The 2000 Topps Baseball Card series marked the start of a new millennium and a new decade for the iconic baseball card manufacturer. Topps released Series 1 of their 2000 set in February of that year, featuring 432 total cards including base cards, duplicates, and special insert cards showing some of the biggest stars from the 1999 MLB season.
Some of the top rookies featured in the 2000 Topps Series 1 set included Adrian Gonzalez, Mike Hampton, Carl Crawford, and Alfonso Soriano. Gonzalez, who debuted with the Texas Rangers in 1999, was one of the standout rookies of that season and was awarded the #1 card in the set. Hampton, the #1 overall pick in the 1997 draft, had debuted in 1999 and showed plenty of promise as a lefty starter for the Colorado Rockies. Crawford also had a solid rookie campaign with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays while Soriano broke out with 21 home runs for the New York Yankees in just 46 games after being called up late in 1999.
Veteran stars who graced the cover of Series 1 packs included Ken Griffey Jr., Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Pedro Martínez, Greg Maddux, Derek Jeter, and Cal Ripken Jr. Griffey was in the midst of his decade domination of the game while McGwire, Bonds and Sosa were still cranking monster home runs in the late 90s steroid era. Pedro Martínez was one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball during this time period as well. Ripken was in his final few seasons while Jeter and the Yankees were coming off 3 World Series titles in 4 years.
Some of the more interesting inserts and parallels in the 2000 Topps Series 1 set included Gold Medallion parallels, available one per pack on average. These featured the same fronts but gold foil stamping on the backs with serial numbering between 1/999. Other inserts included All-Time Fan Favorites showing legends like Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and Jackie Robinson. Topps also included Top Prospects inserts highlighting up-and-coming minor leaguers.
The design theme for the 2000 Topps base cards featured a mostly white border with team logo in the bottom left. Player names were above the photo with the team name and position below. Card numbers ran along the bottom right of the fronts. On the backs, career stats and a write-up for each player was featured above another photo. The 2000 Topps logo shaped like a baseball cap ran across the top of the backs.
While the main base cards stuck to a conservative white border design, Topps included creative alternate photo variations for some of the game’s biggest stars. Ken Griffey Jr’s card showed him catching a fly ball at the center field wall with the iconic Seattle skyline in the background. The all-time great Cal Ripken Jr. was depicted diving into the stands trying to make a catch, a risky maneuver befitting his hard-nosed style of play.
The market for unopened 2000 Topps Series 1 boxes and packs has grown considerably in recent years thanks to the rise of the high-end baseball card industry. In near mint to mint condition, unopened boxes can fetch thousands of dollars today. Key rookie cards like Adrian Gonzalez and Alfonso Soriano have also seen strong gains in secondary market PSA/BGS graded gem mint prices. Veterans like Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., and Mark McGwire command four-figure prices for their mint condition rookie or milestone cards from this popular release as well.
The 2000 Topps flagship baseball set went on to include Series 2 and Update Series later in the year. But it was Series 1 that set the tone as a snapshot of MLB talent at the turn of the century. Featuring future Hall of Famers and rookie stars of the day, the 2000 Topps Series 1 cards remain a highly collectible part of the modern baseball card era over 20 years later. For players and investors alike, it serves as a nostalgic reminder of the golden age of baseball cards during the late 1990s and early 2000s boom.
