Topps Tier One baseball returns in May 2016 with a product that appears to mirror its 2015 counterpart.
While Topps did not release a lot of information about Tier One in its release on Tuesday, what is certain is that it will be a hobby exclusive product with three cards to a box. Two of the cards will be on-card autographs, while the third will be a relic card. One-of-one knob bat cards are the only relic revealed thus far.
Every case will contain a hot box with an extra relic card. Also, at least one Tier 1 Autograph card can be found in each case.
Last year, card signatures also were featured in parallel shades of silver, red and gold.
The mock-ups T
opps released Tuesday sports a different design than last year. The 2016 version shows the player in an action pose, hitting out of a feathered white background. The bottom half of the card is darker, either a metallic blue or gray.
That’s an improvement over last year’s design, particularly the autograph cards. Those backgrounds reminded me of a gold linoleum floor.
Last year’s hobby boxes sold in the $90 range and contained autograph cards of Hall of Famers and current stars. While Topps has yet to release a checklist for 2016, there’s a good chance the names of Kris Bryant and Carlos Correa — the National League and American League rookies of the year in 2015 — will be on the list.
Topps promised to reveal more information “in the coming weeks.”
