While physical baseball cards may not sell in the enormous quantities that they once did during the height of the card collecting boom, the hobby remains quite popular. Most major card manufacturers like Topps, Bowman, Panini, and Upper Deck continue to produce new baseball card sets on an annual basis for both the professional major and minor leagues. These cards are available through a wide variety of retail outlets like hobby shops, big box stores, drug stores, and online retailers.
Some of the most popular annual card releases still come from Topps, who has held the exclusive Major League Baseball license since 2008 after losing it briefly to Upper Deck in the late 80s/early 90s. Topps produces several different sets each year featuring the latest season’s rookie cards and stars. Their main flagship product is the Topps Series 1 release issued around March which kicks off the new season. Other Topps sets include Allen & Ginter, Stadium Club, Heritage, Chrome, and Update Series.
Bowman is also a major player in the baseball card market. As a subsidiary of Topps, they have the exclusive rights to MLB prospects and minor leaguers. Their main prospects set captures the best young talent in baseball either before they make the majors or as rookie cards. Panini currently holds licenses for the NBA, NFL, and college sports but also produces baseball sets focused on specific teams or subsets of veterans. Upper Deck still hangs around as well with licensed retired player and special releases.
While physical card collecting remains popular, many are now doing so in a digital form through apps and online platforms. Industry leader Topps produces expansive digital sets that can be collected through their Bunt and Topps apps. These feature motion bubbles, autographs, and special virtual parallels not found in physical releases. Companies like Panini also offer “hits” in their Team USA, Contenders, and other sets in digital form that can be added to virtual collections.
The rise of trading card non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has exploded in baseball. Topps was an early pioneer by releasing several 2021 seasons as limited series NFT card drops. Individual star, rookie, and rare card NFTs now fetch thousands or even millions of dollars in auctions. Other competitors like Candy Digital, Sorare, and blockchain companies continue growing the market for digital/crypto baseball collectibles.
Even though direct sales of sealed wax packs or boxes at retail may have decreased over the decades, repack boxes and loose pack assortments remain popular impulse buys on store shelves. Sports card and memorabilia stores thrive by selling singles, higher-end sets, and supplies to the collector base. Online auction sites have also taken a huge share of the secondary market, allowing collectors globally to trade, purchase, and sell cards at will.
Despite predictions of its demise during the ’90s implosion, organized baseball card shows are still regularly scheduled across the United States each weekend. These multi-day events have dealers from across the country wheeling and dealing in the buying, selling, and trading of cards at organized tables under one roof. Everything from commons to rare Hall of Famers changes hands, keeping the social and business community built around the hobby thriving.
Nostalgia clearly remains a driving force as well, proven by the popularity of products like Topps Archives, Heritage, and Bowman Sterling which revisit classic designs from the past. The industry has evolved to still serve the original collectors who fuel nostalgia while also tapping into new audiences through digital opportunities, star rookie chase cards, and novel products blending sports and entertainment. While physical card collections may become more consolidated over time, new generations of fans are continually being exposed through evolving mediums that will likely sustain the industry for many decades to come. After surviving bubble boom and bust cycles, baseball cards seem here to stay as a beloved companion to America’s pastime.
While the heyday output and mass marketing of the 1980s is ancient history, baseball cards continue finding new generations of collectors through both traditional and innovative new avenues on an annual basis. Manufacturers, hobby shops, conventions, auctions sites, museums and unofficial organizations all play a role in sustaining the business and social communities that have surrounded card collecting since the late 19th century. Both physical cards and their digital brethren seem assured of engaging sports fans and investors for a long time to come.
