Topps Unveils Special Card Set For MLB Network Personalities Including Smoltz, Casey

Topps yesterday conducted its first-ever unveiling of a baseball card set at MLB Network studios, building on a recent move to create a special series of cards featuring the network’s on-air talent. The card company’s ’17 Baseball Series 1 set includes 10 cards of MLB Net personalities, including John Smoltz, Sean Casey, Greg Amsinger and Lauren Shehadi, with plans to create more such cards in subsequent sets. The creation of the network talent cards parallels last year’s successful introduction of the Topps Now on-demand card service that put the company more in the daily conversation around the sport. “If you’re a baseball fan, you’re watching the MLB Network. They’re part of the sport. So for us, it was a logical extension to make these personalities part of Series 1,” said Clay Luraschi, Topps VP/Product Development. Meanwhile, Topps is planning a further expansion of the Topps Now service during Spring Training.