Featured 2012 Topps Heritage Cards: #221, Chase Utley; #192, Justin De Fratus; #274, 2012 Rookie Stars
Over the weekend, I received my 2012 Topps Heritage Phillies team set in the mail. There’s something about the cards that just doesn’t feel right this year. I suspect that it has something to do with the photography, which means what I really need to do is start comparing the photos in the set to those in the original 1963 Topps set. In addition, some of the variations this year — especially the Image Swap variations — feel just a bit too forced. However, the thing that I really find downright irritating is the mess that Topps has made of the 2012 Rookie Stars subset. Ironically, the “1963” variations on the Rookie Stars don’t bother me so much because at least there is a historical reason for Topps making them. However, there’s just no good excuse for this:
It gets worse: De Fratus also appears on 2012 Rookie Stars card #29 with Joe Savery, who makes a second appearance on 2012 Rookie Stars card #362. I realize that the Rookie Card Logo rule limits the prospects that Topps can place on these cards, but on the Phillies alone, Michael Schwimer was also available for use in this subset. I haven’t researched this, but I can’t help but feel that there were prospects from other teams eligible as well. And if there aren’t enough prospects available to create as many cards in the 2012 Rookie Stars subset as Topps would like, then only make the cards you can. In a set this small — even with all the variations, there are fewer cards overall in this year’s Heritage than in the original 1963 set, which I think is a fracking travesty — there are always plenty of veterans, young players and bench warmers to choose from.
Thank goodness I actually don’t actively pursue multi-team cards. Otherwise, Topps’s extreme laziness in this matter would really annoy the crap out of me.
14,000 Phillies 