Card deflation?

Image result for topps heritage 2019 second series checklist Building a bit on what I wrote in the previous entry…

Looking at the box of 2019 Topps Heritage cards (TH2019), a couple of ideas hit me as I compared it with its muse — the 1970 set — and I parsed it out to make sure.

There were 720 cards in the 1970 set as opposed to 400 in TH2019. There were 24 teams in 1970; there are 30 now. So that’s an additional six (who says I can’t to math?).

Out of those 720 cards in the original, we have to deduct

Seven cards for checklists
20 “The Sporting News All-Stars”
Eight League Championship cards
Six World Series cards
12 League Leader cards

That adds up to 53, so deduct that from 720 and you have 667 for an average of roughly 28 cards per team, including a team picture and manager card, so let’s say 26 players per team. Perfect. That gives you a whole roster, including starters and bench players.

Compare that with the Heritage set. Once you deduct the various “extras” as listed above, you have 354 (there are no team or manager cards) for a roughly 12 cards per team?

Are you kidding me?

Even counting for the second series (cards numbered 401-500), how is anyone supposed to properly get acquainted with a team? The Braves “lead” the NL with 16 cards while the Orioles have just eight.

I wonder what thinking went into picking which players to present. For example, here is the “lineup” for the Mets

Robert Gsellman
Seth Lugo
Steven Matz
Noah Syndergaard
Zack Wheeler
Wilmer Flores
Robinson Cano
Todd Frazier
Michael Conforto
Yoenis Cespedes
Juan Legares
A “Rookie Stars” card featuring Jeff McNeil and Drew Smith

And that’s it unless you get the second series which includes Jacob Degrom, Brandon Nimmo, Edwin Diaz, and Ahmed Rosario. (Here’s the listing — as opposed to checklist — for the whole 500-card sets.) By the way, Flores is not longer on the team.

And another thing. What decision-making, if any, went into the numerical placement of the players. Used to be they were fairly well distributed according to team, but now you can have three players appearing within four spaces. Seems a bit sloppy to me.

I guess I just don’t understand the business plan here, as far as short-changing the players per team and deciding where they do. Maybe someone can educate me.