Getting High Off the Sweep

The Cubs may have wet the bed in the key series against the Brewers two weekends ago; but, since that dud of a three-game set, the Northsiders have absolutely been on fire.  They have come home victorious in the last six straight, including a total beat-down of the Mets and a sweep of the Cardinals that may very well have finally slayed the beast.  The Redbirds have been taken to the mat several times this year; however, like Rocky Balboa, they just kept getting back up.  That said, after this weekend's sweep, the Cards sit six games back with only 13 games left to play.  One step closer to bringing home another NL Central crown!

In the midst of my excitement over the sweep, I decided to celebrate by opening some of the latest baseball product to hit the shelves - Heritage High Numbers, which is to Heritage as Update is to Flagship.  I mean, I was already in Target anyway, as the Cubbies were wrapping up their victory on Sunday, and there are a small handful of cards in the set which I need; so, why not?

Plus, I'm not going to lie, the hanger box packaging kind of drew me in, as well:

I don't normally spring for anything more than a loose pack or two (maybe a jumbo pack if I'm feeling feisty), but how could I turn down that majestic home run cut by Kris Bryant?  You got me here, Topps.

Plus, like I said, there are several cards from this set that I would like to add to my collection - a rarity, these days, when it comes to modern product and my ultra-niche collecting habit.  High Numbers features the first and only card of the failed experiment known as Brett Anderson in a Cubs uniform.  Of course, this is just a week after I blogged about how he'd never get such a card - thanks for making me look silly on the internet, Topps!  Furthermore, the checklist also includes Mike Montgomery's first mainstream Cubs card (he has a Topps Now entry, I believe), Pierce Johnson's first, true Major League card and a couple of other interesting singles.  Thus, I figured that a 35-card hanger box would likely contain AT LEAST one card I needed.  Trigger = pulled.

So, I know you're wondering how I did with my little celebratory gift to myself - was the box befitting of such a glorious situation?

Well, maybe not quite; but, I'd say I walked away as a satisfied customer.

As you can see above, I pulled the recently DFA'ed Johnson's rookie card from the 35-card cello-pack contained within.  As of today, Mr. Johnson stands as a one-game wonder for the Cubbies, making his lone appearance on May 19th.  Will this be his only Major League card with the Cubs (maybe at all)?  I suppose we'll find out soon enough. Anyway, when it comes to my CATRC binder, I definitely prefer Major League products over Bowman, when applicable; thus, this HHN single will slide in to represent "Flow Bro" and his glorious mane.

Accompanying Pierce was my first un-Photoshopped card of Koji Uehara in a Cubs uniform.  Previously, Koji has appeared in the Topps Factory Team Set sporting Northside duds, as you can see above, indicative that he will likely show up in the Update checklist, as well.  Regardless, this High Numbers single marks his first non-digitally altered appearance in the best looking uniform in MaJor League Baseball and I also prefer my cards as authentic to reality as possible.  Thus, like the Johnson card before, this too will be sliding into my CATRC, replacing this Factory Set single that previously resided in his pocket.

That wasn't all for the Cubs quotient in this pack either.

I don't think a Cubs card which is emblazoned with "World Series MVP" will ever get old to me; not for Ben either, look at that grin!  Plus, I almost never pull a Cubbie insert from pack purchases, so this was a welcome sight in my stack.  The Award Winners are a pretty basic insert set, design-wise, which is appropriate for a product which is attempting to mimic 1968.  I bet this insert template would look even better with a Royals card though; doesn't that crown/shield thing in the middle look an awful lot like the KC logo?

That did it for "traditional" Cubs cards in the hanger box - three Cubs out of 35 actually isn't too terrible and one of them was one of my stated targets.  I'll take that.  Meanwhile, the fun wasn't complete over yet; as for non-traditional Cubs cards:

Here we have a pair of Cubs of a Different Color - Andrew Cashner and Dan Straily.  As I've mentioned on the blog before, I collect all cards of guys who've played for the Cubs, even if it depicts them with a different team.  I collect a bunch of these in a binder I call "Cubs of Different Color" (Wizard of Oz nod).  Into that binder Cashner, aka the man who was traded for the great and powerful Anthony Rizzo, and his Texas Rangers getup will go.

However, the man who colorman, Jim DeSaheis, refers to as "Straily Dan," (♫...are you reeling in the years?..♫) shall not be joining Cash in that three-ring binder.  Instead, he'll be inserted into my main Cubs All-Time Roster Collection.  Why, you ask?  Well, this is the first post-Cubs card of Dan that I've acquired and since the back makes note of his Cubs tenure (as inglorious as that might have been) it gets first dibs at that slot.  Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), Straily's time at Wrigley was quite brief and he never did receive a properly blue card.

Bonus Cubs tie-in: former Cub Juan Pierre appears in the trivia question

With that, there are no more Cubs connections to be had in my euphoric box of Heritage High Numbers; that being acknowledged, there were still a few interesting cards, worthy of being shown off on the ol' blog;

As far as gimmicks go, I didn't end up pulling any of the error, color-swap, gum-stains, action, or whatever other variations are part of the goofiness; but, I did end up with one of the short prints (which are saddled with 1:3 pack odds) in the form of Dallas Kuechel.  All I can say is that I'm ecstatic that none of the SP's are Cubs!

Additionally, the only other "special card" that I drew was the Rookie Performers insert of Christian Arroyo, on the right.  Ironically, the Giants top prospect hasn't really performed all that well for the cellar-dwellers, posting an anemic .192/.244/.304 slash in 135 PA's.  Still, I'm digging the groovy, sixties background on this set.  Far out, man.

I also pulled this bad boy - can I retire now?  I'm honestly amazed that Cody wasn't one of the short prints, this year.

Here's another rookie that caught my attention and who's story I've been following this year.  For those who haven't heard, when Gift Ngoepe was called up for the first time, earlier this season, the South African native became the first African-born player in MLB history.  Signed by the Pirates in 2008, Gift's arrival was certainly anything but what his name might indicate - he had to slowly claw his way up the chain.  I don't know about you, but I can't help but find myself rooting for such a trailblazer... even if he plays for a divisional rival!

Here's a couple of images which caught my eye.  On the left is a gigantic Seth Lugo, among the clouds, which is where the Cubs launched a few of a his pitches in their most recent series against the Metropolitans.  On the right, we have a clearly constipated Jered Weaver, who just recently announced his retirement from Major League Baseball.  Seriously though, get that man some Ex-Lax, stat!

And there we have it - the contents of my impulse and jubilation-fueled Heritage High Numbers hanger box purchase.  All in all, I ended up with three Cubs cards (two of which were binder worthy and the other of which was a cool insert) two Cubs of a Different Color, and a handful of other interesting cards which will make for great trade fodder.  It's not the best box that I've ever busted, but it sure did make for a great way to wrap up a great weekend.  That said, if anyone has pulled extras of the Brett Anderson or Mike Montgomery card, I know an interested trading partner!

Meanwhile, the Cubs head to Tampa Bay for a three-game set with the Rays before a four-game tilt with their other divisional foe, the Brewers.  Here's hoping the Boys of Maddon can wallop on their manager's former club and then bash Brew Crew's playoff hopes.

Fingers crossed that, come the end of next weekend, I'll want to celebrate with some new cards again!