Psuedo-Box: 3 Blasters of 2009 Topps Heritage High Series

Since I don't have any card shops near me AND since I don't have much in the way of patience when it comes to ordering boxes online, I decided to purchase 3 retail blasters of 2009 Topps Heritage High Series and pretend it's a hobby box... Did I beat the odds or just get beaten down by the man? Let's see...

First up, a pile of the Topps Highlights and Updates cards. Three blasters only yielded one duplicate though, so that's good I suppose. I'm going to try and complete the Updates set so I don't mind two of these cards in each pack as much as I did last year when I had no interest in the '08 Updates set.

Next, a giant pile of Heritage base cards. I only received eleven duplicates from the three boxes, but of those eleven, 4 are actually triplicates meaning I only received 7 different duplicates and 4 different triplicates.

Alright, now that the basics are out of the way, let's look at the inserts and hits...

Short prints
Seeded 1:3 packs, expected # of short prints = 8
Actual # received: 7 (including 2 of the same)
687. Adam Dunn
689. Ben Zobrist
704. Ken Griffey Jr.
709. Matt Holliday
709. Matt Holliday
715. Nolan Reimold
718. Rick Porcello

As a set collector, this particular result saddened me. It's a tough task tracking down short prints...and being "slighted" one, coupled with pulling two of the same short print, means that the task of completing the set is now that much harder... On the bright side, it was nice to pull the Ken Griffey Jr. short print...and I still like getting Adam Dunn cards even if he is no longer a Red!

Chromes:
Seeded 1:4 packs, expected # of chromes = 6
Actual # received: 8
CHR143. Andrew Bailey
CHR146. Bobby Abreu
CHR147. Brett Anderson
CHR162. Kyle Blanks
CHR172. Ricky Romero
CHR184. Fu-Te Ni
CHR191. Derek Holland
CHR193. Cliff Lee

Now that's better! I'm crazy enough to try and complete the '09 Heritage Chrome set as well, so pulling 8 of these guys is a nice surprise! I think I'd actually rather pull two extra chrome cards as opposed to one short print so things worked out up to this point.

Then & Now:
Seeded 1:12 packs, expected number of Then & Nows = 2
Actual number received: 2
TN6. Roger Maris & Grady Sizemore
TN10. Roger Maris & Torii Hunter

2009 Flashbacks:
Seeded 1:12, expected number of 2009 Flashbacks = 2
Actual number received: 1
FB-08. Mariano Rivera

Rookie Performers:
Seeded 1:12 packs, expected number of Rookie Performers = 2
Actual number received: 2
RP13. Ricky Romero
RP14. Dexter Fowler

Obviously, no one should buy Heritage for the insert cards...but I do consider them to be part of the set so it's disappointing to not pull the "expected" amount. It seems like some blasters are full of inserts and others are practically void of inserts...

Chrome Refractors:
Seeded 1:11 packs, expected number of Chrome Refractors = 2
Actual number received: 3
CHR109. Melky Cabrera
CHR116. Homer Bailey
CHR193. Cliff Lee

Once again, I beat the odds - and with some decent refractors no less!

And finally, a hit - one just like what I would have been "promised" in a hobby box!

Clubhouse Collection Relic
Seeded 1:58 packs, expected number of Relics = 0.
Actual number received: 1
CC-BM. Brian McCann

Well, I was happy to pull a relic because I seemingly never do when it comes to retail blasters...but it isn't exactly my first choice of player to pull... Of course, it is available for trade so when I win, you all win (and by you, I actually mean, the one person who gets this in a trade).