The 2020 Topps Baseball Series 1 release marked the beginning of the new decade for the iconic baseball card brand. As the flagship set for the year, Series 1 is always one of the most anticipated releases and looked at as a barometer for the season ahead. The 2020 version did not disappoint collectors, featuring a wide range of stars, rookies, and variation cards that have become highly valuable in the months since its release last February.
One of the most coveted rookie cards in the set was Blue Jays third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. After an electrifying debut season in 2019 that saw him finish second in AL Rookie of the Year voting, expectations were sky high for Guerrero entering 2020. His rookie card, found in nearly every Series 1 pack, quickly became a hot commodity. While the base version still only carries a price tag in the $10-15 range, parallels and autographed versions have exploded in value as Guerrero continues living up to the hype. Low-numbered parallels under /10 regularly fetch $100+ on the secondary market.
Another breakout rookie making his flagship debut was Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. After a late season call up in 2019 that saw him launch 22 home runs in only 84 games, Tatis was poised for superstardom. His 2020 Topps Series 1 rookie is found toward the lower end of most pack odds but still remains reasonably available for under $20 raw. Autographed and especially numbered parallels have jumped even more than Guerrero’s, as Tatis continued terrorizing NL pitching with great power and defense amid an MVP caliber season. A Tatis Jr. auto from Series 1 in a 10 or lower print run can fetch well over $1000.
Veteran superstars like Mike Trout, Christian Yelich, and Cody Bellinger were also well represented with highly sought after base cards. It was special parallels and variations of these cards that truly stood out. One of the rarest pull was an emerald parallel (/50 print run) of Trout, regarded as the best player in baseball. PSA Gem Mint 10 examples of this short printed parallel have sold for upwards of $2000. A popular “rainbow” parallel subset featured refractors of major stars in different color hues like purple, orange, green and blue. Full rainbow sets of stars like Bellinger, Yelich and others command premium prices.
One of the most exciting variations in Series 1 arrived via the much anticipated “Bat Down” parallel insert set. Featuring some of the game’s top sluggers in attack pose with their bats pointing downward, these parallels emerged as incredibly popular chase cards. Numbered to only /25 copies each, examples of Christian Yelich, Cody Bellinger and others from this parallel regularly sell for $100-300 raw depending on the player due to their rarity and aesthetically pleasing design. For superstars, PSA 10 “Bat Down” parallels have risen above the $500 mark and still climbing as their limited numbers dwindle.
An area collectors loved exploring in Series 1 was the various vinyl parallel subsets. From “Rainbow Foil” to “Disco” to the ultra-rare “Gold” parallels, these textured card fronts brought a new layer of aesthetic appeal. The disco parallel design had bursts of white and silver swirls on players faces that always stopped just short of their eyes, creating a hypnotic effect. Numbers around /99 for most players, disco parallels remain very reasonably priced raw. But PSA 10 examples of the extremely popular “Gold” vinyl parallels, limited to an ultra-short print run of only /10 copies, have sold at auction for thousands due to their awe-inspiring visual pop.
While rookies and stars drew plenty of collector attention, Series 1 also featured a nostalgia-focused insert set paying homage to classic designs from the 1970’s and 1980’s. The retro-styled “Turn Back The Clock” parallels reproduced the classic Topps aesthetics of yesteryear on today’s top players. Numbered between /70-/99 copies each depending on the player, these throwback designs became a major nostalgic hit. Parallels of players like Trout, deGrom and Bellinger from this insert set routinely sell for $50-100 raw with strong odds to grade PSA/BGS Gem Mint.
The 2020 Topps Series 1 release delivered big hits for collectors across the board from rookies, stars, and creative parallels. With the hype and talent of players featured, coupled with the visually stunning special cards, this flagship set established itself as one of the strongest in years. Series 1 is always a sign of what’s to come each season – and in 2020 it indicated great baseball action along with huge collector demand for its standout rookie cards and short printed variations. Whether raw or graded, many of its prized cards have already doubled or tripled in price since initial release as the market demand remains high a year later. And for baseball card investors searching for the next big stars before they are household names, Topps Series 1 continues to deliver.
