2023 Topps Heritage High Number Baseball Variations Guide

By Ryan Cracknell - December 14, 2023

December 14, 2023

When you click on links to various merchants on this site, like eBay, and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission.

If you’ve followed Heritage Baseball for any amount of time, you probably know that Topps loves to mix in a lot of variants. The 2023 Topps Heritage High Number Baseball variations lineup keeps with the trend, offering a mix of images, nicknames, intentional errors (yes, we could get a little philosophical here whether an “on purpose” error is really and error, but we’ll save that discussion for another time), and other changes. Most continue SSP themes started in the earlier 2023 Topps Heritage Baseball release, but there is one addition to the overall checklist.

2023 Topps Heritage High Number Baseball Variation Overview

Here’s a quick look at the core types of 2023 Topps Heritage High Number Baseball variations.

Image Variations

Simple. Image Variations are traditional photo swaps. In the past, these centered around action shots as Heritage base cards mimicked their inspiration, which for a lot of years meant bland portraits. By 1974, the root of 2023 Topps Heritage, there was still lots of posed pictures, but on-field exploits were starting to work their way into the mix.

Despite being hobby-only, these are among the most common variations in 2023 Topps Heritage High Number Baseball.

Name and Position Swap Variations

These variations are a little more sneaky. On regular 2023 Topps Heritage base cards, the player’s name runs along the bottom and their position on top of the card front. Name and Position Swap Variations do just that. Now the name is on top.

Error Variations

In the early years of Heritage, Error Variations were nods to the original sets they were based on. Here, the argument could be made that they’re closer to gimmicks that add a handful of additional SSP cards to the overall checklist.

On the plus side, instead of having to look for letter shifts or a small typographical mix-up on the back, these intentional mistakes are a lot more clear with things like names or teams left off.

Nickname Variations

Officially, there’s nobody in MLB with the name Macho Man. However, Masataka Yoshida’s Nickname Variation has him named as such.

These five cards take a simple approach. Actual names on the front are switched out with nicknames.

Throwback Variations

The perennial favorite returns, getting more specific with the image variation theme. These have players from special Turn Back the Clock Nights, wearing old-school uniforms.

One of the major draws with these are the odds. As usual, they’re some of the toughest cards to pull in 2023 Topps Heritage High Number.

Angels Team Name Variations

Topps’ deal with MLB is specific in some seemingly odd ways. In it, the exact trademarks and copyrights are spelled out as far as what they can use. The card maker can use “Angels” but not “Los Angeles Angels.” It has been this way for several years.

For 2023 Topps Heritage base cards, it made for card fronts to look a little bare. The banner on the top reserved for the city name was left blank on all Angels cards.

The Angels Team Name Variations aim to change that. They still don’t have “Los Angeles” along the top but the empty banner has been filled with “American League” to at least provide some visual balance.

Only Angels players with base cards in 2023 Topps Heritage (cards #1-500) have these variations. They’re easy to spot in packs because of the lower card numbers.

The AL notation is on the standard base cards of Angels players in the High Number base set (#501-725). These are not variations.

Traded/Signed Banner Variations

In a nod to 1974 Topps Traded Baseball, vets on new teams have variations with a yellow banner on the front.

Not only are these easy to see at a glance, but the card numbers are different on the back as well.

No Codes Required

For most Topps variations, the foolproof way of confirming them is with the tiny CMP codes in the fine print. Here, you don’t. Keeping with the past couple of years for the brand, the 2023 Topps Heritage High Number Baseball variations are clearly marked and labelled on the back. It might not jump out at you, but it’s there and once you know where to look it’s easy.

Just above the Topps logo on the bottom of the back, it states what, if any, type of variation that it is. The writing isn’t big like a headline, but it’s not fine print, either.

2023 Topps Heritage High Number Baseball Variations Reverse Masataka Yoshida Error

Theoretically, you probably could still use the CMP codes but that just complicates things and there’s no real reason to.

2023 Topps Heritage High Number Baseball Variations Checklist

Here’s a quick list of all the main 2023 Topps Heritage High Number Baseball variations. Alongside each player are the types of variations they have. If you’re looking for a specific card, click on the links to see what’s currently available on eBay.

5 Mike Trout – Angels Team Name
20 Shohei Ohtani – Angels Team Name
98 David Fletcher – Angels Team Name
115 Max Stassi – Angels Team Name
198 Patrick Sandoval – Angels Team Name
223 Luis Rengifo – Angels Team Name
269 Hunter Renfroe – Angels Team Name
271 Taylor Ward – Angels Team Name
309 Ryan Aguilar – Angels Team Name
318 Logan O’Hoppe – Angels Team Name
368 Jared Walsh – Angels Team Name
394 Tyler Anderson – Angels Team Name
397 Gio Urshela – Angels Team Name
512 Josh Jung – Image | Throwback
513 Jarred Kelenic – Position | Throwback
518 Oscar Colás – Image
526 Jared Shuster – Throwback
536 Kenta Maeda – Position
538 Andrew McCutchen – Nickname | Position | Throwback
541 Grayson Rodriguez – Image | Throwback
542 Masataka Yoshida – Error | Nickname | Position
545 Eury Pérez – Image | Error | Position
548 Carlos Correa – Image | Error | Position
556 Dominic Fletcher – Position | Throwback
559 José Abreu – Position
565 Logan Allen – Image
573 Shane McClanahan – Throwback
575 Trea Turner – Image | Position
578 Matt McLain – Throwback
587 Triston Casas – Position
589 Edouard Julien – Image
595 Taj Bradley – Position
597 Brent Rooker – Position
599 Anthony Volpe – Error | Position

603 Xander Bogaerts – Image | Error
614 Brice Turang – Image
615 Luis Arraez – Nickname | Position | Throwback
622 Kodai Senga – Position
629 Jacob deGrom – Image
631 Enmanuel Valdez – Image
633 Kyle Higashioka – Nickname
641 Clayton Kershaw – Image
643 Casey Schmitt – Position
645 Justin Verlander – Image
669 Luis Castillo – Nickname
670 Ryan Mountcastle – Position
675 Zack Greinke – Position | Throwback
677 Nolan Arenado – Image | Position
700 Zach Neto – Image | Position