Heritage High Number is Not High on My List

In what has become a common occurrence, a simple trip to my LCS for supplies has turned into yet another card purchase, this one for a single pack of the new 2018 Topps Heritage High Number product. 

All I needed to pick up was an empty 4-row box which ended up costing $4. I had $10 to pay for it with, so I decided to treat myself to a pack of something that peaked my interest. Then, I saw the bright orange packs of Heritage High Number combined with a sign that said "NEW" in big black letters.

I guess I'm a sucker for new stuff because I forked over $6 for the pack to bring my total to an even $10, hoping I'd pull a nice rookie card and maybe a chrome card if I'm lucky.

Spoiler alert; that didn't happen. I've seen other collectors break packs of Heritage High Number in which they pulled rookies of Acuña, Soto, and Torres along with Reggie Jackson insert cards and even a decent name out of the chrome portion of the set. Unfortunately, as you'll see momentarily, I didn't have as good of luck.

#636 Jacoby Jones 

The set picks up where the regular 2018 Topps Heritage set leaves off. Cards 501-700 make up Heritage High Number while 701-725 are the short prints of the High Number set. I had never realized this until now, but if you count Heritage and High Number as 1 continuous set, you have a set of baseball cards that are actually larger than Flagship. That, to me, is pretty crazy to think about.

#627 Colin Moran

The problems I had with Heritage High Number last year are emerging once again just 2 cards into the 2018 Heritage High number product. As someone who knows baseball pretty well, I don't typically run into many cards of players I've never heard of, but Heritage High Number always contradicts that.

#509 Alex Blandino

See what I mean? I haven't heard of 2 of the first 3 players in the pack so far, and that's something I have a bit of a problem with. Also, for a set that's supposed to be full of rookie cards, I was actually quite surprised to see that this Alex Blandino card was the only rookie card I pulled in the entire pack.

#675 Colby Rasmus

Getting back to players I've heard of before reminds me of exactly what draws me to Heritage High Number each year in the first place and that's the recognition it gives to lesser players. Over time, you start to see more and more players like Colby Rasmus show up in the set. Players who used to be more well-known and were playing at a higher level, but fell off the map. I really do enjoy the fact that this set still gives these players the recognition they deserve.

#MO69-RS Miracle of '69 Ron Swoboda

The relative rarity of these cards (1 per box on average) and the very 60's-style set design helps me to get excited over this Ron Swoboda Miracle of '69 insert card, commemorating the 1969 New York Mets expansion team that shockingly won the Fall Classic. Despite it being a pretty interesting card, I'd be more than happy to trade it, especially if anyone has any Reggie Jackson inserts in return.

#690 Derek Holland

For one reason or another, this is the standout base card of the pack to me. I guess the background not being a blue sky really does a lot for me and from there, the card is able to go to a different level rather than the same old pose with the light blue sky that we've seen constantly in 2017 and 2018 Topps Heritage and High Number.

#575 Alex Hansen

To a slightly lesser degree, this Alex Hansen card does the same thing for me that the Greg Holland card does in terms of the different background and the nice-looking Giants jersey. Pulling these 2 cards back to back reminds me of how most cards from a certain team are taken at the same spot, with the Red Sox in 2017 and 2018 Heritage being a good example of this.

#596 Hector Rondon

It stinks that Rondon wasn't able to maintain the closer role when he was with the Cubs, because it seems like that was what threw him off his game in Chicago. After losing the job to Aroldis Chapman at the deadline in 2016, he was turned into a late reliever with the acquisition of Wade Davis for the 2017 season. His 4.24 ERA in the 2017 season showed he was declining, and so he was not brought back to Chicago this year.

#667 Jeremy Hellickson

I'm sorry but it's just really difficult for me to get into the set. Maybe I came across a bad pack, but the names in this set are simply not enough for me to hand over $90 for a hobby box or $20 for a blaster or even $6 for another hobby pack. Don't get me wrong, there are some good names in the set. I just don't think there's enough of them that would cause me to put Heritage High Number high on my list of products to purchase.