Set-Building '61 & '63 Topps - Vintage Lot Pick-Ups

While wandering the endless digital card aisles of eBay, I came across a couple of vintage lots that I just couldn't turn down. They were two separate listings, one consisting of 1963 Topps cards and another with a bunch from the 1961 issue. Each lot averaged about $1 per card and after my recent experience at the local [card shop] mining for 1960 commons, this price point was instantly much more attractive than it had been before. Perspective!

As you guys know, I've been leaning more vintage anyways, despite my flirtation with some Bowman a few weeks (months?!) ago. Man, how time flies. I don't think I'll ever truly kick the new card vice, but I am trying OH so hard to maintain discipline and stick to old cardboard, graded or beautifully raw.

As it were, these cards were raw but the pictures sure did lead me to believe they were in fairly decent shape. Ha! "Fairly decent"...I am falling victim to one of my very own pet peeves - personalized grading terms. I love some of them that you see in the marketplace! But seriously, the cards in the pictures seemed to hover in the mid-grade spectrum. There's always a risk with buying lots when it comes to the condition of cards unseen...but I was feeling frisky. And for once, I really feel like it paid off!

Here are the two stacks:

Mr. Golden on top in honor of Night Owl

I call this the AL East stacking method

Not too shabby, right? I gotta say, there is something extremely satisfying for me about handling decent-sized stacks of these old cards and fanning them out like this. The colors of the '63 design are really cool to behold and provide some insight into just how revolutionary this issue must have been more than 50 years ago - particularly after '61 and '62. But man, is it TOUGH to imagine solid corners and edges along the bottom half! I feel for any of you who are seeking these in high grades!

But don't let that comment lead you to believe that I don't appreciate the 61's. This set has always been on my radar as a very "achievable" vintage release to chase. I managed to come across a great looking Billy Williams a year ago or so, so that was a big pick-up. The Mantle will probably be the final card, as usual, but that's okay. It's the building process that delivers the fun.

The excitement didn't end there, though. I carefully picked my way through the stacks to discover that the '61 pile in particular came with some 'hidden' gems that didn't make their way into the pictures or headline of the listing. For starters, how about a slick #1:

 

As many of you probably know, the first card in any vintage set is usually a solid find. When you go WAY back into the history books, this can equal a tremendous amount of value based on rarity. Since the #1 cards were always on the top of kids' stacks or at the front of the shoe box, they usually endured t he greatest amount of wear and tear due to rubber bands, grubby hands, etc. Many went missing or are in some pretty bad shape.

There I go again with the official condition terms!

This copy of Dick Groat is really nice, however, and I was elated to see it emerge from the package. A couple of print marks and touched corners might deter others, but the color and centering (for this set) are very nice. I was quite happy to slip it into the pole-position pocket of page #1 for the set! Sure, it's the only card on the page...but I dream big. To a fault.

Here's the back:

I did NOT know that Dick brought home the NL MVP Award the previous year? I suppose this is what garnered him the #1 slot? Does anybody know if Pafko pulled off the same feat in 1951? He also won the batting title? Amazing! A twitter friend was very kind and filled me in on another tidbit - that Groat's number was the first one to be retired at Duke University. Solid!

My fortune didn't end there! Here were some other great cards in my 'lot':

Team leader cards are always welcome - particularly ones with Hall of Famers! Remember...about a $1 for each of these...

So what's up with this Del Rice? Well, besides featuring a gloriously old-school catcher's mitt, this Rice is a high series card that is a little tough to find. I am sure that I will learn more about this obstacle as I progress through the set, but I'm happy to at least be able to check one off the list.

And finally:

 

DUPLICATES! When you're spending on vintage cards for older, more expensive sets, it's kind of deflating to pull two of the same card from a lot that is supposed to be nice and assorted. That means it will require one more purchase or trade to get it all done in the end. Ouch! Of course, if that one set of doubles happens to be Mr. Billy Martin....well, fine diddily-doo with me! This Martin card is awful from a photography perspective (fairly common for the set, though) but big on Yankees fan appeal. I'll have to decide which one I am going to keep for my collection and which one I will trade away fro more progress. I'm leaning towards keeping the copy on the right - what do you think?

I need to tally up my totals so far from the two sets. Don't get too excited (even though I am!), we're talking single-digit progress here towards set completion - but I am happy to finally kind of make a commitment. I expect it to take decades, but now that what I do have is paged and in a binder, I feel content from a collecting (OCD) aspect.  My favorite are the pages with as many as three cards on them - looking strong!

I am stoked to shore up the vintage collection just a little bit more with these two lots. I'll also try and get a NEEDS list started on my "Sets" tab in case anybody wants to start swapping. Actually, may be more logical to just list the few dozen cards that I actually have vice the hundreds that I don't...

Yeah, that's what I'll do.

 

Thanks for reading!

Ryan

 

1954 Bowman - #147 Joe DeMaestri and #19 Bobby Shantz

Joe DeMaestri and Bobby Shantz will always hold a special place in my collection. They were both very kind in their respective responses to my autograph requests, sending additional photographs and answering some of the questions I posed in my letters. I will forever be grateful for their generosity.

 

My interest in both players stems mostly from their time as Yankees, of course. But just as with most of these characters from the golden age, they each have some amazing stories. Whenever I have the chance to pick up cards for either of these guys, it becomes a very easy decision. I had just such an opportunity when these two '54 Bowman cards came up on a sales list.

 

DeMaestri found himself on the field for Mazeroski's home run in Game 7 of the 1960 Series. This was an epic moment lamented by Yankees fans but I find myself fascinated with the event itself. Joe only found his way into the game after Tony Kubek was struck in the head by a line drive in the 8th inning. Timing is everything, as they say.

 

"Froggy" began his career in '51 with the White Sox but had found his way to the Philadelphia in time for this '54 issue. The A's would venture west to Kansas City for the following season, where they would remain until the late 60's. Joe would leave in 1960 for the Yankees, a fateful trade that not only led to his view of Maz's shot from the field but facilitated the delivery of Roger Maris to New York.

 

1954 Bowman is a simple design and this particular card is playfully off-centered, but the coloring is really fantastic!    

 

Interestingly, the write-up on the back of the card cites a nickname of "Oats" for DeMaestri. He was a little tall for those days at six feet, so perhaps there was some kind of horse comparison? Bowman also cites a 'big player deal' that sent Oats from the Sox to the St. Louis Browns. A quick review of this trade shows:

Browns received: DeMaestri, Gordon Goldsberry, Dick Littlefield, Gus Niarhos, Jim Rivera

White Sox received: Sherm Lollar, Tim Upton, Al Widmar

Boy, if that batch of ballplayers doesn't scream for an internet research session, I don't know what does! I'm pretty sure I've seen a few of those guys in my collection before. In fact, I know I have! Yes, I recall blogging about Sherm after I picked up his '60 All-Star card for my Dad's set. I'll have to dig through some cards to see if I can connect some more cardboard dots - always a fun time!

In the meantime, here is the back of the card. A very logical layout that flows easily and provides a lot of solid information:

Check out that Presidential trivia question, folks! Now for Mr. Shantz...

Bobby Shantz had a fantastic career that spanned fifteen seasons of major league ball with seven clubs. He had his finest season with the A's in '52 when he claimed the AL MVP by going 24-7 with nearly 280 innings pitched. The Athletics finished in 4th place that season, enjoying their final winning season in Philadelphia. Shantz participated in the All-Star game at Shibe Park that year and notched a terrific line in the history books by striking out three NL sluggers in a row in the 5th inning: Whitey Lockman, Jackie Robinson and Stan Musial. His duel with Jackie plays a part in one of the items Mr. Shantz sent back to me in response to my TTM request. Have I shared that with you guys, yet? Definitely one of my favorite pieces.

Bobby was injured during the '53 campaign and endured a slow return to form, hurling only eight innings in 1954. That might account for the peaceful but tired look in Bobby's eyes on this Bowman card. Another simple portrait here and the centering is off top-to-bottom, but the edges/corners are AMAZING and the color is even better. There are no hints of a stadium to be had in this card as there was in DeMaestri's, but I kind of dig the field and wooded background. Looks like a warm spring day to me.

The back of the card describes everyone's hope for Bobby in 1954 and adds a curious "great little fielder" comment at the end. The reference to his stature was well deserved, as Mr. Shantz was only five and a half feet tall - but I view the great fielder portion of the comment with much curiosity and awe because it is quite prophetic. Shantz would go on to win eight CONSECUTIVE gold gloves in his career, an amazing feat! It's just incredible to me that he didn't win his first award until three seasons AFTER this Bowman card was issued.

Nice job, Bowman!

I'm excited to add these two cards to my collection. As I mentioned above, it's always a treat to add cards of players I've been able to interact with personally. I don't have very many 1954 Bowman cards but I might very well be approaching a full page now! Does this constitute an official set-build declaration? Hmmm...

Thanks for reading!

Ryan

Hobbynomics: On-Line Box Breaks versus Bay of E Shopping

I'm always trying to find the best way to collect for me.

Last year, I ordered a complete set of Heritage from a very well known Ebay dealer in lieu of buying boxes/blasters and completing the set via trades.   This option was low stress but it eliminated the act of set-building, something I actually enjoy.   The pay-off was supposed to be that I could very quickly dive in and enjoy my complete set.....but inevitably, I set it aside and continued working on the building of other releases.   My thought was, "I'll come back to this later."

I still haven't.

I purchased hobby boxes for two different releases last year, Gypsy Queen and Topps Update.   The Update jumbo box was a lot of fun to bust.   There were a lot of inserts and parallels that have made for some really good trade bait.   Not to mention, it also provided the biggest "pull" of my modern collecting career - so perhaps I'm a bit biased?   I still need to share that one with you guys.   If you follow me on le Twitter, you may have caught it in some tweets.....

The Gypsy Queen was a little off.   The guaranteed "hits" weren't as exciting as I had hoped for but a redemption auto allowed me to make back about 50% of the cost via a quick flip on Ebay.  

It was Eric Hosmer.   Whew!

Speechless

The Update set is complete after acquiring a few cards from trades and I only need one more card to finish up the GQ base set.   That's pretty solid but this was also an expensive and risky route to go.   The "pull of a lifetime" is not guaranteed and if the collation is bad, you could be stuck with a pretty vicious 0-for-2 start to your collecting.   But that's the risk/reward of it all, yes?   I also have plenty of duplicates - anybody need anything?

This past week or so, I tried two more methods of madness - online box breaks (team AND random) of 2013 Archives and some specific player collection shopping on Ebay.   I'll get into the laser-guided PC shopping expedition in a later post!   For the Archives, I hooked up with a great outfit called Sports Card Breaks on Twitter (@sportscardbreak and www.sportscardbreaks.com)and utilized their services.   They run a great operation that was very fair, transparent and fun to participate in.   I highly recommend them if you want to give on-line breaks a try.   My first break with them was a 2-box random break, meaning that I paid for a quantity of "slots" and then all MLB teams were randomized.   For $16, I received the Giants and the Rockies.  

Okay......

Hey, that's the nature of the best.   At least I was going to finally snag some Archives!   If any of the "hits" from the two boxes were from SF or COL, I'd be in luck - and if not, well, I'd have some great trade bait to send off to my Rockies and Giants fans trading partners.

Yes, Virginia - that's a HIT!

My second break allowed for me to select my teams so I went with the Yankees and Braves, of course.   As a Yankees fan, you're kind of doomed to have to fork over the most money of any team, as their high end pulls tend to be more valuable.   The Braves are a little better but the real deal here lies in the smaller market teams, in my opinion.   Of course, they are cursed by Topps' reluctance to issue cards for players on those teams outside of a star or two, so it can be a double-edged sword.  

All in all, I paid $16 for the two randomized teams and a total of $25 for the Yankees and Braves ($15/$10 split).   So, we're at $41 which is about half the price of a single box (just checked BIN offers on Ebay).   I think those prices are really fair.   Again, each break busted open two randomly selected hobby boxes.

So how did I do?

I still have to pick up my Braves and Yankees winnings from the post office, but I'm excited to check them out.   I am fairly certain that I completed the base card team sets for both of them - that would be a big relief.   If not, hopefully I can swap out the Giants and Rox cards to make them whole.   I think there were a couple of cool inserts as well, so those will be great additions to my team collections.

At $41, how many of the cards that I want from this set could I have claimed off of Ebay without any risk?   I like the Tall Boys insert, the #'d gold parallels and....that's about it.   The Fan Favorites autographs are also stellar!  

My latest findings after a quick and dirty search, including delivery:

$5 -     Braves Team Set (base)
$8 -     Yankees Team Set (base)
$5 -      Freddie Freeman Gold (#'d)
$4 -      Anthony Rizzo Gold (#'d)
$7 -      Jeter Tall Boy
$3 -      Anthony Rizzo Tall Boy
$1.50 - Robbie Cano
$4 -      Otis Nixon SP
$37.50

Okay, so with about $3.50 to spare, I could have notched both team sets, picked up 3 inserts for my Player Collections and even added the Jeter, Cano and Nixon (love seeing Nixon on a card again!) to the team collections.

Should be in GQ Wall Climbers, too!

Tough call!

Yes, I have a lot of Archives cards right now that I don't need, but if one of those boxes had produced that Mickey Rivers Fan Favorite Auto or the Otis Nixon Auto.....well, they didn't.

Mick The Quick!

This shopping list doesn't look so bad, either:

$5 -        Braves Team Set (base)
$8 -        Yankees Team Set (base)
$11.20 -  Mickey Rivers Autograph (Yankees)
$7.50 -    Darrell Evans Autograph (Braves)
$9.99 -    Otis Nixon Autograph (braves)
$41.69

414 HR's, people!

It's hard to argue with checking off your favorite teams' complete sets and also adding three certified, on-card autographs (in nice, vintage designs).    In the end, though, for all of this - it's still $40.   That's a lot of money out of a family's budget for some cardboard!   But if you ARE able to save up and utilize some petty cash for your collecting enjoyment, the question is how do you want to spend it - methods and pursuits.   I find this to be an on-going evolution for me.

Fortunately, it's mostly fun to figure it out along the way!

What do you guys think?   Anybody else like to participate in the on-line group breaks?   Do you stick to eBay shopping?   Or do you prefer walking into a hobby shop / retail and just picking up a few packs?   These are the questions :)

Thanks for reading!

Review: BrentAndBecca

This one is long overdue - but I figured it's never too late to give a recommendation or provide feedback for fellow hobby enthusiasts.

Brent Williams is a very active, energetic and enthusiastic player in the sports card hobby.   Most of us know him and his business - "BrentAndBecca" - in several different mediums.   He regularly reviews Topps products and comments on the various attributes of the product breaks he conducts from the perspectives of both a collector and "dealer".   Is that term accurate?   Topics such as profitability, overall enjoyment and collectability are usually the heart and soul of his articles and I enjoy them a lot.   I try not to get too bogged down in the financial details of our hobby but with the varying costs of different products and conservative status of most family budgets these days (including my own) - a little reading and research can go a long way towards maximizing our enjoyment and comfort as the consuming collector.   His reviews can be found at the Cardboard Connection throughout the year as the 'collecting calendar' progresses through various sports and Topps releases.

BrentAndBecca also has a very active presence on Twitter as, wait for it.......... @brentandbecca  (https://mobile.twitter.com/brentandbecca)!   Looks like some great minds think alike when choosing twitter handles and website and blog names!   He tweets pretty regularly to promote upcoming products or highlight interesting items in his inventory.   He's a collector like us, so some of the cardboard he encounters finds its way into his own collection but the rest of it is packaged up nicely and available for the rest of us via his Ebay Store.   One thing that I find to be really useful is Brent's frequent twitter banter with the folks at Topps.   I can usually gleam some very insightful information and updates from their conversations, thereby saving both time and money on my end.   That's a win-win - and absolutely free.

You can read much more about Brent and how his business got started in an archived CC article, so I won't get too bogged down in the details of recreating that wheel.   Let's move on to my own experience with BrentAndBecca.

I tried out several different collecting approaches last year, as I was on a mission to compile a very diverse assortment of the year's sets for my son's future enjoyment.   Even though I enjoy hand-building complete sets pack by pack, it's way too expensive for me to do that with every release.   So, I tried to save some funds by buying one of the complete sets from a dealer (Seller?) like BrentAndBecca.   The set I was looking for?   2012 Topps Heritage.   I had purchased several blasters of '11 Heritage the year before and, while I am now closer than ever to complete my building of that set (YES!), I had a run of bad luck and suffered through a high duplication rate and lack of "hits" amongst the blasters I bought.   It's all random and part of the chase, but it left a bad (placebo effect) taste in my mouth.   Therefore, 2012 Heritage would be bought outright as a complete set.   My E-Bay searches provided plenty of options, as you might imagine.   I considered several but definitely felt very comfortable with the company I was most familiar with, B&B.

His prices were never THE lowest - depending on how you look at it, how much time you were willing to spend and how much risk you wanted to eliminate.   Sure, there were some sets up for bid that were a few bucks lower than B&B's no-haggle, "Buy It Now" price point.   But most of these came with shipping costs that were just as much if not higher than B&B AND......they were open bids.   So you never knew where the final sales price would fall.   Brent Williams and his team conducts an incredible amount of research and is usually quite fair with their assessment of value and price for the sets they collate and sell from their break efforts.   In the end, price was definitely a big PLUS for B&B and it carries the largest weight with me for consideration.

But what about quality?   Will the cards be packaged well?   Shipped quickly?

Since this was my first experience with BrentAndBecca, I would have to find out for myself when my Heritage set arrived.   The good news was that customer reviews and Ebay feedback scores were all very positive and I detected no negatives for them when it came to collectors' experience with purchasing collated sets.

So, I rolled the dice and took the plunge.  Within 7 working days of the product's release date, the package arrived!   Here it was:

Highlighter Provided By Ryan's Pitch

Exactly what you want to see from a dealer.   It doesn't have to be an official USPS box - but that certainly doesn't hurt.   And while it's common practice for us individual collectors to recycle packaging supplies in an effort to keep costs down, I didn't want to see my Heritage set arrive in a shoe box.   The box was neatly and thoroughly sealed.   Looking good!

Amongst the packing worms and bubble wrap were these two card boxes.   The exact "count" sizes elude me but I am sure some of the astute collectors out there can size them up pretty easily.   The fact that two boxes were used threw me off a little bit as I had ordered one complete set.   Had there been a mistake made?  

Beautiful

Of course not!   The two boxes contained my complete base set of Heritage.   The 'breaking up' of the set into two separate boxes allowed BrentAndBecca to fit my order into the USPS box pictured above and may very well have saved them (and therefore, me) some shipping costs.   I would like to point out that both card boxes were brand-spanking new and in perfect condition.   That counts.   And while I will definitely have to say that dealing with two boxes is a hassle for me, it's because of a personal preference for having sets in a single box.   A reason for visiting a card shop or ordering card supplies?   Always welcome.   In the end, definitely not a deal breaker - particularly if it saved everybody money.

Collector Weirdness - The Smell Was Even Better Than You Think

Finally, here's a peek at how the cards were collated and packaged inside.   They were VERY neatly handled and placed into both boxes, resulting in perfect alignment.   While that's a fantastic sight for my OCD, I think it provides some legitimate support for the cards as they are shipped and helps to prevent the damage of edges and corners belonging to cards should they have been out-of-line with the rest of the set and poking out.   And just for good measure, BrentAndBecca surrounded the wide-side of the cards with strips of bubble mailer, to secure the set even more.

I'm still assessing my enjoyment of the various collecting methods I used (and continue to use!) for chasing last year's sets.   I have every intention of going through the entire '12 Heritage set and checking out each card for appreciation...but I have yet to do so.  I can't say the same for the other sets I am building for 2012.   Might be something to that!

But as for my experience with BrentAndBecca - it was a great experience and I would recommend them without hesitation to my fellow collectors.   Great quality control with their products and it's obvious they appreciate the cardboard just as much as we do.   Again, I would also encourage you to follow @BrentAndBecca on Twitter and check out Brent's columns when he takes a break from busting cases of Topps to put pen to paper.   I think you will find it to be both enjoyable and well worth your collecting time.

Thanks for the excellent service, Brent.

Thanks for reading!      

 

Heritage Hysteria: It's HERE and we're LIVE!

Yessir - for me, the 2nd most anticipated release of the year is here!   A blaster, some racks and some loosies have me on my way.   I do have a question for the audience at the end, as I feel like I have betrayed my set-builder's code of honor with this release....but no worries.   We'll call it an experiment and adjust accordingly.   I'll explain more later.   Let's see some cardboard!   Here's a quick sample of Topps Heritage 2012:

Awkwardly AWESOME!

This card is awesome and may be one of the most hilarious cards I have ever seen.   THIS is my Mystery Science Theater 3000 take on card #173:

Jeter:     "Psssst!  Alex!  Hey, bud....we really need you to pick it up at the plate this year - alright?"

A-Rod:  "(sniff)....I know, man....I'm sorry, Captain.   I've got a new knee now, but I could never be
               you!   This is like Mantle and Maris ALL over again!"  hangs head in shame

Robbie: "Listen to these clowns!  I'll keep doing what I do.....where's my Dad sitting, anyways?"

 I love it.   And you know what else I love about Heritage?   The backs.   Topps seems to spend a lot of time on the backs of this release and I, for one, appreciate that.   I'll show more shots of the backs for these cards than I normally do and here is the first:

Love 'em or hate 'em - they are pretty solid.



Let's break away from New York and cover some Braves action, shall we?   I wasn't able to pull a Fab Fivin' Freddie this time but you can never go wrong with a Jonny "Play Me Every Day" Venters SP and the best catcher in baseball - Brian McCann.   I'm hoping the Cobra Kai Dojo Sensei Gonzalez gives Jonny more of a break this year and fingers are crossed that McCann can stay healthy.

 

See what I mean about the backs?   Venters retired the two batters he faced in the All-Star game AND he led the Majors in appearances.   BOOM - now you know!   Thanks, Topps.   Let's check out some inserts:

 

It doesn't get any more '63-ish than a Baseball Flashback Koufax!   Other than having to come to terms with how well he MOWED down the Yankees in the Series, this card is a great tribute to his Pitching Triple Crown achievement.   Time for the News:

 

As a student of history, I think these inserts are pretty cool.   As a baseball fan, I could do without them - but I would have to think that I would dig them, and learn something, if I were a young buck again.    As a Dad of a couple kids who might be 'sponging' this type of knowledge up in the years to come.....it's a great addition to this 'HERITAGE' set, yes?   As for present-day me, this card made me smile and think about trying for a TTM request to this guy:

Welcome to the ROCK!

On with the countdown!   Here are some more highlights:

It's still cool to leave the stickers on your hat?!

My first fantasy draft pitcher selection?

Look up 'baseball' in the dictionary and you'll see THIS guy!

Got thrown out of a bar by Kate Upton; +2,000 COOL points!

And some more Yanks (bare with me, you guys).......



Solid.



Gold.





3,088 and counting!

A real quick comment - full stats on the back here.   Another thing I really LOVE about Heritage.   Even the TEAM cards (which, by virtue of their team pictures are COOL anyways!) have a full line of stats for each entry on the roster on the back.   How great is THAT?  

Let's do some more inserts:

I'd smile too, if I were on this mini peel-off!

Welcome to the American League, Hombre!

Love the bleachers and palm tree behind Spahn!

This is what a "Then & Now" card should look like!

Another great thing about Heritage?    Manager cards!   Yep - my chance to grab a card of my favorite all-time baseball player (and now manager), Don Mattingly.   Did I snag one?   You betcha!

It's great to see him smile - I'm rooting for ya, Donnie!

Results

I think Mattingly's place with the Dodgers has given me a reason to cheer for the boys in blue.    SHHHHHH!  Don't tell anyone......a lot of inner turmoil going on with just writing that statement.   But loyalty to heroes runs deep, my friends.   I'm sure there's an Owl out there to help me deal with my feelings....

OKAY - if you're still with me, here's a few more to chew on with a NY theme to act as my Dr. Drew after that last confession:

Speaks for itself.   Really epic card for us Yankee fans.

C-Grand & Floating Heads!

I'm hoping that Granderson has another great, powerful year.   Did you know that he is 30:1 to lead the Majors in home runs?   The Rookie Stars 'floating heads' cards are as trippy as ever.   This one caught my attention - not only because it displays some great Yankees talent but because it gives me the feeling that Topps is still coping with Montero's departure from New York.   Three Yankees and one Mariner?   A Mariner who just happened to be traded late in the off season from the Yankees?

My guess is that they could airbrush 'ol Jesus but didn't have time to swap his head out for another Yankee rookie.   Whatever the case, it is a little peculiar and a great card that tells a story of what might have been.   I wish Jesus the best in Seattle, though.   I think he is going to be a great slugger for the M's as they try to return to greatness.   I think this card shows a lot of confidence:

Boy, do I remember THOSE 2 home runs!

Fare thee well, Jesus.

AND FINALLY - let's end this post with #1, shall we?   THE first card in the set and some more floating heads:

Thanks for sticking with me.   Hope you enjoyed this quick 'first-take' on '12 Heritage.   The set still gets it right, in my opinion.  That thick stock and less-slippery finish just feels right to me.   The cards even smell like baseball cards to me......I know, that's a little weird.   The design of the front and back of these cards are delightfully easyon the eyes.   I don't even wear glasses, but they just seem brighter to me, like a soft-white light bulb.

(record scratch)  Errrr.....what was that?!

Um, anyways - the design is very pleasing to my eye.   The layout, fonts and color all mesh well together.   I even think the card numbers themselves build on the already successful card-number placement/design of the flagship set.   I know, I know - the design is pretty much half a century old.   Well, it still works!   The inserts aren't the greatest and I have carried my streak of ZERO hits in Heritage packs forward from last year, but I believe this set is ALL about the base cards.   It's a great set to collect and enjoy.

Which brings me to my question.

I am still struggling with the completion of 2011 Heritage and I'm not even worrying about the 75 SP's.   I faced some severe duplication in the packs I picked up last year and, as I mentioned - complete NADA on relics or auto's.   SO....I wanted to try something new this year in an effort to save some money.   I pre-ordered a base set from @brentandbecca.

That's right - a self-proclaimed set-builder just up and ordered the set!

It should be here in a week or so and I can't wait to rifle through every card for some edu-ma-cation from the card backs.   @brentandbecca has a great reputation, great prices and was a pleasure to deal with.   This set will be a fine addition to my son's growing collection.

Did I do the right thing, though?   How do you like to collect this release?   Have you ever gone back and forth between set-buying and set-building?

Have I forsaken the challenging fun of piecing this release together, card by card?   Did I take the easy way out?   Only time will tell.   I will soon have these cards sorted and listed for trade, so check back often if you're chasing this one!   Perhaps this will be a good way to claim some Yankees and Braves inserts, via trades with you all in exchange for helping you to complete your Heritage needs since I don't have to build a set anymore. 

I know.  There's no right or wrong.  As my friend Brian over at 30YOC always says, "Collect What You Like".   I think he would also say without hesitation, "Collect How You Like".   I know I like to collect Heritage.   This will be a great litmus test as to how I like to collect it.   Stay tuned!

Grab a Gatorade, my friends.   You made it.   Thanks for reading!