General Forum

the tournament wasn’t something US fans were stoked about from the get go but it’s acceptance over the years (aided in no small part to the US actually winning on an international stage) has grown

I think this hits the nail on the head. Topps probably doesn't want to take the risk here. I ended up buying 6 boxes of the WBC set from Topps' website. Doing my part to show that there is a market for these cards. (I don't collect Topps Now cards). I guess it's all we can do at this point. It's a real shame we don't take pride in our country/sports like others do. Baseball doesn't exist (Youtuber) has an excellent video he put out a day or two ago about how seriously other countries take this tournament. It's pretty wild. I think he gave a stat that something like 95% of TVs in the Dominican Republic tuned into the 2013 WBC final between the DR and Puerto Rico. That is insane.

Topps has 2023 WBC boxes listed on their website as of 3/11/23 3:04pm Eastern. 

Wow Topps is FINALLY shipping these!

If they included action image cards from this year's WBC then the timing is about right to finally get product out.

Got my 6 boxes about a week ago, and boy was it worth the wait.

I am still disappointed in Topps' handling of the WBC, and the fact we had to wait 8-10 weeks is ridiculous, as all the hype is gone. I guess Topps wanted to have some images from the WBC, but it was still a bummer. However, they arrived. So, in my 6 boxes (120 total cards), I didn't pull a single Ohtani despite him being one of just 50 names in the base checklist. I think I was missing 3-4 cards from the set, and he was one of them. Bummer.

But that is okay, because I pulled something even better. Right in line with the 1:3 box odds to pull an auto, I pulled 2 autographs. Both just so happened to be of Vinnie Pasquantino. The first was a base auto, but the second was a red #/5!!! I was pretty stoked to say the least. I might get it graded first -- haven't decided -- but regardless, it more than pays for my 6 boxes! I am a happy camper.

Nice. just ripped my four boxes and also no Ohtani or Julio Rodriguez, seems like maybe a secret short print on the hot names.

I also did pull two autos, Jonthan Loasiga and Oscar Mercado so feel fortunate there.

All in all I love the set and kinda wish I would've ordered more.

Will put together a YouTube video for release Tuesday on the unboxing..

You might be right on Ohtani being a secret short print. I don't think Julio is though, I pulled 3 or 4 of him in 6 boxes. But combining our rips, the fact we collectively pulled 0 Ohtanis in 10 boxes... while not yet statistically significant significant evidence, it's enough to make me think there is a high likelihood Topps did that. 

I also wish that had WBC stats on the back of the card -- the backs were extremely boring and devoid of, well, anything. Lots of white space.