2008 Hertiage - Second Box Break

AKA "The Debacle". Here's the results of my second box break, mercifully all in one post. I've listed each pack with the best pull and the number of cards I needed for the set out of each below.

Pack 1 - C5 Dontrelle Willis Chrome #0800/1959 and the rest are doubles.
Pack 2 - None.
Pack 3 - 451 Josh Anderson SP and nothing else.
Pack 4 - nothin' at all.
Pack 5 - NAP14 Jimmy Rollins New Age Performer and zippo.
Pack 6 - 452 Melvin's Outfield Trio and bupkis.
Pack 7 - TN2 Ernie Banks & Alex Rodriguez and I feel sick.
Pack 8 - C26 Kelvim Escobar #0756/1959. Nothing else.

Every single base and black card in the first 8 packs I had already pulled in the first box. All of them. Considering I only bought a second box at the same time as the first so I could maybe get better collation to help complete the set, this is pretty discouraging.

Pack 9 - NAP5 David Wright and NAP1 Magglio Ordonez. 3 for the set, J. Kent, Braves Team and R. Sexson

I finally break through with three cards I need and a black card I don't have. Plus Topps gave me an extra New age Performer for my troubles. Seeing as I was shorted a card in the last box, I think I deserve it.

Pack 10 - C44 John Smoltz chrome #1351/1959 and none for the set.

More dupes, but I did get a sweet Smoltzie chrome card and a Pedro Martinez black back I didn't have.

Pack 11 - 453 Braden Looper SP, none for the set, one black back of Kevin Kouzmanoff.
Pack 12 - Nothin. I needed the Austin Kearns black back at least.
Pack 13 - 484 Brian Roberts All Star SP and a Bill Hall black back.
Pack 14 - Buddy freakin Holly Insert, Dan Giese black back.

Good news: I'm getting short prints and back backs I don't have at least. Bad news: EVEN THE INSERT IS ONE I ALREADY HAVE! Aaaaaaarrgh. And a crappy insert at that.

Pack 15 - 348 Dan Uggla SP, another useless black back.
Pack 16 - Carlos Delgado bat relic.

This box has officially gone from "nightmare" to "Lovecraftian nightmare".

Pack 17 - 472 Manny Corpas SP, 5 cards for the set and a black back.

Best pack in the box by far. 9 cards in the pack, 5 cards for the set, a short print and a black back. The two duplicates in the pack were Jeff Francoeur and Hanley Ramirez so even that's good. Maybe the third row in the box will do me right.

Pack 18 - TN10 Don Drysdale & Jake Peavy Then & Now and another black back.

Well, so much for the "no more doubles" theory.

Pack 19 - C8 Felix Hernandez refractor 554/559, black back parallel and 5 cards for the set including Tim Hudson.

Ok, that's better. Great pack, Huddy, King Felix Refractor and a Prince Fielder. Let's keep this up.

Pack 20 - C25 Jimmy Rollins Chrome #1353/1959, 5 more plus a black for the set.
Pack 21 - 486 Mike Lowell All Star SP, 4 more and a black back.
Pack 22 - BF8 Mickey Mantle Flashbacks, 4 more and a black back.

We're in a groove now. too bad the other two rows couldn't be like this one.

Pack 23 - NF10 Freakin' penguins! and 4 more plus a black back.
Pack 24 470 Lenny DiNardo SP and one stinking black back.

Ugh, got hosed on the last pack. I also hate the News Flashback set. 1959 was too damn boring for such an insert set. Well, here's the sad totals:

Base: 30 needed, 146 total
Black: 15 needed, 24 total (1:1)
SP: 8 - Dan Uggla, Josh Anderson, Melvin's Outfield Trio, Braden Looper,Lenny DiNardo, Manny Corpas, Brian Roberts All Star, Mike Lowell All Star (1:3)
Chrome: 4 - Dontrelle Willis, Kelvim Escobar, John Smoltz, Jimmy Rollins (1:8)
Chrome Refractor 1 - Felix Hernandez (1:29)
Then & Now: 2 - Banks & A-Rod, Drysdale & Peavy (1:15)
New Age Performer: 3 - Magglio Ordonez, David Wright, Jimmy Rollins (1:15)
Flashbacks: 1 - Mickey Mantle (1:12)
Crap Flashbacks: 2 - Buddy Holly (already had), Antarctica (1:12)
Hit: CC-CD Carlos Delgado Clubhouse Collection bat relic (Group C - 1:90)

Total cards in the box: 192
Duplicates from the first box: 126
Dupes: 66%

I'll be the first one to admit if I had opened this box first instead of second I would be much happier with these two boxes. The Chipper Jones, autograph and buy back cards would have made up for the fact that two thirds of the box were straight-up doubles. This was not a bad box per se, it's just that I paired it up with the worst box I could find. There were no duplicates in the box, I got the 8 SPs, there were 5 chromes including a refractor, I beat the odds and got 14 inserts and the hit was not very good, but it wasn't terrible either. It's just that Murphy's law did me in, I bought the box specifically to help me build a set and I got a stack of doubles big enough to choke a mule for my efforts. It would be a little easier to swallow had box prices not jumped fifteen bucks since the release. Now I have under half the set, no more money for more Hobby boxes and I'm looking at the prospect of trying to build a set through retail wax. Let me tell ya folks, I've been doing that since 2001 and I have exactly zero complete sets to show for it.

Between this box and the super short print shocker, it's been pretty disappointing on the Heritage front so far. Will I keep trying? Sure, I love this stuff. Thankfully, the retail packs have a surprise in them that might help me forget my hobby box blues. (just one more Heritage post, folks, and I'll lay off for a while)