Topps Series One – Guards Cards
· Yahoo Sports
Its a great day for those who collect current Topps baseball cards. Today, February 11th, the 2026 MLB Topps Series One releases.
Visit hilogame.news for more information.
For those who are new to the hobby, Topps Series One is the first series released by Topps to kick off the next year of collecting. They’re usually released around Spring Training and feature the first batch of player base cards and with plenty of cool parallels and inserts. Parallel cards have similar images as the base cards but feature different designs.
This year Topps is celebrating their 75th anniversary and there are plenty of parallels available of each card, over 50 total, including the full rainbow that many collectors chase. They’ve included multiple inserts, which are cards that differ from the base and parallel set with their own, unique design. Included in the insert list are the autographs and relic cards. The relic cards have historically included pieces of uniforms, bases, gloves, and even bats.
One of the inserts I’m going to be on the look out for is the Big Ticket Player inserts.
Of course, this is the just the kick off for the 2026 collecting season. The Easter Tin list is included with Series One and introduces additional parallels that feature Spring related designs. Last year the 2025 Topps Series One Celebration set released shortly after Series One and included different inserts and additional base cards. Celebration replaced the old Opening Day series Topps used to run in conjunction with Opening Day. Hopefully we’ll see it’s return this year.
This year’s Series One unfortunately does not have a lot of Guardians players represented. Of all of the current teams included there are only four teams with less cards (base and inserts) than the Guardians; the Blue Jays (61), Twins (60), Diamondbacks (60), and Marlins (54). The Guardians will have 66 card designs (not including parallels, which all base cards have) this year. The Yankees (157), Dodgers (147), and Braves (141) have the most designs.
For the base cards and parallels, Guards fans can look for CJ Kayfus, Daniel Schneemann, Parker Messick, Ben Lively, Bo Naylor, Angel Martínez, Gavin Williams, José Ramírez, and Kyle Manzardo. Kayfus and Messick will be rookie cards.
The majority of variants (similar to parallels, but not available for all base cards), are available for Kayfus, Messick, and José. Some are only available for one of two of those three players or simply do not have Guardian representation.
Outside of the same three players, George Valera, Steven Kwan, and Kenny Lofton also have autograph cards available. On the relic side of things, José has the most available at three. Kayfus and Kwan each have a single relic design available. If there is a Cleveland insert card available in a specific design, it will likely be José. Kayfus has two inserts and Messick has one.
One cool feature for the 75th anniversary are Topps Gift inserts. Collectors can find a series of prizes in packs of cards including tickets to the All-Star Game, Team Gifts from select teams, and even a $7500 gift card to Topps.
Throughout the season, fans should also keep an eye on the Topps Now program. Topps runs a pre-order only, limited print of major moments throughout the season. This includes player debuts, first hits, major walk off wins, etc. Last year they also ran a team Spring Training set that included a program where if a player on your team does a specific thing in game, you will automatically get a Topps Now card. Last year that was José’s multi-HR game against the Angels in April.
For the full list of Series One cards, including design examples, Beckett is my go-to. If you are new to the hobby, read up on the odds that each type of pack provides if there are specific cards you want to try your luck on pulling.
Good luck and happy ripping!