Like the regular Heritage set, the design mirrors the 1966 Topps set, which was one of my favorites sets to collect growing up. So yes, there is some sentimentality involved when I look at the design.
The box that I opened had a box topper that was an advertising panel of Matt Joyce, Johnny Giavotella and Seth Smith. I find that interesting because in one of the packs I opened, I drew all three of those players, back-to-back-to-back. In that same pack, I pulled a chrome card of Kris Bryant; the next card was Bryant’s base card.
Other box toppers include 1966 Topps buybacks, with original cards stamped; and a Punch-Out card that is much scarcer.
The base set has 200 cards, starting with card No. 501 and ending at No. 700. The final 25 cards (Nos. 701 to 725) are short prints and fall one in every three packs.
Any time I open a box that contains approximately 700 cards, I am asked who was tagged at No. 666. This year, its Phillies rookie outfielder Odubel Herrera.
The hobby box I opened yielded 189 base cards and eight short prints.
What makes the Ryan so appropriate was that one of his no-hit feats — two in one season (1973) — was matched Saturday night by Max Scherzer.
The bat card did make me chuckle, though, since Ryan owned a .110 lifetime batting average. But since Ryan owned so many batters during his career — seven no-hitters and 5,714 strikeouts — maybe a bat card sends a subtle message.
Or maybe I am just overthinking this.
The inserts are similar to the regular Heritage set. Now and Then plays off a 2015 highlight with something that occurred in 1966. At times, the factual parallels in this 15-card subset work; other times, they appear to be a stretch. A typical hobby box will deliver three of these inserts, and true to form, that’s what I pulled.
Award Winners is a 10-card subset that fall three per hobby box. As the name implies, these inserts pay homage to players and managers who won awards during 2015.
The final insert set is Combo Cards, another 10-card offering that collectors will find once in every eight packs.
Two of the cards I pulled (Martin Prado and Francisco Lindor) were numbered to 999. The third one, of Bryant, is a refractor numbered to 566 and can be found in every 30 packs.
Variations are also present in Heritage High Numbers. The Action Image is exactly what it sounds like. It is a photo of a player in action, hitting or throwing. Most of the Heritage base cards are posed shots, so it will be easy to spot the difference.
I pulled one of Rangers pitcher Yovani Gallardo. The team name is in green, while Gallardo’s name is in red.
Topps Heritage High Numbers is an easy product for set builders, and the short prints give a collector just enough of a challenge to make the chase intriguing.