A bit more Heritage

My pack of Heritage didn't really wow me with who was included - although Braun certainly has created quite a buzz both on and off the field.  The photo of Zito is fun, as it looks almost like a drawing, and I marvel about what has become of his career.  I drafted Eric Surkamp as a prospect in a baseball league that I am in, and I read that he may provide the Giants with the final reason to get Zito out of the rotation.  Marlon Byrd's photo features some cool shadows and a neat team warm-up top.  I wonder what the future of the Cubs will bring, and I enjoyed the Bartman 30-for-30 on ESPN that debuted several months ago - a fascinating watch.

We are one day closer to 2012 Heritage hitting the shelves, by the way - and I'm happy to report that I've placed my order!

Heritage Revisited

As the dawn of a new Heritage set nears, I wanted to share some of the cards I opened in the pack I bought other day.  Originally, I thought they were both insert sets - but it turns out that my limited knowledge of how the set worked misled me a bit.  The Ranger Danger card is part of the actual set, even though I couldn't really understand why card #263 appears as "The Right."  I'm not sure what that means, but on a different website I found the correct listing for the card, "Rangers Danger."

The second card is a baseball flashback subset, a ten card series featuring news stories from the year.  I have not idea if these are rare or not, or even if this is referred to as an "insert."  The live action shot of Mantle is nice, even if Topps has sort of "Mantle-d Out" a lot of collectors in recent years.

Again, the backs of the cards are beautiful, and as Josh Wilker points out in "Cardboard Gods," they remind you of the power of a baseball card to retell the story of a season.  Perhaps that's missing - or at least hidden a bit - in modern cards.  Another reason Heritage is so intriguing to me right now.

i LOVE the back side!

I think this is why I am thinking about chasing some Heritage.  The cards feel so nice!  And the cardboard back with the cartoon and short write-up - it just feels like a nice product.

Since I'm a relatively new collector, I am of course late to the party on Heritage.  I am sure these sentiments have been expressed for years.  The first Heritage card I touched came from a trade stack from Nachos Grande, and I have been intrigued by it ever since.  A couple of days ago, I went to my LCS to grab a pack of 2011 Heritage - I don't want to even tell you what I paid for that pack (you can guess in the comments below, if you'd like).

I'm still debating on what to do here, though.  Chase 2011?  But how?  Two hobby boxes would be an interesting start towards completion, but $150 spent in one moment is more than I would like to spend.  (I usually buy one hobby box, and try to complete a set from there - I don't think this will work for this product, though...)

So I may pre-order 2012, but I'll still probably have to drop $ on two hobby boxes...

Who out there is playing the Heritage game for 2012?  And how are you doing it?

(my apologies for the shameless title, btw!)

I've never done this before.

I've been a bad blogger this week.  Actually, I've simply been absent.  But with the start of Spring sports last friday, I've been out on the fields trying to get my team ready to take on the world.  (Good news, doubleheader sweep today in our first scrimmages - not like scrimmages count, but still a positive day!) 

I am considering broadening my collecting horizons, though.  Perhaps it's just starting and finishing Topps 2012 quickly, but I don't feel like waiting for series 2 just yet.  And I know Heritage comes out this week.  I've never worked on a set other than Topps flagship (and some upper deck set like 10-15 years ago - who can remember?) but I am thinking of dipping a toe in the water.

Here's my request to you:  please post with some of your thoughts on past Heritage, hopes for this year's Heritage, frustrations and anything else I should know.  I know this - the packs are far more expensive (per card) than I am used to...  Is it worth it?  (I am not a run-to-ebay-and-sell collector, by the way)

Ok, baby is awake - please try to check in with your thoughts, even if it's just a quickie! 

Thanks!

Working backwards through the 70's (77 & 78)

As I talked about in a post a few days ago, I attended a card show last weekend and spent nearly an hour transfixed by one box of 60's and 70's cards.  I posted some '79s, and expressed an interest in chasing those cards - probably more fiscally responsible than chasing any of the older sets, and also a reminder of some of my youngest collecting memories.  I have a much fainter memory of these '78s, but I grabbed the Mets and other big names that I recognized.

What's funny is that I seem to remember the backs of these '78's more than the fronts - crazy, right?  I remember that game, the "play ball" on the far right, but I don't actually ever remember playing it.  Just remember thinking, "How cool?!?  Playing a game with baseball cards!"  This was still a few years before I would disappear into the world of Strat-o-Matic.

These weren't really my Mets, I can barely remember those players or cards.  I actually grew up as a Yankee fan - until, that was, they traded my hero, Reggie Jackson.  I hated them from that moment on, and moved my allegiance over to Shea.

Sharing My Gold

Mail today, from Duryea!  This is my first wrapper redemption, so I was initially suprised when I saw the envelope.  When I saw the pack inside, I knew that my wrappers made it to PA safely, and my gold was waiting...

So here's my first question.  And actually, it's not even a question.  Just a name.  Albert Belle?!?

Hmm.  Tony Gwynn is awesome!  And... Jason Motte?

OK, after reading the back of the card, I guess that's pretty good.

and that's my fifth and final card.

For those who don't have them, and if the scan is not showing this, the card is nice to hold - feels thickish, and some of the letters on the card feel slightly raised.  Some of the long-time collectors can probably describe that better than me - perhaps they'll comment below.

Also, I am open to trade these, especially if you are a big fan of one of these guys and have a gold nugget Mets card somewhere!

More Uglies

Maybe ugly, but I love them.  One thing, though.  What's with the color scheme for each team?  The Reds had a yellow bar at the bottom - why not Red?  And brown for my Mets?  Baby blue for the Pirates?  I'm sure something has been written about this before, and I'll make a sweep of the blogosphere to see who has tackled it - but at the very least, it's strange. 

The Koosman action shot is nice - wild arm angle, huh?  Dave and Willie are sporting a LOT of yellow, right?  I can't say that I remember that uniform, but keep in mind that these cards are from a time when espn and YES and SNY and MLB Network didn't exist and allow you to see all the teams, basically all the time.

Looking through these cards for the last few days is giving me a thought for a project.  Can I complete a set of 1979 today?  How would I go about this?  Where can I find a decent-sized lot of cards for a fair and reasonable price?  How much should I expect to pay to complete this project?  The 8 cards I picked up cost about $6, but these were mostly stars.  I should probably consult the "lifetime topps project" and I'm going to hunt down the guys who commented about his 1979 blog...  I wonder, have I found my first real project?!?