In the Now: 2016 Topps Now baseball cards changing game (checklist & ongoing gallery)

2016-Topps-Now-12-Nomar-MazaraTopps‘ new program creating real baseball cards in real time documenting the highlights of the here and now have caught on with some collectors as this season has begun with some historic starts and impressive debuts for MLB rookies.

It’s 2016 Topps Now and the cards are only available for a 24-hour window. After that, the population reports are released and the next day’s cards are unveiled — all in made-to-order, real-time fashion.

2016-Topps-Now-6-Trevor-Story

“Topps Now was inspired by input from our passionate baseball fans,” said Clay Luraschi, Topps’ Vice President of Product Development. “Magical moments will be captured on baseball cards the very next day, giving fans everywhere a chance to own a piece of history almost immediately.”

Among today’s cards, for example, is a card of Texas Rangers outfielder Nomar Mazara, who put up impressive numbers in his big-league debut on Sunday. It will be sold exclusively on Topps.com starting at $9.99 per card until new cards are launched tomorrow.

While players like Colorado Rockies rookie Trevor Story and Mazara have past Bowman cards and other releases, these types of cards allow fans to jump on the moment for their collections and for potential hot-player flipping. Some players may not be as popular as others, but rarity won’t hurt in some instances — just like it did back in 2001 when Topps launched eTopps in a weekly offering fashion. The difference here is that cards are printed and shipped to buyers within days, not held in accounts.

The production volume on all of the cards (an updating gallery with stats is below) is relatively low — the lowest just 244 copies — with some spiking potential seen as the latest Story card checked in at 1,298 copies.

Update: For the 100th card, Topps had San Francisco Giant Brandon Crawford sign 10 copies of his card. They were randomly inserted into orders. New highs, of course, have been set by the Bartolo Colon card and a new low with Edwin Encarnacion since this post was originally published. The gallery will continue to update until the season is over.

Who’s next? Watch the box scores and the highlight reels.

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