Somehow I have succeeded in landing nearly 75 percent of TOPPS flagship in 2025. TCDB says I have 516 out of 700 cards.
This is despite the fact that this has done exactly one retail purchase of 2025 tops throughout the year. I bought a blaster in February when it came out. Nothing since then. I did very well with cutting back on editions for new sets that are only “meh” for me.
But no, at the moment I am treating 2025 tops such as I get all the flag ships sets that don’t inspire me enough – just get that Dodger team set.
I finished that with an online purchase that has recently arrived. I only needed six series 2 cards, so I have some Dupes to use again. Here are those six:
I hate it if the Mookie Betts card is elusive, so that is avoided.
Traditionally I write a message every year about the best Dodger card in the Topps flag ships set. However, I am a bit tired of the same equality of flagship in recent years. Topps is very dedicated to zoom in as close as possible to the player (but fortunately not as close as during the years 2010) and to show as little background as possible. They might as well switch off the backgrounds completely as that is the plan in the coming years. Do something interesting with that empty space.
The constant focus on hitter that touches, running runners and pitching pitching is also annoying. That Ben Casparis is about the only card in the team set that looks a bit different.
So for the best card in this year’s set, I don’t know, I think this might be:
One of the beautiful elements of the Set 2025 is the photo that breaks through the design. There are several examples with the Dodgers. This one is the best. HYEENONG KIM has such an interesting swing – I honestly don’t know how he doesn’t get anything except for error balls – so this card stands out, what most other cards in the team set don’t do.
An area in which TOPPS has been improved – at least for the Dodgers – is the production of large team sets. For the second consecutive year, the Dodgers have more than 30 cards. Here is the entire set in image form:
The images are fine. I mean, it’s not 2016, thank goodness. It seems that there are fewer party shots this year, which I am happy to see. Not many horizontals. And the checklists have been cut back for last year’s Dodgers.
Last year there were 32 Dodgers cards in the flagship of 2024, which was the fourth for a flagship of Topps Dodgers ever. This year there are 31.
I also refused to take two cards in the photo with Teoscar Hernandez with players from other teams, which means that they are technical dodger cards cards. They are both related to the Home Run Derby last year. So add it and those are 33 cards!
Of all Topps Dodgers team sets, only two other sets contains more cards -1960 with 37 and 1959 with 35. The 2025 set is bound with 1952 tops, which also had 33.
2025 is not without filling material (although you could say the same thing for ’52 tops). There are the checklists and the two Ohtani maps, but I still think that it is more better when it comes to team sets – think of Topps Total (but make the design more interesting than TOPPS Total).
The flag ships set of TOPPS has been 700 cards in the last two years, so that is probably one of the reasons why there are more cards. But Topps still plays favorites. Teams such as the Mariners, Marlins and White Sox have fewer than 20 cards in their 2025 sets.
This message will probably serve for what I have done every year for the “Best Dodger Card every year”, unless I suddenly fall in love with a different card other than Kim. Like I said, I was cut back.
#topps