2019 Topps Heritage blaster box

I think Topps Heritage is just another brand, but that is how I've felt about current-year releases in recent years - at least there might be something about Heritage feeling a little old-timey, especially with the thicker card stock.

I sort of like the heaviness of the packs in a blaster - it's kind of like a brick and it almost doesn't feel like a waste spending $20 for a casual rip of baseball cards.

The grey borders do seem boring and maybe drab, but that is how the original 1970 cards look - the inserts I might find in an average box may stand out a bit more than the base cards, though I would assume any particular one wouldn't be too hard to find if I wanted them outright.

Pack one
#370 Mike Moustakas
#148 Ronald Guzman
#71 2018 National League Strikeout Leaders - feat. Scherzer, deGrom and Corbin
#249 Jeremy Jeffress
#443 Matt Kemp - SP
#287 Mike Fiers
#183 Wilmer Flores
#346 Pedro Strop
#388 Carlos Santana

Pack two
#119 Michael Wacha
#219 Jesus Sucre
#262 Padres Rookie Stars - feat. Nix and Urias
#224 Chase Anderson
#THC-477 Mitch Haniger - Chrome parallel, serial #’d 522/999
#333 Manny Pina
#244 Angels Rookie Stars - feat. Arcia, Buttrey and Jerez
#310 Red Sox Celebrate World Series Title Win
#294 Justin Anderson

Pack three
#75 Jake Lamb
#296 Tucker Barnhart
#36 Reds Rookie Stars - feat. Trahan and Reyes
#255 Jonathan Gray
#NAP19 Jacob deGrom - New Age Performers insert
#58 Gorkys Hernandez
#362 Freddie Freeman - All-Star subset
#316 Dansby Swanson
#367 Bryce Harper - All-Star subset

Pack four
#107 Joe Panik
#222 Hunter Dozier
#152 Matt Boyd
#77 Tony Watson
#438 Matt Carpenter - SP
#344 Joe Musgrove
#82 Austin Romine
#312 Yairo Munoz
#338 Jarrod Dyson

Pack five
#271 Kyle Seager
#95 Joe Jimenez
#94 Francisco Cervelli
#2018 American League RBI Leaders - feat. Martinez, Davis and Encarnacion
#6 of 15 Lorenzo Cain - Baseball Scratch Off insert
#199 Jackie [Bradley] Clears Ducks on the Pond!
#270 Jorge Alfaro
#176 Will Smith
#2018 American League HR Leaders - feat. Davis, Martinez and Gallo

Pack six
#103 Miguel Rojas
#217 Tim Anderson
#378 Max Kepler
#290 Jose LeClerc
#NF-3 Earth Day Festivities Sprout in U.S. - News Flashbacks insert
#13 Chris Stratton
#147 Yangervis Solarte
#198 When [Yasiel] Puigs Fly!
#398 Teoscar Hernandez

Pack seven
#193 Devon Travis
#21 Athletics Rookie Stars - feat. Laureano and Martini
#213 Mark Trumbo
#334 Jose Quintana
#5 of 15 Anthony Rizzo - 1970 Topps Baseball Candy Lids
#321 Arodys Vizcaino
#2 Felix Hernandez
#153 Seth Lugo
#124 Marcus Stroman

Pack eight
#78 Mookie Betts
#235 Ryan Zimmerman
#137 Jurickson Profar
#85 Chris Iannetta
#429 Gerrit Cole - SP
#259 Chad Pinder
#285 Isiah Kiner-Falefa
#16 Jake Junis
#359 J.D. Martinez

2018 Topps Heritage blaster box #1

Pack one
#220 Carlos Carrasco
#240 Justin Smoak
#361 Checklist - feat. Aaron Judge
#24 Charlie Blackmon

#25 of 30 Victor Robles - Deckle Edge insert

#284 2018 Nationals Rookie Stars - feat. Victor Robles and Andrew Stevenson
#208 Yuli Gurriel
#3 2017 American League RBI Leaders - feat. Cruz, Judge and Davis

#166 2017 World Series Game #5 - feat. Bregman

Pack two
#190 Dinelson Lamet
#235 Buster Posey - All-Star subset
#198 Hunter Renfroe

#231 Kole Calhoun

#424 Kenley Jansen - SP
#121 Kolten Wong
#314 Checklist - feat. Cody Bellinger

#168 2017 World Series Game #7 - feat. Springer
#239 Mike Foltynewicz

Pack three
#288 Jake Arrieta
#83 Dexter Fowler
#226 Giancarlo Stanton - All-Star subset
#171 Javier Baez

#TN-4 Jim Palmer / Corey Kluber - Then and Now insert
#396 Kevin Pillar
#325 Edwin Encarnacion
#1 2017 American League Batting Leaders - feat. Altuve, Garcia, Hosmer and Hanley Ramirez; Topps goofed and it should be Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Indians pictured.
#223 Caleb Joseph

Pack four
#54 Blake Snell

#278 Aaron Judge - All-Star subset
#26 Tommy Pham
#346 Marcus Semien

#69CC-AJ Aaron Judge - 1969 Topps Collector Card; based off the 1969 Transogram figurine cards.
#13 Domingo Santana
#65 D.J. Lemahieu
#228 Wilson Ramos
#264 Carl Edwards Jr.

Pack five
#128 Ender Inciarte
#108 Billy Hamilton
#292 Manny Machado - All-Star subset
#151 Manny Machado

#409 Kelvin Herrera - SP
#187 Joey Votto - All-Star subset
#241 Addison Russell
#64 Johnny Cueto

#29 Andrelton Simmons

Pack six
#272 Matt Moore
#389 Shelby Miller
#101 Salvador Perez
#237 Chris Rusin

#THC-176 Corey Kluber - Chrome serial #’d 059/999
#105 Josh Harrison
#122 Ian Desmond
#270 Matt Adams
#397 Evan Longoria

Pack seven

#275 Mike Trout
#230 Ryan Zimmerman
#350 Yan Gomes

#NAP-19 Anthony Rizzo - New Age Performers insert
#182 Mookie Betts - All-Star subset
#247 Willson Contreras 
#341 Christian Yelich
#16 2018 Giants Rookie Stars - feat. Ryder Jones, Miguel Gomez and Reyes Moronta
#358 2018 Athletics Rookie Stars - feat. Dustin Fowler and Paul Blackburn

Pack eight
#368 Jason Heyward
#234 Zack Greinke
#92 Stephen Strasburg

#404 Drew Pomeranz - SP

#285 Ian Kinsler
#142 Danny Duffy
#179 Gary Sanchez - All-Star subset
#130 Andrew Benintendi
#62 Eric Thames

2017 Topps Gallery blaster box recap 2 of 2

Artist proof parallel pack
#28 Sean Newcomb
#146 Gerrit Cole
#8 Steven Matz
#19 Carson Fulmer

 Pack one
#32 Gregory Polanco
#25 Bryce Harper

#HOF-19 Jim Palmer - Hall of Fame Gallery insert
#62 Yasmani Grandal

 Pack two
#140 Anthony Rizzo
#67 Kyle Seager
#113 Andrew Toles
#13 Carlos Correa

 Pack three
#15 Yoan Moncada
#12 Max Kepler

#156 Nelson Cruz - Artisans SP
#141 Yoan Moncada

 Pack four
#38 Tyler Glasnow
#139 Jake Lamb

#MP-21 Nolan Ryan - Masterpiece insert
#98 Salvador Perez

 Pack five
#17 George Springer
#97 Ketel Marte

#HOF-12 Joe Morgan - Hall of Fame Gallery insert
#147 Brandon Finnegan

 Pack six
#101 Cole Hamels

#100 Clayton Kershaw
#45 Matt Kemp
#128 Greg Bird

 Pack seven
#80 Freddie Freeman
#54 Jose De Leon
#42 Alex Bregman

Dan Bergren - Featured Artist info card
#106 Robert Gsellman

2017 Topps Gallery blaster box recap 1 of 2

Go figure I was able to pick up a couple of blaster boxes online as opposed to fruitless in-person searches through some random Walmarts - I feel the one or two Walmarts I may be able to go are spotty as far as having specific brand of trading cards at any one time.

The last incarnation of Topps Gallery came out in 2005 and while it was a product I'm not sure I even bought a single pack of in my collecting life - in general, I liked the artsy-fartsy trading cards because they came off as a little bit more classier than just something designed to be regular old baseball cards.

Artist proof parallel pack
#120 Corey Seager
#5 Carlos Rodon
#13 Carlos Correa
#141 Julio Urias

Pack one
#131 Matt Harvey
#32 Gregory Polanco

#HOF-1 Ken Griffey Jr. - Hall of Fame Gallery insert
#138 Luke Weaver

Pack two
#28 Bryce Harper
#140 Anthony Rizzo

#30 Trevor Story - Gallery Heritage insert
#119 Buster Posey

Pack three
#67 Kyle Seager
#113 Andrew Toles
#12 Max Kepler

Mayumi Seto - Featured Artist info card; maybe it's just odd, but I found her card [and the other Topps Gallery artist's card, Dan Bergren] more interesting than any of the base cards.
#123 Carlos Gonzalez

Pack four
#15 Yoan Moncada
#38 Tyler Glasnow

#HOF-22 Reggie Jackson - Hall of Fame Gallery insert
#8 Steven Matz

Pack five
#139 Jake Lamb

#17 George Springer
#97 Ketel Marte
#19 Carson Fulmer

Pack six
#101 Cole Hamels
#100 Clayton Kershaw

#174 Chris Archer - Apprentices SP
#84 Trey Mancini

Pack seven
#45 Matt Kemp
#80 Freddie Freeman

#MP-23 Mark McGwire - Masterpiece insert; YMMV, but I found the base cards to be a bit of a snooze and would prefer something centered around these inserts.
#115 Justin Verlander

2017 Topps Heritage Minors pack breaks

Pack one
#165 Sean Reid-Foley
#155 Thomas Szapucki
#18 Ryan Helsley

#203 Nick Gordon - SP
#71 Anfernee Grier
#161 Josh Staumont
#156 Matt Thaiss
#44 Shed Long

Pack two
#131 Braxton Garrett

#1 Amed Rosario
#167 Francisco Rios
#65 Nick Williams
Make Your Pro Debut code / info card
#151 Keegan Akin
#30 Greg Allen
#24 Eric Lauer

Pack three
#127 Jorge Ona
#83 Ryan Mountcastle
#115 Kyle Funkhouser
Make Your Pro Debut code / info card
#186 Nick Neidert
#34 Logan Shore

#126 Keibert Ruiz
#7 Jazz Chisholm

Pack four 
#165 Sean Reid-Foley
#155 Thomas Szapucki
#18 Ryan Helsley
#220 Victor Robles - SP

#156 Matt Thaiss
#44 Shed Long
#132 Tomas Nido
#27 Meibrys Viloria

2017 Topps Heritage blaster recap oddity

I purchased a blaster box the day I picked up my random card shop packs a few weeks ago - I remember listing out what I pulled from my hobby pack breaks first, then feeling like maybe I should go on with the blaster box.

It looks like there were actually nine packs [instead of eight totals packs] in my blaster for a total of 81 cards - I didn't pull a Target exclusive 1968 game rookie insert, so I think I might have been somehow skunked with this retail box, but ended up pulling six short prints [usually pulled 1:3 odds].

Pack one
#220 Joe Mauer
#275 2017 Philadelphia Phillies Rookie Stars - feat. Jake Thompson/Roman Quinn
#61 Marco Estrada
#109 Chris Iannetta
#462 Jackie Bradley Jr. - SP
#227 Steven Souza Jr.
#7 2016 ERA Leaders - feat. Hendricks/Lester/Syndergaard
#180 Stephen Piscotty
#190 Tommy Joseph

Pack two
#55 Josh Phegley
#88 Kyle Seager
#101 Jose Iglesias
#267 2017 Milwaukee Brewers Rookie Stars - feat. Orlando Arcia/Brent Suter
#486 Ji-Man Choi - SP
#493 Sam Dyson - SP
#73 Nick Hundley
#47 Collin McHugh
#82 Leonys Martin
#96 Gerardo Parra

Pack three
#316 Kendrys Morales
#384 2017 Arizona Diamondbacks Rookie Stars - feat. Braden Shipley/Matt Koch
#97 Javier Baez
#93 Aaron Nola
#229 1988 Topps Jeff Musselman - Rediscover Topps
#26 Howie Kendrick
#352 Kevin Kiermeier
#12 2016 American League Strikeout Leaders - feat. Verlander/Archer/Sale
#16 2017 San Diego Padres Rookie Stars - feat. Manny Margot/Hunter Renfroe
#33 Jhonny Peralta

Pack four
#102 Richie Shaffer
#11 2016 National League Strikeout Leaders - feat. Scherzer/Bumgarner/Ray
#259 Ken Giles
#121 Jeff Samardzija
#482 Albert Almora - SP
#85 Brett Gardner
#279 Washington Nationals team card
#297 Ezequiel Carrera
#278 Jeurys Familia

Pack five
#348 Julio Teheran
#320 Jayson Werth
#310 Tyler Saladino
#266 Los Angeles Angels team card
#BF-BR Brooks Robinson - Baseball Flashbacks insert
#64 Russell Martin
#256 Matt Harvey
#184 Jeanmar Gomez
#178 James Shields

Pack six
#271 Jason Castro
#196 Brandon Crawford
#118 Travis Shaw
#156 2016 World Series - Game #5 - feat. Aroldis Chapman
#461 Mark Trumbo - SP
#137 Adeiny Hechavarria
#129 Colorado Rockies team card
#388 Yonder Alonso
#181 Corey Kluber

Pack seven
#59 Jose Peraza
#156 2016 World Series - Game #6 - feat. Addison Russell
#43 Arodys Vizcaino
#325 Chris Davis
#302 Khris Davis
#274 Nelson Cruz
#15 Logan Morrison
#9 2016 National League Pitching Leaders - feat. Scherzer/Lester/Arrieta
#92 R.A. Dickey

Pack eight
#233 Scott Schebler
#369 Robinson Cano
#175 Michael Saunders
#48 Seth Smith
#467 Gregory Polanco - SP
#291 Wily Peralta
#191 Alexi Amarista
#191 Zack Cozart
#158 Cubs Fly The W

Pack nine 
#86 Danny Valencia
#292 Carlos Ruiz
#176 Brandon Phillips
#157 2016 World Series - Game #7 - feat. Ben Zobrist
#12 Jake Arrieta - 1968 Topps Game insert
#44 Eduardo Nunez
#91 Chicago Aces - feat. Lester/Arrieta
#343 Marcus Semien
#104 Carlos Santana

2017 Topps Heritage 7-pack break

I'm not exactly a fan of Topps Heritage because it has been played out card product to me - I feel like there should be more effort to come up with something original when it comes to baseball cards as opposed to dipping into your 'heritage' as sort of a crutch to stand on.

I do appreciate some 'old school' elements in baseball cards, so it's not like I don't get what these cards are about - I grabbed 7 random packs from a card shop and also a blaster box from a Target to see if I can get into these new cards for a little bit.

It may not feel authentic, but the thinner card stock is cleaner and the cards look fairly sharp - it seems like there was no effort to make the cards look like the originals, which may not be something people who collect Heritage seriously may like.

I read a little primer on the original 1968 Topps cards - but despite the inconsistent pattern scheme on the borders, I'm okay with the cards looking a little bland and maybe lacking a little imagination [just considering the cards themselves and not the wrinkles and gimmicks that come with a 2017 release].

The card backs are bright and bold - so that makes them easy to read.

I realize 1968 Topps wasn't a set that used facsimile autographs of the players as part of the design - so the fronts of these 2017 Topps Heritage cards look less cluttered.

Pack one
#280 Chase Headley
#283 Pittsburgh Pirates team card
#301 Martin Prado
#358 San Diego Padres team card
#NAP-14 Kyle Hendricks - New Age Performers

#307 Yordano Ventura - R.I.P.
#373 Nolan Arenado - All-Topps subset
#272 Wei-Yin Chen
#336 Colorado Sluggers - feat. LeMahieu/Blackmon

Pack two
#224 Matt Szczur
#58 Tony Watson
#62 Nick Markakis
#144 Ryan Zimmerman

#491 Jason Hammel - SP
#30 Tyler Flowers
#353 Zach Britton
#297 Ezequiel Carrera
#278 Jeurys Familia

Pack three
#286 Dellin Betances
#394 Texas Rangers team card
#225 Francisco Rodriguez
#165 2017 Detroit Tigers Rookie Stars - feat. JaCoby Jones/Dustin Molleken

#412 David Ortiz - SP/Color Swap variation?
#63 Alex Wilson
#42 2017 Miami Marlins Rookie Stars - feat. Austin Brice/Yefri Perez
#124 Chad Qualls
#378 Max Scherzer - All-Topps subset

Pack four
#188 Jedd Gyorko
#51 Derek Norris
#218 Jim Johnson
#111 Tanner Roark

#Topps Tan-10 Juan Marichal/Clayton Kershaw - Then and Now insert
#231 Matt Garza
#241 Travis Jankowski
#388 Yonder Alonso
#181 Corey Kluber

Pack five
#80 Eddie Rosario
#319 Washington National Rookie Stars - feat. Brian Goodwin/Spencer Kieboom
#132 Cheslor Cuthbert

#117 Chicago White Sox Rookie Stars - feat. Carson Fulmer/Yoan Moncada
#497 Kevin Gausman - SP
#243 Byron Buxton
#393 Toronto Blue Jays Rookie Stars - feat. Matt Dermody/Danny Barnes
#35 Anthony DeSclafani

#368 Manny Machado - All-Topps subset; it's totally not obvious who is partially pictured on the back of Machado's card.
Topps info card/Bunt pack code card

Pack six
#201 Martin Maldonado
#219 Pedro Alvarez
#107 Roberto Osuna
#105 Adam Lind

#149 1987 Topps Ray Searage - Rediscover Topps; damn, this is just what I wanted from a pack of 2017 Topps Heritage.

It's going to be another 19 years for 2036 Topps Heritage to come out featuring 'Today's Stars in The 1987 Design' - where pulling a buyback card from 1987 Topps would make sense, though I probably could have pulled any junk wax era card from this latest Topps promotion.

#77 Yadier Molina
#345 Jarred Cosart
#210 Carlos Rodon
#343 Marcus Semien
#104 Carlos Santana

Pack seven
#220 Joe Mauer
#275 2017 Philadelphia Phillies Rookie Stars - feat. Jake Thompson/Roman Quinn
#389 D.J. LeMahieu

#372 Anthony Rizzo - All-Topps subset; it's totally not obvious who the smiling mug on the back of Rizzo's card belongs to.

#26 Gary Sanchez - 1968 Topps Game insert
#221 Toronto Blue Jays team card
#66 Kyle Hendricks
#192 Zack Cosart
#158 Cubs Fly the W