Blaster power rankings: 2018 Heritage

I started these blaster power rankings posts a year ago in an effort to count how many cards of each team I pull out of blasters. I've always theorized that I pull more teams than others, and although I'm sure that's just coincidence, I thought it'd be fun for me to start a running total.

Little did I know that 2017 would become the year of The Great Retail Shelf Blaster Blight and that blasters of virtually every desirable product would disappear for months and never return.

I ended up conducting just four blaster power rankings posts and not buying much more than that. I didn't get a representative view of what teams I was pulling, and even though I announced my intent to open a blaster of Archives or Bowman next on a couple of the posts, I never did, because there were no blasters to be found!

So, I'm starting again. I will calculate the contents of this 2018 Heritage blaster -- nicely purchased with my Valentine's Day gift card -- and add it to the total from last year.

Who knows, maybe this will be the last blaster I get to open this year before the Otani Plague wipes out store shelves in the months to come. But I do have hopes of continuing this throughout 2018.

When I last left the BPRs, the Cubs were leading with 19 cards, one ahead of the White Sox, Tigers and Dodgers. For ranking purposes, inserts count less than base cards for Heritage because I like to continue the fantasy that this is a "set-builder's set."

Let's see what 2018 has for me:

Blaster Power Rankings: 2018 Heritage

1. NEW YORK YANKEES (7 cards)

This is how I expect every last blaster I purchase to go. Just a relentless stream of Yankees pouring forth from the box. As nauseating as it is to see all those pinstripes in one place, at least my expectations were confirmed this time.

2. TORONTO BLUE JAYS (6 cards)

I am enjoying the spring training shots on these cards and some others (people in the background or not). I find I prefer the Florida spring training shots to Arizona ones.

3. LOS ANGELES DODGERS (6 cards)

Yay! I still am able to pull Dodgers out of blasters in 2018 (this wasn't always the case)! Two inserts here, which I don't mind as someone who is really only interested in the Dodgers from this set. The World Series Kershaw, which I've pulled once already, will go toward my mission to complete that WS subset.

4. OAKLAND A'S (5 cards)

How about that? There are five A's cards in Heritage! I'm not going to pretend I know all these people.

5. ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS (4 cards)

The black-and-white portion of the Goldschmidt card shares just as much territory as the color profile, which is weird and not very 1969y.

6. MILWAUKEE BREWERS (4 cards)

Notice that Brandon Woodruff is turned to the side, otherwise Topps would have shrunk him down so the circle didn't cover the logo.

7. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (4 cards)

This is a Walmart blaster, therefore my first look at the Heritage decals. It's a pretty good one to pull. I think it's an actual decal, too, wrapped in plastic.

8. SAN DIEGO PADRES (3 cards)

The Padres have rookie stars. Yeah, OK.

9. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (3 cards)

Only Cueto isn't a dupe. Ugh.

10. NEW YORK METS (3 cards)

The deckle-edge card is Amed Rosario. There is injury panic all over this guy already. Gotta love the Mets.

11. ATLANTA BRAVES (2 cards)

Julio Teheran is a short-print. I think I've already pulled it.

12. BOSTON RED SOX (2 cards)

13. HOUSTON ASTROS (2 cards)

14. MINNESOTA TWINS (2 cards)

Now there's some spring training happiness!

15. PITTSBURGH PIRATES (2 cards)

16. MIAMI MARLINS (2 cards)

17. TEXAS RANGERS (2 cards)

18. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS (2 cards)


19. BALTIMORE ORIOLES (1 card)

20. CLEVELAND INDIANS (1 card)

21. CINCINNATI REDS (1 card)

22. CHICAGO WHITE SOX (1 card)

23. SEATTLE MARINERS (1 card)

24. TAMPA BAY RAYS (1 card)

25. COLORADO ROCKIES (1 card)

26. LOS ANGELES ANGELS (1 card)

27. CHICAGO CUBS (0 cards)
28. DETROIT TIGERS (0 cards)
29. KANSAS CITY ROYALS (0 cards)
30. WASHINGTON NATIONALS (0 cards)

Interestingly, two teams that did very well in last year's BPRs, the Cubs and Tigers, were shut out.

Here are the updated BPRs, adding this blaster to the four compiled last year:

1. Dodgers - 24
2. Yankees - 22
3. Cubs - 19
4. Tigers - 19
5. White Sox - 19
6. Blue Jays - 18
7. Mets - 18
8. Braves - 17
9. Cardinals - 17
10. Giants - 17
11. Red Sox - 17
12. Astros - 16
13. Pirates - 16
14. Royals - 15
15. Reds - 14
16. A's - 13
17. Phillies - 12
18. Brewers - 11
19. Diamondbacks - 10
20. Mariners - 10
21. Twins - 10
22. Nationals - 9
23. Rangers - 9
24. Marlins - 9
25. Padres - 9
26. Rockies - 9
27. Orioles - 7
28. Angels - 6
29. Indians - 5
30. Rays - 5

WOOOOOOOOOOOO! THE BIG MARKET TEAMS ARE ON TOP JUST AS AMERICA ALWAYS INTENDED THEM TO BE. TOPPS LOOOOVES THOSE BIG SPENDY COLLECTORS!!!!!!!

Of course, as a Dodger fan, I am not complaining at all.

These BPR posts often produce some trade requests. I just want to mention that I think I've sent out two card packages in the last month. That's not saying I'm not trading, I'm just way, way, way, way, waaaaaaay backed up to the point that I fear I might forget someone because we settled on a trade two months ago and I'm no closer to getting it done than I was then. I'll get to you all -- the ones I remember anyway -- but March is definitely not the time for me to be trading.

Also, this is where I mention what kind of blaster I might open for the next BPR post. Given last year's track record, maybe I'll just wait and see what happens.

I'll surprise you.