The 1988 Topps Team Leaders baseball card set was released during the 1988 baseball season as a companion set to Topps’ flagship regular issue cards. The Team Leaders set focused specifically on highlighting the top statistical performers from each Major League Baseball franchise in 1987. With cards featuring the best hitter and pitcher from each team’s roster, the 1988 Topps Team Leaders cards served as a retrospective look back at the previous season’s statistical standouts.

The 1988 Topps Team Leaders set included a total of 56 cards, with two cards dedicated to each of the 28 MLB teams that played in 1987. One card highlighted the team’s top hitter as determined by a statistical category, while the other card spotlighted the team’s best pitcher also based on a standout statistical achievement from the previous season. Some key notes about the 1988 Topps Team Leaders set include:

The statistical categories used to determine the top hitter for each team varied, and included leaders in batting average, home runs, runs batted in, and hits. This allowed for flexibility in honoring the most impactful offensive player for each franchise.

For pitchers, the statistical leaders focused primarily on wins and Earned Run Average. Other pitching stats like saves or strikeouts were considered secondary for determining the best hurler for each club.

All players featured in the 1988 Topps Team Leaders set were active players from the 1987 season, so there were no retired players or coaches included as had been done in some previous “leader” subsets.

The card designs closely followed Topps’ standard 1988 issue but with red and white color schemes and stylized text emphasizing the “Team Leaders” theme. Player names, positions, and team logos stood out prominently on the simple yet effective designs.

Short write-ups on the back of each card provided key stats and highlights to summarize why each player was chosen as their team’s 1987 statistical leader.

Some of the notable players who earned 1987 team leader recognition in the 1988 Topps Team Leaders set included:

Toronto Blue Jays 1B George Bell (.308 BA, 47 HR, 134 RBI in 1987)

Detroit Tigers P Jack Morris (18-11 record, 3.27 ERA in 1987)

New York Mets P Dwight Gooden (15-7, 2.84 ERA, 268 Ks in 1987)

Oakland A’s OF Jose Canseco (39 HR, 117 RBI, .267 BA in 1987)

San Francisco Giants 3B Chris Brown (.293 BA, career-high 101 RBI in 1987)

Cincinnati Reds P Danny Jackson (20-8, 2.69 ERA, 185 Ks in 1987)

Boston Red Sox OF Mike Greenwell (.328 BA, 22 HR, 104 RBI in 1987)

Chicago White Sox P Richard Dotson (16-5, 3.68 ERA in 1987)

While not quite as iconic or valuable as flagship Topps sets from the same era, the 1988 Topps Team Leaders cards offered baseball card collectors a fun retrospective look at the 1987 season’s top individual performances. For fans of specific players or franchises, the Team Leaders subset provided a nice way to commemorate standout campaigns. While production numbers for the 1988 set were likely higher than modern parallels, Team Leaders cards from the late 1980s remain popular with collectors today for their simple yet effective old-school designs highlighting recent baseball history. The 1988 Topps Team Leaders subset serves as an interesting companion product chronicling the previous year’s statistical achievements across Major League Baseball.