When collectors first saw the 2016 Topps baseball card set, many weren't sure what to think.
For years, Topps had generally incorporated white borders into the design.
Occasionally, they'd mix things up with colorful borders or other unique patterns around the edges.
Anytime they did, they almost always stirred up controversy...
The woodgrain borders of the 1962 flagship baseball set marked the company's first deviation from white borders.
Other infamous non-white border designs occurred in 1968 (burlap), 1970 (grey), 1971 (black), 1975 (two-tone), 1990 (multi-color), and several other years.
However, the 2016 flagship design pushed things even further: it had no borders.
Some liked the more modern look and feel.
Others didn't, often arguing that it made Topps' flagship cards look like many other products before it.
No matter which side of the design debate you're on, the checklist held its ground.
And in this guide, we'll take a look at the 15 most valuable.
Let's jump right in!
2016 Topps #85 Corey Seager Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $35
Corey Seager joined a star-studded Los Angeles Dodgers lineup in 2016 and shined brighter than anyone.
Even in a lineup full of big names such as Yasiel Puig, Chase Utley, Joc Pederson, and Adrian Gonzalez, the prized shortstop prospect was something else: a rookie with the bat and field awareness of a Hall-of-Famer.
"To win Rookie of the Year and be in the MVP race as a 22-year-old rookie speaks to the year Corey had," teammate Justin Turner said.
Named a finalist for the NL MVP award (and finishing third), Seager is the youngest Dodgers position player to earn an All-Star nod and the first rookie LA shortstop to play in the Midsummer Classic since Bill Grabarkewitz in 1970.
Seager became just the fifth Dodger with 25 home runs (26) and 40 doubles in a season and placed second in the NL in multi-hit games (57), second in hits (193), fourth in total bases (321), fifth in runs scored (105), seventh in batting average (.308), and tenth in slugging percentage (.512).
Seager fell back in the team's 11-game playoff run, going 9-for-44 (.205) with two homers, four RBIs, and a .619.
Still, the kid's Silver Slugger debut stands as one of the best first years in the annals of the National League.
2016 Topps #66 Kyle Schwarber Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $30
Kyle Schwarber's season was supposed to be done in April.
The 23-year-old Cubs left fielder tore his left ACL just two games and five plate appearances into the 2016 MLB season.
A week or two later, he underwent a complete ACL reconstruction with a return date slated for sometime near Spring Training in 2017.
Schwarber, though, was persistent.
He repeatedly checked in with his doctor as the 103-win Cubs captured lightning in a bottle.
He wasn't cleared for the team's NLDS win over the Giants or their NLCS triumph over the Dodgers.
In advance of arguably the most anticipated World Series ever, the doctor gave Schwarber a begrudging okay.
And just like that, Schwarber was a miracle addition to Chicago's World Series roster for a curse-against-curse clash with Cleveland.
"Most teams wouldn't even do that," teammate Ben Zobrist said. "No one else in history has done that, right? And to get hits in the World Series? It's just crazy. It really is."
Schwarber collected seven hits, the first and only hits of his season, and posted a .500 on-base percentage as the Cubs broke their 108-year championship drought.
In doing so, he became the first position player ever to get his first hit of a season during the World Series.
2016 Topps #103 Trea Turner Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $35
It took Trea Turner less than half the season to finish as the 2016 runner-up for NL Rookie-of-the-Year.
After 27 games of part-time action with the Washington Nationals in 2015, the former first-round pick received his permanent call-up on July 8th.
As soon as he was inserted at the top of the lineup, he was off and running at a historic speed.
Turner became the eighth rookie in baseball history to post a 3.5 WAR or better.
Extrapolated over the 157 games that NL Rookie-of-the-Year Corey Seager appeared in, the Nats center fielder would have posted a WAR of 7.6, 2.4 WAR better than Seager's final mark of 5.2.
The 22-year-old stole 33 bases and smacked 35 extra-base hits in just 72 games played.
No rookie has reached those numbers in as few games, with the closest being Barry Bonds in 1986 (113).
His .342 average would have placed third in the NL among qualified batters, and his .937 OPS would have landed fifth.
Turner was also asked to play center field rather than his natural position of shortstop due to Washington's shallow roster depth in the outfield.
He did admirably in unfamiliar territory, grading just above average by most advanced metrics.
2016 Topps #84 Mookie Betts
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $25
Mookie Betts wildly underestimated himself in the wake of his outstanding 2014 season.
"I'm a realist and I know it ain't getting much better than that," Betts said. "When am I going to hit 30 home runs again? I don't know if I ever will. When am I ever going to hit .320 again? I don't know if I ever will."
It was admittedly one hell of a year.
The 23-year-old right fielder was the lifeblood of the AL East champs, finishing second in the Majors in hits (214) and collecting the most total bases (359) in a single season since Baltimore's Chris Davis back in 2013.
Betts also had a comparable batting average (.318 to .315) and slugging percentage (.534 to .550) to MVP winner Mike Trout while playing for an actual winning team.
The first-time All-Star, Silver Slugger, and Gold Glover also tallied an MLB-best 32 Defensive Runs Saved, ten more than anybody else.
It was a sparkling year, but Betts was wrong when he said it wouldn't get much better.
He'd hit for a better average (.346) and tally one more home run (32) just two years later en route to the 2016 AL MVP award.
2016 Topps #250 Miguel Cabrera
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $25
2016 was the last great season of Miguel Cabrera's storied career.
The Detroit Tigers first baseman was unable to work out during the previous two offseasons due to leg injuries and still somehow won the batting title in 2015.
He finally hit the gym in the winter of 2015-16 to prep for one last Silver Slugger showcase.
Despite grounding into an MLB-worst 26 double plays, Cabrera had a year on the level of his prime, slashing .316/.393/.563 with 38 home runs, 31 doubles, a triple, 75 walks, 92 runs scored, 108 RBIs, and a fantastic 155 OPS+ in 158 games.
The 33-year-old remained among baseball's most feared hitters, as evidenced by his AL-best 15 intentional walks.
Cabrera also added a new bit of trivia to his Cooperstown blurb, becoming the fastest player in MLB history to reach 400 career home runs and 1,500 RBIs.
The now 11-time All-Star also placed ninth in the AL MVP balloting, marking the last time he'd receive a vote.
2016 Topps #300 Buster Posey
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $25
San Francisco Giants icon Buster Posey was one of the most dependable catchers of the 2010s, but he had zero Gold Gloves to show for it heading into the 2016 MLB campaign.
He has Yadier Molina to thank for that.
The St. Louis Cardinals legend was the gold standard of how to run a pitching staff, and his reputation made it almost impossible to knock him off his golden perch.
In 2016, however, Posey finally got one over on the Cardinals great.
Molina had his least effective year behind the plate so far, finishing with just a single Defensive Run Saved.
His career high was 30 back in 2013.
On the other hand, Posey set a career-high with 22 DRS to win his first and only Gold Glove.
"This is a pretty cool deal for me to be recognized in this way with this honor," Posey said. "Yadi is going to go down as one of the greatest defensive catchers of all time."
At the plate, Posey posted a .288/.362/.434 slash line for the Wild Card-winning Giants with 14 homers and 80 RBIs in 146 games.
He received down-ballot MVP consideration and a fourth All-Star team nomination.
2016 Topps #500 Albert Pujols
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $25
In his nine-plus years in an Angels uniform, Albert Pujols never got close to the heights of his St. Louis Cardinals days.
In fact, 2016 was the last year he'd hit at a league-average clip for the Halos.
Pujols posted a 192 and 189 OPS+ in his back-to-back 2008 and 2009 NL MVP seasons.
Considering external factors like ballparks and weather, he was hitting/slugging at a clip around 90% better than the league average.
By 2016, Pujols' OPS+ dipped to a new career-low 113, 32 points worse than his eventual career mark.
He posted the second-worst on-base percentage of his career up to that point (.323) and tallied the fewest extra-base hits (50) of any full season he'd played.
The home runs (31) and RBIs (119) were still there, but the overall production was that of a good, not great player.
Come 2017, Pujols would fall under a league-average OPS+ (80) for the first time.
Injuries would compound matters, and he wouldn't touch league-average again until returning to St. Louis for his 2022 swan song.
2016 Topps #1 Mike Trout
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $20
You don't need team success to win an MVP award.
Especially, if you're Mike Trout.
Two years after winning the 2014 AL Most Valuable Player award, the 24-year-old Los Angeles Angeles center fielder ran it back with a year that only Ty Cobb can claim a comparison to.
Trout joined Cobb as the only players in Major League Baseball history to hit .315 with at least 115 walks (an MLB-best 116), 120 runs scored (an MLB-best 123), and 30 steals.
He also topped the Majors in on-base percentage (.441) while placing second in the AL in OPS (.991) and fourth in slugging (.550).
The Angels superstar is only the second player to post at least 10.6 WAR for a losing squad (Cal Ripken Jr., 1991).
He also outdistanced the MVP runner-up, Mookie Betts, by over double in Win Probability Added (6.5 to 3.1).
"It just humbles you," Trout said. "Just a little bit ago, I was just a little kid in high school. Now I had a chance to win my second MVP."
Trout won his third MVP in 2019, and he did so again on an Angels team with a losing record.
2016 Topps #100 Bryce Harper
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $20
The follow-up to Bryce Harper's 2015 MVP campaign didn't stack up in any way, shape, or form.
Yet, that didn't stop opposing managers from ducking him.
The 23-year-old Washington Nationals right fielder regressed in every offensive metric in 2016.
His OPS fell nearly 300 points from an MLB-best 1.109 to .814.
His batting average dropped from .330 to .243, and he posted 18 fewer home runs and 31 fewer extra-base hits.
It was a pretty disappointing year by Harper's elite standards.
Regardless, he was still walked over 100 times (108) for the second consecutive year, including an MLB-high 20 intentional walks.
The craziest example of opponents' aversion to Harper came on May 8th.
He was walked a record-tying six times by the Chicago Cubs pitching staff and became the first MLB player to record seven plate appearances in a game without an official at-bat.
"(With) how good he is, why tempt fate?" Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "If the other guy gets you, that's fine. You have no problem with that."
Maddon's ploy worked, as the Cubs prevailed in a 13-inning, 4-3 marathon.
2016 Topps #150 Clayton Kershaw
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $20
No matter how great Clayton Kershaw was in 2016, there will always be plenty of ifs and buts to throw about.
If the three-time Cy Young winner hadn't gone down with a midseason back injury for two-and-a-half months, he could have been a four-time recipient.
And if that injury hadn't been a thing, he may have had more juice during the playoffs.
But that's not the way it went.
Kershaw made 21 regular-season starts in '16, finishing 12-4 while pitching to a microscopic 1.69 ERA, the best ERA of his career thus far.
He struck out 172 batters in 149.0 innings and led the Majors with three shutouts.
And despite missing 11 or 12 appearances over the year, the 28-year-old lefty placed fifth in the NL Cy Young race.
You could make the case that it is Kershaw's most admirable season, although the ending, a five-run, five-inning loss to the Cubs in the deciding Game 6 of the NLCS, left something to be desired.
2016 Topps #209 Max Scherzer
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $20
2016 Topps #241 Freddie Freeman
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $20
2016 Topps #286 Joe Mauer
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $20
Just under three years after a season-ending concussion changed his career trajectory, Minnesota Twins legend Joe Mauer looked to technology for a hitting boost.
In 2014 and 2015, Mauer battled blurry vision that complicated tracking pitches at the plate.
In hopes of regaining his previous MVP form in '16, the 33-year-old used a gifted pair of Nike strobe glasses to reimagine his approach in the batter's box.
"The strobes can go faster or slower," Mauer said. We only (use the strobe glasses) off the tee or flips, short toss. When you take them off, it seems to slow it down actually so you can focus in on the ball."
Mauer's embrace of cutting-edge tech helped him get off to a great start.
The Twins' first baseman hit .321 in April with a .893 OPS, seven homers and 20 RBIs.
It was a month reminiscent of his peak, but it wouldn't last.
Dogged by a calf injury, the Hall-of-Famer-to-be lacked consistency.
Mauer had his best statistical year since before the concussion in 2013, but not by much, slashing .261/.363/.389 for the woeful 59-win Twins with 11 homers and 49 RBIs in 134 games.
2016 Topps #400 David Ortiz
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $20
David Ortiz's 2016 farewell stands as the greatest final season for any player since Ted Williams' 1960 goodbye.
Forty years old and with 19 MLB seasons behind him, Ortiz had a year on par with his mid-2000s peak.
The Boston Red Sox DH led the Majors in doubles (48), slugging percentage (.620), and OPS (1.021) while hitting 38 home runs with an AL-best 127 RBIs.
He also hit over .300 (.315) for the seventh time and got on base over 40% of the time (.401) for the fourth campaign of his Cooperstown career.
Ortiz finished the '16 season with a higher WAR than Williams in '60 (5.1 and 4.8) and more home runs and RBIs than any other Major Leaguer in their last year before retirement.
"40 is the new 20," Ortiz quipped.
Big Papi finished sixth in the league's MVP race and notched his tenth All-Star appearance and seventh Silver Slugger.
He hit just .111 in Boston's three-and-out ALDS loss to Cleveland, yet that's just a blip on the radar screen compared to his previous decade-plus of October excellence.
2016 Topps #350 Kris Bryant
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $15
2016 Topps Baseball Cards In Review
Aesthetically, Topps kicked tradition to the curb with this set.
Clearly, the design team was trying to achieve a more modern look and feel by going with a borderless design.
Some collectors liked the direction.
Without borders, the cards had more room for expanded, full-color imagery to bring more focus to the players.
Other, more traditional collectors felt the lack of borders steered to far from Topps' classic reputation.
Overall, the checklist turned out to be pretty solid and collectors could still chase all the exciting inserts, parallels, relics, and autograph cards as in similar years.
Rookie cards of Corey Seager, Trea Turner, and Kyle Schwarber have stood the test of time.
There were also several different subsets in the checklist, including:
- Leaders
- All-Star Rookies
- Award Winners
- World Series
- Team Cards
- Future Stars
Still, the move to a borderless flagship design remains the biggest highlight of the set.
It may not seem like a big deal, given many other manufacturers and products had gone that route before.
But, this was a first for Topps.
And anytime there is a "first" for a major brand like Topps, it's bound to result in controversy in this hobby.