The 2019 Topps Baseball card set featured various inserts and parallels that created some of the toughest cards to pull. While the flagship base card set was widely available through hobby boxes and blasters, only the hardest of hardcore collectors had a shot at landing the true short prints and 1/1 variations. Let’s take a deeper look at some of the rarest 2019 Topps baseball cards that created a buzz in the hobby.
Perhaps the most iconic rare card from 2019 Topps was the Ronald Acuña Jr. Superfractor parallel. Labeled card #373 in the base set, the Acuña Superfractor took the already scarce black parallel designation to the next level with a print run believed to be around 10 copies or less. Given Acuña’s star status at just 21 years old, this parallel generated a frenzy among collectors hoping to land the ultimate rare Acuña card. WithAcuña’s ascension in 2019 only strengthening his prospect status, examples of this Superfractor card have sold for well over $10,000 when available on the secondary market.
Another incredibly scarce parallel was the Luis Robert Color Blast Green Refractor parallel from Update Series. As a prized rookie prospect making his Topps debut, collectors were eager to find any Luis Robert parallel. But the Color Blast parallel took it to an entirely new level, with the green refractor parallel estimated to have a print run of just 3 copies or less. Like the Acuña Superfractor, examples that have surfaced for resale have demanded astronomical prices above $5,000 due to Robert’s potential.
When it came to true 1/1 short prints, some of the biggest names in the hobby struck rare gold. For example, collector Ryan Cracknell shared images on Twitter of his 1/1 Aaron Judge Printing Plate autograph from Update Series. The printing plate parallels from Topps are always rare finds, but to pull a plate featuring one of MLB’s biggest stars in Judge was truly a crowning achievement. Other noteworthy 1/1 short prints from the year included a Willson Contreras auto from Opening Day and a Keston Hiura printing plate refractor from flagship.
Topps Chrome also created a significant buzz with its rare insert parallels in 2019. Among the biggest hits were green refractor parallels of Eloy Jimenez and Fernando Tatis Jr., each believed to have had print runs between 3-5 copies. Jimenez and Tatis had breakout rookie campaigns that only added to the cachet of their scarce Topps Chrome rainbow foil parallels. Tatis in particular generated a frenzy as arguably the game’s most exciting young star, making any extremely limited parallel a true trophy card.
The Allen & Ginter set also spawned several true one-of-a-kind parallels through multiple insert sets. Among the true 1/1 short prints pulled were a Mike Trout “Football Uniforms” printing plate from the gridiron insert set and a Ronald Acuña Jr. “Cigar Band” printing plate parallel. The esoteric nature of Allen & Ginter themes, coupled with the allure of National treasures like Trout and Acuña, placed these two printing plates among the true crown jewels from the 2019 season.
Even flagships base rookies could achieve scarce parallel status. Topps Update Series introduced “Return of the Jedi” die-cut parallels featuring rising rookies like Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Eloy Jimenez. These sci-fi themed die-cuts pushed the rarity envelope further by including only one copy of each rookie in the parallel subset. For ultra-short print collectors, these Jedi die-cuts captured the imagination with apocryphal print runs as low as 1 card total.
There were also exceptionally rare autograph parallels that wowed collectors. Perhaps none caused more frenzy than reports of a scarce green refractor parallel from Topps Tribute featuring recent Hall of Fame inductee Mariano Rivera, autographed to just 4 copies. With Rivera’s legendary career and new pantheon status, any absurdly low numbered parallel would captivate collectors. Add in the rarely seen green refractor treatment, and this parallel became one of the true holy grails of the entire 2019 season release cycle.
While 2019 Topps had no shortage of enticing parallels and inserts across its many licensed products, it was the absurdly low printed short prints and one-of-a-kind variations that created a sensation among collectors. Featuring superstars like Acuña, Judge, Trout and rookies with bright futures like Robert, Tatis and Bichette, these impossibly rare pulls satisfied the desires of both on-field performance and collector cachet. For those fortunate few who struck this kind of true rarity in 2019, it will likely remain the crowning achievement of their collecting careers.
