The 2025 Topps Five Star Baseball release dropped on December 29, and it’s pretty easy to get excited about what’s inside. According to information from Steel City Collectibles and Beckett, this year’s edition brings some serious firepower to the table.
Are you wondering what exactly is included in this premium release and if it truly lives up to the hype? Here’s what you need to know about it.
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What’s Inside the 2025 Topps Five Star Baseball Release
Each hobby box delivers six total cards. It includes one base card numbered to 50 or below and five on-card autographs. So, yes — people who snag a box are guaranteed to land some serious hits. That’s especially the case since every autographed card in the product is numbered to 199 or below.
The base set consists of 100 cards, showcasing baseball’s biggest names across multiple parallels. You’ll find Orange parallels numbered to 25, Emerald to 15, Black to 10, Red to 5, and Foilfractor 1-of-1s. This is notable because it’s the first time Five Star has included a full base set since 2013.
Cases take things even further with guaranteed hits, including one autographed relic, one acetate autograph, and one color-ink autograph. With only three boxes per case, the math is in your favor when it comes to landing premium cards.
The Biggest Chase Cards in 2025 Topps Five Star Baseball
The headliners in this release are going to turn heads. First up, you’ve got the Aaron Judge and Roger Maris dual auto featuring a cut signature from Maris paired with Judge’s hard-signed autograph. Just an incredible card that brings together two Yankee home run legends on one piece of cardboard.
Then there are the Clayton Kershaw “Welcome to the Club” dual autos, which I’ll talk about in more detail below. Beyond those, collectors can chase Five Star Cut Signatures of MLB legends and Five Star Celebrity Cut Signatures featuring notable pop culture names. All of these are 1-of-1s, making them some of the rarest cards Topps produces each year.
The autograph relic game is strong, too. Look for Quintuple Relic Autos numbered to 10 that pack five different game-used pieces (like bats, gloves, batting gloves, uniforms, and more) on one card. Five Star Autograph Jumbo Prime cards are on-card signatures with oversized game-worn uniform swatches numbered to 50 or below.
Clayton Kershaw’s 3,000 Strikeout Club Dual Autos
There’s a lot to like about this release, but this is probably my favorite. The “Welcome to the Club” subset honors Kershaw joining the 3,000 strikeout club in 2025 by pairing him with fellow members through dual autographed cards.
When Kershaw is matched with a living pitcher (Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan, Pedro Martinez, Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens, Max Scherzer, CC Sabathia, and John Smoltz), both players sign directly on the card. When he’s paired with deceased legends like Bob Gibson, Walter Johnson, Phil Niekro, Gaylord Perry, Tom Seaver, Don Sutton, Steve Carlton, Bert Blyleven, and Fergie Jenkins, Kershaw’s on-card signature appears alongside cut signatures from his fellow hurlers.
Unsurprisingly, each of these cards is a 1-of-1. There’s also a special variation featuring Kershaw dual auto relics with some of these same pitchers, also numbered 1-of-1. For Dodgers collectors or anyone who appreciates the southpaw’s accomplishments, these cards are some of the most unique collectibles we’ll see.
Award Winner Auto Relics Feature 2024’s Best
Topps added a brand-new set this year called Award Winner Autograph Relics, showcasing the 2024 AL and NL MVP winners, along with each league’s Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year winners. According to Dave & Adam’s Card World, each card includes a piece of game-used memorabilia from their award-winning season and is numbered to 10.
These cards also feature 1-of-1 image variations, giving collectors another ultra-rare chase card within the product. As if there wasn’t enough already, right?!
Five Star has always been about quality over quantity, and the 2025 edition doubles down on that approach. With guaranteed on-card autos, low print runs across the board, and chase cards that blend baseball history with current superstars, this release gives collectors exactly what they want from a high-end product: cards worth showing off and keeping for the long haul.
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