Baseball Cards 103: Parallels

A parallel baseball card is the same as its base card counterpart in all ways but one, its border. Parallels are made in much smaller quantities than base cards and are more valuable, hence more expensive, to the collectors who seek them. The parallel cards that I’m most familiar with are called rainbows due to the different color borders they are issued in.  The 2017 Topps Series One issue has the following parallel versions of each card:

There’s the regular, base issue which is easy to find. The gold border version is always issued in amounts equal to the year of issue, so this year its 2017. The rainbow foil version comes 1 per every 10 packs. The black border version is issued 66 times. There are 50 cards each of the Mother’s Day hot pink version and the Father’s Day power blue version. The Vintage version is printed in quantities of 99. There are 25 copies of the Memorial Day camouflage version, and 10 cards of the clear version. There is only one platinum version issued. Lastly, only one printing plate version is available. That’s ten versions of the same card for every card in the set!

Here are the 2015 Topps base and gold versions of the Mike Trout  2014 American League MVP card. Below them is the back of the gold version, showing its number, which I’ve circled in black.

Some collectors are bound and determined to collect as many rainbows as they can. “I love the chase trying to find the ones I don’t have,” said my baseball card trading friend Dallas in a  recent conversation on the subject. But with so many collectors competing for the same limited versions, and some of them using software to ensure they have the winning bid on eBay, he said the down side of collecting them is just missing out on a card at the last second.

Another baseball card trading friend, Brent, also admitted to enjoying the chase even though he said it’s virtually impossible to complete a rainbow. Brent lives in Minnesota and only collects Twins cards because “it’s our team.” He believes rainbow collecting has gotten out of control and that “it’s a huge money maker for the companies” that issue them. “They know once you start you can’t stop,” he added.

Collectors seem to vary in their approach. My attitude toward rainbow collecting is very casual. For me, rainbows form as a byproduct of favoring certain players. I’ve always liked David Wright, the veteran Mets 3rd Baseman. I was drawn to him initially because of his spirited play and consistent production. But the years have taken their toll and after a number of significant injuries and a diagnosis of spinal stenosis, I admire him now because he works so hard just to get ready to play. I searched my collection and realized I have a small David Wright rainbow of my own, which includes versions from the 2015 Topps and Chrome issues.

I’ve written about baseball cards, inserts and rainbows over the past three posts. With the new baseball season just days away, I’m going to turn my attention to several of the teams and discuss their chances of success as we once again get ready to play ball.