The 1988 Topps Big Baseball card set was released as a larger format version of the mainstream 1988 Topps card releases. The oversized cards allowed for more visual elements and statistics to be included on each player card compared to the standard issue sets. The 2nd series release continued with the bigger and better concept introduced in the inaugural 1987 edition.
Series two contained 84 additional player cards and continued the tradition of only including major league roster players, excluding any minor leaguers that were in the base set. Design-wise, the cards adhered largely to the same template as series one with a photo taking up the majority of the front and ample statistical data populating the back. One minor difference was the removal of the “T” logo in the lower-right corner of the fronts.
A few of the major stars featured in the 2nd series included San Diego Padres first baseman Jack Clark, Montreal Expos pitcher Dennis Martinez, Chicago Cubs first baseman Leon Durham, and Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt, the longtime star who was entering his final MLB season. Schmidt’s card showed him in the later stages of his career at age 37 but he was still regarded as one of the game’s all-time great sluggers at third base.
Beyond the veteran stars, the set also highlighted some rising young talents beginning to make names for themselvesleague. Toronto Blue Jays outfielder George Bell and Oakland Athletics first baseman/designated hitter Dave Parker were both in their primes in 1988. Bell’s card depicted him crushing a pitch to all fields while Parker loomed large in the box as a prolific power hitter.
Rookies and early career players included Chicago White Sox designated hitter Sammy Sosa, Montreal Expos starting pitcher Dennis Martinez, California Angels pitcher Kirk McCaskill, and San Francisco Giants outfielder Kevin Mitchell. Each would go on to have decorated MLB careers to varying degrees.
Among the veteran hurlers featured were the Seattle Mariners’ Mark Langston, Detroit Tigers starter Jack Morris, and Los Angeles Dodgers ace Orel Hershiser. Langston was in his prime as one of the AL’s top lefties while Morris and Hershiser showed their years of experience and accomplishment on the mound for their respective franchises.
In addition to current players, Topps paid tribute to retired legends with “Salute to…” style vintage-feel cards of Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, and Whitey Ford. Each displayed an iconic photo from their playing days and a brief career retrospective on the back. Mantle’s card highlighted The Mick in his pomp with the iconic swing while Mays ran down a long fly in the gap between his famous catch against the wall.
One of the insert cards featured in Series 2 was a “Rookie Premiere” subset highlighting some of the top prospects expected to make their MLB debuts in the coming year. The quartet included Cubs shortstop Shawon Dunston, Phillies pitcher Tyler Green, White Sox third baseman Robin Ventura, and Twins catcher Terry Steinbach. Each would succeed at the big league level to varying extents in their debut campaigns.
On the managerial cards, the 2nd Series continued with iconic pilots of the time like White Sox skipper Jim Fregosi, Expos manager Buck Rodgers, and Tigers bench boss Sparky Anderson. Fregosi and Anderson had already compiled Hall of Fame worthy resumes to that point while Buck Rogers was in his prime leading the talented yet underachieving Expos squads of the late 1980s.
In terms of parallels and insert sets, no additional variations were included beyond the series one ‘Gold Medal’ parallel which saw a retro gold tint overlaid on the usual photo. With 84 cards (plus managers/coaches) packed with stats and visual elements across the large 5.5×7″ cardboard stock, Series 2 of the 1988 Topps Big Baseball offering represented the cream of the crop of players populating MLB rosters that year. For fans of oversized cards and those seeking superior visuals over the base issues, the 2nd series delivered another winning installment in the beloved Big format.
The 1988 Topps Big Baseball 2nd Series maintained the winning formula established in 1987 with a strong focus on photography, statistics, and highlighting both stars and prospects across MLB. For collectors of larger baseball cards seeking extra on-card detail beyond the standard size, Series 2 hit it out of the park with a robust lineup of top talents from around the game in 1988. Its nostalgic visuals and exhaustive data helped cement Topps Big among the most beloved oversized issues in the hobby.
