2019 Topps Heritage Sorta Whatever...

Anticipation of the salute to 1970 Topps had been around my mind for years. While I'm likely in a distinct minority, I've always really liked the design of Topps baseball offering of 1970. Although, I don't have many 1970 Topps cards. Even fewer that aren't Twins, Expos or Seattle Pilots.


I'd planned on buying a hobby box as soon as I could (weather permitting), and surprisingly found no retail at the usual suspects, before I was able to go to my LCS.


The box topper was a gold foil stamped original 1970 Topps (common) card. It even gets it's own wrapper! Cool, but could you not stamp the card for me? Maybe supply a gold foil stamp sticker that I could apply if I wanted to?


I'm sure Lew Krausse's bicep would agree...


Let's get to tearing into the rest of the box!


This is one of the 24 wrappers that once held unsearched 2019 Topps Heritage cards. For a wrapper, it did it's job...


I like carrying through the idea of the first card in the set honoring the World Series Champions. As far as what I can say about that card honoring the Red Sox...

Well, I'm glad the grey borders of 2019 Heritage don't moire when scanned as 1970 Topps does...


Though it is kinda cool to get a card commemorating the 18 inning Series game... That I didn't watch and semi-regret not watching... Problem being I just didn't want to watch either team win.

As mentioned, I don't have many 1970 Topps in my collection. But the few I do have show a much more diverse selection of posed photos than Topps had been using in years prior. Sure, there are far too many picture of players just standing there, but 1970 featured more interesting background stuff...

Like batting cages!


Big fan of this Frank Quilici card, with several teammates gathered around the cage on a Spring Training field. Though, I'm wondering who that half a guy in shorts and sandals is...


The fields look a lot nicer 49 years later... And the batting cage seems sturdier... It's good to see Topps put in some effort to add some retro to the retro.


There were no Blue Jays in 1970 Topps, as there would be no Blue Jays in Major League Baseball for seven more years. However, this card looks like it could have been from 1970. With the batting pose in front of the Spring Training stadium seats. Nothing special, but I really liked this card.


Longer names in that script font just look cool to me!

Between the hobby box and the small retail haul picked up from Targets, I put together a pretty decent selection of Colorado Rockies. Three of which happened to be part of the League Leader subset. Now I have to be on the lookout for the rest of the team set...


2 out of 4 represent Colorado... I like that ratio!


It's better than 2 out of 5... Unfortunately this card reminds me of bad times in the Rockies 2018 Postseason run. They picked off the Cubs in a nail biter, but were spanked by the Brewers in what I would call a mild upset.


It's a rare feat to find a Colorado Rockies pitcher ranked amongst the league leaders in a positive category. Goes to show what a great 2018 season Kyle Freeland had.


Seriously, what's David looking at?


Best beard and mullet in baseball!


The greatest news of this offseason was the Rockies signing Nolan Arenado to an 8 year contract extension. Hopefully ensuring Arenado will play his entire career as a Rockie. If I can ever find enough time to put it all together, I'm working on a "Top Whatever" post of my Nolan Arenado collection. Mainly because I've sorely neglected covering the Rockies on Four Baggers. An Arenado post should remedy that!

Somewhat...


You need to repeat last years' success...


And you need to live up to your potential... 

(As nearly every teacher I ever had, once said to me in school. Brought to mind by the recent re-acquisition of my fifth grade report card... Thanks Mr. Rux!)


Rather uninspired pose there Iannetta...

1970 Topps featured a lot of catchers posing as actual catchers. Some with the gear on, most without. But at least they were trying to look catcherish. Standing with a mitt? Would it have killed you to squat down? Saving your knees for the long season at altitude?


Looking at that Arenado All Star card, then comparing it to an actual All Star card from 1970 Topps, shows an impressive eye for detail. Even the headline on the fake newspaper is the same! Topps did a great job on these cards.


Although American League is now italicized for some reason... And the em dash is thicker...

But who cares?


A pretty common pitcher pose. But Topps let me down by neglecting the most common pitcher pose from 1970 Topps, which I'll get to later...


Not a pose, and one of the few non-short printed game shots in the set. I really liked this photo.


Nearly every Red Sox player was photographed in front of the garden department. 

With all the packs I picked up, I found a good supply of multi-player Rookie Stars. 


Including the Blue Jays tag team of Rowdy and Reese. Rowdy needs to have a long productive career in Toronto, just because his name is Rowdy.


These are another great copy of the 1970 design...


Eventually if the Marlins continue stocking up on players no one has ever heard of, they may escape last place!


Norwood and Underwood... Clearly an intentional pairing... But why does James look so guilty?


I watched a game pitched by Kopech last Summer, before he tore his UCL and had to have Tommy John surgery. He will miss the entire 2019 season. Which sucks, he looks to have a lot of potential. With all the young talent they stockpiled in the last couple of years, the White Sox could be scary down the road.


If you want to throw a 2 seamer like Jesse Biddle does, hold the ball like this...


The piece of cat fur connecting Cespedes' last name and the word outfield is courtesy of Gracie. Not yet another short printed variant in the set...


Seems like Prado has been a Marlin for about 30 years now... Yet he never plays in a game...


Nice! A fake catcher pose in the home and garden section! Not nearly enough of this in 2019 Heritage. Hopefully Vazquez is very agile in catching balls thrown to his left, otherwise a wild pitch could roll for days. Or just get stuck in the shrubbery.


Look at how much better 1970 did this... They included a batting cage!

In the packs I opened, I got more Rockies than Twins. A lot of that can be chalked up to the three League Leaders cards, starring Arenado, Story and Freeland. No 2018 Twins led the league in any category beyond disappointment, so I have to hold out for more base cards.

And this was the one I wanted the most! 


Few people outside of even the most dedicated Twins fans know anything about Willians Astudillo. Listed as a catcher, Astudillo also saw time at third base, second base, left field and first base in limited appearances for Minnesota in 2018. Even more impressive is Willians' eye at the plate. He never walks and never strikes out. He makes contact but sees very few pitches. I cant remember seeing a player quite like Astudillo, who has developed a near cult following amongst the most hardcore of Twins fans. He's had a great 2019 Spring Training, and thanks to his versatility, has a shot of making Minnesota's Opening Day Roster, which would make me very happy. I want to watch Astudillo play in the major leagues.

Gonsalves and Stewart are cool too...


Hopefully healed up from last year's concussion, I'd like to see Garver garner more playing time this year. His hitting picked up as his 2018 rookie season went on.


Goodbye Ervin. I enjoyed your stint with the Twins. Good luck with the White Sox (unless you're playing the Twins)...


The German import has slowly improved over his two full seasons in Minnesota. And the Twins thought enough of Kepler to commit $35 million over the next five seasons. Even if he doesn't fully develop, it's a very team friendly contract that should work out well for both Max and the team.


Was very happy to see this card... C.J. Cron was claimed of waivers from the Tampa Rays in November 2018, then signed to replace Joe Mauer. Cron hit more home runs last year in Tampa than Mauer hit in his last 3 seasons combined. Thank you to Topps for getting him on a Twins card right away. I didn't want to have to wait until Summer for some new Twins players on their correct cards.

Speaking of...


I was more excited to get Nelson Cruz on a Twins card from these packs than I was to see any of the "hits" I pulled from either the hobby or retail packs. Cruz pictured as a Twin was more surprising than Cron, due to the time they signed. Less than two months after signing a one year, $14.3 million contract, Cruz had his first official Minnesota Twins card. And I pulled two of them!


In addition to new Twins, 2019 Topps Heritage did a nice job with getting a bunch of players with their new teams. Weather done via Photoshoppery or emergency private photo sessions, hats off to Topps here. And if these were Photoshopped, they did a damn good job on them.


The red and white against a blue background looks nice. And I'm definitely not thinking on a patriotic level.


Just as I was finally getting used to seeing Hamels on cards as a Texas Ranger...


Leake looks like a kid in my parents neighborhood, back in the mid 1990's. He was about 6 back then. Leake looks like he's maybe 8 right now...

Let's take a look at some of the insert cards that 2019 Heritage bestowed on me.


The usual smattering of low level inserts are found in packs and boxes. You know that going in, roughly what you are going to get. Unless you're a gambler, then you can take a look at those odds to aim for some of those lottery prizes. For example, if you're chasing a Flashback Autographed Patch Card, you're staring at one in 445,999 packs. Or 1 in 18,583.29 Hobby Boxes.

Aim high!

That being said, I do always enjoy trying my hand at the Topps Canadian Skill-test Questions. 

It's 55 by the way...


The Heritage Flashbacks series is back, at 1 in 18 packs. Not a Yankee fan, but Thurman Munson cards are always cool.


News Flashbacks also fall at 1 in 18. I like these cards, you can learn a thing from them. Like that the Environmental Protection Agency was started in 1970 by Richard Nixon! And in 2019, is being deliberately sabotaged by current policy makers! Topps forgot to mention that part in the write up.


Here's a Heritage Chrome Refractor! Serial numbered and all sortsa shiny! These fall one in 101 packs, or 1 in every 5 Hobby boxes. Making it the rarest hit of the Hobby box I bought. And then it had to be a Yankee...


New Age Performers are back, at 1 in 6 packs. I've never been a fan of these Heritage insert cards. Just an excuse to put in extra cards of current young stars in the game. Instead of cutting out the photo and putting it behind a yellow oval, I'd like these a lot more if that oval was the picture.


I'm not going to draw testicles on this card...
I'm not going to draw testicles on this card...
I'm not going to draw testicles on this card...


Scratch Off Booklets fall 1 per box, and are a great take on the 1970 Topps issue.


But there are no Expos in 2019 Heritage...


My big Hobby Box hit was this Clubhouse Collection plain gray jersey swatch of Aaron Judge. 1 in 35 packs will net you one of these. And I could have not been more underwhelmed by it...

Let's go back to some more of the base cards I feel like talking about.


I still like the Topps Rookie "Bowling Trophy" on cards, a lot more than the "finger bowl" trophy Topps uses today.


Nice to see Billy Hamilton shown in his new Kansas City Royals uniform. Given the complete retooling the Reds did to their roster this offseason, I wasn't surprised they chose to move on from Hamilton. He didn't live up to their expectations over the last five years, so it was time to move on. I'll be interested to see what he does with the Royals this year, I've always liked Hamilton as a player.


There's a lot of stuff going on behind Reddick. Cages, stands, fences... And a gridiron?


Something tells me Topps just took a photo of Santana that went unused from his previous stint with Cleveland. Now with multiple trades in December, it's relevant again! It's also the best dugout picture I've seen in 2019 Heritage.


But it simply cannot hold a candle to the best dugout card in 1970 Topps...

Let's take a break and look at some other cards I picked up in addition to the Heritage Hobby box.

The way my local Hobby store is set up with a bunch of small boxes with stars and rookies, sorted by sport and team. On my last visit, a new set of boxes was put out; vintage singles from 1952 through 1970. I really should have flipped through the 1970 Topps in honor of Heritage... Next visit!

Instead, I chose to look at the mini box of 1954 Topps singles. There were only 6 cards from that set in the box, but five of which were Washington Senators. Pre-Twins! I bought all five, for between $5-$8 each. They're a little beat up, but I have very few 1954 Topps in my collection, and welcome these.






Every time I stop by, I have to check the Expos box. Over the last 9 months, I've purchased every Expos card in that box, except for one...


I already had a 1986 Leaf Andres Galarraga rookie card, and didn't necessarily need another one. But for months it has been the only Expo in the box. I told the guy I would finally buy it, in hopes that more Expos would appear in it's place.

Let's get back to 2019's version of 1970!


Another Heritage All Star in Bryce Harper. At first when I saw this card, I thought about Photoshopping a Phillies "P" on the cap. Then I changed my mind. Harper signing with Philadelphia didn't shock me.

The amount of money did

The amount of years did

A $330 million dollar total value seems like a huge amount -and it is- until you factor in it being spread over 13 years. Giving the contract and average yearly value of roughly $25.4 million per year. Far less than I expected him to command. He still gets more than Manny Machado and Giancarlo Stanton, but Harper didn't take the Phillies for everything he could get. Which will help them provide better players to support him.

My respect for Bryce harper went up after learning of his new deal.


Rendon will likely be the biggest benefactor of Harper signing with Philadelphia. Not signing Harper means Washington will have enough money to sign one of the better third baseman in baseball (NOT named Nolan Arenado).


Yolmer is all dressed up in his Sox gear, swinging a bat in a city park, with what looks like a convenience store in the background.


If you look closely, there's a parking lot just beyond the fence. And I guess that's pretty cool.

A few days after buying the Hobby box, a supply run to the local Targets lead me to some retail packs. Which was how I pretty much bought Heritage every year until this one.


I picked up two of these hanger boxes...


And three of these jumbo packs...


While Gracie ran interference as I tried to photograph them...

The retail offerings were very similar to what I got from the Hobby Box. In fact, I acquired far too many doubles and triples of base cards than I would have liked. I already have 4 copies of a few cards in the set. Which is especially irritating since I've only bought about 300 total cards out of a 500 card set.

Was really hoping the 2019 Heritage retail packs would have something new for me...

Well, there was this...


A Clubhouse Collection Gold Relic, hand numbered 66 out of 99! That's like a double 69 for all you kids out there! Too bad it's Ryan Braun, because this would be a lot better if it wasn't...


However, I'm not going to discount pulling a pretty big hit for retail, at a rate of 1 in 249 packs.

In honor of retail, these next four cards all came from those Targets retail packs. Unfortunately, I had all of them from the Hobby box...


Including Daniel Mengden and his vaudevillian mustache...


Tony Watson hanging out at some minor league park on a nice sunny day...


Neck beard or beard neck?


I Have A Pony...

(And an 80 game PED suspension!)

Of course one of the most annoying traits of Heritage is the 100 subset of short printed cards. To give the illusion of the late year "high number" series that was a long standing baseball card trademark. Now it just means that you get a lot more doubles and a lot fewer stars per pack. Because the bigger names are rarer.

Thanks, Topps...

So here's a look at all the "short printed" cards I got from the Hobby Box (1 in 3 packs). The retail packs offered no short prints. But the Braun is an acceptable replacement.


Up first, is not a short print. Yet an even rarer Black parallel! These fall at a rate of 1 in 62 packs, so they aren't overly common (1 in 3 boxes should have 1 black card). And I really like it. Black is a good color for this design.

Now for the "traditional" short prints...


Wil Myers looks like he's super-imposed into a painting of a ballpark. And what's with that building next to the batter's eye? And look happier Wil... Your new teammate, Manny Machado, may mean a THIRD place finish in the National League West!


Jose Abreu stands among the underbrush...


Javier Baez flirts with the camera...


Stephen Piscotty just wants you to look at his crotch...


Would someone care to explain the strange shadows and weird stuff hanging in the fake trees? I have no idea what Topps has going on here...


More Gracie fur on the scanner... Not a rare parallel...

In a set of short prints, there of course has to be different tiers of short prints... Six of them this year, because Topps...


This card is the most common of the shorter short prints, and "Action" variation (1 in 41 packs). Featuring such gripping action as a guy simply standing there can show.

At least Topps is decent enough to now print the name of these ridiculous gimmicks on the back, so I don't have to hurt my brain scanning the fine print on the backs of EVERY card.


Throwback!

Before I wrap this up, here's a few more 2019 Heritage...


I like Zack Grienke as a pitcher, but god he looks like such a miserable bastard in every picture I've seen of him... And that's how he holds his 4-seamer!

Now cheer up, you're filthy rich!


Robinson Cheerios looks like should be swinging a club on a golf course. I wish Topps wouldn't have blurred out the backgrounds of so many cards to this extreme. Some detail would make these cards a lot better.


However, Albert Pujols gets to practice his swing in an in-focus ballpark...


I think this would probably be named as my favorite 2019 Heritage card. Former Minnesota Twin, Denard Span, exiting the dugout of whatever Oakland has named it's ballpark this year. And thank you Topps for not blurring it out.

Still not on the level of this greatness...


While I was very satisfied with what I got from 2019 Topps Heritage, after opening the packs, I was left wondering why I didn't see many of the classic posed shots that I enjoyed in 1970 Topps...

Such as...


The mid wind-up arms over the head pose, used by pitchers both common...


And Hall of Famers...


Or the odd angled fielding pose?


Or the crouch with bats by a batting cage?


Awkward batting poses in front of the dugout? (Bonus points for a nice shot of Crosley Field on this card.)


Of course there are plenty of blank stares on repetitive head shots, because that is what baseball cards all used to be 50-60 years ago.


But why aren't the catchers posing like catchers? (Even if they're out of position?)


I'm just a big fan of Jerry McNertney's card, and this seemed like a good place to post it!

One other very important question...

Where are the team cards? 


I'd like to see the 2018 Twins sitting in front of the Target Field stands, just like the 1969 Twins posed in front of the blue plastic seats of Metropolitan Stadium...


Or the Philadelphia Phillies sitting in shallow center field of crumbling Shibe Park. Still one of my favorite cards from 1970 Topps...


Or this iconic team photo of the doomed Seattle Pilots, tucked inside woefully inadequate Sicks Stadium.

Maybe the team photo cards are coming in the high numbers set, later this year? I really hope so, but am not holding my breath...

But the most glaring omission in 2019 Topps Heritage was seeing ZERO photos of pitchers mimicking their follow through...


Twins did it...


Pilots did it...



More Twins did it...


Pirates did it...


Destroyers of lingerie did it...


Even cranky Twins did it while mocking the cameraman...

But I can look past all that. I enjoyed this set a lot and will probably buy some more.


Though any additional purchases will likely come in the form of retail jumbo packs and hanger boxes. I see no reason to spend the kind of money on another Hobby box, just to play in those lottery odds...

Even though I could find that 1 in 18,584 boxes that would contain a "Celebrity Cut Signature" card?

Wonder if there's a signature card for Kristin Shepard?

(Who was the one that ultimately pulled the trigger on JR Ewing...)

Comments

Someone else liked these...

Demolishing the NE Business Center and Zayre - Columbia Heights, MN

Dinner Break! - Burger Time - Coon Rapids, MN

What Happened to Clark's Submarine Sandwich?

Dinner Break! - Burger King - St. Cloud, MN

New Old ebay Expos with Zeal, Plus 2023 Stadium Club and 2024 Topps

Abandoned Mall: Villa Italia Mall - Lakewood, CO

Abandoned Movie! United Artists Theater - Greenwood Village, CO

The End of the Broadway Motel - Denver, CO

Grumpies... The Coolest Coon Rapids Has Ever Been!

Abandoned Retail - Brookdale Mall, Sears & Perkins!