Box Break: 2024 Topps Series 1
The 2024 collecting season begins with the arrival of 2024 Topps Series 1. For the first time since 2020, the flagship set has been expanded out to 350 cards. Star players, rookies, team cards and league leaders can be found in the basic checklist.
The new year means a new rookie class to follow and chase. This year’s class is led by Cincinnati Reds' stud Elly de la Cruz. Other notable rookies include his teammate Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Henry Davis of the Pirates, Zack Gelof of the Athletics and the Martian, Jasson Dominguez of the Yankees.
I will likely be doing several posts over the next few weeks about 2024 Topps Series 1 in its various formats. My goal is to show you what is offered inside each of these formats, allowing the collector to make the best choice for themselves. For this post I will be diving into a hobby box.
A hobby box of 2024 Topps Series 1 contains 20 12-card packs. There is one guaranteed hit, either an autograph or relic card, in each box. This will give you an average of 240 cards in a box. Topps does denote that packs containing a relic or patch card could have 1 to 3 less cards in them. In addition to the 20 packs you will also get a 4-card silver bonus pack. These packs are exclusive to the hobby and jumbo boxes.
The design appears to be a modern take on the 1986 black and white block design. The border fades from black at the top of the card down to white. The picture is framed with a neon line in one of the team colors and the team name resembles a neon sign in block letters presented in a secondary team color.
Staying with the norm for the past few years, the primary insert is the 35th Anniversary set. This year features the 1989 design. There are 100 cards in this set and should continue through Series 2 and the Update series. In previous years the set would encompass 250 cards.
Some of the other insert sets in Series 1 include Celebration of the Kid , Grand Gamers, 2023 Greatest Hits, 2023 All Topps Team and Superstar Blueprints. Collecting all the different insert sets could amass a master set of close to 1,000 cards, not counting parallels.
The amount of parallels have increased once again this year. There are close to 25 different parallels in 2024 Series 1. Several, such as the Royal Blue, Holiday and Yellow parallels, are exclusive to retail products. In my hobby box I pulled three parallels: two rainbow foil and one gold /2024.
One of the side effects of mass producing a product can be misprints or miscut cards. Many of these cards are pulled out and disposed of in the packaging process. However, some will slip though and be packed out. In my hobby box there were seven total cards that were badly miscut.
On a couple of these cards you can see some of the sheet info from the side of the sheet. Fortunately six of these seven cards were duplicates so only one went into the set as a placeholder.
As mentioned earlier the hobby box contains one silver pack. This pack contains 4 chrome mojo 1989 Anniversary parallels. There are color parallels and autographs that can be pulled in these packs. In my pack I pulled two retired stars, Wade Boggs and Frank Thomas, and two current players Justin Verlander and Christian Encarnacion-Strand.
On the Silver pack cards there was an oversight in the production. The 35th Anniversary logo lists the years as 1988-2023 instead of 1989-2024. Fortunately this was corrected for the regular insert set.
Each hobby box contains one guaranteed hit. This hit will either be a relic or autograph card. In my box I got a Manny Machado City Connect relic black parallel numbered 011/199.
The biggest hit of the box was not the guaranteed hit. I hit a Home Field Advantage Julio Rodriguez card! These cards typically fall one per case. There are ten current players and five legendary players on the checklist. This hit helps to make up for the miscut cards.
Overall, 2024 Topps Series 1 tends to be a fun rip. As a set builder I always enjoy adding the flagship set to my collection. It is exciting to get the new batch of rookies along with players on new teams. More importantly, it means that baseball season is on the horizon.
Here are the stats from my box break:
