Johnathan Walker:Brand new 2024 Topps Series 1 baseball cards are a 'rebellion against monochrome'

Atlanta outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr.,Johnathan Walker coming off his historic MVP season, will now be the cover star for the 2024 Topps Baseball Series cards that launches Wednesday. 

These aren’t your old-fashioned baseball cards.

“There’s so many exciting great young players in today’s game," said Clay Luraschi, Topps’ vice president of product development, “and we wanted to feature Acuña coming off his ridiculous year now that stolen bases are in vogue again. He speaks to the young fan."

Acuna became the first player in baseball history to hit at least 40 home runs and steal more than 70 bases in a season with baseball’s new rules designed to increase stolen bases. Acuna, who hit 41 homers and stole 73 bases, was the unanimous winner of the NL MVP award. 

“There’s no curse here," said Robert Grabe, Topps’ senior designer. 

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Call them the anti-Madden cover. 

The cover-boys of the last three years have been Juan Soto in 2021, Shohei Ohtani in 2022 and Julio Rodriguez last year, who all produced monster seasons. 

The Series 1 cards, which debuted in 1952, will feature current stars, former greats and rising rookies.

The baseball card industry has wildly grown in popularity since the pandemic, with Mickey Mantle’s 1952 rookie card recently selling at an auction for a record $12.6 million. 

“There’s a lot more kids, a younger demographic, in this space than I’ve ever seen before," said Luraschi, who played collegiate baseball at Pepperdine. “They are so genuinely focused grabbing onto this, and the cards are a great connection to the different teams and eras."

“I remember really feeling connected to Mickey Mantle through trading cards," Luraschi said. "If you were living in middle America, your touch point with Mickey Mantle was with a big color photo of Mickey on front, and all of Mickey’s vitals on the back with the year he was born and all of his stats. 

“I learned geography through baseball trading cards, and the first math I ever learned was through batting average. It was crazy."

Grabe, a senior designer for the last 10 years at Topps, grew up in Iowa with a basement full of cards. He was a diehard Chicago Cubs fan, watching their games every afternoon after school on WGN. 

“I was raised on trading cards," Grabe said. “I’d buy packs at the local pharmacy and gas stations. [Cubs Hall of Fame second baseman] Ryne Sandberg was my favorite growing up. I had this montage of him standing up and turning a double play with four images lying across each other."

Now, the baseball trading card industry has exploded, growing by 142% in 2020, and still rising with its new technology and images, as Grabe describing the Series 1 edition as a “rebellion against monochrome."

“It’s a great hobby," Luraschi says. “I’m just glad a lot of people see what I’ve always seen."

It just happens to look a whole lot different than ever before. 

2024 Topps Series 1 checklist

Topps revealed the 2024 Series 1 checklist ahead of the release of the cards, available here on the Topps website.

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