Final Heritage Totals...A Lot of Cards

Heritage was pretty simple when it first came out in 2001.  The set had 407 cards.  There was no high number set.  The was no minor league set.  There were just four basic insert sets (Chrome, Classic Renditions, Then and Now, and New Age Performers).  Even the relic and autograph cards were kept fairly simple.

Not so much any more.

The base set this year has 500 cards.  Toss in another 225 from the high numbers.  While you at it, add 225 more from the minor league edition.  And inserts?  I counted twelve insert sets.  Relics and Autos?  Too many to count.

My 2001 Heritage Cubs team set has 14 cards, 11 base and 3 inserts.

175 Rick Aguilera
130 Mark Grace
95 Luis Montanez
303 Bill Mueller
23 Corey Patterson
290 Steve Smyth
166 Sammy Sosa
CR-4 Sammy Sosa Classic Renditions
NAP-2 Sammy Sosa New Age Performers
TN-2 Sammy Sosa Then Now
201 Matt Stairs
182 Kevin Tapani
239 Kerry Wood
253 Eric Young

The 2015 team set?  Its just a bit bigger.  A big bit bigger.  No, just plain crazy bigger.  How does 57 cards sound.  Yes, bigger!

204 Cubs Team
253 Arismendy Alcantara
384 Jake Arrieta
NAP-15 Javier Baez New Age Performers
RP-9 Javier Baez Rookie Performer
CCR-JB Javier Baez Clubhouse Collection
66B-JB Javier Baez 1966 Bazooka
BF-1 Ernie Banks Flashback
CCR-EB Ernie Banks Clubhouse Collection
725 Kris Bryant
RP-4 Kris Bryant Rookie Performer
66B-KB Kris Bryant 1966 Bazooka
494 Starlin Castro
368 Chris Coghlan
715 Dexter Fowler
17 Jason Hammel
367 Kyle Hendricks
317 Tommy LaStella
458 Jon Lester
104 Miguel Montero
626 Mike Olt
110 Anthony Rizzo
217 Anthony Rizzo HR Leaders
274 Hector Rondon
549 David Ross
718 Addison Russell
RP-5 Addison Russell Rookie Performer
66B-AR Addison Russell 1966 Bazooka
RP-1 Jorge Soler Rookie Performer
604 Pedro Strop
290 Luis Valbuena
322 Tsuyoshi Wada
398 Travis Wood
139 Javier Baez Rookies
139 Jorge Soler Rookies
164 Matt Szczur Rookies
233 Eric Jokisch Rookies
156 DP Combo Baez Castro
CC-9 Cubs Cornerstones Bryant Russell

Heritage Minor League
41 Albert Almora
197 Kris Bryant Runs Leaders
198 Kris Bryant RBI Leaders
199 Kris Bryant Home Run Leaders
233 Carl Edwards
188 Pierce Johnson
37 Billy McKinney
145 Carson Sands
100 Kyle Schwarber
MM-9 Kyle Schwarber Minor Miracles
190 Jake Stinnett
RTTS-41 Jake Stinnett Road to the Show
112 Gleyber Torres
RTTS-40 Gleyber Torres Road to the Show
172 Jen-Ho Tseng
63 Duane Underwood
91 Dan Vogelbach
170 Mark Zagunis
MM-14 Mark Zagunis Minor Miracles

That is a lot of cards!

The Last Couple Heritage Cards

The Cubs have a few days off before the start of the NLCS.

Good!

I need a few days for my nerves to settle down.  The Blackhawk's playoff runs the past several years have been good training for this.  But, still, this ain't the Hawks.  Its the Cubs.  And its nerve wracking.  I'm hoping it turns out the way it did for the Hawks in '10, '13, and this past summer.

I'll turn my attention away from the post-season and take a look at the last couple Heritage High Number cards that I needed to complete my team set.


These are the two Cubs in the 1966 Bazooka insert set from the high numbers.  Ten additional cards were added and two of the ten were Cubs.  Yay Cubs, boo wallet!

 

And one of the two is Kris Bryant.  Big Boo Wallet.

The price of success that I happily pay.

Cubs In 4!!!!!!!!!!!

I called it correctly!!!

The Cubs took care of business last night and sent the Cardinals packing for the winter.  I'm glad they wrapped it up at home.  Going back to St. Louis would not have been a good thing.

On Monday, both home teams in the ALDS had the opportunity to clinch at home and they both failed.  That made me nervous about the Cubs chance.  And when the Cards put up a 2-spot in the first inning, that made me even more anxious.

But these young Cubs didn't panic.

Instead, they mashed.

Javier Baez continues to impress me since his September call up.  They need to find a place for him in the lineup every day.

Anthony Rizzo is a stud.  Twice in two days he goes 0-2 to Siegrist and then takes him deep.

Kyle Schwarber is a beast.  Check out this awesome tweet from the A's.

.@kschwarb12's home run just landed... in Oakland. @Cubs @MLB https://t.co/62SVMxsQ9H

— Oakland Athletics (@Athletics) October 13, 2015

And now its on to the NLCS.

I will not make another prediction.  I don't care if it takes 4, 5, 6, or 7.  Just win and move on.

Please!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow Times Six!!

Wow!!

Six Bombs!!

On a night when the wind was blowing out, the Cubs came up huge.  Six blasts in one game, an MLB post-season record, and an 8-6 win.

The Cardinals did their share of damage too.  Jake Arrieta was human.

But the Cubs still prevailed.

I predicted the Cubs in 4.  This afternoon they can make it happen.

Here's the six home run hitters:

 

 

 

 

And here, gulp, is the guy who's going to finish off the Cardinals (he says with fingers crossed!)

Another Crown

I snagged another.

These 2015 Crown Royale cards are /5.  I now have 2, 4, and 5. My latest pickup was #2 and it cost me just a little more than two bucks.

I'm not sure if I'll ever see #1 or #3. If they do surface, I'll make a serious run for them.

Five Random Cubs Cards

I've got 13,832 Cubs cards from 105 different brands listed on a spreadsheet. A random number generator picked five cards, one each from the past several decades.

The RNG came up with all sorts of oddballs today

1900s - 1970s: 1973 Fleer Famous Feats #7 Johnny Evers   Fleer really wanted to include Evers in the set.  The 21 steals of home that are noted are neither a major league record or even an NL record.

1980s: 1985 Drakes #6 Ron Cey Drakes has the Penguin swinging for the fences at Shea.

1990s: 1992 Cracker Jack #6 Andre Dawson  You'll have to trust me when I say that this is a Cracker Jack card.  In 1992 they teamed with Donruss and inserted mini-versions of the Donruss base card into boxes of Cracker Jack.

2000s: 2005 Upper Deck #322 Greg Maddux  Looks like the perennial Gold Glover is getting ready to grab a popup or bouncing ball.

2010s: 2013 Team Issued #14 Ernie Banks This is one of 82 cards that the Cubs gave away during the 2013 season.  We have a 1977 design and Mr. Cub posing at Seal Stadium in San Francisco.

Two More Autographs

I've added two more autographs to my certified auto collection.  My goal is to have at least one card of any Cub player with a certified autograph that show him as a Cub in a season he played for the Cubs.

Earlier this year I added a Matt Szczur autograph.  That was easy.  He's not a big name or a hyped rookie.

Today's two were not as easy, as one is a big name and the other is a hyped rookie.

This would be the big name.  I'm writing this before Lester takes the mound against the Cardinals in Game One.  Hopefully the team gets a decent return on its $155 million investment.

Here is the hype rookie.  I actually thought a week ago that I should get a Schwarber auto before the playoffs begin, just in case he does well and the prices get jacked up.  Turned out to be a wise move.  Jacking a ball into the Allegheny does make your card prices go up.

There are still two more extra-hyped rookies that I haven't picked up yet, Addison Russell and Kris Bryant.  I think I'm going to have to wait a couple years before their autographed card prices drop into my price range.

I'm a Cub fan.  I'm used to waiting.  It's what we do.