This is the latest in a recent string of unlicensed issues to hit the baseball card market. In the Game has been active in the hockey card market for quite a while now, but this is their inaugural baseball issue. And they did pretty well with it. This is the clear winner in my eyes against Panini Century and Upper Deck World of Sports for the title of best unlicensed niche issue. I am of course excluding Donruss Elite Extra, but that is more of a main stream issue at this point than a niche issue.
What did they do well with this set? Well, first and foremost I think they did great with the photos. They chose decent photos that could be airbrushed without ruining them. Also, player selection is pretty good from a Cubs standpoint. We get Chris Archer and Brett Jackson who were regarded as the top two Cubs prospects when the set was put together. The Archer trade makes his cards a little less interesting at this point of course, but I can't penalize them for that. And we also get Cam Greathouse, who is a fringe prospect, but these are his first ever cards (he is a 2010 draft pick who didn't even appear in any of the minor league team sets last year). Any time a set features a first appearance, I think that is worth extra credit. And we also have the obligatory legends cards of Sanderg, Dawson, and Fergie Jenkins. While none of what is present here is as good as it could have been if it were licensed, I'm willing to accept a few issues like this each year with Topps stranglehold on the licenses in baseball.
There are no base cards per se in this set, but the Full Body and Close Up autos act as the default base set. Almost all of the Cubs stuff appears in Series 1 in this set, with a few ultra short printed Sosas appearing in Series 2.
Prospects Full Body Autos (Horizontal Orientation) - 2 Versions - Silver (Stated Print Run 390) & Gold (Stated Print Run 10)
#BJ Brett Jackson
#CA Chris Archer
#CG Cam Greathouse
Prospects Close Up Autos (Vertical Orientation) - 2 Versions - Silver (Stated Print Run 190) & Gold (Stated Print Run 10)
#BJ2 Brett Jackson
#CA2 Chris Archer
#CG2 Cam Greathouse
Prospects Country of Origin Autos - 2 Versions - Silver (Stated Print Run 40) & Gold (Stated Print Run 10)
#BJ Brett Jackson
#CA Chris Archer
#CG Cam Greathouse
Prospects Reflections Autos - 2 Versions - Silver (Stated Print Run 5) & Gold (Stated Print Run 1)
#BJ Brett Jackson
#CA Chris Archer
#CG Cam Greathouse
Prospects Draft Year Autos - 2 Versions - Silver (Stated Print Run 39) & Gold (Stated Print Run 1)
#BJ Brett Jackson
#CA Chris Archer
#CG Cam Greathouse
Prospects Lumbergraphs Autos - 1 Version with Stated Print Run 100
#BJ Brett Jackson
#CA Chris Archer
#CG Cam Greathouse
Prospects Affiliation Multi-Player Autos - 2 Versions - Silver (Stated Print Run 19) & Gold (Stated Print Run 1)
#5 Brett Jackson & Cam Greathouse
Prospects Between the Seams Autos - 3 Versions - Red Stitches (Stated Print Run 30), Gold Stitches (Stated Print Run 19) & White Stitches (Stated Print Run 1)
#BJ Brett Jackson
#CA Chris Archer
#CG Cam Greathouse
Prospects Hard Cuts Autos - 2 Versions - Silver (Stated Print Run 24) & Gold (Stated Print Run 1)
#BJ Brett Jackson
#CA Chris Archer
#CG Cam Greathouse
Prospects First Round Picks Autos - 2 Versions - Silver (Stated Print Run 14) & Gold (Stated Print Run 1)
#BJ Brett Jackson
Prospects Grand Slam Autos - 8 Versions - Onyx, Gold, Silver, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, Teal, and Burgundy all with Stated Print Run 1
#BJ Brett Jackson
#CA Chris Archer
#CG Cam Greathouse
Prospects Game Used Jerseys - 2 Versions - Silver (Stated Print Run 49) & Gold (Stated Print Run 1)
#CG Cam Greathouse
Prospects Jersey Autos - 8 Versions - Silver Jerseys (Stated Print Run 4), Gold Jerseys (Stated Print Run 1), Silver Patch (Stated Print Run 4), Gold Patch (Stated Print Run 1), Silver Hat Patch (Stated Print Run 4), Gold Hat Patch (Stated Print Run 1), Silver Batting Gloves (Stated Print Run 4), Gold Batting Gloves (Stated Print Run 1)
No Cubs Included
Heroes Between the Seams Autos - 1 Version (Red Stitches) with Stated Print Run 1
#AD Andre Dawson
#BW Billy Williams (shown below)
#BW2 Billy Williams
Heroes Grand Slam Memorabilia - 1 Version with Stated Print Run 1
#5 Andre Dawson - Hat
#16 Sammy Sosa
#29 Ryne Sandberg
Heroes Game Used Jerseys - 6 Versions - Silver Jersey (Stated Print Run 160), Gold Jersey (Stated Print Run 10), Silver Patch (Stated Print Run 5), Gold Patch (Stated Print Run 1), Silver Number Patch (Stated Print Run 4), Gold Number Patch (Stated Print Run 1)
#5 Ryne Sandberg
Andre Dawson has a card in this set which shows him as an Expo
Heroes Papercuts Cut Autos - 1 Version with Stated Print Run 1
No Cubs Included
Heroes Hard Cuts Autos - 1 Version with Stated Print Run 1
No Cubs Included
Heroes Batting Tips Bat Knobs - 1 Version with Stated Print Run 1
#13 Sammy Sosa
Heroes On the Barrel Head Bat Barrels - 1 Version with Stated Print Run 1
#3 Sammy Sosa
Heroes Jersey Autos - 3 Versions - Silver Jersey (Stated Print Run 9), Gold Jersey (Stated Print Run 1), Patch (Stated Print Run 1)
#4 Andre Dawson
#5 Ryne Sandberg
Heroes Autos - 1 Version with Stated Print Run 80
#FJ Fergie Jenkins
#RS Ryne Sandberg
Andre Dawson has a card in this set which shows him as an Expo
Father & Son Dual Autos - 2 Versions - Silver (Stated Print Run 49) & Gold (Stated Print Run 1)
No Cubs Included
Heroes & Prospects Dual Autos - 2 Versions - Silver (Stated Print Run 9) & Gold (Stated Print Run 1)
#ADBJ Andre Dawson & Brett Jackson
#RSBJ Ryne Sandberg & Brett Jackson
Heroes & Prospects Dual Jerseys - 2 Versions - Silver (Stated Print Run 60) & Gold (Stated Print Run 1)
#14 Ryne Sandberg & Cam Greathouse
First Pitch Between the Seams - 1 Version with Stated Print Run 1
No Cubs Included (All Presidents)
National Convention Memorabilia Cards - 1 Version with Stated Print Run 20
These were available at the 2011 National Sports Collector's Convention as part of a redemption program where you could open three boxes of Heroes & prospects at the In The Game booth and get one of these memorabilia cards. They did not release a checklist last year and I doubt they will this year either. The cards I have seen are below.
Ryne Sandberg Jersey
Ryne Sandberg & Andre Dawson Dual Jersey
Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson, and Cam Greathouse Triple Jersey
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