Topps has been producing baseball cards since 1951 and they have the exclusive license from Major League Baseball to produce officially licensed baseball cards through 2025. In recent years, Topps has expanded their baseball card offerings substantially, releasing numerous flagship and specialty baseball card products each year targeting collectors both young and old.
Some key details around Topps’ 2023 baseball card plans and production based on historical release schedules and information:
Topps Baseball Base Set – Topps will release their flagship Topps Baseball base card set in Spring 2023, likely in March or April leading up to Opening Day. The base set usually contains hundreds of cards and photos from the upcoming season, including rookie cards, stars, and team cards.
Special Editions – In addition to the base set, Topps releases numerous special/parallel versions like Chrome, Heritage, Diamond Anniversary parallels, and autographed/memorabilia card inserts throughout the year. These inserts boost excitement and chase for rare/premium cards.
Premier League Products – Luxury products like Topps Tier One, Topps Chrome Black, and Topps Five Star usually release from May through August and contain higher end graphics and short print parallels/relics. These attract serious collectors.
Uniform/Team Updates – Topps monitors MLB uniform changes and will issue new photo variations cards of players that switch teams through the offseason to keep sets current. Cards from 2023 will feature any new uniform designs.
Veteran/Rookie SPs – Short print veteran SP/variations as well as highly sought after rookie cards for the new MLB draft class and debut players are big chase items inserted throughout the year.
Special Cards – Topps creates special commemorative/tribute cards throughout the season for milestones, All-Star games, playoffs, and World Series standouts which add to sets.
Retail vs. Hobby – Products are released through both the mass retail market (hobby shops, drug stores) as well as dedicated hobby boxes/packs with better inserts targeted at serious collectors.
International Releases – Topps releases selected international products under license abroad, usually paralleling U.S. releases for popularity in countries like Japan, UK, Australia, Mexico and more.
Licensing – As the MLB license holder through 2025, Topps is contractually obligated to produce baseball cards each season barring unforeseen circumstances. Their MLB deals also allow collegiate/Olympic/legacy sets.
In addition to physical card products, Topps also runs robust digital platforms like Topps BUNT which release virtual parallel versions of physical card designs. The apps allow collector acquisition and interaction globally.
Topps baseball card releases provide a annual event for collectors and chance to chronicle each new MLB season. With their strong MLB license intact and growing collector interest, barring any unforeseen interruptions, Topps is very likely to continue producing high quality physical and digital baseball card sets and products throughout the 2023 season according to their historical schedules and consistent presence in the market. The company’s significant expansion in recent years of their baseball offerings indicates their commitment to fulfilling collectors’ wants and capturing new fans as well. Topps baseball cards in 2023 seem all but certain to allow collectors another year to build their favorite team and player collections in both physical and digital form.
