Angles. Circles. Parallel lines. Wavy lines.
Sounds like geometry class, but those are just some of the background patterns that collectors can expect to see whe
n 2015 Topps High Tek baseball is released on Wednesday, October 14. Throw in foil and acetate, and there will be plenty of diversity in this product.
Tek made a comeback last year, but fans of the original set in 1998 will remember that the 90-card base set had 90 different background patterns per card. That made for a staggering 8,100-card master set for collectors who wanted to chase every variation — plus, each card also had a parallel that was printed with diffraction foil.
This year’s baseball product will consist of one pack per hobby box, with eight packs per box. Topps is promising one autograph, one parallel and six base cards per box, which should cost a collector somewhere in the neighborhood of $60 to $70, depending on the dealer.
Cards in this set will include retired New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, along with 2015 rookies such as Carlos Correa, Kris Bryant and Francisco Lindor.
Parallels will be plentiful, with nine different ones to chase. They include Purple Diffractors, Confetti Diffractors, Tidal Diffractors, Gold Rainbow, Clouds Diffractors (numbered to 25), Red Orbit (5) and Black Rainbow (1/1). Printing Proofs (also 1/1) will be included, and this year’s Tek set will mark the debut of Black Galactic Diffractors, which also will be 1/1s.
The Red Orbit and Bla
ck Galactic Diffractors also will have different card v
ariations.
The autographs on Topps High Tek will be on-card signatures and will be a mixture of rookies, veterans and retired players. There will be parallels for autograph cards, t00, with Tidal Diffractors, Gold Rainbow, Clouds Diffractors (numbered to 25) and Red Orbit (5). Black Galactic Diffractors and Printing Proofs will be 1/1s.
Bright Horizon autograph cards debuts with a horizontal layout and will feature baseball’s up-and-coming stars and rookies. Expect to see players like Mike Trout, Kris Bryant, Joc Pederson, George Springer and Bryce Harper in the mix. The cards will feature a player with a design that depicts a city skyline in a foil format.
Parallels for these c
ards will be Red Orbit Diffractors, numbered to 5, and Black Galactic Diffractors (1/1).
Tek Buybacks will showcase on-card autographs on parallels and inse
rts from the original run of Topps Tek (1998-2000).
Speaking of throwbacks, the new DramaTEK inserts will revive the look of the cards from 2000. Parallels will include Red Orbit, numbered to 5, and a 1/1 Black Gallactic Diffractor. An autograph parallel will feature up to 10 subjects, and the on-card signature cards will be numbered to 25.
Low Tek Diffractors will use the same design as 2014 to inject 15 new players into the mix. Like the DramaTEK cards, a parallel with on-card autographs will be numbered to 25.
That adds up to a lot of different options for collectors.
You can see 2015 Topps High Tek on eBay here.
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