The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) baseball card set is highly anticipated by collectors around the world. The WBC is an international baseball tournament held every 4 years that features national teams from various countries competing for world supremacy. Some of the best baseball players on the planet represent their home nations in this prestigious tournament.
Topps has secured the exclusive license to produce the official WBC trading cards. They will be releasing two different sets – a base set and a premium set. The base set will contain 162 cards and retail for around $75-100 per box. It will feature all the top players on each of the 16 national teams as well as managers, coaches, and other notables. Parallels and autograph/memorabilia cards will be inserted randomly.
The premium set is Topps’ flagship high-end product for the event. It will contain only 99 cards but will feature premium parallels, autographs, memorabilia cards, and one-of-one rare hit cards. Boxes of the premium set will carry an MSRP of around $500-600 due to the highly coveted rare cards inserted. Both sets are scheduled for release in March 2023 to coincide with the start of the tournament.
Some of the biggest names in the sport that will surely have prominent rookie cards or base cards in the 2023 WBC sets include Shohei Ohtani playing for Japan, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for the Dominican Republic team, Juan Soto on the Venezuelan squad, and Ronald Acuña Jr. suiting up for Brazil. Mike Trout and other American stars will also be featured prominently since Team USA is usually a favorite to win it all.
The 2016 WBC sets by Topps are still some of the most sought-after international releases in recent memory. Stars like Corey Seager, Francisco Lindor, and Gary Sanchez had monster rookie card performances in that tournament to boost the values of their 2016 WBC RCs. Long-term, cards from breakout players in the 2023 WBC could gain substantially in value if those athletes go on to stardom in MLB afterwards.
Parallels and autograph/memorabilia inserts will be the biggest hits and hold the most value from these sets long-term. Topps typically includes parallels like gold, silver, black, and 1/1 printing plates. Autograph cards of the superstar players are extremely rare pulls that could fetch thousands of dollars to the right collectors. Memorabilia cards with patches, bats, or other used equipment exponentially increase the value as well.
The 2016 Topps autographs of players like Corey Seager and Gleyber Torres routinely sell for $500-1000 now in high grades. Rare 1/1 printing plates or autograph parallels could potentially sell for over $10,000 once the 2023 WBC sets age several years. For serious collectors, the premium set is where the ultra-valuable rare cards will be found.
Breakers and resellers are already making plans to purchase dozens of boxes of the 2023 WBC releases next spring. The sets are guaranteed to sell out quickly through official distributors. After the initial hype dies down, the secondary market is where savvy collectors can potentially find discounted boxes or individual cards to hold long-term. Prices usually peak around the tournament itself when interest is highest.
The 2023 Topps World Baseball Classic card releases will be must-have products for any collectors with an interest in international baseball or the future hall of famers just starting their careers. With so many superstar players set to compete, the rookie and base cards from the tournament will be hotly sought after for years to come. Savvy investors would do well to procure boxes or individual cards from the sets while demand and excitement for the WBC is at its peak.
