Opening My First Pack of 2018 Topps Heritage

After debating the pros and cons of pursuing yet another Topps Heritage set, my dad and I ultimately decided that continuing to collect cards from our favorite Topps product was worth it. Therefore, we decided to continue the tradition we established and pick up a hobby box of 2018 Topps Heritage from our local hobby shop. It was a bit more than we expected, but we collectively decided that the set was something we wanted to collect, year after year.

Today I'll give a nice overview of the set by showing all the cards from my first pack of the product. After this, I'll spend the next couple of posts highlighting the hits from the box and any possible variations or inserts I pull.

Each hobby pack contains 9 cards and there are 24 packs per box. Here are the cards from my very first pack of 2018 Topps Heritage.

#99 Twins Rookie Stars

This isn't the best start to Topps Heritage this year, but it does give me an immediate look as to how well Topps replicated the Rookie Stars cards. Topps seems to have done the 1969 Topps Rookie Stars cards justice by making them look nearly identical to the original versions. I've also heard some pretty good things about Zack Granite, one of the players included on the card.

#327 Yasiel Puig

The next card was my first look at what the cards looked like in-hand, and once again, it's safe to say that Topps did a very good job with Heritage. They replicated the 1969 set very well, despite not having much to work with considering how 1969 can be a pretty boring set. The borders are (thankfully) not as huge as they appeared online, and the cardstock is once again given a nice vintage feel. 

#24 Charlie Blackmon

I may be just 3 cards into the first pack, but I can already tell that this set is going to have a lot of cards with sky backgrounds like last year. However, with interesting photos like these, it will be a bit more bearable to see the sky appear over and over again. 

#198 Hunter Renfroe

Topps never fails to pull out all the stops for Topps Heritage, and that includes replicating the card backs extraordinarily well. The recognizable pink card backs share the exact same color that drew attention to them back in 1969.

#412 Carlos Gonzalez SP

Here it is, my very first short print of 2018 Topps Heritage is Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez. CarGo is definitely one of the better players to get an SP of in this year's Heritage, considering that Topps took a different approach to Heritage short-prints this year and placed many of the star players in the base set for the first time in years. This card of Gonzalez is a standout for many reasons, including the bright blue batting gloves he's wearing.

#231 Kole Calhoun

I kept my eye on Kole Calhoun when he began to emerge as a power-hitter in LA just a few seasons ago. And while he hasn't been able to match his 2015 performance in which he hit 26 home runs, I still believe that he could be a vital player on this new-look Angels team along with Ian Kinsler, Albert Pujols, Shoehi Ohtani, and Mike Trout.

#296 Reynaldo Lopez

Reynaldo Lopez is not too exciting of a player to pull, but the picture is actually one of the better ones I've seen and makes up for getting a sub-par player.

#135 Nationals Rookie Stars

The first card of the pack was a rookie stars card, and so is the 2nd to last. This rookie stars card is the Nationals and features a player I recognize from Series 1, Raudy Read.

#168 2017 World Series Game 7

The final card of the pack is without a doubt my favorite card not just of the pack but could end up being one of my favorites of the box. The iconic World Series Special design that was featured in 1969 Topps returned in 2018 to highlight the 2017 World Series. I know that Night Owl hoped for the Dodgers to be included in this World Series design, and despite them not winning it all, they at least will get 3 cards honoring there 3 World Series wins from 2017.

Overall, despite only opening 1 pack so far, I can tell that I like what Topps did with their Heritage set this year and how well they replicated the 1969 design. I'll be sure to post more of what I pull in the box over the next couple days.