New 2023 Topps Series One a hit with baseball card collectors

The days are getting a bit longer and there are hints of warmer weather right around the corner. Pitchers and catchers have reported to Spring Training and the familiar crack of the bat and snap of the ball hitting a glove is filling the air.

Baseball is on its way back.

And it’s time to preview some of the top upcoming baseball card releases as the new season approaches.

We would be remiss if we didn't talk about 2023 Topps Series One Baseball, a perfect gift for your valentine after its release on that special sweethearts day.

Hobby boxes check in at 14 cards per pack, 24 packs per box and 12 boxes per case. Each hobby box offers one autograph or relic card and 1 silver pack.

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The flagship Topps product generally kicks off the baseball card collecting season and has collectors running out to buy whatever form of the product they can get their hands on, whether it be hobby boxes, jumbo, blasters and more.

2023 Topps Series One offers a 330-card base checklist that holds rookies, future stars, league leaders and team cards. The great Juan Soto gets the honor of being card number one in the set, which has become a big deal in recent years.

The card design is very sharp and features a big, bold picture with the classic white border and in the lower portion of the card you will find what almost appears to be a television graphic with another close-up image of the player, the team logo, team name, player name and position in a very crisp graphic.

As with most products in this day and age, there are a lot of parallels consisting of rainbow foil, found 1 in every 10 packs, down to a wide range of serial-numbered cards from gold numbered out of the current year (2,023) down to 1-of-1 platinums and 1-of-1 printing plates.

Super popular in past years, there are more photo and image variations. Debuting this year is the Golden Mirror image variation that offers short-print image variations of the entire base set. You read that correctly, there will be 332 photo variation cards in Series One.

There are a number of fun insert sets, including 2022 Greatest Hits featuring memorable at-bats from the previous season, and an All Aces insert offers a die-cut, foil board approach to the top hurlers of today and yesteryear. 

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One Two Punch features pitchers from some of the outstanding 1-2 combinations in certain rotations. There also is a Welcome to the Club, which features hitters who hit elite milestones such as 30/30, 40/40 and even 20/20/20.

There is no shortage of autographs as a number of players featured in these insert sets feature low-numbered autograph versions of the cards.

As in years past, flagship Topps pays homage to a set 35 years in the past. This year the memorable 1988 Topps set gets the treatment for its 35th Anniversary. There are a number of parallels and numbered copies to go along with the standard 1988 tribute cards. Look for those in select quantities.

There are seemingly endless insert cards, including: AKA, which offers the nicknames of many of the league's biggest stars; and Heavy Lumber, which has a wood grain baseball bat design featuring the biggest sluggers of the game. The popular Home Run Challenge and Derby Duel promotional cards are back as well. There are red, black and platinum parallels of this insert set.

Now on to the big hits. Autographed cards remain a major feature of Topps Series One. Topps boasts a number of autographs, including Baseball Stars, 1980 Topps Baseball autographs, Baseball Stars Dual autographs, Postseason Performance autographs and World Series Champion autographs. Many of these are numbered, including many to 50 or less. 

The grand slam home run of autographs is the 1-of-1 Cut Signature set that features many of the greatest ballplayers and iconic figures in the history of the game.

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As far as memorabilia, Topps delivers a deep lineup. Many fan favorites, including 1988 Topps baseball relics, Major League Material, Postseason Performance relics and World Series Champion relics, all make an appearance. As with the autographs, there are 1-of-1 In the Name relic jersey name-plate letter cards exclusive to hobby boxes. Another hobby exclusive are the manufactured relics that come at a rate of one per hobby case.

City Connect patch cards offer hat logos for 30 of the top players in the league, while Patchwork of the Past features a throwback style covering 25 current stars with their retro team logos. There are autographed versions of many of these inserts.

There are auto relics to be had with print runs being 50 copies or less. Collectors can find Major League Material autographs, Postseason Performance auto relics, Topps Reverence auto patches and World Series Champion auto relics. These are some of the most beautiful cards in the entire product.

Collectors can also find 1-of-1 sketch cards that showcase original, hand-drawn artwork found in hobby boxes. There is an oversized 1988 Topps League Leaders box topper card that also offers limited on-card autograph versions.

All in all, Topps Series One not only leads off the baseball card collecting season, the flagship Topps brand is always a hit with collectors young and old. For right around $90 per box, you can't strike out during this at-bat.

2022 Bowman Inception Baseball will make its way to the diamond in early March.

One of the more artistic and aesthetically pleasing products of the season, the configuration break down is seven cards per pack with one pack per box and 16 boxes per case. Each box offers two autographs and one base parallel.

Collectors will snag four base cards in each box. Interestingly enough, the 1st Bowman cards and 1st Bowman logo collectors have come to know will now be stamped with a new Inauguration logo.

The aforementioned one parallel per box could feature new pattern parallels courtesy of blue foil pattern 2, gold foil pattern 2 and gold foil pattern 3. The overall parallel breakdown starts at the high end of blue foil and blue foil pattern 2, both numbered to 99 copies all the way down to foil fractor and printing plates of 1-of-1s.

Similar to last year's product, Inception offers four autograph sets, including Bowman Inception autographs, Bowman Inception short-print, Inception Silver Signings and Primordial Prospects. All of these cards are uniquely artistic and other worldly by design but the primordial prospects line offers an even more out-of-this world appearance. The beautiful player imagery and backdrop offer a great foundation for on-card autographs of the future superstars of baseball. There is a similar parallel breakdown for the autograph cards as it were for the base cards.

The brand-new Bowman Inception autograph dual relics make their debut this season. The two circular pieces of memorabilia on either side of the action shot of the player teams up well with the autograph at the bottom center of the card. The circular designs and shapes and horizontal cards make this insert set a winner. As one would expect, there are parallels for the relics, from gold foil numbered to 50 down to Inception foil fractors numbered 1-of-1.

Although not a huge set, the high-end look and feel goes over well with collectors. The price tag is not high end, as buyers can expect to pay about a $150 per box.

2022? Yes, 2022 Bowman's Best Baseball will also be hitting shelves in early March.

Bowman's Best is a product with a long-standing tradition of chromium technology and prospects. Bowman's Best has always been a fan favorite for those reasons and more.

Master hobby boxes offer four autographs split between the two six-pack mini-boxes we've come to know and tolerate. There are six packs per inner mini-box, two mini-boxes per master box and eight master boxes per case.

The base Bowman's Best set consists of 100 cards. There is a wide range of parallels, from the one-per-pack refractors down to the 1-of-1 Superfractors. New parallels this year are Mini Diamond refractors and Green Mini Diamond refractors.

There are a number of insert sets, with the majority featuring prospects and rookies. Bowman Masterpieces is the only returning insert set, found one in every 18 packs.

The new Bowman UFO insert is found one in every six packs and features the top home run mashers in the league, the guys who hit the ball into orbit. 

Elements of Excellence inserts are found one in every six packs. This is a mini-puzzle that highlights earth (defense), water (five-tool players), air (power hitters) and fire ( pitchers). Global Impact Die-Cuts are found one in every 12 packs and celebrates the international stars of the game.

Prospective Royalty, found one of every three packs, showcase the top prospects in baseball. Each of these insert sets have Lava refractors, Superfractor parallels and a case hit Atomic refractor version.

Moving on to autographs, Best of 2022 autographs are the main autograph cards in the set. The five inserts sets also have autograph versions, including Best of 2022, Bowman Masterpieces, Bowman UFO, Elements of Excellence, Global Impact Die-Cut, Prospective Royalty and Dual Autographs. All of the autographs also have parallels running from the overly common refractor versions down to the 1-of-1 Superfractor and printing-plate versions.

Bowman's Best has been a long-standing, tried-and-true option for collectors. This year's version is no different as it offers a wide range of inserts, parallels, memorabilia and autographs of the future stars of the game.

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