As you scan the 2013 Topps baseball card set checklist, a few things should jump at you.
For starters, the design is subtle yet creative.
Large full-color action shots dominate the card fronts while the team-themed color borders smoothly transition into a baseball diamond in the lower left.
The rookie class is solid, with additional big names appearing in the 2013 Topps Update set.
You'll also notice a crop of young superstars like Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, and Freddie Freeman on the rise while legends like Derek Jeter, David Ortiz and Ichiro Suzuki were on the back-ends of their careers.
Wait, there was no Ichiro in this set...
That's right; one of the set's biggest controversies arose from who it omitted, with Ichiro and Topps being unable to come to terms.
Still, despite that glaring omission, there is a lot to like about the 661-card checklist.
And in this guide, we'll take a look at the 15 most valuable.
Let's jump right in!
2013 Topps Traded #US259 Nolan Arenado Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $35
Nolan Arenado was far from a finished, polished product in his rookie year with the Colorado Rockies.
Correction: he was far from a finished product at the plate.
Drafted 59th overall by the Rockies in the second round of the 2009 MLB Draft, Arenado rocketed up the organization chart one home run at a time.
Called up to the Big Leagues in late April, Arenado's hitting was spotty for most of the year.
His .706 OPS remains a career-low, and his 81 OPS+ marks his only non-COVID season with a number below 115.
Yes, the 22-year-old's .267 average, 10 homers, 29 doubles, and 52 RBIs were a welcome sight for 74-win Colorado.
However, it was still an incomplete performance at the plate for a promising prospect.
So, why exactly did Arenado finish seventh in the league's ROTY race?
Now a shortlist candidate for the best defensive third baseman of the modern era, Arenado was a stat nerd's dream in 2013.
He finished second among all NL players with 30 Defensive Runs Saved, dropping jaws with a mixture of deft glove work and cannon-style throws.
Once the hitting came around, the 2013 Gold Glover would jump from a defense-first standout to a perennial MVP candidate.
Technically, Arenado's rookie card appeared in the 2013 Topps Update set but I made an exception for him.
2013 Topps #270 Manny Machado Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $30
One of the most anticipated young prospects in quite some time, Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado broke out on the MLB scene in 2013.
After an up-and-down debut in 2012, Machado was an extra-base hit machine.
The former third overall pick, Machado posted 37 two-baggers by the season's halfway point.
If he kept up that pace, the 20-year-old wunderkind would have set a new MLB single-season record.
Regardless, Machado's impact reverberated far past the confines of Camden Yards.
A unique, fiery on-field personality, Machado earned his share of lovers and haters in his first full season.
He also earned the respect of the greater baseball world, capturing his first All-Star nod and Gold Glove while finishing ninth in the AL MVP race.
Overall, Machado slashed .283/.314/.432 with an AL-best 51 doubles, 14 homers, 88 runs scored, three triples, and 71 RBIs in an MLB-leading 667 at-bats.
All things considered, Machado's 2013 performance should have left everyone with warm, fuzzy feelings heading into the offseason.
Instead, a left knee injury on September 23rd stopped his season on the spot.
Forced to undergo reconstructive surgery days after the campaign, Machado missed Spring Training and nearly all of April during the 2014 MLB season.
2013 Topps #1 Bryce Harper
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $25
The raw numbers for Bryce Harper's sophomore season show a marked improvement over his Rookie-of-the-Year campaign in several key statistical categories.
However, the actual story of the Washington Nationals phenom's 2013 season is a bit more complex.
When the 20-year-old outfielder was healthy, he was a game-changing force in the middle of the Nats lineup.
His fielding in left and right was suspect, yet Harper made up for it with a bat akin to a stick of dynamite.
The problem, however, was that Harper hit a wall.
Literally.
Twice.
On April 29th, Harper bruised his left side while colliding into the outfield wall at Atlanta's Turner Field.
Two weeks later, he reaggravated the injury with a much scarier collision into the outfield wall at Dodger Stadium.
The bumps took their expected toll.
From his initial collision to his placement on the DL on June 1st, Harper hit just .183 with a .665 OPS in 19 games played.
Admitting that he "should have went on the DL" after the incident in Atlanta, Harper came back with a vengeance after a month away.
Now a two-time All-Star, Harper slashed .274/.368/.486 for the NL East runner-ups with 20 home runs, 24 doubles, three triples, 11 stolen bases, and 58 RBIs in 118 games played.
2013 Topps #2 Derek Jeter
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $25
Just one year after leading baseball in plate appearances, at-bats, and hits, Derek Jeter's 2013 season was a complete 180.
The 39-year-old shortstop suffered a broken left ankle in Game 1 of the 2012 ALCS, leading to a seemingly endless stream of false starts throughout the 2013 campaign.
Jeter tried to return from the disabled list three separate times in 2013 and was shut down quickly every time.
"It seemed like every time he came back, he was fine and then he would play a couple of days and something would happen," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "And that was frustrating to him and it was frustrating to all of us because we wanted him out there. And I think that's why we decided to shut him down."
Without Jeter for all but 17 games, the Yankees faded down the stretch and missed out on the second AL wild-card spot by 6.5 games.
There's no telling what would have happened if Jeter had been healthy.
As it was, the Yankees captain slashed a mere .190/.288/.254 in a scant 73 plate appearances (63 at-bats).
2013 Topps #27 Mike Trout
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $25
The Angels were a nowhere team in 2013.
How they did that with Mike Trout in the lineup is beyond logic.
Voted as the AL MVP runner-up to Miguel Cabrera for a second consecutive year, the third-year outfielder was already a one-of-one.
He redefined what it meant to be a five-tool player.
The first Angels position player to start an All-Star Game since Vladimir Guerrero in 2007, Trout ticked every box in 2013.
The third-quickest player to score 200 runs, the 21-year-old outfielder was a shooting star during an otherwise drab 78-win season in Anaheim.
Trout's 2013 masterpiece was a continuous reel of highlights, the most notable coming on May 21st when he became the youngest player in AL history to hit for the cycle.
Spending most of the season in center field in what was supposed to be a temporary move, Trout ripped through the league with calculated abandon.
He ended the season slashing .323/.432/.557 with AL bests in runs scored (109) and walks (110), along with 27 home runs, 39 doubles, nine triples, 33 stolen bases, and 97 RBIs in 716 plate appearances (589 at-bats).
Pacing the league in WAR (9.2), Trout would finally get his MVP due in a year's time.
2013 Topps #105 Freddie Freeman
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $25
In 2013, Freddie Freeman became the belle of the All-Star Game Final Vote ball.
The 2011 NL Rookie-of-the-Year runner-up was a casualty of a stacked first-base field in the Senior Circuit.
Rather than letting the Atlanta Braves star's first half go unrewarded, fans voted in droves, electing the 23-year-old into the game with a record-breaking 19.7 million votes.
Sadly, Freeman was forced out of action with a thumb injury suffered on the Saturday before the game.
It was still a banner year for the young slugger.
Finishing fifth in the league's MVP race, Freeman hit to a .319/.396/.501 slash line with 23 homers, 27 doubles, 89 runs scored, 109 RBIs, and a robust 147 OPS+.
As Freeman emerged, so did the Braves.
Atlanta captured the NL East crown for the first time since 2005 with a 96-66 record.
Hopes were high for a deep October push.
Instead, the Braves were unceremoniously dumped in a four-game NLDS loss to the Houston Astros.
Freeman held up his end of the bargain, though, going 5-for-16 (.313) with a double and four runs scored.
2013 Topps #128 Buster Posey
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $25
2013 Topps #227 Jose Altuve
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $25
2013 Topps #350 Albert Pujols
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $25
The endgame was clear when Albert Pujols inked a 10-year, $240 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels in December 2011.
Anything less than winning a championship with Pujols would be a failure.
Adding Pujols to a stacked roster and placing him in a lineup next to Mike Trout was a recipe for franchise greatness.
Right?
Come 2013, a different, more sobering reality came into focus.
After undergoing knee surgery in the wake of his 2012 Angels debut, Pujols was off his mark in year two.
As the Angels aimlessly wandered towards an alarming 78-84 finish, the veteran DH/first baseman struggled mightily to find his power stroke.
Pujols posted a .767 OPS in 99 games for the Halos, his worst OPS by far.
After hitting 30 homers in twelve straight years to start his career, Pujols hit just seventeen in 2013.
The knee wasn’t quite there.
To make matters worse, his left foot gave out.
Diagnosed with a torn plantar fascia in late July, Pujols was officially shut down for the season in mid-August.
He ended the year posting career worsts in nearly every major offensive category including batting average (.258), on-base percentage (.330), and OPS+ (116).
2013 Topps #660 Miguel Cabrera
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $25
A year removed from making baseball history, Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera orchestrated an encore for the ages in 2013.
Cabrera was the first player since Boston's Carl Yastrzemski (1967) to capture a league's Triple Crown, but he wasn't satisfied.
Rather than resting on his laurels in 2013, the 30-year-old slugger put together an arguably even more impressive campaign.
The heart and soul of the 93-win AL Central champs, Cabrera led the Majors in batting average (.348), on-base percentage (.442), slugging percentage (.636), OPS (1.078), and OPS+ (190).
Now a five-time Silver Slugger and eight-time All-Star, Cabrera tallied 44 homers for the second consecutive year and added 26 doubles, 103 runs scored, 90 walks, and 137 RBIs in 652 plate appearances (555 at-bats).
A somewhat controversial pick for a second consecutive MVP award over Mike Trout, there was no denying just how crucial Cabrera's contributions were on the defending AL champs' road to the postseason.
However, things tapered off once October came.
Cabrera hit just .250 with a subpar .686 OPS in a five-game ALDS win over Oakland and backed that up with a .273 average and .742 OPS in a six-game ALCS loss to the Red Sox.
2013 Topps Update #US265 Gerrit Cole Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $25
2013 Topps #22 Clayton Kershaw
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $20
Just the third pitcher in MLB history to pace the Majors in ERA for three consecutive years (Greg Maddux, Lefty Grove), Clayton Kershaw’s minuscule 1.83 mark was the lowest in the Majors in 13 years.
The 25-year-old lefty ended the year with a 16-9 record, scattering 164 hits across 236 innings of work.
His 232 strikeouts led the National League, and his 194 ERA+ and 0.915 WHIP were the high-water marks in Major League Baseball.
Missing out on a unanimous Cy Young win by a single first-place vote, the three-time All-Star finished seventh in the NL MVP race and captured the Warren Spahn Award handed out to the game’s best lefty pitcher.
With Kershaw mowing down the opposition, the 92-win Dodgers ran away with the NL West.
Disappointingly, the Cy Young magic wore off as October progressed.
Things started great.
Kershaw outclassed the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of the NLDS, striking out twelve in seven innings of work.
The Dodgers eliminated the Braves in four, with Kershaw posting a brilliant 0.69 in two starts (13 innings).
From there, it got dicey.
Kershaw got roughed up by the St. Louis Cardinals in Games 2 and 6 of the NLCS, eating the loss in both outings with eight runs allowed (seven earned) in ten combined innings.
2013 Topps #595 David Ortiz
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $15
If there was any speck of doubt about just how much David Ortiz meant (and still means) to the City of Boston, 2013 wiped that clear.
After the tragedy of the Boston Marathon bombing, the Red Sox and an entire region galvanized behind Big Papi.
Ortiz led the charge by example early in 2013, opening the season with a 15-game hitting streak.
He ended April hitting nearly .500 with 15 RBIs.
It was smooth sailing from there.
The Red Sox went from worst (69-93) to first (97-65) on the back of another great Ortiz season.
The 37-year-old DH put an injury-filled 2012 behind him, slashing .309/.395/.564 with 30 homers, 38 doubles, 84 runs scored, and 103 RBIs in 137 games played.
Ortiz was named to his ninth All-Star Game in ten years, finishing tenth in the league’s MVP race while capturing his sixth Silver Slugger Award.
However, it was his October fireworks display that mattered most.
Big Papi was a one-man wrecking crew in Boston’s six-game World Series triumph over St. Louis, going 11-for-16 with two homers, two doubles, seven runs scored, six RBIs, and eight walks.
The slam-dunk choice for World Series MVP, Ortiz’s .688 average is a Fall Classic record.
2013 Topps #600 Mariano Rivera
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $15
The Mariano Rivera farewell tour wasn't a parade for a player well past his prime.
The 43-year-old New York Yankees icon didn't miss a beat in his 19th-and-final season, pitching to a 2.11 that was ten points better than his final career mark.
He saved 44 games to up his record total to 652, surrendering just 58 hits in 64 innings pitched.
And while the Yankees failed to reach the postseason in Rivera's final go, there were plenty of opportunities to savor the accomplishments of the game's ultimate final boss.
Rivera was feted everywhere he went, receiving gifts while doing his best to give back to charity.
During the All-Star Game in Queens, the legendary closer received a standing ovation from the crowd and both dugouts when he entered the game to an empty field.
September 22nd was declared by NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg to be "Mariano Rivera Day."
Rivera became the first player in franchise history to have his number retired while still active, and he goes down as the final player to wear Jackie Robinson's universally retired #42.
And while his final performance at Yankee Stadium came in a 4-0 loss to Tampa Bay, the emotions of the standing-room-only crowd were felt across the globe.
2013 Topps #661 Hyun-Jin Ryu Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $15
A five-time KBO strikeout champion and 2006 pitching Triple Crown winner, Hyun-Jin Ryu was one of the most sought-after free agents of the 2012-13 offseason.
When the dust settled in November, the Los Angeles Dodgers secured exclusive negotiating rights with a $25.7 million paid to Ryu's former team, the Hanwha Eagles.
In short order, the Dodgers signed the former KBO MVP to a six-year, $36 million pact.
It turned out to be a bargain.
The 26-year-old lefty shined during his "rookie season," finishing with a 14-8 record and a sterling 3.00 ERA in 192.0 innings pitched (30 starts).
Ryu, the first South Korean to pitch an MLB postseason game, took one on the chin in Game 3 of the NLDS.
Knocked around by Atlanta hitters for four runs and six hits in just three innings of work, he was bailed out by a Dodgers offensive onslaught in a 13-6 win.
Ryu shook off the nerves quickly.
In Game 3 of the NLCS, the All-Rookie performer carried the Dodgers to their first win with a dazzling three-hit performance over seven shutout innings.
The Dodgers ultimately lost the series in six, but Ryu's final impression of 2013 was great nonetheless.
2013 Topps Baseball Cards In Review
I really enjoy the look and feel of 2013 Topps baseball as it checks the "creativity" box without being too flashy or over-the-top.
And I think that's important for any Topps flagship design.
Manny Machado and Hyun-Jin Ryu (along with Nolan Arenado and Gerrit Cole anchoring the 2013 Topps Update set) headline a decent rookie class.
Yet it may seem a bit underwhelming when compared to all the big names that came out during 2011 and 2012.
Collectors can find all the biggest superstars and future Hall-of-Famers along with a bunch of short-print variations of many different cards that make it fun to keep ripping packs even after completing the set.
There were also several different subsets in the checklist, including:
- Leaders
- All-Star Rookies
- Award Winners
- Postseason Highlights
Inserts, parallels, autographs and relic cards are as prevalent as always in 2013 Topps to boost collector interest with the thrill of the "chase."
Perhaps the most memorable of these rare cards were the thirty different one-of-one "Ultimate Chase Autograph Relics" that were cuts, booklets and jumbo patches that featured autographs of some of baseball's biggest icons.
Overall, 2013 Topps baseball is a decent set that packs all of the fun and excitement of a typical flagship Topps set of its era.