For the second year in a row, Topps has continued the Heritage set with a high numbers release. Basically, they are exploiting the fact that some of their older sets came in different series throughout the year and created this release to add an update set onto the existing retro set.I don't have a problem with an update to the Heritage set. I love the idea! I have a problem with how the retro update set is marketed. In order to get around the pesky rule of only having a certain number of sets per year, Topps latches this onto the Updates & Highlights set and treats this as an insert set.
Even someone with a transorbital lobotomy can figure out that if six out of the eight cards in a pack are from the Heritage High Numbers set, that is probably the main set of the pack. I would think that licensing would have been pulled from Topps instead of Upper Deck for this type of mockery.
From the base set, there are four different White Sox cards, including a short print card of Gordon Beckham.
516 - Bartolo Colon
569 - Alex Rios
682 - Scott Podsednik
699 - Gordon Beckham
This isn't a bad addendum to the set earlier in the year. In fact, this set really compliments the other. It is a natural progression to the first release and I feel very good recommending this update set. I'm still not a fan of the way it's distributed, but I certainly can't complain about the product itself. With only four cards to pick up (as far as I can tell at this early juncture), this should be a fairly easy set to finish for the White Sox team collector.
***UPDATE***
There is now photographic proof of a gimmick card of Alex Rios featuring a black & white photo instead of the color. I haven't seen one for sale yet, but just the thought of it existing is another slap in the face by Topps.
2 comments:
Is Heritage High really packaged with those update cards to get around the rule? It was my understanding that Topps Series I and Topps Series II (for instance) counted as the same set, but Updates counted as a separate set since it had unique numbering. If that's the case, then shouldn't Heritage High count as the same set as Heritage? Oh well, either way I don't like getting update & highlight cards in my Heritage packs!
To my understanding, this is the only way Topps could get the release out last year. Given the flurry of Topps baseball product, I would only imagine that this would hold true this year too.
Since the U&H set last year was already out, it felt dirty to just buy the new pack of U&H just to get the Heritage High Number cards. I imagine the feeling will be the same this year.
That is why the wording on the packs includes the ridiculously long name incorporating the Updates & Highlights name.
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