The 2013 Topps baseball card collection was one of the most highly anticipated card releases of the year. Topps is considered the leading brand in the baseball card industry, holding exclusive Major League Baseball licensing rights, so each new year’s Topps set is highly coveted by collectors both young and old.
Some of the key features of the 2013 Topps base card collection included 514 total base cards spanning all 30 Major League teams. The design featured a primary photo centered on each card with the team logo pictured prominently above along with the player’s name and position. Statistics from the 2012 season were included on the reverse of each card. Topps also produced parallel rare card inserts featuring parallels of the base cards printed on different colored cardboard including gold, silver, red, blue and camo variations.
One of the most popular inserts in the 2013 Topps set were the Star Cards, which highlighted major stars on flashy green parallel cards. Players featured in the Star Card subset included Miguel Cabrera, Mike Trout, Clayton Kershaw, Bryce Harper and others. These parallel cards stood out more in collector’s hands and served to identify the true superstars in baseball at the time. Other insert sets in the base collection included Topps Legend cards honoring retired all-time greats and Topps Flashback cards recreating vintage designs from previous decade’s Topps sets.
In addition to the standard base cards and inserts, Topps produced higher end insert sets only available within the most coveted hobby boxes of 2013 Topps baseball cards. Within these more scarce release configurations, collectors had a chance at pulling rare Premier Level cards featuring dazzling blue parallel designs. The Premier Level subset highlighted the biggest names in the league, including sports icons like Derek Jeter, Justin Vermaelen and David Ortiz among others. Other chase inserts from high-end hobby boxes included Topps Chrome reflective foil parallels and Topps Finest refractors featuring embellished player photos with diamond-like textures.
While the base card design saw relatively minor tweaks compared to previous years, Topps did switch things up with several innovative insert sets exclusive to the 2013 release. One of the coolest new parallel sets was the Topps Turkey Red Rip Cards, featuring vintage-styled cards with die-cuts and “ripped” edges for a truly one-of-a-kind appearance and feel in collectors’ hands. Topps also introduced hit probability parallels called Topps Triple Threads, which featured swatches of game-used memorabilia or autographs embedded directly into shiny parallel cards. Getting a Triple Threads “hit” card out of a pack added immense excitement for enthusiasts.
Arguably the crown jewel chase cards in 2013 Topps were the prized Topps Finest Autographs and Topps Chrome Autographs. Featuring true on-card autographs of today’s MLB stars printed on the aforementioned Finest and Chrome stock, these autograph parallels commanded enormous price tags in the trading card secondary market. Rare 1/1 printing plates from the Finest and Chrome Autograph insert sets could fetch thousands of dollars when pulled by extremely fortunate collectors. Other chase autographed inserts in 2013 Topps included Topps Tribute booklet cards and Topps Lineage dual relic and auto parallels connecting legendary players from the past to modern greats.
Overall the 2013 Topps baseball card release gained widespread fanfare and acclaim as another excellent annual offering from the sports card titan. With sharp photography, nostalgic throwback elements and exciting new autograph and hit varieties, it captured the excitement of America’s favorite pastime during an era when prospects like Trout, Harper and others were just emerging. Even a decade later, the 2013 Topps set still holds value for investors and remains a popular chase among collectors seeking to add classic rookies and stars to their collections from that memorable year in baseball history.
