The 2020 Topps Holiday baseball card set is a special winter release from Topps that captures the nostalgia and festive spirit of the holiday season. Released in late November/early December 2020, the 110 card set featured current Major League Baseball players dressed in holiday themed outfits and poses. Despite being a smaller supplemental set compared to Topps’ standard baseball releases, the 2020 Holiday cards proved very popular with collectors due to their unique creative themes.
Topps is renowned for their annual baseball card sets spotlighting each season’s players and key moments. Their Holiday sets stand apart as whimsical non-sports focused releases that provide a change of pace. For the 2020 edition, Topps’ creative team went all out with intriguing costume design choices and photographic concepts. Cards ranged from players dressed as elves, reindeer, snowmen, Christmas trees and more. locations included winter wonderlands, Santa’s workshop, and other wintery backdrops instead Topps’ usual on-field shots.
Some of the set’s most eye-catching cards included Rhys Hoskins of the Philadelphia Phillies as a cookie-making elf hard at work, J.T. Realmuto also of the Phillies as an ornament-hanging Christmas tree, Giancarlo Stanton of the New York Yankees surrounded by packages as a postal elf, and Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals bundled up as a snowman complete with carrot nose and coal eyes. Addison Russell of the Kansas City Royals and Kevin Newman of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitched in as toy-building reindeer in Santa’s workshop. On a less festive note, controversy arose over Shane Bieber of the Cleveland Indians being costumed as a grim reaper opposite an unamused Santa Claus.
While the standard issue 2020 Topps Holiday cards retailed for $1-2 each or around $10-15 for a 10-card pack, several parallels and shortprint variations added to the excitement of the release. The gold foil parallel featured only 10 cards and came one per case of Holiday packs. An even rarer red foil parallel contained only 2 cards total. Numerous popular players like Fernando Tatis Jr., Ronald Acuña Jr., and Cody Bellinger had shortprinted base cards numbering under 10 copies in existence. Several box toppers provided guaranteed hit cards outside the standard checklist like an Ichiro Suzuki snowflake parallel or Steve Carlton Santa parallel.
Some standout extras appended to the set included mini snow globes featuring players in their costume personas. Additionally, Topps produced a subset of 25 3D lenticular cards which transformed different scenes like Javier Báez going from elf to reindeer when viewed from side to side. While fairly basic in design compared to high-end releases from brands like Topps Chrome or Bowman’s Best, the collectibles factor and seasonal subjects helped create excitement around the 2020 Topps Holiday cards upon their fall/winter launch.
While pricing has fluctuated for the approximately year since release, most of the standard 2020 Topps Holiday base cards holding values in the $3-10 range based on player and parallel. Shortprints and the gold/red foil parallels more typically trade in the $20-100 range. The biggest hit remains a Fernando Tatis Jr. gold parallel numbered to only 10 copies pullingestimates upward of $400-500. Box toppers like the Ichiro snowflake parallel also tend towards the $100-200 range. As with any subset, condition is critical – while most collectors kept these cards in toploaders from the start due to their novelty, heavily played copies diminish value considerably.
For teams and players featured, the 2020 Topps Holiday release highlighted a who’s who of recent MLB stars including Ronald Acuña Jr., Juan Soto, Jose Ramirez, Mookie Betts, Christian Yelich and more. Unlike some low-profile spring training or promo sets, the use of major names and creative concepts ensured this supplementary set remained a hot ticket item. Although smaller in checklist size versus Topps’ Series 1-2 flagship products, the holiday subject matter tapped into widespread seasonal interests beyond just hardcore card collectors. Whether giving as gifts or adding to personal collections, the 2020 Topps Holiday baseball cards captured imagination and nostalgia to ring in a very unique year.
As the collecting hobby undergoes a modern revival amid the pandemic, specialty releases like Topps Holiday help drive interest in the traditional card companies and players. For 2021, Topps has followed up with an equally playful Holiday set again showcasing around 110 current MLB stars in festive photo shoots and costumes. Featuring recent superstars like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and rookies like Randy Arozarena, the newest class looks to continue captivating fans both casual and die-hard. And with any luck, Topps Holiday will stay a bright spot each winter season for years of creative seasonal celebrations on cardboard to come.
