Topps Series 1 Baseball Easter Eggs and Secret Parallels
While collectors have been eagerly ripping through hobby boxes chasing the top rookies and veterans from 2024 Topps Series 1 Baseball, several parallels have been discovered that don’t show up on the checklist or in the odds.
Some of these are quite difficult to spot if you don’t know what you’re looking for.
Kevin Hart Variation
What you’re looking for is a photobomb from actor and comedian Kevin Hart, who has been inserted into each of the Philadelphia Phillies base cards. These short-printed parallels are numbered to just 52 copies (suspected to be a poke at Hart’s listed height of 5-foot-2) so they will prove to be a tough chase.
Hart is a renowned fan of Philadelphia sports teams, and recently appeared at a Topps event alongside Tom Brady and Travis Scott, among others.
Yes, these are real Kevin Hart variants in 2024 Topps. #collect pic.twitter.com/mCWqnS94sl
— BlowoutBuzz.com (@BlowoutBuzz) February 16, 2024
This also isn’t the first time Topps has done something like this — back in 2010, Topps hinted toward some unique SSP cards by posing the question, “What would Abraham Lincoln’s favorite team be?” This led to the former president being inserted into Cubs cards from the release, given his association with Illinois.
SSP Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto
Topps has also included SSP cards featuring two of the biggest offseason moves — Shohei Ohtani in his Dodgers uniform and Juan Soto in his Yankees uniform. These cards look exactly like the standard base cards but show Ohtani and Soto in their new uniforms.
First Card
An all-new surprise for collectors, the First Card variation ended up being a bit of a flop from Topps. Meant to call out the first card printed for all 350 in the base set, the “First Card” designation was left off due to a printing error.
Pull any cards stamped "FIRST CARD" from #ToppsSeriesOne⁉️ Here's what they mean! pic.twitter.com/po0Bm94dKR
— Topps (@Topps) February 16, 2024
Each card still features the 1/1 stamp on the back, but the missing designation for the front has resulted in collectors possibly skipping over these cards. Topps recently released a statement saying First Card holders can file a claim to have their cards stamped with the proper designation.
Topps has also hinted at other surprises in the product, so we’ll update this article as they are discovered.
