2018 Topps Baseball has arrived!
A hobby tradition that rivals almost anything else for MLB collectors, 2018 Topps Series 1 Baseball truly marks the start of the collecting season. And, of course, with a new year comes a new flagship design.
Be sure to take advantage of the 2018 Topps Baseball Silver Packpromotion that awards exclusive cards for hobby and jumbo box purchases.
2018 Topps Series 1 Baseball Flagship Design
The first look at the ’18 design comes courtesy of the New York Yankees’ Clint Frazier, sporting the RC logo. As with the last few years, it’s nearly full-bleed, and the only real design aspect occurs with the nameplate section at the bottom. A ribbon of color swirls around the name and team info, which tapers away as the pixels appear to float off the card.
While it is less obtrusive in comparison to the 2017 design that juts into the image, the nameplate does seem to draw more attention, which might not appeal to the purists. It is also important to remember that this is a mock-up image on a computer screen, and the card-in-hand experience is likely to be different.
If you want to refresh yourself on the other editions, check out our year-by-year gallery of all the Topps Baseball flagship designs since 1951.
Now, let’s get to the rest of the options in 2018 Topps Series 1 Baseball! Keeping to the norm, Hobby boxes promise one hit while Jumbo has one autograph and two relics.
2018 Topps Series 1 Baseball Base / Parallels
The 2018 Topps Series 1 Baseball checklist once again includes 350 cards for key veterans and rookies, as well as subsets like Combo Cards, Future Stars, League Leaders, Team Cards and World Series Highlights.
Base parallels mainly stick to recent tradition, and include Rainbow Foil (1:10 packs), Gold (#/2,018), Vintage (#/99), Independence Day (#/76), Mother’s Day Pink (#/50), Father’s Day Blue (#/50), Memorial Day Camo (#/25), Platinum (1/1) and the one-of-one Printing Plates. There are also Black (#/67) and limited Negative parallels that are exclusive to Hobby and Hobby Jumbo formats. Only found in standard Hobby boxes, the Clear (#/10) parallels cover 100 subjects from the base set.
The 2018 Topps Series 1 Baseball variations include short prints (SP) and super short prints (SSP).
2018 Topps Series 1 Baseball Inserts
Back for another flagship ride, but with an updated design, Topps Salute (1:8 packs) pays tribute to holidays like Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day and Jackie Robinson Day, in addition to past and present players. Displaying the most colorful design of the bunch is Superstar Sensations (1:8 packs), while the MLB Awards (1:8 packs) set naturally honors the 2017 winners for Cy Young, MVP, and Rookie of Year, among others. In celebration of the set’s 35th anniversary, 1983 Topps Baseball (1:4 packs) brings back the ’80s design for another go.
Several parallels are also an option for each of these inserts, including Blue, Black(#/299), Gold (#/50), Red (#/10) and Platinum (1/1).
2018 Topps Series 1 Baseball Autographs
Providing signed editions for many of the inserts previously noted, plus a few extra treats, 2018 Topps Series 1 Baseball has quite a few autograph sets. Leading the way is the 1983 Topps Baseball Autograph line with base versions and Black (#/99 or less), Gold (#/50 or less), Red (#/25 or less; Hobby), and Platinum (1/1; Hobby/Jumbo) parallels.
Other choices include the serial numbered MLB Awards Autographs, Postseason Performance Autographs, Topps Salute Autographs and World Series Champions Autographs sets. In addition, Red (#/25 or less) and Platinum (1/1) parallels apply here. The one-of-one Cut Signature inserts also return.
As far as the auto relics, 2018 Topps Series 1 Baseball has several. Major League Material Autograph, Postseason Performance Autograph Relic and World Series Champion Autograph Relic cards are all numbered. More rare are the Red (#/25 or less) and Platinum (1/1) parallels. Always a popular inclusion, the premium Topps Reverence Autograph Patch set is exclusive to Hobby and Jumbo formats and joined by Gold (#/5) and Platinum (1/1) parallels.
2018 Topps Series 1 Baseball Relics
Next, we get to the many relics in the flagship offering. Most common is the Major League Material set that includes Black (#/99 or less), Gold (#/50 or less), Red (#/25 or less), and Platinum (1/1; Hobby/Jumbo) parallels. Mainstays like the numbered Postseason Performance Relic and World Series Champion Relic are also available along with their Red (#’d) and Platinum (1/1) parallels.
Additional choices in the one-of-one department can be found in Sketch Cards and In the Name Relics, which has letter patches from the 2017 All-Star jerseys. Both of these are only in Hobby and Jumbo formats.
We’re almost done but 2018 Topps Series 1 Baseball would not be complete without a few manufactured relics exclusive to Hobby and Jumbo boxes. This year it’s MLB Spring Training Logo Patch with the new 2018 logos, and MLB All-Star Game Medallions for those players who were honored in 2017. Parallels include numbered Black, Gold, Red, Platinum (1/1) and Autograph versions.
2018 Topps Series 1 Baseball Retail Exclusives
Finally, let’s not forget the retail options in flagship baseball. The Purple bordered parallel is yet again exclusive to Toys R Us. 2018 Topps Series 1 Baseball also has retail-only Legends in the Making inserts for the rising stars, while Relic blaster boxes are the place to find grid-like MLB Opening Day cards with one player from every MLB team shown during previous Opening Day games. Both insert sets have Blue (1:12 packs), Black (1:24 packs), Gold (#/50), Red (#/10), Platinum (1/1) and low-numbered Autograph parallels.
Release Date: 01/31/2018
Product Configuration: Hobby – 10 cards per pack, 36 packs per box, 12 boxes per case
Product Configuration: Jumbo – 50 cards per pack, 10 packs per box, 6 boxes per case
2018 Topps Series 1 Baseball Hobby Box Break
- 1 Autograph or Relic Card
- 3 Rainbow Foil Parallels
- 9 1983 Topps Inserts
- 4 MLB Awards Inserts
- 4 Superstar Sensations Inserts
- 4 Topps Salute Inserts
2018 Topps Series 1 Baseball Hobby Jumbo Box Break
- 1 Autograph Card
- 2 Relic Cards