Baseball cards have been extremely popular with fans for many decades. They are widely known and beloved items in the US, but they are also pretty widespread in some other countries. The largest manufacturers are Topps and Panini.
Some of the earliest baseball cards appeared as early as the 19th century. At the time, baseball was becoming increasingly popular in the US, while photography was also spreading. Cards were often a promotional item for companies. Later on, they were often included in cigarette packs. They were used for advertising there, but baseball cards printed on cardboard were also useful to protect the cigarettes.
After World War II, it took a few years before trading card production was restarted. From 1948, the cards spread again and were soon loved by collectors. In the 1980s, an ever-increasing number of collectors created an attractive market for various companies trying to get into the trading card business. Increasing competition led to some innovative design elements. At the time, that was important because premium cards often fetched higher prices on the market.
The 1994-1995 Major League Baseball strike then led to a significant decline in the sport’s popularity across the US. The strike also had a knock-on impact on the production of baseball cards. Production had already become a lot more complicated due to some other reasons, including higher license costs and complex printing processes.
Modern baseball cards
In recent years, the popular tradition has experienced a certain revival. Various headlines about sales of expensive cards were certainly an important reason. In 2007, for example, a card featuring Honus Wagner’s image sold for a then-record price of $2.35 million. The card was resold later that year for $2.8 million.
Moreover, baseball cards are no longer just printed on paper or cardboard. Other materials are increasingly used to ensure that the cards are much more resistant.
Digital trading cards have also been around for quite some time by now. There are even some special apps which can be used by collectors to collect the digital versions of classic cards. This concept has now been significantly upgraded on Sorare. The cards purchased on Sorare can be collected, exchanged or sold on the secondary market at any time. In addition, all individual cards can be used for fantasy baseball games on the platform where users can win additional cards.
On the pages listed below, you can find answers to many frequently asked questions about Sorare: MLB