A Missed Opportunity

A #CrackinWaxMailDay from @CrackinWax shows what a great set 2019 Bowman Heritage could have been. 

I'm not thoroughly against the idea of Topps or other card companies creating sets to sell exclusively online, but many of them are not my thing. My thing does happen to be Heritage cards, so when I heard that Topps had revived Bowman Heritage as an online exclusive I wasn't sure what to think. I entered into a couple of box breaks over at Crackin' Wax once again that featured this online exclusive and was blown away at how much I liked it.

If only this set had gotten a wider release. Since this isn't a widely available product, I can't afford to go after the whole set, but I can still enjoy the cards I got for my team collection. I was able to complete the basics, though, so I'm just looking for parallels at this point.

Much like previous Bowman offerings, the set is broken up into two categories - rookies/veterans and prospects. Both feature the same basic design, which is modeled after 1953 Bowman. It's great.

I'm always curious about the card stock that Topps uses for each set, and this one did not disappoint. This feels like cardboard! Why can't (most) modern products actually feel like... you know... cards? And those card backs look fantastic.

Topps even got the rookie backup catcher into the mix.

Of course, Topps being Topps, there are parallels of a Chrome and non-Chrome variety. I actually like the Chrome cards in this one, even if they veer away from the basic appeal that Heritage cards have to me. This is a classy Genesis Cabrera card.

My big pull, if you will, was another card of the Large Lad Luken Baker, on a blue Chrome refractor numbered to 99.

I also bought into a 2014 Bowman Draft break, hoping for some Flaherty magic as this set features his "1st Bowman" card, something people are starting to care more and more about these days. I didn't luck out in the magic department, but I did pick up this needed Chrome version.

Classy Breaks

A couple more @CrackinWax breaks. The good stuff. #CrackinWaxMailDay 

My box break purchases are slowing down a bit, but I still found my way into some interesting stuff this past week over at Crackin' Wax. I never see Topps Gold Label cards just sitting around, because it's a hobby-only thing and it's just... not the type of thing you just see sitting around. I only ended up with a couple of needs, but they are classy cards. Literally!

I think the black parallels look even nicer than the regular cards, but that is probably what everyone thinks. I'll probably end up going after the commons that I need from this set at some point instead of signing up for more breaks, but it's always fun to at least see what might happen.

The marriage of Topps Heritage and minor league teams is much more my speed, so I was excited to jump on a break of 2019 Topps Heritage Minor League. I can only hope that there are more of these breaks in the future. Genesis Cabrera made it to the big club last season and was even on the playoff roster, even though he was more of a "break glass in case of emergency" option at that point. There's a lot of unknowns surrounding him, but everyone seems to like his potential.

I picked up two more cards of the Large Lad Luken (that is my personal nickname for him.)

Baker's autograph (I got a hit, guys!) is signed on a picture of him with one of the Cardinals other class A affiliates, which is pretty fun. I really wish the two Topps minor league sets were even larger in scope so they could get more teams involved, but that wasn't likely to happen even before the looming specter of minor league contraction takes its icy grip over the game. It's such a shame. I hope they can work something out.