SCF Official Review: 2014 Topps Heritage Minor League

[Enigma]

First and foremost, I'd like to thank our sponsors at Topps for providing us with this box.

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24 packs per box
8 cards per pack
Current Retail Price (online): $54.99 - $64.99

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

BASE CARDS (200 SUBJECTS)
Top Minor League Stars are featured in the 1965 Topps design.
- Short-Printed Base Cards (25 Subjects)
- Short-Printed Variations (25 Subjects)

PARALLEL CARDS
- Black-Bordered Parallel (225 Subjects) Sequentially Numbered
- Blue-Bordered Parallel (225 Subjects) - 1 of 1
- Lime Green Parallel (225 Subjects)
- Printing Plates (250 Subjects) - Includes base cards and short printed variations - 1 of 1

AUTOGRAPHS

Real One Autographs
Featuring autographed cards of Minor League Baseball stars.
- Black Bordered Parallel - sequentially #'d.
- Red Bordered Parallel - sequentially #'d.
- Orange Bordered Parallel - sequentially #'d.
- Blue Bordered Parallel - #'d 1/1.
- Printing Plates - #'d 1/1.

Real One Dual Autographs
Thematically grouped pairings of the biggest stars of Minor League Baseball! Sequentially #'d.
- Printing Plates - #'d 1/1.

Clubhouse Collection Autographed Patches
- Sequentially #'d.

RELIC CARDS & INSERTS

Clubhouse Collection Relics
- Black Bordered Parallel - sequentially #'d.
- Blue Bordered Parallel - #'d 1 of 1

Clubhouse Collection Patches
- Sequentially #'d

Minor League Baseball Hat Patches NEW!
- Featuring manufactured hat patches of Minor League Baseball stars!

Baseball Flashbacks NEW!
- Highlighting recent Minor League Baseball milestones and accomplishments!

MAKE YOUR PRO DEBUT PROMOTION
Become entrenched in baseball history! Be a pro player for a day with a Minor League Baseball team and have your very own baseball card featured in 2015 Topps Heritage Minor League Baseball Edition!
This Grand Prize Ultimate Experience Includes:
- Locker in a team's clubhouse fully equipped with uniform and equipment
- Participation in pre-game warm-ups and batting practice with a Minor League Baseball team
- Presentation of the lineup card at home plate
- Ceremonial first pitch
...and much more!
Don't miss the baseball experience of a lifetime!

WHAT WE PULLED

Base - 187/200 (93.5%)
SP - 4/25 (16%)

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Pro Debut Alan Strout

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Lime (1)
Black /105 (3) - Christian Arroyo, Dylan Unsworth, Micah Johnson

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Baseball Flashbacks (4)
Road To The Show (6)
Make Your Pro Debut Code Cards (3) - Not Scanned

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Francisco Lindor Clubhouse Collection Jersey

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Dylan Unsworth Real One Autograph

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Rob Whalen Real One Autograph

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Addison Russell Hat Patch (Tennessee Smokies)

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Topps Heritage has been a stalwart in the Topps family for a number of years. Heritage utilizes the design of cards on what would be its 50th Anniversary, so 1965 gets the honor this year. In the last couple of years, Topps made the move to include a separate release devoted to Minor League players. There are 225 cards in the base set, with the final 25 being short prints. There are also 25 subjects who have card variations. Set collectors will be able to virtually knockout the base set without short prints with one box. Cards are great for those who enjoy attending games and getting autographs. There are three parallels for each base card. Confusing though is the fact that one is unnumbered, yet falls at a rate that is harder to get than one of the numbered cards.

(Italics denotes numbered)
Short Print 1:6
Short Print Variation 1:74
Black 1:11
Blue 1:823
Lime 1:24
Printing Plate 1:185

A cool concept that was recently added is the Make Your Pro Debut Contest. Each year, there is one winner who gets to debut with a Minor League team. The winner receives a trip to the city of the team, their own locker filled with equipment in the team's locker room, a chance to go through warmups as well as participate in batting practice and the opportunity to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Winner will also receive inclusion in 2015 Topps Heritage Minor League with their own baseball card.

In order to participate last year, you had to find the promo card inserted in random packs. This allowed you to submit an essay detailing why you wanted the chance to appear with the Aberdeen Ironbirds. Out of all the submissions, Topps placed some on Facebook with the one getting the most votes being crowned the winner. This year, it has switched to entering codes found in packs. Each box should contain three codes.

Make Your Pro Debut Contest Card 1:8
Make Your Pro Debut Winner Card 1:185

There are two inserts this year. Flashbacks has been a staple in the regular Heritage release year after year, split up between Baseball Flashbacks and News Flashbacks centered around the design year being featured. This rendition focuses on events from the previous year in the Minors. Road To The Show highlights a group of youngsters making their way through the ranks. While not an insert set, be on the lookout for two Mystery Redemptions. These will be good towards one of two top picks from the 2014 MLB Draft.

Baseball Flashbacks 1:6
Road To The Show 1:4
Mystery Redemption Number One 1:925
Mystery Redemption Number Two 1:925

Each box will yield at least two autographs and 1 relic card. The autographs are a part of the Real One series. Sadly, these are sticker based signatures. However, there are dual versions available in limited supply. Clubhouse Collection is the subset name given to all the various relics. One of the sets contains an autograph as well. As an added bonus, some boxes will reveal a Manufactured Hat Patch card that features some of the logos in the Minors. I know manufactured patches have been around for years, but this is one that would have been better if actual game-worn hats could have been obtained and the logo was taken from them.

Clubhouse Collection Relic 1:31, Black 1:125, Blue 1:12,330, Patch 1:822, Autograph Patch 1:1,233
Real One Autograph 1:14, Black 1:221, Red 1:686, Orange 1:1,371, Blue 1:6,851, Printing Plate 1:1,713, Dual 1:823, Dual Printing Plate 1:3,083
Minor League Hat Logo Patch 1:95

FINAL THOUGHTS

Base - 4.75/5
Design - 4/5
Fun - 3.5/5
Value - 3.5/5
Rebuy - 4.25/5

Overall - 20/25 (80%)

NPN INFORMATION

NPN 2014 Topps Heritage Minor League Baseball Edition
PO Box 2220
Duryea, PA 18642

Limit 1 Request Per Household

Postmarked By: 12/10/14
Received By: 12/17/14

Canada Skills: 15 x 3 + 9 - 2 = ?

Once again, I'd like to thank our wonderful sponsors at Topps for giving us the opportunity to open and review this release. For more information on all of their products, visit them today at www.topps.com.

Base and inserts are available for request. Please PM with the card or cards of interest, including numbers for base cards. Cards will remain available for 30 days from the time this review is posted. As always, only VIPs may make a request for the first 48 hours.

[pwaldo]

How old is Alan Strout?