Topps baseball cards are among the most popular and iconic trading cards in the sports collecting world. Each year since 1950, Topps has unveiled its newest baseball card release, chronicling that season’s players, teams, leaders, and events. The 2020 Topps baseball card collection continued this tradition, showcasing the stars and storylines from an exciting Major League Baseball campaign.
Prior to the 2020 season, the baseball world was eagerly anticipating Shohei Ohtani’s return to full-time play after recovering from Tommy John surgery. The two-way star from Japan drew immense hype after posting a 22-8 record with a 3.31 ERA and hitting .285 with 22 home runs in 2018. Baseball fans were excited to see what Ohtani could do at full strength, and Topps highlighted him prominently in their 2020 design reveals and promotional materials. As it turned out, Ohtani turned in another impressive All-Star worthy season, hitting .190 with 7 home runs while posting an ERA under 4 as a pitcher. His unique two-way talents made him one of the faces of the 2020 Topps release.
Another highly anticipated rookie for 2020 was Wander Franco, considered the top prospect in baseball. The 19-year old shortstop for the Tampa Bay Rays dazzled in spring training and started the season ranked as MLB.com’s number one overall prospect. Franco’s prospect card in Topps 2020 Update series immediately became a highly sought after hobby hit, as collectors scrambled to acquire one of the top young stars in the game. While Franco spent most of the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season in Triple-A, he made his MLB debut in June and hit .288 as a 19-year old, only raising expectations for what he can achieve as his career progresses.
The 2020 season was unique due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused a four month delay and impacted operations around the league. Topps acknowledged this unprecedented season with parallels and short prints highlighting the pandemic’s effects. For example, cards featuring players wearing masks became highly popular inserts. Additionally, Topps produced special ‘COVID delays’ parallels to represent the long wait Baseball fans endured before the season got underway. The pandemic parallels in 2020 Topps became quick nostalgia pieces showcasing the strange environment surrounding that season.
Perhaps no team’s story in 2020 was more compelling than the Miami Marlins. After facing a COVID-19 outbreak early in their season that sidelined over half the roster, the team continued playing and made a surprising run to the playoffs. Topps commemorated the underdog Marlins story with ‘From Worse to First’ storylines and parallel inserts celebrating how the team fought through adversity. Star rookies like Sixto Sanchez also received extra attention from Topps designers for their roles in Miami’s Cinderella run. The unique journey of the 2020 Marlins became an iconic chapter in baseball lore, perfectly captured through special cards in that year’s Topps release.
While the shortened 2020 season lacked some of the drama of a normal 162-game campaign, it still provided collectors plenty of highlights to chase in the yearly Topps release. Veterans like Albert Pujols chasing career milestones, young stars cementing their place in the league like Juan Soto, dominant pitching performances from names like Shane Bieber, comeback stories like Fernando Tatis Jr., and record breaking home run campaigns all received special card treatments. Rookies like Cristian Javier, Devin Williams and Kyle Lewis also broke out, providing hobbyists new prospects to follow.
Topps continued showcasing talented international players through inserts like ‘Stars of the Caribbean’ and ‘Dominican Republic’. Players like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from the Dominican and Danny Jansen from Aruba had breakout campaigns preserved in the 2020 Topps Archives. Venezuelan star Ronald Acuna Jr. continued showcasing his five-tool talents with another All-Star caliber season for Atlanta. Topps also continued series like Update and Highlights, using postseason photos on retro-styled cards to encapsulate the moments that defined that abbreviated season.
While the 2020 MLB season lacked fans in stadiums, Topps ensured collectors could still relive the thrills of the diamond through visually striking cards in their yearly release. Veterans, rookies, all-stars and more all received worthy tributes. Topps Archives, Topps Update, special parallels and more provided collectors exciting hits to add to their collections. Whether chasing star rookies, following favorite teams or players, or just enjoying the nostalgia of Topps designs, the 2020 collection succeeded in commemorating a historic season through America’s favorite baseball cards. Topps ensured the shortened 2020 campaign still lived on through the classic cardboard it has produced for generations of baseball fans and memorabilia collectors.
