This Tuesday, Topps released the first major baseball series of the year; their 2021 Series 1 flagship.
With this being the 70th year that Topps have been making baseball cards, they have understandably leant in heavily on nostalgia. The base cards even come with a foil "Topps 70th Year" stamp to really get their point across.
Fernando Tatis Jr. gets card #1 after an online vote, following Mike Trout, Ronald Acuna Jr & Aaron Judge in recent years. If it wasn't clear to everyone already, this absolutely cements Tatis' place as a top talent in the game today.
There is a sizeable and notable rookie class in 2021 too. There are plently to keep an eye out for -
#12 Joey Bart (Giants)
#25 Sixto Sanchez (Marlins)
#41 Deivi Garcia (Yankees)
#43 Jo Adell (Angels)
#113 Nate Pearson (Blue Jays)
#143 Ryan Mountcastle (Orioles)
#187 Christian Pache (Braves)
#205 Luis Patino (Padres, now with Tampa Bay after the mammoth Blake Snell trade in December)
#277 Alec Bohm (Phillies)
#285 Dylan Carlson (Cardinals)
They all, as well as 40 others, have their coveted rookie cards included in this set.
As for the design, Topps has gone for a more futuristic look than they have previously. That seems a little strange seeing as how much of an emphasis they've placed on their history.
That said, I don't dislike the 2021 design. With the one exception that the player name is too small and can be difficult to read - especially for players with longer names and therefore smaller font sizes.
There are plenty of inserts, parallels, SP, memorabilia and autographed cards too, although expect these to be a little harder to come across this year due to the slightly reduced odds of finding them.
For me though, the highlights are the insert cards using 1986 design which are just beautiful.
Have you managed to get your hands on the Topps 2021 Series 1 yet?
What are your thoughts on the design?
Let us know in the comments or on Twitter @gbbaseballcards
Play Ball!
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