Topps Hits Home Run With Gorgeous Series 2

By Dan Schlossberg

The 2024 Topps 2 series features a Women in Baseball insert.Photo byTopps

Collecting baseball cards used to be easy. Topps charged a nickel a pack and kids eagerly spent parts of their allowances on what sometimes turned into cardboard gold.

Things are considerably more complicated — and more expensive — these days. But things are also more fun, with so many more varieties and selections of cards.

This year’s Topps Series 2, a 350-card set just released to retail and hobby stores, sells for $84.99 a box.

That’s a lot more than five cents but the 350-card set contains rookie cards, league leaders, team cards, and a variety of inserts — including new ones on Women in Baseball and Signature Tunes, dual-signed cards pairing the players with the artists who perform their walk-up songs.

Topps Series 2 looks like Topps Series 1, with neon borders in team colors, a black smoke gradient, and team names in the upper right-hand corner.

Hobby boxes contain 20 packs.

Autographed cards, always prized by collectors, appear in the style of 1989 Topps and 1989 Topps All-Stars featuring signatures of legendary stars.

The 1989 Topps design is also used in the hobby-exclusive commemorative relics, including Silver Slugger winners and the City Connect swatch collection, featuring game-used relics from city connect jerseys.

Other inserts include Heavy Lumber, Social Media Follow Back Redemption cards, and Home Field Advantage/Legendary Advantage highlighting current and former stars. Platinum Performers and Sketch Cards are also part of 2024 Topps Series 2.

First Pitch, brought back by popular demand, includes George W. Bush, who owned the Texas Rangers before he became president, and soccer star Mallory Swanson, wife of Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson. Victor Wembanyama and Myke Towers also have cards.

Other non-baseball personalities who surprisingly appear in the 2024 Topps Series 2 are Daddy Yankee, who supplies the walk-up music for new Yankees star Juan Soto, and Travis Scott, who does the same for Houston slugger Kyle Tucker.

Women in Baseball, new this year, includes Jessica Mendoza, Alyssa Nakken, Ronnie Gajownik, and Veronica Alvarez.

The new Topps Baseball Series 2 also includes Golden Mirror short prints of all 350 basecards. Inserts include City to City, Around the Horn, Covering the Field, Fantasy Favorites, Significant Statistics, and 1989 Topps baseball and All-Star cards.

Golden Mirror cards, some of which are autographed, have gold foil backs.

Full details of the latest Topps baseball set may be found at www.Topps.com. Soto is the cover athlete of 2024 Topps Baseball Series 2, with his picture appearing on the outside of every box and pack.

Topps entered the baseball card business in 1951 to promote its bubble gum. The late Sy Berger, who spent a lifetime with the company, is widely considered the godfather of baseball cards.

Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ writes baseball for forbes.com, USA TODAY Sports Weekly, Sports Collectors Digest, MLB Report, Here’s The Pitch, Memories & Dreams, and other outlets. His email is ballauthor@gmail.com.