Heritage has always been a hit-or-miss type of set for me, largely dependant on how I view the original set. I've enjoyed the last few years of Heritage and those designs from the late-60s, but I've never really been a fan of the 1970 set which really makes 2019 Heritage a bit lackluster for me. Despite this, I still wanted to join in on the fun and picked up a couple of packs from my local LCS.
I've always felt the 1970 set was one of the most boring ever created, which is particularly frustrating as it fell right in the middle of a string of tremendous Topps designs. There's just something about that drab gray border and lack of color that turns me off from this set.
Of course, that's not to say that it's not a quality product with some fantastic cards. Just take a look at that Pat Neshek card below. It pays tribute the Lowell Palmer card from the 1970 set and seems to be an early favorite for Card of the Year for many collectors.
It's pretty fitting that Neshek is the one to pay tribute. After all, the guy is a huge collector himself. It makes me wonder whose idea this was: did Neshek come up with the tribute idea and pitch it to the photographer? Did Topps plan this and ask Neshek to recreate the Palmer? Either way, it's a sweet card.
Though this year's Heritage isn't in my collecting plans, I do appreciate the variety in photos. With the exception of Stadium Club, the photos in most other products have been a bit stale and a tad over-filtered for the past few years. Of course, photos in Heritage are exclusively posed (with the exception of variations and inserts), and I doubt we'll see many posed photos slip their way into Flagship anytime soon. But that won't stop me from appreciating a great close-up of Strasburg and his huge grin (and beard) or a great shot of Piscotty in one of the quintessential poses for a dude playing baseball.
Despite a strong showing from this year's Heritage, I don't plan on chasing the complete set. I'm still hoping to track down the Dodgers, none of which I found in my two packs, though it's not at the top of my to-do list.
Nope. 2019 Heritage isn't quite for me. But it does mean we're finally approaching 2020 Heritage: the set I might be most excited about.
I actually collected the 1970 cards back in 1970. And even as a little kid, I was pretty disappointed in the appearance of the cards. Still, I did obtain a bunch of those cards back then but have never completed that set. I do intend to complete the 2019 Heritage set.
ReplyDeleteIt's a bummer that the 1970 set is so drab, especially since it's in the midst of an excellent run of designs. Really thrilled to see the next few years of Heritage.
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