Heritage Barcodes

A hot tip from reader Joe advised me to be on the lookout for Target loosey Heritage packs. Specifically ones with a barcode that ended in 01849. Apparently these packs all had either a SP, insert or red tint variation when he ripped about a half-dozen of them. Other packs had a barcode ending in 3-something-something-something. I've gotten quite a few looseys with bupkis in them so the promise of a SP was welcome. I am always up for testing out a scientific theory, so I snagged a couple of packs with the 01849 code and did indeed get two SPs. Johnny Cueto and an Alexei Ramirez All-Star. I also got one of the other barcode packs (I really should have saved the wrappers) and pulled a Red tint and a Chrome of Pedro Alvarez. So much for a control group.

I have two theories regarding the Target barcode variant and the proclivity for those packs to provide some sort of non-base card.

1) While Wal-Mart's looseys generally only come in gravity feed boxes, Target often gets gravity feed and individual boxes of product. The two different products have different barcodes and the two got mixed up while cleaning or in consolidation by the distributor. Due to the fact that most Heritage packs have at least one SP or insert in them and the low sample size of our packs, we just got lucky and got an insert in every pack and there is no advantage in the 01849 code packs.

2) SHENANIGANS!!!



If you've read this blog for any length of time, you know which theory I support.

At any rate, as long as you are not one of those hardliners who believe that anything other than closing your eyes, grabbing randomly in the card aisle and buying whatever happens to fall into the cart is pack searching, it couldn't hurt to check the barcodes and grab a pack or two next time you're at the local Target and you find that THEY STILL DON'T HAVE ANY ALLEN AND GINTER SERIOUSLY WTF.  Surprisingly, my three packs completed two pages.

This one here was missing four cards prior to my purchase, including the Braun! I don't think I've ever come close to knocking out a page like that before. Not from only three packs.

Why, yes, I am including Red Tints in my main set. Basically, I don't give a flip anymore about variations. Back in 2004 variations were fun, there were less than a dozen of them and they had old school logos on them that were kind of neat. Now we have green tint variations and red tint variations and blue tint variations and I think maybe purple variations exclusive to Rite-Aid packs in Montana and black border variations but they don't really count because they are a variation on the Chrome set and Jesus H. Christ, we got like 500 variations and some of them are super short prints and eff all this noise. So yeah, tinted cards are in the set. It kind of looks like a '52 Topps background now that I think about it.

The first and last pack of Bowman Draft I need to buy

I know what's you're thinking... "You believe Bowman is a useless waste of wood pulp that would be better utilized as toilet paper"  Well, you're not incorrect, especially with this year's version of Bowman Draft Picks World Baseball Classic & Prospects. I saw this pack at Target last night and decided to take it home with me. (I paid for it, I'm a fool, not a thief) Can you tell why?

Does this help you understand?

Oh, the joy of rack packs with transparent wrappers. I guess it would be jerky to not show you the rest of the cards.

BDP39 Ryan Sadowski
BDP21 Chris Tillman
BDP35 Jarrett Hoffpauir
BDP19 Ryan Perry

Hoffpauir I remember from an old Bowman set, Perry is a short print in Topps206. The other two I've got no clue. 
 

BDPW31 Chipper Jones

Heeeeeeeeeee-WHACK! CHIPPAH! These WBC cards ain't so bad after all!

BDPW33 Ubaldo Jimenez
BDPW11 Munenori Kawasaki
BDPW5 Dustin Pedroia

Never mind- yeah they do suck.

BDP44 Diory Hernandez

Woooo another Brave. Diory was a utility infielder type with the Braves last year. We probably won't see  much of him unless there are some injuries. 

BDP54 Josh Reddick
BDPW30 Paolo Espino

Yay Chrome. Next.

BDP1 Tommy Hanson

The only card I wanted from this set. AND IT IS MINE ALL MINE MUAHAHA. Remember, it ain't cheating if the rack pack is transparent.

The Good:
Three Braves including Chippah and Tommy Gun.

The Bad:
Five WBC cards. Out of twelve.

The Ugly:
Not one bloody draft pick out of a set named Draft Picks and Prospects.

I got the Hanson, so I'm pretty much done with this set. Not even the allure of purplefractors can get me to buy another one of these things.

CHEATERS!

The Mets went over the 5pm deadline to sign Johan Santana to a long term deal. They aren't even trying to make a deal, see for yourself! I think they should lose Santana and forfeit all the prospects they sent to the Twins. And Beltran. And Wright. That will teach them to play by the rules.

RATS.