2014 Topps Heritage baseball blaster x2

Sport:  Baseball
Product:  2014 Topps Heritage
Break Date:  April 4, 2014
Hit Breakdown:  None
Summary:  The wife and kids left town for the weekend, so I decided to pick up a couple of blasters, and gave Heritage a shot - two from Wally World. The first one turned out to be a nice little box, but the second one was an absolute home run - a monster shot.

When I cracked the first pack out of the first blaster, I immediately noticed something shiny, and it turned out to be a solid hit - an Ian Desmond Chrome refractor /565. The box also had a blue Wal-Mart parallel - Troy Tulowitzki.

With Heritage, you have to keep an eye out for photo variations and errors, and this blaster didn't have any. It did have a few high numbers - Chris Sale, James Shields, and Felix Hernandez. It also had a few inserts, most notably a Nolan Ryan 1st Draft.

With the second box, things escalated quickly. I immediately noticed something shiny...and purple. After the reveal, it turned out to be a nice PC card, a Michael Wacha purple refractor.

As it turns out, this was a hot box - each pack had a purple refractor - and the of the break was one of them - a Derek Jeter. The blaster also had a Jeter base (a high number.)

There was a Bryce Harper insert, and really - doesn't everyone love Bryce? Dude looks like he did nothing but lift weights in the off-season. There was a blue Wal-Mart parallel as well...another Tulowitzki. Odds on the same parallel? Gotta be astronomical.

Lastly, the second blaster had a Bazooka mini - Yu Darvish; these are pretty tough pulls, about 1 in 220 packs. So, while the first blaster was decent, the second was pretty great.

Overall, Heritage is a decent product. The product is insert-rich, there are variations to hunt down, and the retro look really works, especially with the paper stock they use. But I don't love the autograph checklist, and it would be a tough master set to put together because of the afore-mentioned variations.

But, the hot box concept is cool, and it made for a fun break.

Grade for the product:  B

Grade for the break:  A

Blaster 1:

Chrome Refractor /565:  Ian Desmond

Blue Wal-Mart Parallel:  Troy Tulowitzki

High Numbers:  Chris Sale, Felix Hernandez, James Shields

1st Draft:  Nolan Ryan
New Age Performers:  Stephen Strasburg

Then & Now:  Willie McCovey/Joey Votto

Flashbacks:  Voting Rights Act

Blaster 2:

Purple Refractor:  Derek Jeter, Michael Wacha, Yoenis Cespedes, Nolan Arenado, Curtis Granderson, Nelson Cruz, Brandon Phillips, Adrian Beltre

1965 Bazooka Mini:  Yu Darvish

Blue Wal-Mart Parallel:  Troy Tulowitzki

High Numbers:  Derek Jeter, Wil Myers, Max Scherzer

1st Draft:  Johnny Bench
New Age Performers:  Bryce Harper

Then & Now:  Frank Robinson/Chris Davis

Flashbacks:  St. Louis Arch