Okay, so I stumbled upon this thing called “Project 2020 Topps Artists” and, man, it’s been a ride. Basically, I started digging into this because I got curious about baseball cards, you know, the classic ones. Turns out, Topps, the big name in the card game, launched this project in 2020. What they did was pretty cool – they took 20 of their most iconic baseball cards and handed them over to 20 different artists to give them a fresh spin.
So, I’m going through the list of artists, and there’s a whole bunch of them. Names like Andrew Thiele, Don C, Efdot, and Grotesk popped up. Each artist was supposed to take on 20 cards, so we ended up with a whopping 400 unique pieces. I started looking at these cards, and they’re all over the place in terms of style, which is awesome. You’ve got this 1952 Jackie Robinson card, and then a 2011 Mike Trout rookie card, all mixed up and reimagined.
Then I got curious about the value of these things. I mean, some of these cards are going for a lot. I found out that the Mike Trout card by one of these artists is worth around 580 bucks! That’s crazy for a baseball card. On the other hand, I saw that an Ichiro Suzuki card was traded for only about 9 dollars. Still, it’s a whole range of prices!
Here’s where it got a bit tricky. I learned that Topps’ license with the MLBPA, that is, the players’ association, expired in 2022, and some company called Fanatics swooped in and grabbed it. Then Fanatics also bought Topps. So, it’s kind of a mess trying to figure out who owns what now.
Anyway, I spent hours just browsing through all these different interpretations of the cards. It was like a trip through baseball history but with a modern twist. And it got me thinking about how these things become collectibles. It’s not just about the players anymore; it’s about the art, the rarity, and all that.
So here are some artists that participated in:
- Andrew Thiele
- Ben Baller
- Blake Jamieson
- Don C
- Efdot
- Ermsy
- Fucci
- Gregory Siff
- Grotesk
- Jacob Rochester
- JK5
- Joshua Vides
- Keith Shore
In the end, I didn’t buy any of these cards. I just enjoyed going through all of them, appreciating the art, and learning a bit more about this little corner of the collecting world. It’s fascinating how something as simple as a baseball card can bring together sports, art, and a bit of business drama, too. Project 2020 Topps Artists, what a concept, huh? It is a rabbit hole, but a fun one.
My Personal Takeaway
This whole experience really showed me how diverse and creative the world of collectibles can be. It’s not just about the objects themselves, but the stories, the art, and the community around them. I never thought I’d be so into baseball cards, but here I am, totally fascinated by the blend of sports history and modern art. Also, I really think about Topps’s smart move to collaborate with artists and tap into a new kind of collector’s market. It’s a smart move.
