The Cards on Cards That Heritage Left Behind

A little while ago, fresh off of the recent success (?) of the online-only Topps Mini set, Topps decided to dust off a little year end classic and put together a box set of extended series cards. Instead of using the base set to do this, they used the loved and hated Heritage. Then they did something bizarre with the card numbering. And then they announced the print run as 1000 cards, slapped a random autograph in the box and decided a $100 price tag is a suitable price.

People were outraged! I was outraged! No, actually, I wasn't. The weird card numbering and exclusive-to-be-exclusive manner in which the way the set was released made the decision to pass it up rather easy for me. I can easily dismiss this set as a pricey standalone that probably won't retain its value as I don't believe it has any rookies that don't already have cards in other releases. Not to mention the fact that Topps stripped the fun out of set building (for me, anyway) by including the entire set in every package you buy.

Fortunately, nice guys like Rod from Padrographs came along and made it possible for me to obtain the only cards I really would find myself missing from the set: the Cardinals cards. Four of them were included in total, three of which were established players that had been on the team for awhile already. Matt Adams is the lone rookie represented in the set, but after a midseason callup Adams never factored into the teams late season plans.

So instead of getting a fresh face on a new Heritage card, we get a Jake Westbrook card. Oh well, I guess that's what Topps Update is for. Besides, the only transaction that made much of an impact was the acquisition of reliever Edward Mujica, hardly the most attractive choice for a collectible set.

Rod and I have exchanged cards from time to time, and he was kind enough to throw in some other Cardinal gems into the package. I know that people complained a lot about the "Pringle" effect that gave the 2010 Topps Chrome set some unfortunate curves, but I am not sure I've seen anything as bad as what has happened to these vomitfractor cards in the year since they were released. It's fine, though, because it's been my experience that these things flatten out after they are stored properly in binders or top loaders.

Here's one for Erin's collection. You can see the full list of Yadi cards that she owns by clicking on the sidebar. It's been sorted in a List display, but I don't know if there's a way to directly link to that view. If anyone has any spare Yadis, let me know.

I love getting minor league cards, especially when they are from recent sets as I almost never see these cards in pack or single form. Shelby Miller found his way onto the postseason roster late as a reliever, but he still has plenty to prove before he can solidify a spot in the 25-man for 2013.

Carlos Martinez is only 21 years old and has already moved up to the AA level with good results. I'm excited about him. This gold parallel is numbered (with the good gold numbers) 15/50. Nice!