Collector Type: Set
The base set consists of (330) total cards. Parallels include Gold Foil (1:2 Jumbo), Rainbow Foil (1:10 Hobby), Royal Blue (1:10 Retail), Gold #’ed/2023, Green Foil #’ed/499, Advanced Stats #’ed/300, Orange Foil #’ed/299, Red Foil #’ed/199, Vintage Stock #’ed/99, Independence Day #’ed/76, Black #’ed/72, Mother’s Day Hot Pink #’ed/50, Father’s Day Powder Blue #’ed/50, Memorial Day Camo #’ed/25, Platinum #’ed 1/1, and Printing Plates #’ed 1/1. (100) cards from the base set also have a Clear parallel #’ed/10.
For 2023 Topps really changed the way photo variations are done. Every card in the (330) base set has (1) Gold Mirror Variation. Topps made it very easy to identify them too. The Topps logo on the front of the Gold Mirror Variation is printed in gold foil. Turning the card over you’ll see “SSP” printed in gold foil as well. You can use the CMP code which is #585 for the Gold Mirror Variations compared to the base #565, but it really isn’t necessary this year. In the past Topps would pick perhaps (100) players from the base set and issue multiple photo variations for each. Some more difficult to pull than others. Topps has said that the (1) Gold Mirror Variation for each base card will also apply to Series 2 and Update.
Gold Mirror Variation odds:
- Hobby – 1:454 packs
- Jumbo – 1:46 packs
- Hanger – 1:203 packs
- Blaster – 1:1,360 packs
I’m a fan of the 2023 flagship design. All of the main upgrades are in the nameplate. Collectors get to enjoy a head shot of the player with the team logo in the background. We will see this design used for Series 2, Update, Chrome, etc… I think it will look really cool on Chrome stock.
The 2023 design also makes it easy to read the player’s name. You’ed think being able to read the name easily would be a common feature from year to year, but that isn’t always the case. The 2021 design used smaller font for the name.
A hobby box will come with (1) relic or autograph, and (1) Silver Pack box topper.
A jumbo box will come with (1) autograph, (2) relics, and (2) Silver Pack box toppers.
Popular rookie cards include Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Michael Harris II, Vaughn Grissom, Brett Baty, Nolan Gorman, and Riley Greene.
A lot of these first rookies and Gold Mirror Variations will come down in price. As the year progresses many more baseball products will be released giving collectors more options. Waiting to buy that new base rookie or Gold Mirror Variation traditionally should save you some money.
Be sure to check the backs of your 1988 Topps Baseball 35th Anniversary inserts. The Real One Heritage Stock #’ed/88 parallel wasn’t printed on Heritage card stock like they were suppose to be, but do contain the serial number. Without looking at the back you could easily mistake this parallel for a base insert.
Checklist
Here is what I pulled:
Relic:
- Jose Altuve Major League Material
Parallels:
- Luis Robert 1988 Topps 35th Anniversary Black #’ed/299
- Vinnie Pasquantino RC Gold #’ed/2023
- Yordan Alvarez Rainbow Foil
- Caleb Kilian RC Rainbow Foil
Inserts:
- Sandy Alcantara All Aces
- Mike Trout Home Run Challenge
- Shane Bieber/Triston McKenzie One-Two Punch
- Adley Rutschman 2022 Greatest Hits
- Manny Machado 2022 Greatest Hits
- Mookie Betts Welcome to the Club
- Willie Mays Welcome to the Club
- Jackie Robinson 1988 Topps 35th Anniversary
- Cal Ripken Jr. 1988 Topps 35th Anniversary
- Javier Baez 1988 Topps 35th Anniversary
- Shohei Ohtani 1988 Topps 35th Anniversary
- Luis Robert 1988 Topps 35th Anniversary
- Seiya Suzuki 1988 Topps 35th Anniversary
- Salvador Perez 1988 Topps Chrome Silver Pack
- Don Mattingly 1988 Topps Chrome Silver Pack
- Buster Posey 1988 Topps Chrome Silver Pack
- Javier Baez 1988 Topps Chrome Silver Pack
Filed under: Reviews | Tagged: 2023, baseball, box, break, hobby, review, series 1, topps | 2 Comments »
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