As 20 commissioned popular artists across the world continue to re-imagine 20 iconic cards from the past 70 years in the Topps Company’s “Project 2020,” the first numbers are in, and with three Mike Trout cards and three of Derek Jeter among the top seven sellers, more than 232,000 cards have been purchased by fans. Showing the diversity of talent and styles among the eclectic artists, cartoonists and pop culture influencers creating the masterworks, the top nine selling cards are from nine different artists.
Leading the way are three Trout entries, with Ben Baller’s (@benballer) eclectic interpretation of the superstar’s 2011 rookie card selling 34,950 copies, more than double any other card in the set of 66 issued to date. Fucci’s (@FucciArt) Trout posted 16,430 sales, while Andrew Thiele’s (@ArtekNYC) effort netted 13,199 purchases. The Derek Jeter 1992 work by King Saladeen (@Kingsaladeenart) is the fourth-highest at 9,873, with Jacob Rochester’s (@jacob_rochester) 1989 Ken Griffey Jr. checking in at 9,356 units.
Baller’s eye-catching Trout design, which features a charcoal background with a hint of angel wings in the background, a metallic Angels classic interlocking C-A logo and bejeweled “trout” name in lowercase across the bottom, is one of four cards of the three-time MVP issued to date. The four have accounted for a total of 67,510 sales to date.
“We couldn’t be more pleased with the reaction by collectors, artists, players and baseball fans in general to the first cards that these world-class creators have produced,” said Jeff Heckman, Global Director of Ecommerce. “What is most exciting is that, of our top 16 sellers, 14 are from different artists. And every single card has had at least 1,000 cards sold, a tribute to their great work across the board.”
In the spirit of its popular “TOPPS NOW” program, two Topps “Project 2020” cards are issued daily on weekdays via the Topps.com website. The cards are only available for a 48-hour period from the time each is introduced. Interest in the program and the cards continues on the upswing, as most of the top 20 sellers have been issued in the past three weeks.
The cards in the Project 2020 offering include: 1952 Willie Mays; 1952 Jackie Robinson; 1955 Sandy Koufax; 1959 Bob Gibson; 1980 Rickey Henderson; 1989 Ken Griffey Jr; 1969 Nolan Ryan; 1984 Don Mattingly; 2001 Ichiro; 1992 Derek Jeter; 1992 Bowman Mariano Rivera; 1982 Topps Traded Cal Ripken; 1983 Tony Gwynn; 1975 George Brett; 2011 Updates Mike Trout; 1987 Mark McGwire; 1990 Frank Thomas; 1985 Dwight Gooden; 1955 Roberto Clemente and 1954 Ted Williams.
The artists participating in the set include:
Ben Baller- jewelry designer with a huge celebrity following that includes Kanye West, Drake, Snoop Dogg and others
Tyson Beck- Australia based, recently redesigned the NBA logo to look like Kobe Bryant, with a petition to change the logo with over 3 million signatures.
Sophia Chang- Queens native whose lifestyle illustrations and basketball cards have landed her collaborations with Nike, Adidas and Puma.
Efdot- NYC based, paints murals with the ubiquitous “Blob” character as the star of his pieces
Ermsy- Cartoon style UK artist living in Paris, whose popular works include reimagined classics like Garfield and Betty Boop.
Fucci- Toronto-based artist who paints vibrant post-pop art and ligne-claire style illustrations with a minimalist approach.
Groteskito- Creative director for Nike basketball
Blake Jamieson- N.Y. based painter who has done portraits for over 350 professional athletes including numerous prominent NFL players.
JK5- based in Brooklyn, native of North White Plains, N.Y., who weaves layers of poetry, spirituality, symbolism, color and line across various media.
Just Don- Chicago based, worked with Kanye West on a number of collaborations, including projects for Nike and Mitchell and Ness, as well as other NBA apparel.
King Saladeen- Philadelphia based NBA artist who has done murals at the Philadelphia Airport and various NYC locations.
Mister Cartoon- L.A. based :West Coast style” tattoo artist who has done illustrative work for Kobe Bryant and Snoop Dogg, and tattoo work on CC Sabathia’s back. Currently working on a mural at L.A. landmark Casa Vega.
Naturel- Creative Director for many apparel projects from Crooks , painted one of the most famous Kobe Bryant murals in Los Angeles.
Old Man Alan- Sacramento-based, tastemaker who advised a number of brands
Jacob Rochester- L.A. based native of Connecticut whose Allen Iverson hair progression art has garnered some attention
Keith Shore- Philadelphia based; the lead creative for Mikkelar Beer
Gregory Siff - lives in L.A., worked with MLB on a number of projects including Stance
Matt Taylor- Brighton, U.K., artist who specializes in movie poster designs and has collaborated on projects with Marvel, Amazon Studios, LucasFilm and more, as well as ESPN for the US Open tennis tournament.
Andrew Thiele- based in NYC, drew “Whole Squad Ready” art for 2018 World Series; has worked for ESPN on MLB and NBA graphics.
Joshua Vides- Black and White style, based in LA, famous collaborator with Converse in 2019, also produced “locker room art” for MLB at the 2018 All-Star Game.
The images on the cards can be seen at https://www.topps.com/project2020
About The Topps Company:
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