The 2017 Topps Baseball card set is the 56th annual release from the flagship baseball card company Topps. As with each year, Topps released a variety of products in 2017 including Series 1, Series 2, Chrome, Allen & Ginter, Heritage, Stadium Club and Update Series among others. This article provides an in-depth look at the primary checklist of cards from the 2017 Topps Baseball base set and some of the special parallel and insert cards collectors can find.
The 2017 Topps Series 1 cards were released in late February/early March with a checklist of 332 total cards. This included base cards numbered 1-332 for all 30 MLB teams. Some of the notable rookies included in Series 1 were Corey Seager, Trevor Story, Andrew Benintendi, Tyler Glasnow, Michael Fulmer and A.J. Reed. Veteran stars featured prominently as well with cards of Mike Trout, Clayton Kershaw, Buster Posey and others.
The design of the 2017 Topps base cards took on a classic look with a solid color frame surrounding each player photo. Statistics, team logos and borders were featured in a simple style. The most obvious change from recent years was the placement of the foil sticker autograph on the lower right side of the card rather than centered below the photo. Parallel versions of the base cards included the traditional ‘Gold Label’ parallels numbered to 50 or less as well as Orange and Blue Refractors that added bursts of color among the checklist.
Topps Series 2 was released in late May/early June with a checklist of 204 cards continuing the rookies and stars from Series 1. New rookie additions included Cody Bellinger, Dansby Swanson, Austin Meadows and Chad Kuhl among others. The Series 2 base design largely repeated the classic look from Series 1 but added extras like team banners above the name plates. Parallels in Series 2 included the Traditions photo variations, Platimum parallels and Green /Orange Refractors at reduced print runs.
A key insert set spanning both Series 1 and 2 was the ‘Topps Now’ real-time moments cards. These captured exciting and historical single-game performances immediately after they occurred. Players featured included Aaron Judge’s MLB debut home run and Tommy Pham’s cycle among many others. The Topps Now cards helped chronicle a memorable 2017 regular season in near real-time.
Topps Chrome was released in late August continuing the popular refractors theme. The base design adopted a cleaner look compared to the heritage feel of the base series. Stars on the checklist included rookie standouts Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger plus veterans Mike Trout, Kris Bryant etc. The crown jewel parallels in Chrome were the prizm parallels available in purple, orange, green and red color variations at extremely low print runs.
Allen & Ginter made its return as Topps annual high-end release in July. The checklist combined current MLB players with other subjects including actresses, authors and historic figures. Rookie phenoms like Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger still received base cards but the true chasing cards were the mini autographs and memorabilia cards serially numbered to899 copies or less. The retro design sense and allure of hit cards made Allen & Ginter one of the most coveted sets again in 2017.
Topps Heritage was released in two series spanning March to June capturing the retro design styles of the 1960’s-1970’s era. The checklist combined both active players and team designs from that time period. Rookies accompanied star veterans under the vintage logos and colors in designs paying homage to the 1967, 1969 and 1972 designs among others. Parallel versions included gilded foil, sepia and green parallel subsets in the tradition of the original designs. Heritage became a fan favorite way to mix both the old and new in 2017.
Topps Stadium Club debuted in late September with its high-end photography approach to cards. The design stripped away all unnecessary clutter to let the large crisp player photos take center stage. Members of the 2017 rookie class such as Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger looked impressive alongside veterans like Mike Trout and Clayton Kershaw. The premiere hit cards involved dual and triple memorabilia and autograph combinations serially numbered to 10 copies or less. Stadium Club delivered the best photo quality cards of the year capped off by 1/1 Platimum parallel relic autos.
One of the final mainstream releases of 2017 came in November with Topps Update Series. It featured rookie debuted from the second half of the season such as Shohei Ohtani plus update cards for players who switched teams or roles. Parallels incorporated various color variations and printing plate autos. Despite coming late, Update delivered one of the most anticipated rookies while wrapping up team checklists for the season.
Throughout the year Topps also released mini-collections tied to specific themes or events including Stadium Club’s Record Breakers highlighting Aaron Judge’s home run chase. Final flagship products arrived in December with both the high number Series 2 cards and ending the year with Topps Transcendent recognizing Mike Trout’s greatness.
In total, Topps released over a dozen baseball card products in 2017 touching on nearly every possible collector niche or interest. Between the flagship releases, parallels, inserts, hit cards and more there was no shortage opportunity to build sets or find collecting thrills along the way. The rookie class was one of the strongest in years headlined by Aaron Judge while stars like Trout and Kershaw continued leading the way. For both new and seasoned collectors, 2017 offered a memorable year for Topps baseball cards.
