The 2025 Topps Baseball Card Design Is Here (And Reviews Are Mixed)
Update, Jan. 10: Topps has announced that 2025 Series 1 cards will be available for preorder on Monday, Jan. 13, at 12 p.m. ET at Topps.com. Hobby boxes will cost $89.99, jumbo boxes will cost $179.99 and mega boxes will cost $49.99. No word yet on traditional blasters or Fanatics blasters.
After announcing Aaron Judge as the cover athlete for their 2025 Series 1 flagship release earlier this week, Topps released the design for the actual cards on Thursday morning, and it has design elements reminding some of years past.
Unlike the 2024 design, which featured a black border and the team name in color up top, this year’s default design goes back to white borders, and moves the team name to the left side of the card, written in an outline on top of a looping line that reminds many of the 1982 Topps design.
The player name remains at the bottom of the card, and the position is indicated on a baseball-field icon at the bottom right of the card.
Topps has not yet revealed the checklist for 2025 Series 1, though it is expected to be 350 cards and come with a variety of parallels, relics and autographs, as always. Inserts will include the All-Topps team, First Pitch, 2024’s Greatest Hits, Ball to the Hall and Training Grounds. Topps is expected to release more information about these in the coming weeks.
Topps will also be releasing inserts featuring the 1990 Topps design, and they have already announced that those cards will feature Barry Bonds autographs, the first time he has signed for Topps in many years.
“Flagship Topps is always a highly-anticipated release, and 2025 looks as exciting as ever with nostalgic nods to 1982 and 2019,” said Thomas Fish, co-owner of Blowout Cards. “Collectors are eager for Barry Bonds autos and a host of surprises, including the First Pitch lineup and yet-to-be-revealed insert sets.”
The flagship design is a huge deal because it will carry over not only to Series 2 and Update, but also to Chrome, Gilded, Sapphire and various other Topps releases over the next 12 months.
Online reviews for the design have skewed positive, but especially on the heels of the hugely popular 2024 design, some collectors online have said they find the team and player names hard to read, and that they don’t love the field being used for the position.
The cards could also present a Catch-22 for anyone trying to get the cards graded. While white borders are easier to keep in good condition than black borders, it will be up for debate how best to gauge card centering.
Series 1 will be officially released on Wednesday, Feb. 12.
