Some Recent Topps Heritage Pickups

I'm constantly scouring the auction sites for cheap and easy ways to add onto my 2011 and 2012 Topps Heritage sets.  I'm not really looking for any inserts or relic cards -- of course if I should stumble upon any of my favorite players at the right price, I won't turn a blind eye.  Rather, I'm looking for those elusive base cards and, of course, those treasured short prints.

I recently stumbled upon a couple of "Buy It Now" auctions on eBay.  Make your own Heritage pack, the titles stated.  Ten cards (one more than your standard Heritage pack) for three bucks.  Now, between you and me, that ain't the best pick of the litter.  Especially considering some auctions allow you to pick upwards of 30-40 cards for around that same price tag.

However, after further inspection, the list of available cards for each lot included SPs!  And not just the SP cards of Randy Rightfielder and Paulie Pitcher.  Some tried and true stars included, some of which I highlighted below.

So, I wound up buying a one of each lot.  That's 20 cards.  Thirteen of which were SPs.  After factoring in the shipping costs, I got all of these cards for less than the price of what some sellers were asking for just one short print card of a star player.

I am a happy man!

Here's a sampling of what I got.  I will start with a few non-SPs that I really like:

2011 Starlin Castro, #25

Starlin looks a little: A.) woozy, B.) under the weather or C.) stoned.  Simply rhetorical, folks...

2012 Aroldis Chapman, #225

I'm starting to hear a lot of chatter about Chapman or fellow closer Craig Kimbrel getting serious Cy Young consideration.  As a Mets fan and, therefore, an R.A. Dickey fan, I take umbrage with this.  Yes, both closers are having extraordinary seasons.  But, Dickey's numbers have been consistently great all year, and he's winning on a pretty below-average team.  I just think most people have issues with taking a knuckleballer seriously. Of course, these are the same clowns who don't have to step into the batter's box and face one...

2011 Jeremy Hellickson, #219

Most cards of Hellickson feature this same or a similar facial expression.  It looks like some snotty or condescending comment is about to come out of his mouth.  No matter, the boy can pitch.  Even though the stat nerds of the world can't figure out how, since his WAR% or IP/WHIP/E=MC2 doesn't say so.

2012 Ike Davis SP, #436

Okay, we're in SP territory now!  And it's a good one.  I like Ike, so much so that I picked his 2011 base card as part of the other lot (not pictured).  His batting average won't look pretty at season's end, but he's got an outside shot at 30 homers.  And that's good enough for me after a dismal beginning to the year.

2011 Roy Halladay SP, #453

Nope, I will not call him "Doc."  Doc was a Dwarf.  Doc coaches the Boston Celtics.  Hell, Doc used to pitch for the Mets.  But, this guy's name is Roy HALLADAY.  It's not Holliday, like the Old West gunslinger.  Consider that a pet peeve of mine, and let's move on :-)

2012 Mike Napoli SP, #485

Nap is struggling to match his fantastic 2011 campaign, but his power numbers are still pretty solid.  And now I see he's on the DL.  No matter, I will still take my chances with the Rangers winning the AL flag again.

2011 Justin Verlander SP, #460

This is pretty much the crown jewel of the package, so to speak.  If I'm not mistaken, it has the highest book value of any 2011 Heritage short print.  Not that I'm absorbed with the price tag, but that sure does make it difficult and pricey to acquire a card such as this.  Cost aside, I really, really like this card.  A lot.  It looks like Verlander is in El Salvador or Costa Rica or somewhere like that.

2012 Troy Tulowitzki SP, #453

Last but not least is a player that baseball has sorely missed this year.  Tulo has been on the DL since late May and the Rockies have surely suffered for that.  I guess he's kind of getting close to returning, but it's still a lost season for the former All-Star.  By the way, what are those alien-looking trees in the background?  Scary!

All in all, I'm very happy with this transaction.  These are the kind of eBay victories that make the many hours of sifting through the auctions completely worth it.

I may not attain a complete SP set for Heritage 2011 or 2012, but I'm having a great time working towards it.  I guess that's kinda the point of the hobby, no?

MK