The 2018 Topps Baseball card season offered collectors an amazing array of inserts, parallels, and base cards showcasing the biggest stars in Major League Baseball. The flagship Topps Series 1 release kicked things off in late January, featuring a record 750+ cards as the traditional start to the annual card year. From there, Topps continued rolling out new card products well into the fall.
Topps Series 1 was the primary release in 2018, with a huge checklist highlighted by current superstars as well as classic retired players. Mike Trout again graced the very first card in the base set as he has for several consecutive years now. Other major stars prominently featured in the Series 1 checklist included Bryce Harper, Mookie Betts, Clayton Kershaw, Aaron Judge, Corey Seager, Nolan Arenado, Kris Bryant, Jose Altuve, and Francisco Lindor among many others. In total, there were 291 base cards assigned regular numbering from 1-291, along with parallels and insert sets.
Some of the most popular new insert sets included Topps Gallery of Heroes, Topps Heroes, Topps Now Moments, and Topps Tribute. Gallery of Heroes paid homage to iconic players and career moments with reproductions of classic Topps photography. Heroes highlighted individual clutch performances and milestones. Now Moments captured the most exciting and memorable plays immediately after they occurred with rapid production photo cards. Tribute paid respect to the careers of recently retired stars.
Topps Chrome was next to arrive after Series 1 in late February, bringing the highly anticipated refractors parallel and purple refractor short prints. The base Chrome cards carried over much of the Series 1 checklist while adding some exclusive parallels like the blue refractor variations. Additional insert sets in Chrome included Star Gazers, which paid tribute to baseball’s luminaries, along with Chrome Prospects highlighting top minor leaguers.
In March came the Allen & Ginter release, always a fan favorite for its imaginative non-sports inserts like landscapes, landmarks, flags, and more. Alongside a smattering of major leaguers, Allen & Ginter gave collectors the offbeat inserts that made each box experience unique. Topps Heritage followed shortly after in April, transporting collectors back to the design styles of the late 1960s/early 1970s with its retro-styled card stock and colorful uniforms. Heritage provided many of the game’s greatest names from the past and present in its checklist.
Additional Topps releases as the season progressed included Series 2 in June, Stadium Club in August, Gallery Photo File Edition in August, Topps Update in September showcasing midseason player moves and call-ups, and Topps Transcendent with its oversized 5×7 format. Each new release layered in more current rookie cards, parallels, and insert sets to track the continuing storylines of baseball in 2018. Veteran players like Ichiro Suzuki and Bartolo Colon also saw new cards as they continued extending their incredible careers.
Some other highlights found in the glut of 2018 Topps Releases included:
Autograph and memorabilia cards featuring swatches, patches, autographs of current stars and legends in Flagship Series releases as well as limited-print high-end sets.
Short-printed parallel cards in various colors like gold, orange, red, purple from the Flagship Series releases which added much excitement to box-breaking.
Rising rookie stars like Juan Soto, Ronald Acuña Jr, Gleyber Torres insert cards tracking their record-setting debut seasons.
Specialty sets highlighting favorite 2018 moments like Topps National Baseball Card Day and the All-Star Game.
Masterpieces insert set created intricate collages of iconic players from every franchise throughout history.
Inception introduced cutting-edge 3D cards mixing refractor technology with layers of graphics and images.
Overall, 2018 was another monumental season for Topps Baseball as the long-standing leaders of the sports card industry blanketed the year with stunning visuals of America’s favorite pastime. Between the flagship releases and many innovative specialty sets, collectors had more ways than ever to build their player collections and capture memorable 2018 highlights from the MLB season. The checklist kept card collectors engaged from spring all the way until the Fall Classic. Topps truly delivered an epic year for baseball card enthusiasts across the country and around the world.
