Ranking the Modern-Day Topps Stadium Club Sets

Since the brand's revival in 2014, Topps Stadium Club has enjoyed a great deal of success. Card collectors have consistently ranked this photo-centric product as one of the greatest, if not the best releases year after year.

Over the last half-decade, Stadium Club has improved drastically. Though the inserts still leave something to be desired, the 300-card base set features a blend of current and retired players that works to perfection. 

The center point of the entire product, the photos, are stunning, some even breathtaking works of art that belong in a museum. No matter the year, each of the 5 modern-day Stadium Club sets thus far (2014-2018) has produced at least 1 unbelievable card that is often ranked as one of the greatest Baseball cards of the entire year.

From the Sandy Koufax card in 2016 to the Ted Williams from last year, Stadium Club consistently produces fantastic cards, making this product one of the most anticipated releases year after year. 

I know that I, along with countless other collectors, am counting down the days until 2019 Topps Stadium Club is released on June 26th. The current mock-ups of the base cards on COMC and Beckett look absolutely phenomenal, to put it mildly.

Both the photo choices and, to a lesser degree, the set design, contribute to the success and popularity of a Stadium Club set. Nailing both of these aspects is essential towards producing the best possible product, something Topps has accomplished a couple of times over the last few years.

As you can tell, the subject of today's post will be the Stadium Club brand. Specifically, I'll be ranking the 5 sets released thus far and assessing them based on how well or poorly they fit the criteria I mentioned in the previous paragraph.

2014 Topps Stadium Club

The first Topps Stadium Club release in almost a decade, the 2014 set ushered in a new era for this photography-based brand. Finally, after Topps made a couple of attempts with this product, Stadium Club was back with an identity. However, that doesn't mean the '14 set and design was all that stellar.

For starters, the design resembles exactly what I didn't like about the Stadium Club sets of the 90s and 2000s; it's incredibly boring. The card backs are fine, nothing much to talk about, but when compared with the subsequent releases, the photography behind the 2014 set fails to impress. 

There are still some fabulous cards in 2014 Topps Stadium Club, but it's rather pale in comparison with other releases. However, this was the first release of this product's revival, so I'll cut Topps some slack.

2015 Topps Stadium Club

Wisely, Topps opted for a borderless, minimal set design the following year in order to allow the photography to stand out more than it ever had before. Moreover, Topps stepped their game up when it came to pictures as well, for 2015 Stadium Club notably featured more stand out pictures than the 2014 set.

Although like the first edition, this product has its flaws, 2015 Stadium Club helped set the tone for what future releases should be like. As you'll notice, subsequent Stadium Club products feature similar set designs, card backs, and selection of photography.; much of this is thanks to the 2015 release.

2016 Topps Stadium Club

One of my favorite Stadium Club releases to date, 2016 Topps Stadium Club features the strongest set design among the 5 products thus far, but that could change following the release of the 2019 product later this year. 

Regardless, 2016 was a strong and impressive year for the brand as Topps boosted their set even more. This was also the year in which I began taking notice of the Stadium Club product, after which my collecting habits would forever be changed. 

I'm such a huge fan of the 2016 Topps Stadium Club that I'm willing to completely ignore the fact that it looks very reminiscent of 1997 Fleer.

2017 Topps Stadium Club

Personally, I view the 2017 Topps Stadium Club as the greatest release in this product's complicated history. Not only are both the card backs and the set design top tier, but the photographs featured are just insane. 

Some of the greatest cards of the modern era (Brooks Robinson, Reggie Jackson, Tim Raines) come to mind when I think about this sensational product. If that wasn't enough, we got to see some unconventional players featured in the base set as retired players, like Bobby Abreu and Derrek Lee.

I'm not trying to knock the 2018 set whatsoever, but I believe, as of now, Topps Stadium Club peaked in 2017.

2018 Topps Stadium Club

I truly don't have any problems at all with the 2018 Topps Stadium Club set. The photos featured are fantastic, including some true gems, like the previously mentioned Ted Williams card. The backs and the set design are stellar, and, most importantly, it stays true to the concept that Stadium Club has been executing for years now.

However, following the massive success that was 2017 Topps Stadium Club, the following release took a minor step back. Don't get me wrong, I still love the '18 set; it's just that 2017 was truly incredible.

As we inch closer to the release of the 2019 checklist and, eventually, the set itself, I'm intrigued to see how it falls in comparison with the first 5 releases.