2020 Topps Series 2 Preview

Topps Series 2 rolls out this Friday and brings with it the design from Series 1. Topps did add some special inserts to spice up the checklist.

Base Cards: Picking up where Series 1 left off at #350, this set starts at #351 and goes until #700. Noteable rookies include Luis Robert, Shogo Akiyama, and Brusdar Graterol. The base set includes thirteen parallels with three separate 1/1 printing plates. There are eight base variations including Randy Johnson, Tom Seaver, and Will Clark. There's also a 100 card Clear variation that are numbered out of 10.

Inserts: As mentioned before, there are a good number of inserts in this set. Below is the list with quick synopsis of each:

1985 Topps Baseball (All Star and Chrome subsets): A tribute to the 1985 set.

Best Of Topps Now: An appreciation to an online only card that commemorates special moments throughout the previous season.

Decades' Best (Chrome subset): Each decades best players and teams.

Draft Day Medallions: Recent picks with medallions commemorating the year they were drafted.

Empire State Awards: Wal-Mart exclusive Pete Alonso inserts.

Fernando Tatis Jr Highlights: Target exclusive Fernando Tatis Jr inserts.

Home Run Challenge: This entitles the holder to a special numbered card if that player hits a home run on the day they choose

Jumbo Special Event Jersey Sleeve Patch: Manufactured sleeve to commemorate a special event

Significant Statistics: Significant statistics of specific players

Sketch Cards: Artist drawn cards, typically low numbered

Topps 2030: A jump ahead on how Topps views their product will look in ten years.

Topps Player Medallions: Manufactured medallion

Topps Player of the Decade Mike Trout: This set celebrates Mike Trouts career so far

Turkey Red 2020 (Chrome subset): A tribute to the famous Turkey Red set, retail only

WARriors of the Diamond: Mostly legends that finished with high Wins Above Replacement

Patches: One of the coolest pieces of memorabilia hit this set with "In The Name". These cards , only found in Hobby and Hobby Jumbo packs, are pieces of players jerseys that have their last names cut out. The cards are 1/1, but for the players with longer last names naturally have a bigger chance to hit.

Autos: Most of the above inserts have autographed variations. The other autograph cards include Cut Signatures (1/1 of legends), Baseball Stars and Dual, and Topps Reverence.

The big prize continues over with Series 1 with a chance at pulling a golden ticket. Only 25 of these exist. Customers that pull these are invited to a unique Topps experience. If you read the fine print, you'll see the following:

"This ticket allows the holder plus one guest a unique collector and fan experience including a meet and greet with various MLB players from throughout the decades, exclusive trading cards, and more in late fall of 2020."

For how big of fans we are of this hobby and sport, this would surely be above whatever was in Willy Wonka's factory.