Topps is the premier brand when it comes to trading cards and they have been the exclusive maker of Major League Baseball cards since 1952. Each year, collectors eagerly await the release of the latest Topps baseball card sets and products – one of the most popular being the 2018 Topps Baseball Hobby Box.
A hobby box provides the best bang for your buck compared to individual packs if your goal is to collect an entire set. It contains 36 factory sealed packs with 5 cards per pack, giving collectors a total of 180 modern baseball cards to add to their collection. The odds of finding valuable rookie cards, autographs, and parallel inserts are much higher in a hobby box versus buying loose packs from the rack.
The 2018 Topps Baseball set featured cards of all current MLB players from the 2017 season as well as rookie cards of prospects expected to make their MLB debuts in 2018. Some of the top rookies included in the set were Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, Ronald Acuña Jr., Gleyber Torres, and Scott Kingery. A complete base set contains 896 cards ranging from #1 to #896. The checklist also included award winner cards, all-star cards, and retired player cards with throwbacks to classic designs.
In addition to the large base set, hobby boxes provided multiple chase inserts that collectors aimed to pull. Perhaps the most coveted was the rainbow foil autograph parallel cards numbered to only 99 copies worldwide. Superstar players like Mike Trout, Aaron Judge, and Mookie Betts featured autograph versions rare enough to command prices over $1,000 depending on condition and player demand.
Other chase inserts in 2018 Topps Hobby Boxes included the following:
Topps Chrome Red Refractors (1:10 packs): These retro refractors pictured players in bold red bordering and were numbered between 1-50 or 51-100.
Topps Chrome Blue Refractors (1:24 packs): The bluer refractors were rarer at less than 1 per box and like the reds, numbered between 1-50 or 51-100.
Topps Chrome Orange Refractors (1:36 packs): Exceedingly rare at about 3 per case, these pull rates were similar to finding an autograph. Numbered to just 10 copies each.
Heritage Minors Refractors (1:36 packs): Highly desired rookie variations of Minor League stars like Willie Calhoun, Alex Reyes, and Austin Meadows before they made the Show.
Gallery of Heroes Relics (1:72 packs): Swatch relic cards featuring game-used memorabilia from retired MLB greats like Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and Nolan Ryan.
Negro Leagues Legacy Autographs (RCP): Extremely low print run autographs of Negro Leagues legends numbered between 1-10 were basically lottery tickets with potential for huge payoffs.
3D Mini Bat Relic Cards (1:144 packs): The true “hit or miss” moments, these dimensional mini bat relic cards had by far the lowest odds with iconic players like Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr. and Cal Ripken Jr.
Printing Plates (RCP): 1-of-1 unique plates numbered to the box and case identifying the plate used create a specific parallel were the holy grails of the product. Incredibly rare but highly valuable for collectors.
While the base set contains the most cards, it is primarily the various parallels, refractors, relics, and autographs that drive the value and excitement of each 2018 Topps hobby box. Collectors would spend hours sorting through their box to see what colorful parallels, swatches, signatures, or other inserts they may find. Overall the total retail value of each unopened box averaged $120 but was really a gamble, as it is certainly possible to pull $300-500 or more worth of chase cards – or only break even depending on one’s luck of the draw.
For experienced collectors, the 2018 Topps Baseball Hobby Box provided a fun and cost effective way to assemble the modern base set while pursuing coveted parallels and hits through itsfactory sealed packs. New collectors especially gained useful clues about the entire yearly checklist and learnedwhich inserts and rookie phenoms to target for trades online. Many still crack open boxes years later for a nostalgic trip down memory lane of the past season. As long as Topps keeps the quality and creativityhigh with each release, the annual tradition of a Topps baseball hobby box will surely remain at the heart of the cardboard collecting hobby.
As this in-depth look has shown, 2018 Topps Baseball Hobby Boxes offered collectors an exciting mix of modern players, top rookies, and various chase insert cards with varying degrees of scarcity. The combination of a large base set, plentiful inserts, and chance for valuable autographs or relics provide the thrill of each pack containing something interesting. This continues to make Topps baseball cards as integral to the sport and its history as the game itself.
