’ed/569
• Kole Calhoun Black Border #’ed/50

Short Prints

• Alcides Escobar #445
• Drew Pomeranz #404
• Victor Martinez #427
• Garrett Richards #452
• Kelvin Herrera #409
• Chase Anderson #432
• Bruce Maxwell #495
• Kenley Jansen #424

Inserts

• Jedd Gyorko/Eric Hosmer/Andrew Cashner – Mike Trout – 1969 Topps Bazooka Ad Panel – #2
• News Flashbacks 1969 – The Beatles’ Abbey Road Album Released #3
• Lou Brock/Dee Gordon Then & Now #11
• Ozzie Albies RC 1969 Topps Deckle Edge #11
• Andrew Benintendi 1969 Topps Deckle Edge #17
• Baseball Flashbacks 1969 – Jim Palmer
• Baseball Flashbacks 1969 – Juan Marichal
• Joey Votto New Age Performers #13
• Mike Trout New Age Performers #2