The 2017 Topps baseball card set was the 76th annual set produced by Topps, releasing in June of 2017 with a total of 572 cards. This flagship set contained all players on 40-man rosters as of opening day, along with retired stars, prospects, and minor leaguers. Like previous flagship Topps releases, the 2017 set featured several insert series depicting various storylines and achievements.
Each base card in the set featured a modern borderless design with the player’s name, team logo, and position appearing over their photograph. Stats from the previous season were included on the reverse. Some key rookies that debuted in the 2017 Topps set included Andrew Benintendi, Alex Bregman, Dansby Swanson, and Cody Bellinger. Veteran superstars like Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Clayton Kershaw, and more also received standard base cards as the faces of the sport.
As one of the year’s most hyped insert sets, the Topps National Baseball Card Day insert featured short prints of stars in dazzling neon color-shifted photographs. This 25-card subset was extremely popular among collectors. Another highly anticipated insert was the 9-card Topps Now Real-Time Moments set highlighting iconic performances from the current season. The Topps Heritage subset paid tribute to classic designs from the 1970s with players photographed against a brick backdrop.
To commemorate notable achievements, Topps released several special photo variations. This included a Mike Piazza autograph card for his induction into the Hall of Fame. A green border Aaron Judge rookie marked his record-setting season. Topps also inserted retrospective photo cards of stars like Joe Dimaggio, Bob Gibson, and others for their special anniversaries. Mini cards of top prospects like Brendan Rodgers were included as rookie debuts as well.
As one of the largest insert sets, the 85-card Baseball Immortals subset featured photographic illustrations merging legendary players of the past with active greats. Ken Griffey Jr. was paired with Mickey Mantle while Babe Ruth appeared alongside Giancarlo Stanton in dynamic poses. Topps also included a multi-year career retrospective set titled This Day in Baseball History with over 40 cards highlighting iconic single-day achievements.
Autograph and memorabilia inserts were a major attraction for collectors. The 13-card Hit Parade Autograph set paid homage to some of the game’s biggest sluggers by pairing swatches of their worn jerseys with on-card autographs. Another coveted 18-card subset was Topps Triple Threads, which featured dual swatches and autographs of Hall of Famers or other stars. Short prints like rare 1/1 autographs of Aaron Judge increased demand for these inserts exponentially.
Continuing the base set itself, Topps inserted additional variations to reward collectors. The 15-card Stars of the National Pastime subset featured foil photography of franchise cornerstones like Derek Jeter and Chipper Jones. A gold parallel of the base set numbered to 2017 copies commemorated the current year. Ultra-rare 1/1 printing plate autographs carried enormous values due to their singular nature as well.
When completed, the highly coveted 2017 Topps base set featured the standard rosters along with over a dozen inserts and parallels documenting that season’s highlights. While the flagship issue carried on Topps’ multi-decade tradition, new breakthrough rookies and technological advancements ensured this set remainedmodern and collectible. Special cards honoring milestones blended the old and new in a single comprehensive tobacco era-style product. As one of the largest and most prominently released issues, the 2017 Topps baseball card set proved a worthy annual installment chronicling America’s Pastime.
