Two things I've noticed since posting the first half of my hobby box of 2024 Heritage the other day.
The first is that out of all the regular player and manager cards I've pulled so far, not one features a posed shot. Those were staple shots for Heritage all the way through last year. Just about all of the base Dodgers cards from last year's Heritage are posed shots.
To go from that to absolutely none seems like a decision was made. We were still in posed territory in 1975 Topps, plenty of it, in fact. How I long for a hands-on-knees photo in 2024 Heritage like Robin Yount or Roger Metzger or Tommy Helms. But there's been none to be found. Every photo is either an action shot or a candid photo (both, obviously, were in '75 Topps).
I don't know why posed shots have been scrapped. Perhaps Fanatics said "no more fake backgrounds"? If that's the case, applause, applause. But I think the non-posed pix is one of the reasons I can't find anything in 2024 Heritage that matches with '75 Topps, photo-wise.
The other thing is the influx of rookie cards in this set. It's not the first time in Heritage, but it is a recent development.
So far, through half the box, I've pulled 22 individual player cards that are rookie cards. Is this because there are no four-player prospect cards like there were in 2023 Heritage? Well, probably not as there are more than 90 individual player rookie cards in 2023 Heritage in the non-SP portion of the set.
Now, the rookie card logo count in 2020 Heritage:
Zero.
Yup, for the non-SP portion of the set, there are no rookie card logos. So, obviously, somebody decided to force RCs into Heritage in the last couple of years (it seems like between 2021 and 2022). So, I'm glad to see the 2024 influx is not my imagination.
But it does remove some of the enjoyment of Heritage for me. People who collected cards in the '70s, generally, were not cuckoo for rookie cards -- but maybe there aren't enough of those kinds of collectors around now to make Heritage fly off the shelves, so Topps has to cater to the rookie crowd. Too bad.
All right, you want to see more colorful pictures, so on with the second half of the box. There will be no color combo counting or number comparisons so this'll be a little shorter. ... Maybe.
PACK 13
372 - Corbin Carroll, Diamondbacks (All-Star)
116 - Bobby Miller, Dodgers
409 - Jazz Chisholm Jr., Marlins
202 - Masataka Yoshida, Red Sox
250 - Daysbel Hernandez, Braves (RC)
161 - Kyle Schwarber, Phillies
325 - JP Sears, Athletics
25 - Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Diamondbacks (SP)
114 - AJ Smith-Shawver, Braves (RC)
Pack thoughts: RIP Bobby Miller's shoulder. ... I know Corbin Carroll isn't the tallest guy but why does he always look 4 feet tall on his cards? ... The Gurriel Jr. signature is so faint and weird that I thought it was a no-sig variation for a sec.
PACK 14
118 - Robert Garcia, Nationals (RC)
149 - "Red Schoendienst", Cardinals, manager
135 - Matthew Liberatore, Cardinals
254 - Jose Rodriguez, White Sox (RC)
308 - Runs Batted In Leaders, Kyle Tucker/Matt Olson
296 - Ronny Mauricio, Mets (RC)
375 - Will Benson, Reds
347 - Mike Moustakas, Angels, white border variation
304 - Kyle Tucker, Astros
OK, this card ...
Out of all the "that's not right" aspects of Heritage this year, this is the one that offends me. The photo is clearly Whitey Herzog, not Red Schoendienst. I know Topps knows the difference, both managers were in the 2022 Chrome Anniversary set just this past year.
Also, Whitey Herzog is in the 2024 Heritage set -- accurately -- as the Royals manager (he took the Royals job in the middle of the 1975 season). The question is: Herzog was the manager for the Cardinals in the 1980s, how did that photo even get into the set, why are '80s photos even being reviewed? This mix-up also implies that there's somebody employed at Topps who doesn't know the difference not only between Herzog and Schoendienst but the 1970s and the 1980s. I see youngsters mix up the two decades online all the time -- for example wondering whether "Everybody Wants To Rule the World" is from the '70s or '80s -- and it's baffling. Two very distinct decades, unless you're talking 1979 and 1980.
(If this was some sort of Steve Busby-Fran Healy error tribute that would be something else, but there's nothing to indicate that's what it is. Card #149 in the 1975 Topps set is Tim Foli and there's no error there. Also since there were no manager cards in '75 Topps there's zero to go on).
PACK 15
119 - Dominic Fletcher, Diamondbacks
301 - Noelvi Marte, Reds (RC)
405 - Bryce Harper, Phillies
345 - Ozzie Albies, Braves
427 - Jonny DeLuca, Rays (RC)
450 - Andrew Benintendi, White Sox
194 - 1975 MVPs, Fred Lynn/Joe Morgan
NF-15 - Soviet Unmanned Space Mission Venera 9 Lands On Venus, News Flashbacks
454 - LaMonte Wade Jr., Giants
Pack thoughts: I'll get to that MVP thing in a sec. The News Flashback is really a deep dive, we're getting to territory where I was aware of newzy things thanks to "In the News" during Saturday morning cartoons, but that ain't ringing no bells. ... Seeing the Bryce Harper card was a relief after starting the pack with two question marks. Remember when Harper was the rooooookie sensation?
OK, now ...
This is weird.
I was thrilled to see a '75 card featured on a '75 design with the Morgan but that was nullified by the sloppy Fred Lynn cropping job. The Lynn is from the original four-player rookie card:
But that's the kind of cropping stunt I'd do. It would have looked so much better if Topps had merely used the 1982 Kmart Fred Lynn.
And it took the app on my phone zero time to crop it so nicely.
If it was good enough for Maury Wills in the '75 MVP subset, I don't know why this doesn't work.
All right, hopefully the weirdness stops, or this is going to be just as long as the last post.
PACK 16
185 - Salvador Perez, Royals
137 - Kyle Bradish, Orioles
459 - NL Champions, Corbin Carroll, Diamondbacks
143 - Juan Soto, Yankees
285 - Jacob Lopez, Rays (RC)
290 - Gabriel Moreno, Diamondbacks
497 - Michael Lorenzen, Phillies
84 - Eli Morgan, Guardians (SP)
131- Oneil Cruz, Pirates
Pack thoughts: I like the Salvador Perez, I like the Royals on the blue-orange design in '75 Topps as well. ... The Soto photoshop job is pretty good. ... Topps mixed up the color combos and the format (vertical/horizontal) for the AL and NL championship cards. The AL card was purple-pink and vertical in '75, not the NL.
PACK 17
385 - Nolan Schanuel, Angels (RC)
342 - Brayan Bello, Red Sox
417 - Ha-Seong Kim, Padres
282 - Anthony Volpe, Yankees
240 - Blake Rutherford, Nationals (RC)
348 - Everson Pereira, Yankees (RC)
219 - Brett Baty, Mets
213 - Alex Lange, Tigers
113 - Alex Call, Nationals
Pack thoughts: Not much, this pack deflated me with all the newbies in it. I don't even know who that rookie Yankee is and I'm in the middle of Yankee territory. But it'll get better.
PACK 18
350 - Austin Meadows, Tigers
473 - Elly De La Cruz, Reds (RC)
461 - 2023 World Series, Game 1 (Adolis Garcia)
332 - Triston Casas, Red Sox
82 - Nathan Eovaldi, Rangers
184 - Alex Jacob, Padres (RC)
153 - Earl Weaver, Orioles, manager
NAP16 - Giancarlo Stanton, Yankees, New Age Performers
418 - Dylan Carlson, Carcinals
Pack thoughts: I can't find anything odd about the Earl Weaver card, though I wonder if it's time-appropriate. It's not like there's anything in the background to help you. ... The border combo for the De La Cruz card is different than what was advertised online in the 2024 Heritage promos, so I thought it was color swap of a key rookie initially, but I got faked out.
PACK 19
202 - 2005 MVPs, Alex Rodriguez/Albert Pujols
157 - Ketel Marte, Diamondbacks
495 - Hagen Danner, Blue Jays (RC)
272 - Kyle Stowers, Orioles
145 - Brent Rooker, Athletics
147 - Angel Felipe, Athletics (RC)
123 - Yogi Berra, Yankees (???), manager
85 - Adolis Garcia, Rangers, All-Star (SP)
340 - Drew Rasmussen, Rays
Pack thoughts: The Garcia is a nice snag for someone who is trying to finish the set and has to contend with 100 short-prints, I'm sure that would have been one of the tougher ones.
Now, more manager fun!
Berra as a Yankees manager in the 1970s does not compute. This is what does:
I'm pretty sure another 1980s manager photo slipped into a set all about the mid-1970s.
PACK 20
227 - Jose Tena, Guardians (RC)
209 - 2016 MVPs, Mike Trout/Kris Bryant
422 - Reid Detmers, Angels
121 - Yennier Cano, Orioles
379 - Hunter Goodman, Rockies (RC)
355 - Jacob deGrom, Rangers
218 - Oscar Colas, White Sox
421 - Jonathan Ornelas, Rangers (RC)
225 - Shane McClanahan, Rays
PACK 21
295 - Jeff McNeil, Mets
472 - Seiya Suzuki, Cubs
316 - Christopher Morel, Cubs
376 - Michael Conforto, Giants
362 - Edgar Navarro, White Sox (RC)
462 - World Series, Game 2, Merrill Kelly
415 - Henry Davis, Pirates
TAN12 - Rollie Fingers/Camilo Doval, Then and Now
481 - DJ LeMahieu, Yankees
Pack thoughts: The World Series Game 2 layout matches with the '75 Game 2 card, it's pink-yellow and horizontal. Other than that, I wonder how many White Sox rookies I've pulled so far? Seems like 17. (Answer: I've pulled five, and that's all of them). ... The Then & Now backs are not easy to read.
PACK 22
439 - Reese Olson, Tigers (RC)
306 - Batting Leaders, Yandy Diaz, Luis Arraez
338 - Ryan Mountcastle, Orioles
280 - Nico Hoerner, Cubs
305 - Jeremy Pena, Astros
356 - Will Smith, Dodgers
322 - Jose Fermin, Cardinals (RC)
88 - Nathaniel Lowe, Rangers (SP)
357 - Jack Flaherty, Tigers
Pack thoughts: Jack Flaherty seems to be sneering at his photoshop job. ... Will Smith may have the quote of the 2024 season so far when he said last night that the Dodgers wouldn't be throwing at Jurikson Profar because "he's kind of irrelevant."
PACK 23
499 - Mookie Betts, Dodgers, All-Star
260 - Nestor Cortes, Yankees
425 - Davis Schneider, Blue Jays (RC)
463 - 2023 World Series, Game 3 (Corey Seager? That helmet flap makes it a little tough)
371 - Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers
371 - Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers
156 - Hunter Brown, Astros
452 - Spencer Horwitz, Blue Jays (RC)
248 - Freddie Freeman, Dodgers, black border variation
467 - Xander Bogaerts, Padres
Pack thoughts: Woooo! The pack of the box for me. I've got the Mookie Betts All-Star, my first Shoehei Ohtani Dodger card and the black border in the box is Freddie Freeman! He looks kind of sinister with the black border. The Betts card is doubly jarring as not only is it not yellow-red, but there were no green-green Dodgers in the '75 Topps set and this is SO WEIRD.
PACK 24
253 - Jared Triolo, Pirates (RC)
460 - AL Championship, Adolis Garcia
386 - Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers
281 - Gleyber Torres, Yankees
424 - Prelander Berroa, Mariners (RC)
323 - Drew Waters, Royals
288 - Emmanuel Valdez, Red Sox
NAP-22 - Max Scherzer, Rangers, New Age Performers (the guy has been in the league for 16 years, he's not new)
271 - A.J. Puk, Marlins
Pack thoughts: The Kershaw in the last pack is a nice touch. I did pretty well with Dodgers in the box. There are only 4 or 5 left and aside from the two Highlights SPs, and they're all non-star players. (Granted I need dupes for all because of the set-completion business) ... The AL Championship card illustrated the other half of what I was talking about earlier. In the '75 set the NL got the brown-orange horizontal card for the NL Championship.
So, there's the box. And a total of 47 rookie cards so far.
I still need to do some tallying to see what I need and get a want list going. The box took care of about 200 cards in the set, so 40 percent. I know I said in the comments I probably wouldn't buy another hobby box ever, but it's very possible I get another one for this set -- better not be the exact same cards though.
Overall, as I've said many times in previous years, the content of Heritage is getting less and less appealing, which is unfortunate now that we've hit the designs that really hit home for me. This means I can guarantee you that I probably won't still be collecting more than a few packs of Heritage once it hits the 1980s. Maybe 1980, but we'll see.
Want list to come. Thanks in advance to anyone saying they'll send me cards from the set.
I'm sure that these won't be the only 2024 Heritage posts this year -- not by a long shot -- but I'll get to different cards tomorrow.
Comments
That Freddie black border is cool. Kind of a 1971 vibe to it...
Your posts drove me last night at local Michigan grocery chain Meijer to buy two 20 card packs and one 35 card box. The store often runs a BOGO special with 50 percent off the 2nd pack. Just waiting for that sale.
The more I look at that 1975 MVP card, the more disappointing it is.
Earl Weaver is slightly anachronistic in that white-front O's caps didn't appear on Topps cards until 1976.
Hunter Goodman sounds like the result of "If two original MTV veejays got together and had a baby..."
BUT AS A CATCHER. Which he last played in 1965, not 1975.
What in the world is going on there? I mean, why would you even make the two cards different? Crazy.
I bought most of the Heritage base I needed off Sportlots but I think you've convinced me to at least pick up a pack or two if I ever see these at a Target.
I like the manager cards. I think it rights a wrong in 1975 Topps (something SSPC had no problems with).