Spotting the 2015 Topps Baseball Sparkle Variations Made Easy
Having a hard time spotting the 2015 Topps Baseball Sparkle Variations? You're not alone. The added shimmer is small and hard to see. Not helping matters is the fact that the white spot is often cast against a naturally light background adding little contrast.
Yes, there is the code in the fine print on the back (Sparkles end in 903, regular base cards end in 861). But it's also small and tough to read for many. With that in mind, we've highlighted exactly where you can find the Sparkles in the gallery below.
Sparkle Variations are tough to pull this year. While official odds haven't been released, it appears as though they're inserted every other case in 2015 Topps Series 1 Baseball. Besides the Sparkles, the set also has more traditional Photo Variations. This is the third time Topps has used sparkles. They debuted in 2011 in conjunction with the brand's 60th anniversary. Sparkles returned in 2014 with a huge number of variations across Series 1, Series 2 and Update Series.
It's also worth noting that while Rene Rivera, card #3, has a sparkle on his helmet, it's not a variation. That's the way the photo turned. The card doesn't have any other versions.
Sparkles returned for 2015 Topps Series 2 Baseball, following a similar pattern. Photo Variations are also included in the product.
Use the gallery below to easily see all of the 2015 Topps Sparkle Variations. You can click on the tabs to easily navigate between Series 1 and Series 2
2015 Topps Series 1 Baseball Sparkle Variations
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5 Josh Donaldson
6 Jayson Werth
15 Joey Votto
20 Madison Bumgarner
25 Jose Bautista
34 Charlie Blackmon
42 Todd Frazier
43 Starlin Castro
47 Anthony Rizzo
50 Yu Darvish
60 Michael Wacha
62 Nolan Arenado
67 Hunter Pence
73 Freddie Freeman
75 Dustin Pedroia
80 Adam Wainwright
83 David Wright
92 Ian Kinsler
100 Clayton Kershaw
109 Doug Fister
120 Yoenis Cespedes
125 Troy Tulowitzki
136 Manny Machado
144 Rusney Castillo
149 Daniel Murphy
150 Giancarlo Stanton
163 Chase Utley
169 Adam Jones
175 Adrian Beltre
181 Jason Heyward
192 Joc Pederson
200 Miguel Cabrera
203 Paul Goldschmidt
205 Josh Harrison
207 Bryce Harper
225 Jacoby Ellsbury
242 Edwin Encarnacion
250 Evan Longoria
251 Anthony Rendon
262 Ryan Braun
272 Matt Kemp
275 Buster Posey
300 Mike Trout
315 Javier Baez
320 Shin-Soo Choo
321 Josh Hamilton
325 Felix Hernandez
336 Matt Carpenter
348 Carlos Santana
350 Yasiel Puig
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2015 Topps Series 2 Baseball Sparkle Variations
360 Adam Laroche
361 Matt Holliday
363 Avisail Garcia
372 Matt Adams
383 Delmon Young
386 Ben Zobrist
391 Hisashi Iwakuma
393 Danny Salazar
407 Jed Lowrie
411 Nelson Cruz
415 Ervin Santana
421 Joe Kelly
422 Prince Fielder
436 Russell Martin
438 DJ LeMahieu
445 Christian Vazquez
452 Drew Smyly
461 Mike Moustakas
463 Justin Verlander
468 CC Sabathia
469 James Shields
470 Mark Trumbo
475 Juan Perez
493 Alex Rodriguez
497 Hunter Strickland
507 A.J. Pierzynski
513 Michael Cuddyer
526 Will Middlebrooks
555 Jake Arrieta
557 Nick Markakis
568 Chris Tillman
579 Jason Hammel
586 Max Scherzer
590 Torii Hunter
596 Bronson Arroyo
606 Ian Desmond
610 David Freese
618 Billy Butler
620 Jose Altuve
624 Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez
638 Jimmy Rollins
645 Neftali Feliz
657 Justin Morneau
664 Hector Santiago
665 Stephen Strasburg
671 Gerrit Cole
674 Desmond Jennings
684 Wil Myers
690 Brett Bochy
691 Lisalverto Bonilla
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Brandon Gomez | Feb 7, 2015 | Reply
pulled edwin encarnacion #242 *SPARKLE* helmet brim
john | Feb 28, 2015 | Reply
36 Charlie Blackmonis actually #34.
Djdavyb | Jun 23, 2015 | Reply
Hi Ryan :)
I just got a box of Topps Series 2 baseball and I believe I have two sparkles that you don’t have listed. Can I send you pics of these and can you check them out? They are of RC of Matt Szczur card #637 on the helmet and Matt Holiday card #361 on his shoulder The Holliday I am most positive it is a sparkle, Szczur I’m pretty sure but because it’s on his helmet sometimes it is but other times it’s just a glare spot. This way you can update this list if need be :) Thank you!
Dave
Ryan Cracknell | Jun 23, 2015 | Reply
Djdavyb » Holliday is one and is listed. Szczur is not a variation. All have the glare on top that looks like one. Sparkles can be confirmed in the fine print on the back. The code ends in 3810.
Nick | Jun 28, 2015 | Reply
I have the Matt Szczur card too. It looks like a glare then they enhanced it with a sparkle. Can someone give an opinion?
Ryan Cracknell | Jun 29, 2015 | Reply
Nick » As we’ve mentioned in the comments, Szczur is not a variation. The glare is there naturally and the code on the back doesn’t match the Sparkles.
Seth | Jun 29, 2015 | Reply
Does anyone have any new info on the ratio of Sparkles or how many of each player there are? Any inside information? I pulled a Mike Trout sparkle that I’m pretty happy with.
D | Sep 10, 2015 | Reply
Hi I have a question
I noticed that whenever I get a variation of a card (sparkle or photo) I get two cards of that player in the same package. So for example I will get two Mike Trouts in a pack and one is usually the base and the other the variant.
Are variants always packaged this way or should I be checking each and every card for the variation
John | Nov 6, 2015 | Reply
Anyone know where I can find the print run or ratios for the sparkle variations?