Barry Bonds is Back in the Hobby
Earlier today Topps announced that all time MLB home run king and seven time MVP Barry Bonds would have certified autographs in Topps products in 2025. According to Topps this will be the first time Bonds has had autos in a Topps product since 2017. These autos will most be seeing their first release in Series One products with the possibility of more autos being included in Topps’ other releases later in the year. As part of their announcement on social media, Topps included a picture of at least one of the cards with Bonds’ signature. The card itself is designed similarly to the 1990 set although with a lot more color. The Topps anniversary logo is stamped in the upper right corner.
To say Bonds is polarizing is selling who Barry Bonds was and his public image lightly. His talent was undeniable even earlier in his career with the Pirates prior to his alleged steroid use. Many people considered him to be on a shoe in for the Hall of Fame. Among his accomplishments was being the second person to join the 40/40 club in 1996 and winning three of his seven MVP awards before the age of thirty. He also has countless other records to go along with the all time home run and single season records. However, controversy always followed with Barry Bonds. He was noted to be rude, argumentative, cold, and entitled to everyone including his teammates, the media, and fans. As many people know he was implicated as part of the BALCO scandal further hurting his reputation in the game especially amongst the media and fans. Even though he never tested positive for steroids or admitted to using them in his career he was never elected to the Hall of Fame while eligible by the BWAA and has yet to be inducted by the veterans committee.
As for Bonds collectors I suspect they will be very excited about this news. Even though I’m not a fan of Bonds by any means I can envision a robust market for this card. Other players shrouded in controversy such as Jose Canseco still have strong markets despite their admitted past transgressions. It will be interesting to see just how strong it is when this card hits the market.
