The release of new baseball cards each year is an exciting time for collectors and fans alike. While the major card manufacturers like Topps, Panini, Leaf and others don’t officially announce exact release dates too far in advance, there are some general trends and expectations that give collectors a good idea of when to expect the new season’s cards to start hitting store shelves and being available online.
For the major flagship releases from Topps and Panini, the standard release window in recent years has been in late January/early February following the new calendar year. This is typically shortly after the new MLB season gets underway in late March/early April. Releasing the cards in this window allows them to capture all offseason player movement via free agency, trades and rookie call-ups while still giving collectors several months to enjoy the new products before the season is in full swing.
In 2022, Topps’ main baseball series, Topps Series 1, was officially released on February 16th. Panini’s flagship Donruss baseball cards came out even earlier on January 26th. Looking ahead to 2023, most industry insiders and collectors expect a similar late January/early February timeframe for the first major releases from those companies to kick off the new season of baseball card collecting.
While the flagship products set the standard for the overall release timeline, each company does things a bit differently. Topps tends to roll out their different series, parallels, inserts and specialty products at a steady weekly pace throughout the spring and summer. Panini usually does larger initial releases but then may have some subsequent waves or inserts added to stores later. Other manufacturers like Leaf and Allen & Ginter typically space out their baseball card releases across the March through June period.
Independent regional and national card shows are another major outlet for new baseball card releases each year. The largest national conventions like the National Sports Collectors Convention (NSCC) in Atlantic City in late July/early August and Cardboard Connection in Chicago around Labor Day weekend will often see an assortment of new baseball cards surface. Regional spring and summer shows hosted by local card clubs and shops can provide select early sneak peeks as well.
Online exclusives and special releases unique to specific hobby shops, card companies or sports memorabilia retailers also add to the diversity of new cardboard hitting the market. Website-only products or promotions offered through a manufacturer’s official online store are another outlet for limited edition cards outside the general retail cycle. Digital-only releases on platforms like Topps BUNT have also increased in recent years.
Fanatics, who acquired Topps in January 2022, could alter the traditional baseball card release model going forward as they integrate Topps into their broader sports collectibles company. But for 2023, most experts still expect a standard January/February launch for the major flagship brands establishing the foundation of the new collecting season’s timetable. Beyond that, it remains an exciting Spring and Summer of new cards emerging across both physical and digital hobby platforms keeping fans and collectors engaged throughout baseball season.
While precise dates remain unannounced, January and February of 2023 are when fans can anticipate the first big waves of new cardboard arriving from brands like Topps and Panini kicking off the newest year of baseball card collecting. From there, a steady stream of additional releases will hit stores, shows and online throughout the spring and summer keeping the hobby buzzing during baseball’s prime months ahead of the eventual 2023 World Series concluding another fun season on and off the field.
