While we’re still a few days away from pitchers and catchers
reporting to their respective Spring Training homes, baseball season gets
underway with the release of 2020 Topps Series 1 on Wednesday. The first
offering of the hobby for the 2020 season means baseball is around the corner.
Kicking things off in a big way this year, Topps is hosting
the Million Card Rip Party today at Jerry World. As group breaks have become
more prominent within the hobby, the card company sought out a handful of
popular breakers and gathered them all at AT&T Stadium. They’ll showcase
the event live, and collectors will get some of their first looks at the new
cards.
2020 Series 1 has a chance to go down as the best initial
flagship offering ever. While it’s normally Series 2 or Update that highlights
the sport’s best rookies, this season is somewhat unique. American League
Rookie of the Year winner Yordan Alvarez will get his first rookie card, and the
class also includes young stars like Gavin Lux and Bo Bichette. Deep and with
plenty of star power, this group could have staying power for quite some time.
Specifically, from the Twins, Lewis Thorpe is the lone
rookie card in the set. However, Marwin Gonzalez gets a Minnesota card, as do
Nelson Cruz and Taylor Rogers. Autographs are aplenty from the Twins, and they
include everyone from Luis Arraez to Bert Blyleven. Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco,
and Jake Odorizzi have some pretty big chase cards to search for, and there
will be some chrome offerings of former Topps line Turkey Red littered into
retail.
Given Thorpe is the only rookie for Minnesota, and he’s not
seen as a desired commodity in the hobby, it would really only be the hits that
drive a decent return from Twins subjects. However, the manufactured relics
including the Sleeve Patch and Rookie Retrospectives sets could wind up being
some of the best-looking manufactured offerings we’ve seen in years.
Another takeaway from Topps’ early season checklists is that
the Twins will have some new names making signing appearances in 2020. It
appears Trevor May, Mitch Garver, and Jorge Polanco will all be autographers in
Topps product this year. With so much Rod Carew and Bert Blyleven focused
content in the hobby of late, new names generating hype for Twins fans is a
must. Hopefully more Joe Mauer cards will filter back into production at some
point, but the Bomba Squad putting Minnesota back on the map is a great start.
You can find hobby boxes of 2020 Topps Series 1 at your
local card shop, and blaster boxes as well as other retail configurations will
be available at Target, Walmart, and Walgreens.
