The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is baseball’s international tournament that takes place every four years. In 2023, the fifth edition of the WBC will be held from March 8-21 in cities across the United States, Japan, and Taiwan. To help build excitement for the upcoming tournament, Topps has released a new insert set called 2023 Topps World Baseball Classic Global Stars.
The Global Stars cards feature some of the best international players expected to participate in the 2023 WBC. There are 25 cards in the base set, with each highlighting a different country’s star player through photographs and stats from their national team and professional careers. Some of the biggest names featured include Shohei Ohtani (Japan), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Dominican Republic), Ronald Acuña Jr. (Venezuela), Mookie Betts (United States), and many more.
In addition to vivid action shots of the players for their respective countries, each Global Stars card provides a brief bio of the player highlighting their accomplishments. For example, the Shohei Ohtani card notes that he is the reigning American League MVP and has dazzled as both a pitcher and hitter in MLB. The back of each card also contains national team stats such as home runs, runs batted in, wins, and strikeouts the player has accumulated while representing their country in international tournaments like the WBC.
Topps has done an excellent job with the design of these cards to really capture the spirit of international pride and competition that the WBC brings out. Each player is featured in their country’s uniform with the national colors and flag prominently displayed in the background. The clean and colorful card design allows the powerful photographs of the stars playing for their nations to really pop off the page. Casual and dedicated baseball card collectors alike will enjoy admiring the athleticism and passion shown on each Global Stars card.
In addition to the base set of 25 cards, Topps has also produced short print and autograph variations that will excite serious WBC and player collectors. There are five short print parallels with different color borders that are much harder to find in packs. Even rarer are five autograph cards that feature the featured players’ actual signatures. Collectors will get a thrill out of trying to track down these elusive short print and autograph versions to complete their 2023 Global Stars sets.
While the main release of these cards is through traditional wax packs, boxes, and blasters, Topps is also selling exclusive retail and hobby exclusive editions. For example, hobby shops have access to special jumbo packs and high-end retail products like mega boxes containing guaranteed autographs. Additionally, Topps is selling loose pack versions and complete pre-built sets on its website to satisfy collectors of all types.
With the excitement continuing to build for the upcoming 2023 World Baseball Classic this March, the Topps Global Stars insert set is a perfect licensed product to fuel collector interest. Baseball fans everywhere will enjoy learning about the international stars representing their home countries through these visually striking cards. Whether being collected and traded by casual fans or sought after in mint condition by serious players, these 2023 Topps WBC Global Stars are sure to be a highly coveted release commemorating the fifth installment of everyone’s favorite international baseball tournament.