Heritage 2019: Blasting Into the Past

Finally, the baseball card gods graced at least one of my local Targets with some Heritage. I told myself I wasn't going to go crazy so I grabbed a blaster and a few loose packs. Also, I didn't want to go crazy because I wasn't sure if I would like the cards as 1970, while not a bad design, isn't exactly an awesome design either. Anyway, I was excited to open this so let's see what the highlights are.

On to the cards ...

As per tradition here, the first card from the first pack, and it's ex-Red Mike Leake. He performed amicably last season, his first full campaign with Seattle going an even 10-10 over 31 starts with a 4.36 ERA in just over 185 innings. He'll be joined in Seattle this year with some other ex-Reds in Jay Bruce and Edwin Encarnacion.

Some more base cards. Not only is the photography good on these but each of these also has a uniform patch of some sort. In regards to the cards themselves, I think Topps did a good job on them. I wasn't expecting much but to say I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement. The fronts are nice, the backs (which you'll see shortly) are well done, and the photography, while mostly posed shots, is very clear.

Not all the cards are posed shots. At first, I thought these may have been "action variations" but they weren't. Just in-game photos of these guys in their new(er) threads.

Nice to see the return of the All-Star set actually being called the "Sporting News" all-stars. 

Obligatory Reds cards. Jose Peraza will be the starting second baseman for the next 2-3 months as Scooter Gennett recovers from a groin injury. Tyler Mahle made the team as the fifth starter while Alex Wood works out his back issues. 

These are not just any base cards ... they're the dreaded short prints. Matt Kemp is now a Red (side note: can't wait to get my first Reds cards of the offseason acquisitions). Dee Gordon is not only a short print but a variation.

Here's the back of the card. Notice anything? That's right! It's a French variation. I haven't seen too many of these shared on the blogs so these might be tough to pull. Regardless, I think it's pretty neat and a nice tribute to O-Pee-Chee cards.

Here's something I didn't expect, a Chrome parallel. They're very shiny and the stock feels a touch thicker. On this one, I like how it looks like J.D. Martinez kind of pops out of the background. These are also numbered to /999.

Moving on to inserts, I like the groovy 70s feel of these. 

These too. Not sure why Thurman Munson is called the "un-rookie". 

Sure, "Then and Now", "Flashbacks", and "New Age Performers" are standard when it comes to Heritage, but there were also some unique inserts that came as well. First, there this 1970 candy lid style card of Mike Trout. I'm not sure how to store this, especially with the tab on the bottom. Penny sleeve maybe for now? These are found only at Target.

My favorite insert of the bunch, this Clayton Kershaw Scratch-Off. Inside is a scratch off board where you could play a game of "scratch off baseball" against another person and on the back you keep score. I bet it'd be pretty fun actually.

As for the rest, the packs and blaster netted me a nice fat stack of cards that will be filed away shortly.  I'll be getting more of these, maybe some loose packs at Target or dime singles from the upcoming card show.