2008 Topps Heritage High Series Box Review

I had to run to Wal*Mart to pick up a few things, so I meandered over to the card aisle and grabbed a couple of boxes of cards for sets that I haven't completed (or even added to my want list yet). I picked up a box of Upper Deck since I decided to add that set to my list of sets to finish, and a box of Topps Heritage Presents Updates and Highlights (or something like that).

Here's what I got:

Pack 1:
519 Max Scherzer


526 C. J. Wilson
606 Brian Moehler
612 Jeff Baker
613 Houston Astros
669 Aaron Miles
UH53 Jusin Duchscherer
UH80 Erik Bedard

My take: No black backs, no short prints, no inserts, no one I cared about. Blech.

Pack 2:
513 Darin Erstad
515 Chris Volstad
559 Josh Fields
614 Russell Branyan
665 Texas Rangers
FB9 Carlos Delgado - Flashbacks Insert
UH189 Micah Hoffpauir
UH320 Heath Bell


My take: No black backs, no short prints, but at least an insert. I still don't like the Updates and Highlights cards, I want my two Heritage cards instead!


Pack 3:
571 Gerald Laird
608 Ben Francisco
616 Brian Schneider
618 Matt Diaz
621 Jeff Samardzija (black back)

705 Mark Hendrickson (short print)
UH20 Justin Masterson
UH41 Joe Mauer

My take: A decent pack with both a black back and a short print. I needed the Hendrickson card, but I didn't need the Samardzija black back...to the trade pile it goes.

Pack 4:

539 Kelly Shoppach (black back)
547 Jay Bruce

549 Jeremy Sowers (black back)
566 Bryan LaHair
645 Masahide Kobayashi
671 Chris Davis
UH57 Ramon Castro
UH272 Guillermo Quiroz

My take: 2 black backs, but I had both of them already. This box isn't looking like it will help my set much so far... Halfway done. I do like that Jay Bruce card quite a bit though.

Pack 5:

553 Brandon Lyon
603 Joel Pineiro
622 John Baker
625 Greg Dobbs
666 Jason Michaels
698 Kevin Correia (short print)
UH47 Dustin Pedroia

UH201 Travis Denker

My take: I guess the point of the Update and Highlights cards are to guarantee that you get at least one player who you have heard of in these packs. The player selection for the high series is relatively uninspiring to say the least.... At least I got another short print I needed.

Pack 6:
537 Toronto Blue Jays
575 Jerry Hairston

586 Cody Ross
588 Alexi Casilla
655 Angel Berroa (black back)
684 Jo-Jo Reyes
UH82 Joe Saunders
UH92 Eric Hinske

My take: Another black back that I already have. I'm missing 18 of the 35 and I haven't gotten a single one I needed yet.

Pack 7:

544 Sean Gallagher
589 Emmanuel Burriss
605 Greg Reynolds
632 Tyler Yates
716 Clayton Richard
TN7 Luis Aparicio / Orlando Cabrera Then & Now Insert

UH17 Russ Martin
UH206 Russell Branyan

My take: I was excited by the 700 numbered card until I realized that it's one of the two 700+ card numbers that are NOT short prints.

Pack 8:

564 Chris Burke
592 Mike Hampton (semi-short print, green back)
604 Fernando Tatis
638 Jose Arredondo
656 Pablo Sandoval
704 Kenny Rogers (short print)
UH39 Jose Molina
UH95 Ichiro


My take: At least I ended on a high note with a short print and a semi-short print I needed.

I ended up with:

42 base cards (including 3 short prints - all needed and 1 semi-short print green back)
4 black back cards (and I had all 4)
2 inserts
16 different Updates and Highlights cards that no one cares about

The Bottom Line:
Overall, I give Topps Heritage High Series a 70/100.

Pros: I like the card design and I loved the Low Series Heritage set.
Cons: Too many players that no one has heard of. This particular box was weak in that it had no black backs I needed, no chrome of any sort, no relics or autos, and only 2 inserts. I hate getting the Updates and Highlights cards with Heritage. I don't want Updates and Highlights...and if I did, I certainly wouldn't buy a $20 box to get 16 of them. It doesn't make sense why Topps put those in the Heritage packs.