2018 Topps Heritage Group Break Summary

Although we didn't hit any autographs, I still think we did quite well overall for our 2018 Topps Heritage group break.  I figured I would summarize the break here for those that missed the video (or for those who prefer scans and the written word).  I also will highlight any variations that I missed while going through the packs live on video.

Short prints:

Each box should yield 8 short prints (out of the 100 different short prints in the base set).  Seeded 1:3 packs, you basically have no shot at completing the full 500 card base set simply by buying packs (unless you have a TON of disposable income and you can figure out what to do with tons and tons of duplicate regular base cards).

Our 24 short prints were:

406.  Ryan Braun - Brewers

407.  Lewis Brinson - Brewers

414.  James McCann - Tigers

416.  Matt Harvey - Mets

422.  Yolmer Sanchez - White Sox

428.  Lorenzo Cain - Royals

435.  Brad Ziegler - Marlins

438.  Matt Boyd - Tigers

439.  Lance Lynn - Cardinals

441.  Zach Britton - Orioles

455.  Drew Smyly - Cubs

459.  Jorge Bonifacio - Royals

463.  Adrian Beltre - Rangers

465.  Kyle Gibson - Twins

466.  Mark Trumbo - Orioles

468.  Alex Cobb - Rays

472.  Brandon Phillips - Angels

476.  Nick Markakis - Braves

481.  Lonnie Chisenhall - Indians

487.  Jose Iglesias - Tigers

489.  Joe Musgrove - Astros

494.  Jeurys Familia - Mets

499.  Luis Perdomo - Padres

500.  Jose Pirela - Padres

I was pleased to see that there wasn't a single duplicate short print which meant more group break love to spread around to the various teams.  The Tigers did quite well with three short prints which is a good thing since they amazingly didn't get a single regular base card in any of the three boxes!  

Inserts:

We ended up with the usual assortment of inserts, all of which I showed off in the video so I won't scan them again.  The final tally was 7 Deckle Edge (seeded 1:10), 4 Then & Now (seeded 1:20), 6 New Age Performers (seeded 1:12), 4 News Flashbacks (seeded 1:20), and 3 Baseball Flashbacks (seeded 1:20).  Since we opened 3 boxes with 24 packs per box (72 total packs) we were basically right on target with the regular inserts.

Now to the really good stuff...

We pulled a pair of action variations (seeded 1:35 packs).  

Both of those cards are quite nice - especially the Bryant since the Cubs were a claimed team (as opposed to the Rockies which were a "random" team).  Still, I doubt Spiegel83 (who ended up with Colorado) will complain about that nice looking Arenado!

Each hobby box of 2018 Topps Heritage includes a box topper.  From a practical standpoint, I was happy that we pulled three of the 1969 buyback cards (as opposed to the much-trickier-to-ship advertising panels).  

I was also pleased to see some other teams get represented there with the old stuff (even if it is now stamped old stuff)!

Next, the chrome cards of the break.  According to the pack wrapper, regular chrome cards fall 1:35 packs, chrome refractors fall 1:61 packs, and black bordered chrome cards fall 1:501 packs.  In my opinion, we crushed those odds despite not getting a single "regular" chrome card in any box...

Why am I so giddy you ask?  Well, for starters we ended up with a pair of chrome refractors - each numbered out of 569.  That Bryce Harper, in particular, is quite gorgeous and is clearly one of the best cards to get a chrome version of in the set!

We also pulled one of the super-hard-to-find black bordered chrome cards (seeded 1:501 packs)!  This time, we got Wil Myers of the Padres - numbered out of only 69 on the back of the card.

Congrats to defgav on that one!

Each box also promises an autograph or relic - and while we didn't pull any autographs I would say we still do okay in terms of the relics.

The Dimwit had the Marlins, Spiegel had the Rockies, and Shane had the Red Sox.  

Finally, that brings us to a few more rarer cards that we lucked into.  

First up, a pair of black bordered cards (seeded 1:52 packs).  Not bad there...but it gets better because our next card is flipstock card (seeded 1:512 packs)!!

I ended up with the Indians so this was my lucky day here...but since I'm not a Cleveland fan I think this will find its way onto eBay before long - let someone who actually would cherish this thing own it!

And finally, we end on another rare card - a 100th anniversary parallel (seeded 1:277 packs) of Derek Fisher of the Astros.

The Astros were claimed by the dimwit who ended up making out pretty well in the break. 

And that does it for my first group break of 2018.  I tried a few new things this time around (including a live stream on YouTube using my cell phone and light box.  I think that went fairly well and I definitely enjoyed the live chat that happened throughout the group break.  I believe I will do something like that again in the future...which leads me to the following:

What product (if any) would you like to see in the next group break?  And, question 2, at what price point would you like to see my group breaks come in at (ex. about $10 per team, $20, $30, etc.)?  Obviously the higher the team cost, the more value/cards/boxes we can include in a single group break but I'd like to try and hit the sweet spot for all of you.  Let me know below in the comments (or shoot me an email) - I'd love to know both price point and what product(s) you'd like to see in our next break.  

Thanks again to all who joined in the fun...your cards should be arriving by the end of the week (all cards were shipped out yesterday morning).