2018 Topps Gypsy Queen Baseball | Autographs, Inserts, Checklist, and Review

Sliding in on the heels of 2018 Topps Heritage Baseball, this year’s release of Topps Gypsy Queen Baseball series serves as formidable follow-up a heralded product. The set features a design that contains elements of the old and new school, giving collectors a tasty treat to start the season.

2018 Topps Gypsy Queen Variations and Short Prints / Topps

Immediately noticeable is Shohei Ohtani’s rookie card. With the two-way phenom taking the baseball world by storm, his presence in the set alone will draw fans to this product. Beyond Ohtani’s solo appearance in the base set, 2018 Topps Gypsy Queen has an attractive offering of parallels and variations that add excitement to opening a box (or case) of this product. The Jackie Robinson Day variations, numbered color parallels and rare Bazooka backed cards all give 2018 Topps Gypsy Queen a flavor of its own that will go down smoothly with hobbyists.

2018 Topps Gyspy Queen Bazooka Back / Topps

Each box guarantees two autographs and staying to true form, Topps provided sleek on-card autographs that pop. This box yielded rookie autographs of Garrett Cooper and Anthony Banda, with the latter a limited edition black and white variation. While neither are top prospects, Derek Jeter, Kris Bryant, Sandy Koufax, and the aforementioned Ohtani are some of the high impact names that comprise the autograph subset. For collectors who have better fortunes, their venture into 2018 Gypsy Queen may uncover rare autographed patch books (1:2877 packs) and the interesting pull-up sock relics (1:7920 packs).

2018 Topps Gypsy Queen Garrett Cooper Autograph / Topps

Staying consistent with last year’s release, the Fortune Teller mini insert cards return to feature 20 of the top young talents in Major League Baseball. The Tarot of the Diamond inserts follow along with the gypsy theme, an additional insert set that Topps should continue to preserve for future releases.

2018 Topps Gypsy Queen Tarot Card Inserts / Topps

While the presence of Shohei Ohtani’s autograph will lure many fans to 2018 Topps Gypsy Queen, the set’s pleasurable aesthetic and crisp on-card autographs creates a mystique that will keep fans chasing after it throughout the season.

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2018 Topps Opening Day Baseball Review - A new twist on a time honored tradition

The baseball teams have made their way north, far away from their respites in the spring training sun to the realities of another Major League season. This annual tradition is honored with the release of the 2018 Topps Opening Day Baseball set. Emblazoned with the Opening Day logo, this set serves as a happy reminder that baseball has once again arrived.

2018 Topps Opening Day / Topps

Topps keeps things short and sweet with the 2018 Opening Day Baseball set, as it checks in at a lean 200 cards. While Opening Day is concentrated on a small amount of players, Topps still managed to get in a bevy of rookies and prospects to the set including the coveted Shohei Ohtani.

With a price point of $36 for a 36-pack box, and a guarantee of one insert per pack, 2018 Topps Opening Day Baseball is an affordable entry point to get young fans involved in the collecting hobby. Families will have fun opening a box to compile a complete set, as the box provided for this review not only yielded all 200 base cards, but a few doubles to boot.

New to 2018 Topps Opening Day Baseball is the Before Opening Day insert set, which gives fans a look at their favorite players during spring training. The Team Traditions and Celebrations insert set spotlight franchise staples such as Yankees Old Timer’s Day and new quirks such as Beat the Freeze from the Atlanta Braves.

2018 Topps Opening Day Inserts / Topps

While Opening Day is positioned towards a younger demographic with their Mascot inserts, Topps has added a degree of scarcity to their autograph and relic inserts for this set. By placing them at the rate of one per every 1-2 cases, Topps has given collectors a further reason to go deeper into this product beyond the base set.

2018 Topps Opening Day Inserts / Topps

Sporting an improved insert lineup and a base set that includes Shohei Ohtani’s first official Topps rookie card, 2018 Topps Opening Day Baseball set has positioned itself as a cost-effective option for fans to get started collecting this baseball season without feeling like they’ve broken the bank in the process.

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2018 Donruss Baseball Review - How Donruss is creating marvels for the upcoming season

Cracking open a box of 2018 Donruss Baseball, collectors are kept on their toes with the robust assortment of variations and parallels that reside in each pack. While Donruss boasts the inclusion of Shohei Ohtani’s coveted autographs, the depth and historical connections of make a box 2018 Donruss Baseball a marvelous experience even for the most seasoned of collectors.

2018 Donruss Shohei Ohtani Mound Marvels / Donruss

The 270-card base set contains the Donruss Rated Rookie and Diamond Kings staples, combined with a wonderful mix of coveted young stars such as Aaron Judge, Rafael Devers, and Rhys Hoskins, as well as cards of past and present icons in the famed 1984 Donruss design that includes Mickey Mantle.

2018 Donruss Mickey Mantle / Donruss

Donruss added a new twist to the base set in 2018, inserting multi-player cards that feature some of the top pairings in the game. The Houston Astros keystone combination of Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa, and Dodgers mainstays Clayton Kershaw and Corey Seager make up some of the modern duos featured in the set. Maintaining their bridge across generations, Donruss honors vintage duos such as Montreal Expos Hall of Famers Gary Carter and Andre Dawson, and Big Red Machine stalwarts Dave Concepcion and Tony Perez.

2018 Donruss Multiplayer Parallel / Donruss

Drilling down on the base set, collectors will find many curveballs that will force them to keep their eyes on each card. The first are the nickname parallels, with Aaron Judge being cleverly renamed the “NY 12th Judicial District,” teammate Gary Sanchez labeled as “The Kraken,” and Francisco Lindor as, “Mr. Smile.” The second are the image variations, which exist on both the regular base cards and the 1984 designs. A helpful tip for most of the base variations are the black baseball on the top left of reverse side of the card.

2018 Donruss Base and Variations / Donruss

The variations are so plentiful in 2018 Donruss Baseball, that after opening two boxes, I was still over 50 cards shy of a complete base set, while compiling doubles of each variation. Even though the difficulty of building a complete set might be frustrating for some collectors, the ensuing numbered parallels, autographs, and relics more than made up for it.

2018 Donruss Signature Series / Donruss

Each box guaranteed three hits, and between the two boxes, there were a total of three autographs, two Signature Series cards and one autographed relic card. The other three hits were relic cards, including that of New York Mets hopeful and former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow.

The serial numbered parallels were plentiful between the two boxes, yielding inserts of Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, and Max Scherzer in a wide color palette that is sure to draw the interest of many collectors.

2018 Donruss Parallels / Donruss

Despite the long odds at a complete set, collectors have a lot to look forward to by opening a box (or two) of 2018 Donruss Baseball. The clean design and exciting inserts, combined with the player selection that is tinted with just the right amount of nostalgia, drive interest in the product that goes well beyond the prospect of landing a Shohei Ohtani autograph.

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The Top 5 Reasons to Love 2018 Topps Heritage Baseball

Topps resurrects their 1969 design with the release of 2018 Topps Heritage Baseball. This set is beloved by collectors for a variety of reasons, primarily due to the fine details they replicate as an homage to the throwback issue. We cracked open a fresh box of 2018 Topps Heritage Baseball and found these five hallmarks that will make you fall in love with this year's set.

5) Player Checklists –
Trying to keep track of your 2018 Topps Heritage set? How about some help from Aaron Judge, Mike Trout, and Kris Bryant? Staying true to form of the 1969 Topps protocol, 2018’s checklist cards feature face shots of today’s top stars, providing collectors with an additional look at their favorite players while they mark off their progress towards a complete set.

2018 Topps Heritage Aaron Judge Checklist / Topps

4) Seattle Pilots Autographed Tribute Cards –
A Ball Four revival anyone? Jim Bouton leads the signers from the limited edition 1969 Seattle Pilots 50th Anniversary tribute autographed cards. Former Pilot Steve Whitaker once referred to the team as, “the orphans of the league.” Fifty years later, Topps proves they still have a home in the hearts of fans and collectors with these special autographed cards.

Jim Bouton Seattle Pilots Autograph / Topps

3) Imperfections –
Most modern sets are bred to perfection with borderless images, high gloss finishes, and centered designs. While going through the first few packs of this 2018 Topps Heritage Baseball box, I drew the occasional off-centered card. By the time I opened the last pack, these 60/40 or 70/30 centered cards averaged one per pack. With so many modern issues made in perfect symmetry, pulling some cards that had centering flaws only added to vintage experience that Topps Heritage provides.

2) Variations –
Funky nicknames? Action shots? Color swaps? Newly traded players? Solo rookie prospect cards? Topps has all of the bases covered with the short printed variations in 2018 Topps Heritage Baseball. These detailed variants force collectors are to pour over the details on each card, savoring the nuances to see if they have landed one of these scarce issues.

Victor Robles Image Variation SSP / Topps

1) Shohei Ohtani –
Would it be anyone else? Topps wasted no time getting this year’s most coveted rookie in their 2018 Topps Heritage Baseball set by including Ohtani as a last minute short printed variation to the set. Early sales of his short printed rookie are selling for $200 each, while his autographed versions have sold for in excess of $3,000.

$3,000 anyone?

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2018 Topps Baseball Seres 1 Review - How Topps breathes life into the baseball season

Topps has proved annually that the true signal of the start of the baseball season is now when pitchers and catchers sport, but when their flagship baseball card set is released. With 2018 Topps Baseball Series One's January 31st arrival, Topps has rescued fans and collectors from staring out their windows to wait for the game to start.

2018 Topps / Topps

The fresh borderless designs coupled with the sparkling player names and team logos, push the action images to the forefront to breathe much needed life to the start of the 2018 season. To kick off the excitement of their inaugural 2018 release, Topps allowed fans to vote for the hallowed first card in the set. Their choice was none other than the 2017 American League Rookie of the Year, New York Yankees power-hitting phenom Aaron Judge.

2018 Topps Base Set Cards / Topps

As collectors rip away at packs of 2018 Topps Baseball, they will find an assortment of rookie cards of impact upstarts from last season including Rhys Hoskins, Rafael Devers, Amed Rosario, and Clint Frazier, all of whom have now received the official stamp of approval on their traditional debut issue. Other highlights of the base set include World Series Highlights and team Combo Cards. Parallel issues include the popular Rainbow Foil, Gold (#/2018) versions, and short printed image variations.

Digging into the inserts, collectors will have their hands full working on a master set, as many of the sets contain at least 50 cards. Topps honors the 35th anniversary of the 1983 Topps set with a 100-card subset, book ended by 1983’s top rookies, Hall of Famers Ryne Sandberg and Wade Boggs. Topps runs down season highlights with its 100-card Topps Salute set, celebrating the milestones of the 2017, while also promoting the rookies they expect to impact 2018.

Each box also yields an interesting Home Run Challenge card where collectors can reveal a code on the back of the card that allows them to choose a date when they think the player on the front will hit a home run. If they guess correctly, they will win a parallel card of that player, as well as be automatically entered into a drawing for a trip for two to the 2019 Home Run Derby.

2018 Topps Home Run Challenge Card / Topps

While most that are cracking open a box of Topps’ premier product are doing so to explore the new release and go through the tradition of building a complete set, an added bonus is the guaranteed hit of a relic, patch, or autographed card. This box served up a Major League Material Black Relic of Albert Pujols numbered to 99.

Albert Pujols Relic / Topps

One strong memory as a kid was rushing to the store to get some of the new Topps release when it dropped, burrowing through packs to see who made the cut and admire the design. It became an annual event that helped the sorrows of winter pass more smoothly. Fast forward the time machine to 2018, Topps hasn’t changed the script, but has added a variety of inserts to keep collectors excited and created a layout to capture their attention.

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2017 Bowman's Best Baseball Review - Bowman saving the best for last

When it comes to 2017 baseball card releases, Bowman literally saved the best for last. The famed card manufacturer looks to end the year on a high note by closing out the season with 2017 Bowman’s Best Baseball.

The base card design drives the desirability of this release, as the rich colorful backgrounds help the player images jump off the cards, making this Bowman’s most visually appealing set of the year. The 100-card base set, which includes 35 Top Prospect cards, will please those searching for an easy path to completion.

For collectors seeking a greater challenge, Bowman keeps things interesting by favoring its trademark refractor cards. They offer a complete set of base refractors (1 per pack), atomic refractors (1 per master box), as well as numbered colored parallels that vary in scarcity (250 or less). These parallels will further drive collectors 2017 Bowman's Best Baseball just to hunt down "rainbows" of their favorite players.

The insert sets are equally attractive and intriguing. The 1997 Best Cuts insert set pays homage to a classic design, fitting both top-flight minor leaguers as well as retired veterans into the checklist. The Baseball America Dean List’s set gives report card grades to the next wave of prospects, and the Mirror Image inserts pair similar talents on the same card. All of the insert sets have numbered colored parallels, as well as autographed versions (save for the Mirror Image cards).

At a price point of $100 per master box, Bowman delivers value by guaranteeing four autographs. The base autograph set includes established young stars Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, Kris Bryant, and Mike Trout, as well as upstarts Brendan McKay, Ronald Acuna, and Royce Lewis. For those lucky enough to pull a rarer autograph insert from this set, they could find themselves with one signed by Derek Jeter or Hank Aaron.

Closing Bowman’s release calendar for the year, 2017 Bowman’s Best Baseball provides an attractive mixture of design, diversity, and value that will please collectors looking for a place to spend their newly found holiday riches.

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2017 Bowman Draft Review - A fresh look at the 2017 MLB Draft class

Baseball card collectors in search of something shiny and new for the holidays have to look no farther than 2017 Bowman Draft Baseball. This set provides fans and collectors a grand opportunity to familiarize themselves with the first official baseball cards of next season’s top prospects.

Each box guarantees three autographs and plenty of chrome cards, both in the form of coveted refractors and serially numbered color variations. Two first-round picks, Minnesota Twins shortstop Royce Lewis (1st overall pick), and Tampa Bay’s two-way player, Brendan McKay, headline the set. While Sports Illustrated cover boy Hunter Greene is noticeably absent, that does not detract from the attention 2017 Bowman Draft Baseball deserves.

The box provided for this review served up a complete base set, which will please collectors looking to get into the depths of each organization’s newest additions to their minor league systems. Putting the base set aside, the chrome cards and color parallels bring the prospects to the forefront and make for attractive additions to any collection.

Bowman has expanded their Chrome Draft autographs to over 75 prospects, which allows collectors a wide assortment of players that they can land in each box. With over a dozen parallel variations of each autographed card, player collectors will be kept busy the entire offseason trying to chase down entire runs of their favorite player’s signature.

Bowman keeps it simple with the chase cards, limiting the hobby boxes to the Defining Moments, MLB Draft History, and Recommended Viewing insert sets. Both the Defining Moments and MLB Draft History sets also have autographed variations, adding to the excitement and potential of scoring a Hall of Fame signature or one from Bowman’s selected group of exclusive young superstars. While the box opened for this review did not yield any of the aforementioned insert autographs, it did provide a rare short print in the form of a Kevin Maitan facsimile signature image variation.

Debuting right in time for the holiday season, 2017 Bowman Draft Baseball makes for a wonderful gift under the Christmas tree that will provide collectors the chance to lose themselves in the 2017 MLB Draft class while they wait for spring training to emerge.

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2017 Topps Gallery Review - How Topps Gallery delivers museum grade design to collectors

Topps's selection of artist Mayumi Seto to design the 2017 Topps Gallery set has paid immediate dividends for baseball card enthusiasts everywhere. The 200-card base set contains vivid portraits of MLB’s finest talent, largely due to her artistic vision expertly capturing the spirit of each ballplayer. Collectors will be drawn to the cards by her designs, making it a popular addition to shopping carts during the holiday season.

2017 Topps Gallery / Topps

The base set is comprised of 150 cards and an additional 50 short prints, narrowing the focus of the set to the top stars and prospects in the game (including both Rookie of the Year Award winners – Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger). By Topps limiting the players included within the set, this exclusive group further contributes to the excitement of opening each five-card pack.

The short prints create an interesting quandary for set collectors due to their relative scarcity. The box provided for this review yielded only one of the 50 short prints in the set. Mixing current players with retired legends for the short prints will drive collectors to complete this attractive set on the secondary market.

Each box contains two autographs, both which illustrate how even more impressive Seto’s portraits look behind a sharp signature. Due to the post-season release of this set, the cards contain sticker autographs, which will undoubtedly give collectors mixed feelings about adding them to their stockpiles. Some will pass on them, giving less discerning fans the opportunity to make a fine display of these autographs. As collectors move into the offseason, look for the hardcore autograph collectors to get the base cards signed in-person throughout spring training and beyond.

2017 Topps Gallery Autographs / Topps

A deeper dive into the inserts reveals even finer artwork by both Seto and Dan Bergren in the form of the Masterpiece and Hall of Fame Gallery sets. The Hall of Fame Gallery set is minted with a glossy finish that captures the essence of the game's legends at the pinnacle of their careers. The Masterpiece set could easily double as large portraits that are worthy of a museum display.

2017 Topps Gallery Inserts and Short Prints / Topps

The 2017 Topps Gallery set is a welcome shot in the arm for collectors that are looking for a different feel from the standard Topps releases during the season. While the obvious stars of this set are the artists and their handcrafted designs, 2017 Topps Gallery is designed with the reminder that baseball cards are created to be on full display for all to admire.

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2017 Bowman High Tek Review | Patterns, Autographs, Checklist & More

The Bowman brand is dipping its hand into the High Tek series with the release of 2017 Bowman High Tek Baseball. Each box of the prospect focused set delivers four on-card autographs, enticing collectors who are looking to get ahead of the curve on next year’s breakout stars. In the tradition of the Topps High Tek releases, collectors are kept busy with a seemingly endless variety of parallels and designs. As collectors pursue the depths of 2017 Bowman High Tek, will the combination of autographs and parallels be enough to keep them in the game during its late-season release?

2017 Bowman High Tek Baseball / Bowman

Perusing the list of prospects included in this set, collectors will be able to get their hands on sought-after autographs of National League Rookie of the Year Cody Bellinger, Philadelphia Phillies power-hitting phenom Rhys Hoskins, Boston Red Sox rookie sensation Rafael Devers, and former Atlanta Braves prospect now turned free agent, Kevin Maitan. That grouping by itself should be enough to get collectors interested in the product, as with only 60 prospects included in the set, the odds are favorable to pull a signature of one of these coveted upstarts.

2017 Bowman High Tek Autographs / Bowman

The box provided for this review uncovered autographs of two of the top four prospects from this year’s Arizona Fall League, third baseman Francisco Mejia of the Cleveland Indians, and pitcher Mitch Keller of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

2017 Bowman High Tek Designs / Bowman

While 2017 Bowman High Tek attempts to capture eyeballs with their autographs, the real intrigue is the array of designs in the set. Bowman advertises over 10 different patterns for each player, making the chase for each design a mission for individual player collectors. The box provided for this review yielded four different patterns, with one being a rare circuit board pattern of New York Mets shortstop Amed Rosario.

2017 Bowman High Tek Amed Rosario Circuit Board Parallel / Bowman

Released at the end of October 2017, Bowman High Tek has heavy competition from 2017 Topps Heritage Minor League Baseball for those who are seeking their postseason fixes for the game’s top prospects. While the assortment of autographs and designs are intriguing with Bowman’s foray into this new product, at a price point of $110 per box, Bowman is asking collectors to take a leap of faith that their selection of prospects is indeed on the money.

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2017 Topps Heritage Minor League Baseball Review - Showcasing the top prospects waiting on deck

With the 2017 Major League Baseball season under wraps, baseball fans still looking for their fix can look towards the Arizona Fall League and Caribbean Series to keep an eye on the game’s top prospects. Topps attempts to further the discussion of the next prospects to take off with the release of the 2017 Topps Heritage Minor League Baseball set.

2017 Topps Heritage Minors / Topps

Designed in the mold of the classic 1968 Topps set, 2017 Topps Heritage Minors aims to catch the nostalgic senses of veteran collectors while attracting fans who fill minor league ballparks in every corner of the country. Leading off the base set is New York Mets phenom Amed Rosario, who gave the team a much needed shot in the arm after tearing up the Pacific Coast League. Building upon Rosario’s newly minted fame, Topps has followed up with the likes of Mickey Moniak, Nick Senzel, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Victor Robles to add to the ranks of the top prospects in this set.

2017 Topps Heritage Minors Inserts and Short Prints / Topps

The 200-card base set is also supplemented by an additional 20 short prints as well as four different colored base card parallels. Topps cleverly kept more of the sought after prospects in the short prints including Tim Tebow, forcing collectors to dig deeper to round out their sets.

2017 Topps Heritage Minors Green Parallel / Topps

Diving into the inserts, minor league All-Stars are neatly highlighted in the Baseball America subset. Topps shows its lighter side with the 1968 Topps mini discs. The discs are a throwback to a time when cards were exchanged and played with and not cut to exact size to fit neatly into 9-card binder pages.

2017 Topps Heritage Minors 1968 Mini Discs / Topps

Each box guarantees one autographed card and one relic card. The box provided for this review yielded an autograph of Cincinnati Reds outfield prospect T.J. Friedl and a relic card of Chicago White Sox outfielder Eloy Jimenez. While both of those hits were of the more common variety, collectors have a chance to scoop up autographed cards of Derek Jeter and David Ortiz as part of the Looming Legacy series, and autographed 1968 Mint relic cards of top organizational prospects.

While the hardcore collectors would like to see this set come out during the minor league season so they can track down their favorite local player before they move up their organizational ranks, the timing of 2017 Topps Heritage Minors provides fans and collectors the opportunity to track a wide range of next year’s future stars unencumbered by the heat of the postseason baseball.

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2017 Topps Archives Signature Series Review - Bringing fans closer to current superstars

For autograph collectors, scoring a signature of an active player has becoming increasingly difficult with limited access at Major League Baseball stadiums due to seating restrictions, shortened batting practice, and protective netting. Long gone are the days of buying a cheap bleacher seat, arriving to the park early, and going anywhere in the field level seating with the prospect of being able to walk away with a variety of autographs from the superstars to the players on the end of the bench.

2017 Topps Archives Signature Series / Topps

Topps has attempted to stymie this frustration for hobby enthusiasts with the release of 2017 Topps Archives Signature Series. Each single card box carries an encapsulated autograph of one active major league player at the price of what it would cost to attend a game. With a checklist that includes Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, Ichiro, Kris Bryant, and Mike Trout, many fans would be elated to walk away with their signatures after a purchase of this product.

The box provided for this review yielded an autograph of former Cleveland Indians first round pick, Tyler Naquin, which is numbered to a limited edition of 99 cards.

2017 Topps Archives Signature Series Tyler Naquin / Topps

Certainly not every player included in this set is of the caliber of the aforementioned group; however, the guarantee that one will walk away a guaranteed signature of an active MLB player is an attractive feature for this product. While some might wait until the masses put their hits on the secondary market, most fans would enjoy receiving a box of 2017 Topps Archives Signature Series gift wrapped for the holiday season.


2017 Topps Archives Signature Series Autograph List

Aaron Judge	Dan Vogelbach	Joe Panik	Nomar Mazara
Adam Jones	David Price	Jose Altuve	Odubel Herrera
Adrian Gonzalez	Dellin Betances	Julio Urias	Orlando Arcia
Albert Pujols	Derek Norris	Justin Turner	Robinson Cano
Alex Bregman	Dexter Fowler	Kelvin Herrera	Ryan Braun
Alex Reyes	Didi Gregorius	Kenta Maeda	Ryon Healy
Andrew Benintendi	Dustin Pedroia	Kevin Kiermaier	Sonny Gray
Ben Zobrist	Francisco Lindor	Kris Bryant	Starling Marte
Brandon Phillips	Freddie Freeman	Kyle Schwarber	Stephen Piscotty
Bryce Harper	George Springer	Lucas Giolito	Steven Matz
Buster Posey	Henry Owens	Luis Severino	Steven Wright
Carlos Correa	Ian Happ	Manny Machado	Trea Turner
Charlie Blackmon	Ichiro Suzuki	Manny Margot	Trevor Story
Chris Sale	J.D. Martinez	Mashiro Tanaka	Tyler Austin
Corey Kluber	Jacob deGrom	Matt Carpenter	Tyler Naquin
Corey Seager	Jameson Tallion	Max Kepler	Wade Davis
Danny Duffy	Jason Heyward	Michael Fulmer	Willson Contreras
Danny Valencia	Javier Baez	Miguel Sano	Yoan Moncada
Dansby Swanson	Jeurys Familia	Mike Trout
		Noah Syndergaard

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