The 2019 Topps baseball card release marked another iconic year for the oldest and most prominent brand in the trading card industry. For over 70 years, Topps has been producing high quality trading cards that baseball fans of all ages collect and enjoy. Their 2019 card designs, variations, parallels and insert sets captured the excitement of the MLB season and provided dedicated collectors numerous chase cards to pursue.
Some of the notable rookie cards featured in Series 1 included Juan Soto, Shohei Ohtani, Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Fernando Tatis Jr. Soto had one of the strongest rookie seasons in baseball history in 2018 and his card value skyrocketed. Ohtani’s dual-threat ability as a pitcher and hitter made him one of the most intriguing players in the game. Guerrero and Tatis looked primed for stardom coming into 2019 as two of the top prospects. Their rookie cards in the mainstream Series 1 set immediately generated buzz among the collector community.
Topps also released several special subsets highlighting different aspects of the game. The ‘Photo Finish’ cards showcased dramatic action photos from key moments of the 2018 season. The ‘This Day in Baseball History’ subset honored iconic events from past years such as Hank Aaron’s home run record and Don Larsen’s perfect game. Topps also paid tribute to retiring Hall of Famers with a special ‘Thank You’ subset for players like Mariano Rivera, Chipper Jones and Roy Halladay.
In addition to the base Series 1-4 sets, Topps produced many parallels and short printed variations to drive collector interest. The popular ‘Chrome’ refractor parallel contained shinier versions of standard cards. The ‘Rainbow Foil’ parallel featured iridescent cards that really popped on shelves. Topps also included ‘Gold Label’ and ‘Gold Label Auto’ parallels that were numbered to just 50 copies each. These ultra-rare cards of stars like Mike Trout and Christian Yelich immediately shot to the top of want lists.
Some of the major insert sets in 2019 included ‘Topps Now’ which captured key moments within a week of occurrence. ‘Photo Fronts’ displayed dramatic action shots as the front of the card rather than the standard vertical photo. ‘Topps Archives’ paid tribute to classic designs from the 1960s/1970s. And ‘Topps Gallery’ showed off original paintings commissioned to depict iconic MLB images.
A variety of autographed memorabilia cards were also available through different retail products. ‘Topps Signatures’ paired swatches or memorabilia with on-card autographs of both active players and retired legends. ‘Topps Triple Threads’ became one of the most coveted inserts with autographed relic cards that fans scrambled to pull. Topps even had 1-of-1 ‘Superfractor’ autographs of talents like Ronald Acuna Jr. and Juan Soto.
Bowman was another standout Topps brand in 2019 that focused on top prospects and recent draftees. The base ‘Bowman Draft’ and ‘Bowman Sterling’ sets contained rookie cards of future stars like Bo Bichette, Keston Hiura and Gavin Lux. Bowman parallels like ‘Chrome’, ‘Rainbow’ and ‘Gold’ were collector favorites alongside autograph chase cards through ‘Bowman’s Best’ and ‘Bowman Sterling’. Breakout players often saw their Bowman RC values outpace their Topps debut.
Of course, Topps released licensed trading card products for all major American sports throughout 2019. But their assortment dedicated to MLB remains the gold standard in the industry, capturing everyone from budding rookies to living legends. With elite photography, timely inserts and scarce parallels/variations, Topps cards continued fueling the collecting passion of baseball fans worldwide. Their 2019 releases commemorated another unforgettable season on the diamond and strengthened their legacy as the premier brand in the hobby.
