New Series 1 Celebration Set Brings Back Memories of Opening Day
Information on odds of various inserts discussed in this article comes from Beckett.com.
The newest product release from Topps harkens back to the now defunct Opening Day set. Both were released just in time for Opening Day of the new baseball season. Opening Day was a fun, lower cost set that is perfect for kids and adults, and the Series 1 Celebration set (aside from secondary market prices) aims to do the same.
But what's really great about S1 Celebration is that it features some short printed inserts revived from the retired Opening Day set.
The Mascots
This is one of the more common inserts, revived from Opening Day, to pull in Series 1 Celebration. It's a great set, especially for the real young collectors just getting into the hobby. While a very common pull and not a high value, kids live seeing their team's mascot, and you don't need to worry about keeping it crispy clean for grading because grading to flip just doesn't make fiscal sense.
You will easily pull these with an odds factor of 1 out of every 2 packs.
NOTE: The more rare, and newer insert to either set, is the Mascot Autograph Dynasty cards. Base cards of these autographed patch cards has odds of 1 out of every 11,272 packs and goes up for both the gold and silver parallels. That is a checklist of just seven cards.
Walk this Way
Walk This Way walks back into collectors' world with this new products. Similar to the Golden Mirror Image cards from the flagship sets, it features an unusual image, noticeable as variation or short print even with out the graphic test on the front. It generally features a player on their feet, hence the 'Walk This Way' name of the specific insert.
It's hard pull at 1 out of every 320 packs and has a 40-player checklist.
Dugout Peeks
Dugout Peeks are also similar to the Golden Mirror Image cards from the flagship sets. It features an image of the player in a casual, non-playing pose. The image is usually one of the player, well sitting in the dugout. It's something you can pick out as being a short print or image variation regardless of the actual 'Dugout Peeks' graphic text on the front.
Odds are about half of the Walk This Way inserts at 1 out of every 641 packs, and features an even shorter check list at just 20 players.
Big Head Variations
๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐: Due to popular demand, BIG HEADS are BACK ๐ฅ
โ Topps (@Topps) March 27, 2025
Chase these short-printed cards in โ2025 Topps Series One Celebrationโ out TODAY ๐ฅณ pic.twitter.com/o82IvNKWKe
I would say this is one of the more popular inserts in recent Topps memory. Originally in the flagship sets, this insert is welcomed into the Celebration special set for the 2025 season. It is as it's titled, a card of the player whose head has been grossly blown up, giving the impression of a bobble head.
Odds are the same as pulling a Dugout Peek, 1 out of every 641 packs and also features a 20 card checklist, albeit with different players.
After graduating from the University of North Dakota in 2008, Cole worked as an advertising copywriter until shifting to print journalism a few years later. Managing three weekly newspapers in the Dakotas, Cole won numerous awards from the North Dakota Newspaper Association including Best of the Dakotas and, their top award, General Excellence. He returned to collecting in 2021 and has since combined his passion for writing with his love of cards. Cole also writes for the Sports Cards Nonsense newsletter and has made guest appearances on multiple sports card collecting podcasts including Sports Cards Nonsense, and the Eephus Baseball Cards Podcast. IG: coleryan411 X: @colebenz