Not quite five months after Series One arrives to offer a little hint of spring, 2019 Topps Series 2 baseball completes the annual 700-card MLB trading card flagship release.
Topps announced some configuration changes with Series 1 and the same will apply to Series 2 with hobby boxes shrinking to 24 packs. The count per pack is going up from 10 to 14 cards. Jumbo boxes will have 10 packs of 46 cards, down from 50. The dealer cost has gone up a bit, too, meaning you’ll pay just a bit more for your cards. Silver Packs are back and this time they’re sealed inside each box so you won’t have to rely on your hobby shop owner or online retailer to include them with your purchase. You can see a checklist for this year’s Silver Pack set below.
2019 Topps Base Set
Once again, the 2nd series base set will be 350 cards with the same design as Series 1 along with a big roster of serial numbered parallels (see below). Pete Alonso and Fernando Tatis are among the rookie cards in Series 2. Vladimir Guerrero is included as card #700–but a short print (Alex Bregman is the non-SP #700 on the complete 2019 Topps Series 2 checklist which is linked at the bottom of the page).
- Rainbow Foil – 1:10 packs
- 150th Anniversary– 1:6 packs
- Gold– #’d to 2019
- Vintage Stock – #’d to 99
- Independence Day– #’d to 76
- Black– #’d to 67 (Hobby and Hobby Jumbo Only)
- Mother’s Day Pink– #’d to 50
- Father’s Day Blue – #’d to 50
- Memorial Day Camo #’d to 25
- Clear– #’d to 10 (Hobby Only)
- Platinum– #’d 1/1.
- Printing Plates – #’d 1/1.
Inserts
The 150 Years of Professional Baseball insert continues in Series 2 with cards highlighting the best players, top moments and greatest seasons across history.
Parallels include:
- 150th Anniversary– #’d to 150.
- Red– #’d to 10.
- Platinum– #’d 1/1.
- Autograph– #d to 25 or less.
Evolution of inserts return, marking the changes in baseball over time including team logos and uniforms, ballparks and, new for series 2, technology. There will be 150th anniversary parallels (# to 150), along with Red (# to 10) and 1/1 Platinum versions.
Faces of the Franchise is a new insert in which each modern team receives a card, featuring three players: One modern-day “face” alongside two legendary names (these should spur some debate). Also new for Series 2 is Significant Statistics, in which each card will highlight a “new” advanced statistic and its leader for 2018. Both of those will include 150th Anniversary, Red and Platinum parallels.
1984 Topps Baseball Rookies & All-Stars will commemorate the 35th anniversary of Topps’ 1984 set, again with the three parallels mentioned above also part of the pack-out.
There will be a fresh set of Iconic Card Reprints with 150th Anniversary parallels and autographed versions numbered to 25 or less.
There’s also a ten-card set produced in conjunction with digital marketing expert and social media star Gary Vaynerchuk focused on baseball’s top entrepreneurial players, past and present. There are six parallel versions and some autographed cards that are very tough pulls. The Gary Vee’s Top Entrepreneurs in Baseball set was an unannounced addition to Series 2 and the cards aren’t on the early checklist but the ten players in this subset include:
GV-1 Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies
GV-2 Marcus Stroman, Toronto Blue Jays
GV-3 Ian Kinsler, San Diego Padres
GV-4 Hunter Pence, Texas Rangers
GV-5 Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Indians
GV-6 Alex Bregman, Houston Astros
GV-7 Chris Iannetta, Colorado Rockies
GV-8 Randy Johnson, Seattle Mariners
GV-9 Derek Jeter, New York Yankees
GV-10 Trevor May, Minnesota Twins
Autographed Relic Cards
Major League Material Autographs will be numbered to 50 or less with Red (# to 25 or less) and 1/1 Platinum versions.
New for Series 2, Significant Statistics gets an autograph/relic version with each card numbered to 50 or less with Red (# to 25 or less) and 1/1 Platinum parallels.
Topps Reverence Autograph Patch cards feature on-card autographs and premium relic pieces. All are numbered to 10 with Red (# to 5) and 1/1 Platinum versions in the mix.
Autograph Cards
New for Series 2 but only available in hobby and jumbo boxes, 1984 Topps Baseball Rookie and All-Star Autograph cards will celebrate the 35th anniversary of the ’84 set with 150th Anniversary, Gold (# to 50), Red (# to 25) and Platinum (1/1) parallels.
Legacy of Baseball Autographs highlight players “from across all eras of pro ball,” according to Topps. Again, look for 150th, Gold, Red and Platinum Parallels. There will also be dual versions of the Legacy of Baseball cards, all numbered to 5 or less.
Significant Statistics Autographs are numbered to 50 or less with Red and Platinum parallels.
Cut Signature cards will also be produced for Series 2, likely with the usual array of deceased greats from the past.
Relic Cards
Available in hobby and jumbo boxes only, Major League Materials will have 150th Anniversary, Gold, Red and Platinum parallels.
1984 Topps Baseball Relics will include a piece of memorabilia on cards featuring some of the greats from that season. Both ML Materials and the 1984 Topps Relics will include 150th, Gold, Red and Platinum parallels. 1984 All Star Relics will have only Red and Platinum.
Significant Statistics Relics will be numbered to 99 with Red and Platinum parallels.
In the Name Relics feature nameplate letters from 2018 MLB jerseys and each is 1/1.
Commemorative Relic Cards
These will feature a 150th Anniversary medallion or the Golden Anniversary patch, with the latter featuring current players and the former featuring players from across baseball history. They’ll be found only in Hobby or Jumbo boxes and include four different parallels. Autograph versions will also be in the mix with each numbered to 10.
You can see boxes, sets and more on eBay here.
2019 Topps Series 2 Baseball Checklist
2019 Topps Series 2 Silver Packs Checklist
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