The Cubs have 13 players in the set. Twelve were in the low numbers and only one was in the high number short prints. That's good for the wallet. Topps has all the big names included; though "big" is a relative term, since the Cubs are in a rebuilding mode (again!!) and some of the usual big names are gone.
Allow me one gripe about Heritage: They try to capture the same type of photography used on the original cards. Lots of the early '60s cards used head shots, and so does Heritage. That's fine. The problem for me is that most of the Heritage head shots are taken at spring training on team photo day. All we see in the background is blue sky. Check the originals. They were taken at the ballpark, mostly in the Polo Grounds or Yankee Stadium. For me, a baseball card needs a ballpark in the background. The seats, the scoreboard, the ads on the wall---they add character to the card. The Heritage cards lack that. Blue sky=boring.
My suggestion...with today's technology, Topps can photoshop a background. How cool would it be to see Kerry Wood in the Polo Grounds. Well, see for yourself...
...This took me 20 minutes with my 14-year-old version of Adobe PhotoDeluxe. I should think the pros at Topps could come up with something decent.
OK...Kerry Wood wouldn't be wearing a home jersey in New York, so how about putting him in Wrigley Field, circa 1960s
I'll step off of my soapbox now and show you the cards...and count the blue backgrounds while you're looking.
This is the non-error Barney card. The error cards are still over $100 with no sign of dropping.
Don't forget about the super-super short print no-position at Wrigley card.
Here's the Kerry Wood card, again the non-error (and non-Polo Grounds) version.
Former Cub Carlos Pena is the third Cub player with an error variation card. In 1963, Cubs first baseman Ernie Banks had an uncorrected error on his card. The back said "Complete Major and Minor League Record" but Ernie never played in the minor leagues. That's a really nitpicky error since it is technically correct...the card does list his complete minor and major league record. The Pena error version of the card also states "Complete Major and Minor League Record." It too is going for over $100.
Anthony Rizzo came to the Cubs from the Padres and is suppose to be the first baseman of the future. The photoshop job on the hat is not done very well; the C looks odd.
Here are the rest of the players...nothing too noteworthy...and lots of blue sky.
The one card Brent didn't include my team set was the rookie card, #54, that includes a Cub prospect named John Gaub. I'll have to hit up Sportlots for that one.
Tomorrow, I'll have the inserts and extra cards.
I figured out another problem, in addition to the blue skies: in Heritage, everyone is looking at the camera. In the '63 original set, the players in the posed shots tended to look away from the camera. I really do wish Topps would take the time to either do the photography correctly for these sets or to just use modern photography action shots and be done with it. This half-correct crap is infuriating.
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