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On one hand, 2023 Topps Heritage is one of the more difficult products to spot variations from—there are subtle color changes, “errors,” and more.
On the other hand, it’s one of the easiest products when it comes to spotting variations because it’s the lone product that notifies you on the back of the card (well, until the “SSP” gold mirror image variations of flagship series 1, but you get the point.
Altogether, it’s a cool product if you like putting sets together and searching for the fun and funky.
In total, there are six different types of variations as noted on the 2023 Heritage checklist (with hobby and blaster odds):
- Error Variations (1:2,930 hobby and 1:7,288 blaster packs)
- Image Variations (1:68 hobby packs)
- Throwback Uniform Variations (1:10,469 hobby and 1:26,006 blaster packs)
- Nickname Variations (1:1,954 hobby and 1:4,893 blaster packs)
- Name-Position Swap Variations (1:289 hobby packs)
- Black & White Variations (1:205 hobby and 1:511 blaster packs)
- Rookie Short Prints
Error Variations
In the past, Heritage error variations replicated the errors present in the original set Heritage was based on. However, for 2023 Heritage, the error cards are more diverse and exciting—classic missing player names or team names and a hobby-favorite, reverse negatives. Here you see Bryce Harper swinging from the right side of the plate:
I’m personally not a fan of “generated” errors, and am hoping something not so obvious slips through the cracks.
Image Variations
If you’ve been collecting at all over the last decade, you’re undoubtedly familiar with image variations. For Heritage this year, they’ll continue to be a treat for collectors (but you can only find them in hobby packs).
How can you identify image variations? True to the name, Topps switches out the main “base checklist” photo for a different one, giving you a unique card that stands out from the rest. But if you are used to spotting “action variations” like in years past, that’s changing this year.
To “cheat,” simply flip over the card and look for the printed “IMAGE.” Here’s a Juan Soto image variation:
Throwback Uniform Variations
A personal favorite of mine—if you’re going to have “throwback cards,” you have to have throwback uniforms. So, this variation isn’t all that difficult to explain or spot as you’ll be looking for player’s in retro jerseys and hats. That is, if you’re lucky—odds say 1:10,469 hobby packs and 1:26,006 blaster packs, and the sale prices are falling in line accordingly as some of the most valuable 2023 Heritage cards:
Nickname Variations
Another easy one to spot, as long as you’re looking at the names—if you see “All Rise,” “Sho Time,” or “Millville Meteor” instead of Aaron Judge, Ohtani, and Mike Trout, respectively, you’ve got a nickname variation. Here is the full list of names
- Aaron Judge “All Rise”
- Shohei Ohtani “Sho Time”
- Mike Trout “Millville Meteor”
- Adley Rutschman “Rutsch”
- Julio Rodriguez “J-Rod”
- Bryce Harper “Bam Bam”
- Javier Baez “El Mago”
- Juan Soto “Childish Bambino” (Just a guess; I haven’t seen one)
- Pete Alonso “Polar Bear”
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. “Vladdy”
Name-Position Swap
I don’t know. Some might find these to be cool, but if you’re just taking two pieces of information that already exist on the card and swapping their places, I think there is cooler stuff out there.
Nonetheless, here is what you’re looking for: the player’s name on the top of the card instead of the bottom, and the player’s position on the bottom of the card instead of the top.
Rookie Image Variations
Now, this one is a little confusing because with the rookies, we have “SPs” and image variations. For the sake of this article, we are focusing on image variations. This simply means the base image is swapped out for something that is typically a little more fun, goofy, artistic, or off the wall. Rookie image variations include:
- Oscar Gonzalez
- Drew Waters
- Gunnar Henderson
- Riley Greene
- Oswaldo Cabrera
- Brett Baty
- Christopher Morel
- Nolan Gorman
- Corbin Carroll
- Michael Harris
- Adley Rutschman
- Vaughn Grissom
Read More: Best Rookies from 2023 Topps Series 2
Black & White Variations
I’m not usually a fan of negative refractors, Topps Black & White, and other BW versions of cards, but I like these. I think it’s the presence of other colorful areas like the banner that makes these look a lot better? Not sure!
Anyway, if you’re opening 2023 Heritage, you can spot these from their black and white photo treatments (and again, by flipping the card over). These are also “full set” variations which means every player will have one.
Angels Errors
Just kidding, but wanted to point it out. You’ll see that all of the Angels cards are missing their team name. These are not error cards or error variations. Following what they did with Justin Upton in 2020 Archives, Topps only prints “Angels” for Angels cards, and since this design calls for the city name, they’ve opted to leave it blank.
I can’t find a definitive answer, but came across this:
“Regardless of the actual name of the team, the Angels have rarely used their full name anywhere since they made the locale change to “Los Angeles” from “Anaheim” in 2005. Baseball cards simply refer to the team as the “Angels” while merchandise which would normally include a city and team name reads “Angels Baseball”.”
Sportslogos.net
2023 Heritage Checklist
All of that leads us to the complete checklist, which you can browse or search below.
| Card # | Player Name | Variation Type |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Mike Trout | Error, Image, Name, Nickname |
| 7 | Adley Rutschman | Error, Image, Name, Nickname |
| 9 | Luis Robert | Name |
| 10 | Jonathan India | Throwback |
| 12 | Kris Bryant | Name |
| 14 | Jazz Chisholm Jr. | Name |
| 15 | Byron Buxton | Name |
| 17 | Bryce Harper | Error, Image, Name, Nickname |
| 18 | Julio Rodríguez | Error, Image, Name, Nickname, Throwback |
| 19 | Nolan Gorman | Error, Image, Name |
| 20 | Shohei Ohtani | Error, Image, Name, Nickname |
| 22 | Corey Seager | Throwback |
| 25 | Ozzie Albies | Throwback |
| 30 | Michael Harris II | Error, Image, Name |
| 35 | Jordan Walker | Rookie SP |
| 48 | Riley Greene | Error, Image, Name, Throwback |
| 57 | Shintaro Fujinami | Rookie SP |
| 64 | Gunnar Henderson | Image, Name |
| 65 | Simeon Woods Richardson | Name |
| 71 | Seiya Suzuki | Throwback |
| 72 | Javier Báez | Name, Nickname, Throwback |
| 80 | Kodai Senga | Rookie SP |
| 85 | Bobby Witt Jr. | Throwback |
| 95 | Garrett Mitchell | Image, Name |
| 96 | Drew Waters | Image, Name |
| 97 | Vaughn Grissom | Image, Name |
| 108 | Masataka Yoshida | Rookie SP |
| 110 | Christopher Morel | Image, Name, Throwback |
| 135 | Oswaldo Cabrera | Image, Name |
| 152 | Aaron Judge | Image, Name, Nickname |
| 172 | Bo Naylor | Image, Name |
| 183 | Ronald Acuña Jr. | Image, Throwback |
| 188 | Cade Cavalli | Name |
| 194 | Max Muncy | Throwback |
| 209 | Corbin Carroll | Image, Name |
| 218 | Christian Yelich | Name |
| 265 | Brett Baty | Image, Name |
| 267 | Will Smith | Throwback |
| 282 | Anthony Volpe | Rookie SP |
| 307 | Paul Goldschmidt | Image, Name |
| 315 | Mookie Betts | Image, Name, Throwback |
| 364 | Juan Soto | Error, Image, Name, Nickname |
| 371 | Nelson Velázquez | Throwback |
| 377 | Freddie Freeman | Name |
| 380 | Pete Alonso | Name, Nickname |
| 382 | Óscar González | Image, Name |
| 385 | JJ Bleday | Name |
| 388 | Francisco Álvarez | Error, Image, Name |
| 401 | Francisco Lindor | Name |
| 421 | Joey Votto | Throwback |
| 460 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | Image, Name, Nickname |
