2018 Topps Gold Label Baseball Hobby Box Break & Review

Its not Bronze Label.  Its not Silver Label.  Its Gold Label.  Topps first introduced us to Gold Label in 1998.  Between 1998 and 2002 it was a regular release.  Then it took a long break before Topps brought it back a few years ago.  Gold Label is structured, and reminds me a lot of Fleer’s Flair Showcase.

The 2018 Topps Gold Label set consists of (300) cards.  There are only (100) players, but each one has multiple cards among the three classes – Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3.  Class 1 cards are the easiest to pull, and Class 3 are the most difficult.

Among Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3, there are (4) parallels you need to watch for.  They are Black, Blue, Red, and Gold.

Black

• Class 1 – 1:2 packs
• Class 2 – 1:6 packs
• Class 3 – 1:20 packs

Blue

• Class 1 – #’ed/150
• Class 2 – #’ed/99
• Class 3 – #’ed/50

Red

• Class 1 – #’ed/75
• Class 2 – #’ed/50
• Class 3 – #’ed/25

Gold

• Class 1 – #’ed 1/1
• Class 2 – #’ed 1/1
• Class 3 – #’ed 1/1

Packed inside every box is (1) Framed Autograph, Golden Great Autograph Relic, or MLB Legends Relic.  I like the on-card autographs, and metal frames.  Those two together make for some classy looking cards.

Maybe its just my eyes, but I had a difficult time telling the base apart from the black parallels.  The coloring isn’t that much different.  Having them serial numbered would have helped.

If you’re both a set collector and someone who enjoys the thrill of a quick break, Gold Label might take care of that fix.

Here is what I pulled:

Auto

• Alex Verdugo RC Auto

Parallels

• Don Mattingly – Class 1 Red #’ed/75
• Ted Williams – Class 1 Blue #’ed/150
• Eric Hosmer – Class 2 Black
• Paul Goldschmidt – Class 1 Black
• Trey Mancini – Class 1 Black
• David Ortiz – Class 1 Black
• Greg Maddux – Class 1 Black

Notable Base

• Cal Ripken Jr. – Class 3
• Miguel Sano – Class 3
• Aaron Judge – Class 3