Looking back at the last five years of Topps Chrome
Topps Chrome has become a circled date in the baseball card world year in and year out. Whether it's collecting a rookie's first chrome autographs or looking to chase a parallel or superfractor of a favorite player, Topps Chrome allows for countless collecting strategies.
Prior to the release of this year's iteration of the product, let's revisit the previous products in the long line of a popular collectible.
2024 Topps Chrome
Out of the last five year's products, 2024 has proven to be the most expensive box. Headlined by Elly De La Cruz and Paul Skenes in Topps Chrome Update, a pair of players that many view as future faces of the league attract collectors to this product. Outside of the pair of superstars, Jackson Chourio, Jackson Merrill, Jackson Holliday are added to the mix of young stars that have started their Major League careers strong.
The inserts featured in the product such as "Summertime in the Park" and "Fanatical" give a lightheartded sense of baseball season, with the summer weather and elements of the sport that makes fans fall in love.
2023 Topps Chrome
Similar to 2022 Topps Chrome, the 2023 edition featured rookie cards of stars such as Corbin Carroll, Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Riley Greene, and Kodai Senga.
2023 was the year in which Topps came out with the "Radiating Rookies" shortprint. The gold-looking card offer another chase of the rookie class with a non-autograph and autograph version of the card, with the autographed version numbered to 23.
2022 Topps Chrome
2022 Topps Chrome arguably offers the highest level of rookie autographs with it being a few years removed. Toward the top of the checklist, rookie autographs from Bobby Witt Jr., Julio Rodriguez, Hunter Greene, Spencer Strider highlight a loaded list of players who have now grown to become household names in the baseball world.
2022's version of the product also introduced the "Heart of the City" insert that pays homage to a team's city with the franchise's star. In some ways, this became the blueprint for the now popular "Homefield Advantage" insert which could be the baseball version of football's popular "Downtown" case hits.
2021 Topps Chrome
The 2021 rookie checklist is on the lighter side compared to the more recent classes in the product, but offers high end pitching names such as Garrett Crochet and Tarik Skubal as well as Shane McClanahan, who can pitch like an ace when healthy. Due to its lack of star power in the product, it is among one of the cheaper options for collectors to buy and rip.
The inserts in the product such as "Beisbol" and "Prismic Powers" give off flashy colors and catch the eye of collectors while spotlighting international player's homes. The "Beisbol" insert autograph checklist provides a mix of young stars and legneds like Fernando Tatis Jr., David Ortiz, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Edgar Martinez.
2020 Topps Chrome
2020 is maybe one of the more underrated years in recent Topps Chrome products. Released during the pandemic and the resurgence of sports cards, this year's edition has plenty of noteworthy names in the rookie autograph checklist. Collectors can go after the perennial all-stars like Yordan Alvarez and Logan Webb, very solid players such as Luis Robert Jr. and Bo Bichette, and even some top tier closers in the sports in Emmanuel Clase and Andres Munoz.
Dan Gardella is a Red Sox fan and collector growing up in Yankee territory in Connecticut. While only reviving his love for the hobby a few years ago, he provides knowledge into baseball cards from prospects to the big leagues.
Follow DanGardella