The 2021 Topps baseball card season was another highly anticipated release from the legendary trading card company. With the COVID-19 pandemic still impacting the sports world in 2021, Topps delivered new cardboard for fans to collect featuring the biggest names in the game.
Topps released a wide variety of baseball card products in 2021 that became very popular on the secondary market site eBay. The flagship Topps Series 1 release was the first major set of the new year, containing cards of every MLB player. As with every year, the rookie cards in Series 1 generated lots of buzz from collectors. Top prospects like Rays shortstop Wander Franco and Nationals outfielder Juan Soto continued to increase in value after their early career success. Veterans Mike Trout, Christian Yelich, and Cody Bellinger remained highly sought after as well.
Series 1 was followed by more traditional Topps releases such as Topps Series 2 in June and Topps Chrome in July. Both sets contained the same base card designs as Series 1 but with photo and statistical updates for the current season. Topps Chrome in particular is a fan favorite because of its flashy chrome parallel refractors. The parallels like black, gold, and orange /199 or less are extremely popular on the secondary market.
In addition to the core Series releases, Topps launched several new baseball card products in 2021 that took off on eBay. Topps Heritage returned with its retro design paying homage to the 1960s and 1970s. The retro styling is beloved by collectors seeking a nostalgic baseball card aesthetic. Topps Heritage High Number was also brought back, extending the base card count and checklists of parallel and autograph inserts.
Another exciting Topps release was the Allen & Ginter baseball card variation. The A&G set had a completely different artistic design approach compared to the traditional photography of other Topps products. The hand-drawn illustrations and unique parallels like the 1/1 Phoenix Refractors created a lot of collector buzz. A&G rookies and parallels of stars like Trout and Soto sold for top dollar on eBay auctions.
Topps Archives and Topps Project 70 also gained popularity among eBay sellers and buyers. Archives reimagined iconic designs from the 1950s-1980s while Project 70 paid tribute to the 1970 Topps design and included retro parallel inserts. Both sets had low print runs and generated plenty of interest from collectors pursuing nostalgic cardboard.
In addition to the standard baseball card products, Topps released special sets tied to milestones, events, and achievements from the 2021 season. Topps Opening Day was released on opening weekend and captured the excitement of baseball’s return. Topps All-Star Cards highlighted the midsummer classic in Colorado. Topps Update in the fall contained rookie cards of September call-ups as well as photo and stats changes throughout the year.
Topps also created special commemorative sets to celebrate milestones and achievements. Topps Home Run Challenge cards tracked the home run race between Shohei Ohtani, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and others. A special Mike Trout career tribute set was released to honor his 10 years in the big leagues. These limited themed releases containing star players like Trout and Guerrero generated a lot of bidding activity on eBay.
As the official MLBPA licensee, Topps had exclusive rights to produce autographed memorabilia cards as well. Topps Tribute memorabilia patches and autographs of retired legends were extremely popular. Rookie autographs of emerging stars from Topps Chrome Autographs and Topps Sterling also sold out quickly on the secondary market. Relic cards containing game-used memorabilia from star players consistently fetched high prices in eBay auctions.
Whether it was base rookie cards, refractors, autographed memorabilia, or special parallels, the 2021 Topps baseball card season provided no shortage of exciting cardboard for collectors. With the traditional paper products as well as innovative new releases, Topps dominated the trading card market once again. Sites like eBay allowed collectors to buy, sell, and trade to build their collections of the best new cards featuring today’s MLB superstars. As long as Topps maintains its MLB license, its high-quality baseball cards will remain a driving force in the collecting hobby.
