Judge, Skenes, and WBC Team USA Topps NOW Sets on Sale for One Week
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The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is a two-week international tournament in which players can represent their country, which began in 2006 and occurs every three years. The talent ranges from high school athletes and plumbers to professional players in different professional leagues around the globe. This year, Topps has released team sets to purchase. Here is a look at the Team USA set.
Aaron Judge - Captain for Team USA
Team USA is led by its captain, Aaron Judge, playing in his first WBC. Bobby Witt Jr., Bryce Harper, Cal Raleigh, Kyle Schwarber, and Gunnar Henderson are also joining Judge this year in this high-powered offense for Team USA.
The set includes 12 base cards plus a guaranteed parallel or autograph parallel per set. The 12 base cards will be the same 12 players for everyone, as the checklist is only 12 players. The parallel could be one of six numbered cards, a green, gold, orange, black, red, foil, or a WBC logo unnumbered parallel of any of the 12 players on the checklist. For lucky fans who pull an autograph, the players that sign in this set are Aaron Judge, Gunnar Henderson, Clayton Kershaw, and Paul Skenes.
Team USA is off to a great start, winning its first two games of pool play, and will face Mexico and Italy to see which two teams will advance to the quarterfinals. Coming off a finals loss to Japan in 2023, the USA is the favorite to win this year, adding key players like Aaron Judge, Paul Skenes, and Tarik Skubal.
Team USA Team Sets for WBC are Here for a Limited Time
In previous years, Topps released sealed wax boxes for the WBC. Those boxes contained players from any team, so it makes sense that they give the collector the option to only get players from the countries they want, with the parallel hit.
The Team USA set can be purchased at the Topps website and is only available until March 16, 2026. The print run will be announced after the 16th to give everyone a chance to purchase the set. Other team sets can also be purchased at the Topps website.
Shohei Ohtani - Team Japan Set
Craig Cormier lives in New York City with his wife, Stephanie, and dog, Ziggy. He is a passionate sports card collector, focusing primarily on baseball, basketball, and football. He proudly roots for the Yankees, Knicks, and Jets. One of his biggest sports goals is to visit every Major League Baseball stadium—and he is already halfway there! Outside of collecting, he enjoys playing softball, attending trade nights at local card shops, and exploring card shows.