The 2023 Topps Opening Day baseball card set is one of the most anticipated releases each year from Topps. As the first mainstream baseball card set of the season, Opening Day offers fans their first chance to collect new cards featuring the latest stats, teams, and photos from Spring Training. Here’s a closer look at what to expect from the 2023 Topps Opening Day baseball cards.
Release Date: The 2023 Topps Opening Day cards will be released on March 8th, 2023, which is just a couple days before the official start of the MLB regular season on March 30th. This timing allows for players’ stats and team affiliations from Spring Training to be included on their rookie cards and base cards.
Design: As with previous years, the 2023 Topps Opening Day design will feature a clean and classic look with mainly white borders around each card. Player photos will take up most of the front of the card with team logos prominently displayed. The back of the cards will include stats, career highlights and bios. Color-coded team banners at the top make it easy to identify each player’s affiliation. The design is retro-inspired but still modern enough to appeal to both veteran collectors and those just starting their hobby.
Base Card Checklist: The base card checklist for Opening Day typically includes all players on 40-man rosters heading into the season, so collectors can expect around 700-750 base cards between all 30 MLB teams. Rookies, prospects and any offseason acquisitions that didn’t receive base cards in the previous year’s Topps products are always highlights to find. Parallels and short prints further boost the checklist size.
Rookies & Prospects: Part of the excitement around Opening Day each year is seeing which rookies and top prospects made their MLB teams out of Spring Training and are included in the set. Names like Bobby Witt Jr., Spencer Torkelson, Julio Rodriguez and more from recent draft classes are sure to garner collector interest. Their rookie cards in this set will be valued highly in the years to come.
Inserts & Parallels: In addition to the large base card checklist, Topps pads the set with various inserts focusing on special player accomplishments, team history and more. Popular inserts in recent years included Top Prospects, League Leaders, Special Teams and Flashback Legends. Parallels usually include the standard Gold, Silver and Rainbow Foil variants to chase. Numbered parallels like Red (#/25) add to the prestige.
Autographs & Memorabilia: For those looking to mix in hits with their Opening Day collection, hobby boxes, blasters and fat packs contain several autograph and memorabilia card chances per box on average. Top rookie signatures are always in high demand. Relics include uniform and gear swatches. Serialized parallels like 1/1 plates take the chase to another level.
Retail & Hobby Products: Opening Day is available in a wide range of product types at hobby shops and mass retailers. Hobby boxes offer the best odds at hits and parallels. Blaster and fat packs provide lower risk for retail openings. Value packs, value boxes and rack packs stack the base cards deep for bulk collecting. And of course, loose packs, boxes and fat packs can be found at big box stores, drug stores and convenience markets.
Secondary Market: Within just a few months of the set releasing, the prices of top rookie cards, autographs and short prints will start to rise on the secondary market as the MLB season progresses. Investors and long-term collectors will snap up cards of players who get off to a hot start or make their big league debut. Five to ten years down the line, early flagship rookie cards of superstar players from this set will be worth significantly more than their initial print runs.
The 2023 Topps Opening Day baseball card set is one every collector looks forward to each year. As a historical snapshot of each new MLB season’s landscape before the first pitch, Opening Day captures the excitement and uncertainty that spring brings. For both building core team collections and chasing the next generation of stars, this affordable flagship set is a staple release in the hobby. Whether collecting for fun or investment, Topps Opening Day delivers annually on its promise of being the first cards of the year.
