1993 Topps Finest Baseball: Everything You Need to Know

1993 Topps Finest Baseball

Let’s review one of the most iconic trading card sets of all time from Topps. The 1993 Topps Finest Baseball has become a cultural classic and one to revolutionize trading card releases in the hobby’s history.

The sleek, contemporary form of trading cards with the use of Chromium Technology that we see today has its origins in this innovation, which was revolutionary at the time.

But what makes it so special?

The Refractors of the Topps Finest Baseball are a collector’s favorite because they were unique and gave certain cards a rainbow shine, creating a chase aspect for the first time. Moreover, confirmed print runs for each card type were announced for the first time as well.

1993 Topps Finest Baseball Release Date

The 1993 Topps Finest Baseball box was released 1993 (exact date unknown).

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What Is Topps Finest Baseball?


1993 Topps Finest Baseball Box

In the early 1990s, when companies like Topps, Upper Deck, and Fleer were competing to create the best products, Topps, already an established leader, took a major leap in innovation by introducing the Finest series in 1993.

This set was groundbreaking for a few reasons:

  • Topps limited production, making the set much rarer than typical releases.
  • It was the first baseball card set to use chromium technology, giving the cards a reflective, metallic finish.
  • The inclusion of Refractor parallels, which added a rainbow sheen to select cards, created a chase element that collectors loved.

See Also: 2023-24 NHL UD Series 2 and How to Pre-Order?

Box Configuration: What’s Inside?


Each box guarantees:

Box TypeCards Per PackPacks Per Box
Hobby Box6 cards18 packs

Box Break

FeatureBox
Jumbo All-Star Card1 in every box
Refractor2 in every box (1 in 9 packs)

The 1993 Topps Finest Baseball Checklist Overview


1993 Topps Finest Baseball Base Mike Piazza
Base Mike Piazza

In all, there are 199 cards in the base set (#1–199), including Hall of Famers and a 30-card All-Star subset that goes unmentioned in the design. The base set design is very 90s as you would expect from a trading card set of that era.

Player is well highlighted in the center in an action shot sandwiched between the top and bottom partitions, which double as the product and player name titleplate, respectively. Team names are not part of the design either.

1993 Topps Finest Baseball All Star Nolan Ryan Refractor
All-Star Nolan Ryan Refractor

The 1993 Topps Finest Refractors are one or the only reasons you are here. One of the main factors driving the popularity of refractors from this collection is the fact that they introduced several groundbreaking firsts in the hobby market.

For starters, it was the first time any set had offered rainbow shine in a set through the introduction of refractors. Additionally, what attracted more eyeballs was their limited print run (SP), exclusive to refractor parallels.

As for rookie cards, there are only two of such featuring J.T. Snow and Mike Lansing. Finishing their career playing for the Boston Red Sox is the common fact shared between the two players.

1993 Topps Finest Baseball Nolan Ryan Back
Base Nolan Ryan Back

Additionally, the aforementioned All-Star players are celebrated in a Jumbo card subset which lands one in each 1993 Finest Baseball box.

1993 Topps Finest Baseball Checklist

1993 TOPPS FINEST BASEBALL BASE SET

 

199 CARDS

Parallels: Refractors 1:9

 

1 David Justice

2 Lou Whitaker

3 Bryan Harvey

4 Carlos Garcia

5 Sid Fernandez

6 Brett Butler

7 Scott Cooper

8 B.J. Surhoff

9 Steve Finley

10 Curt Schilling

11 Jeff Bagwell HOF

12 Alex Cole

13 John Olerud

14 John Smiley

15 Bip Roberts

16 Albert Belle

17 Duane Ward

18 Alan Trammell HOF

19 Andy Benes

20 Reggie Sanders

21 Todd Zeile

22 Rick Aguilera

23 Dave Hollins

24 Jose Rijo

25 Matt Williams

26 Sandy Alomar, Jr.

27 Alex Fernandez

28 Ozzie Smith HOF

29 Ramon Martinez

30 Bernie Williams

31 Gary Sheffield

32 Eric Karros

33 Frank Viola

34 Kevin Young

35 Ken Hill

36 Tony Fernandez

37 Tim Wakefield

38 John Kruk

39 Chris Sabo

40 Marv Grissom

41 Glenn Davis

42 Jeff Montgomery

43 Kenny Lofton

44 John Burkett

45 Darryl Hamilton

46 Jim Abbott

47 Ivan Rodriguez HOF

48 Eric Young

49 Mitch Williams

50 Harold Reynolds

51 Brian Harper

52 Rafael Palmeiro

53 Bret Saberhagen

54 Jeff Conine

55 Ivan Calderon

56 Juan Guzman

57 Carlos Baerga

58 Charles Nagy

59 Wally Joyner

60 Charlie Hayes

61 Shane Mack

62 Pete Harnisch

63 George Brett

64 Lance Johnson

65 Ben McDonald

66 Bobby Bonilla

67 Terry Steinbach

68 Ron Gant

69 Doug Jones

70 Paul Molitor HOF

71 Brady Anderson

72 Chuck Finley

73 Mark Grace

74 Mike Devereaux

75 Tom Phillips

76 Chuck Knoblauch

77 Tony Gwynn HOF

78 Kevin Appier

79 Sammy Sosa

80 Mickey Tettleton

81 Felix Jose

82 Mark Langston

83 Gregg Jefferies

84 Andre Dawson All-Star HOF

85 Greg Maddux All-Star HOF

86 Rickey Henderson All-Star HOF

87 Tom Glavine All-Star HOF

88 Roberto Alomar All-Star HOF

89 Darryl Strawberry All-Star

90 Wade Boggs All-Star HOF

91 Bo Jackson All-Star

92 Mark McGwire All-Star

93 Robin Ventura All-Star

94 Joe Carter All-Star

95 Lee Smith All-Star HOF

96 Cal Ripken Jr. All-Star HOF

97 Larry Walker All-Star HOF

98 Don Mattingly All-Star

99 Jose Canseco All-Star

100 Dennis Eckersley All-Star HOF

101 Terry Pendleton All-Star

102 Frank Thomas All-Star HOF

103 Barry Bonds All-Star

104 Roger Clemens All-Star

105 Ryne Sandberg All-Star HOF

106 Fred McGriff All-Star HOF

107 Nolan Ryan All-Star HOF

108 Will Clark All-Star

109 Pat Listach All-Star

110 Ken Griffey Jr. All-Star HOF

111 Cecil Fielder All-Star

112 Kirby Puckett All-Star HOF

113 Dwight Gooden All-Star

114 Barry Larkin All-Star HOF

115 David Cone All-Star

116 Julio Gonzalez All-Star

117 Kent Hrbek

118 Tim Wallach

119 Craig Biggio HOF

120 Roberto Kelly

121 Gregg Olson

122 Eddie Murray HOF

123 Wil Cordero

124 Jay Buhner

125 Carlton Fisk HOF

126 Eric Davis

127 Doug Drabek

128 Ozzie Guillen

129 John Wetteland

130 Andres Galarraga

131 Ken Caminiti

132 Tom Candiotti

133 Pat Borders

134 Kevin Brown

135 Travis Fryman

136 Kevin Mitchell

137 Greg Swindell

138 Benito Santiago

139 Reggie Jefferson

140 Chris Bosio

141 Deion Sanders

142 Scott Erickson

143 Howard Johnson

144 Orestes Destrade

145 Jose Guzman

146 Chad Curtis

147 Cal Eldred

148 Willie Greene

149 Tommy Greene

150 Erik Hanson

151 Bob Welch

152 John Jaha

153 Harold Baines HOF

154 Randy Johnson HOF

155 Al Martin

156 J.T. Snow

157 Mike Mussina HOF

158 Ruben Sierra

159 Dean Palmer

160 Steve Avery

161 Julio Franco

162 Dave Winfield HOF

163 Tim Salmon

164 Tom Henke

165 Mo Vaughn

166 John Smoltz HOF

167 Danny Tartabull

168 Delino DeShields

169 Charlie Hough

170 Paul O'Neill

171 Darren Daulton

172 Jack McDowell

173 Junior Felix

174 Jimmy Key

175 George Bell

176 Mike Stanton

177 Lenny Dykstra

178 Norm Charlton

179 Eric Anthony

180 Rob Dibble

181 Otis Nixon

182 Randy Myers

183 Tim Raines HOF

184 Orel Hershiser

185 Andy Van Slyke

186 Mike Lansing

187 Ray Lankford

188 Mike Morgan

189 Moises Alou

190 Edgar Martinez

191 John Franco

192 Robin Yount HOF

193 Bob Tewksbury

194 Jay Bell

195 Luis Gonzalez

196 Dave Fleming

197 Mike Greenwell

198 David Nied

199 Mike Piazza HOF

1993 TOPPS FINEST BASEBALL REFRACTOR SHORT PRINTS

 

The list below contains suspected 1993 Topps Finest Baseball Refractor short prints. Short prints only apply to parallels, not the 1993 Topps Finest base set.

 

3 Bryan Harvey

10 Curt Schilling

12 Alex Cole

25 Matt Williams

34 Kevin Young

38 John Kruk

39 Chris Sabo

40 Marquis Grissom

41 Glenn Davis

47 Ivan Rodriguez

51 Brian Harper

70 Paul Molitor

79 Sammy Sosa

80 Mickey Tettleton

81 Felix Jose

84 Andre Dawson All-Star

87 Tom Glavine All-Star

94 Joe Carter All-Star

97 Larry Walker All-Star

99 Jose Canseco All-Star

102 Frank Thomas All-Star

107 Nolan Ryan All-Star

108 Will Clark All-Star

110 Ken Griffey Jr. All-Star

116 Juan Gonzalez All-Star

123 Wil Cordero

134 Kevin Brown

148 Willie Greene

155 Al Martin

159 Dean Palmer

163 Tim Salmon

173 Junior Felix

182 Randy Myers

193 Bob Tewksbury

1993 TOPPS FINEST BASEBALL JUMBO ALL-STARS SET CHECKLIST

 

One in each box

 

Over-sized cards measurement—4 1/2" x 6".

 

84 Andre Dawson

85 Greg Maddux

86 Rickey Henderson

87 Tom Glavine

88 Roberto Alomar

89 Darryl Strawberry

90 Wade Boggs

91 Bo Jackson

92 Mark McGwire

93 Robin Ventura

94 Joe Carter

95 Lee Smith

96 Cal Ripken, Jr.

97 Larry Walker

98 Don Mattingly

99 Jose Canseco

100 Dennis Eckersley

101 Terry Pendleton

102 Frank Thomas

103 Barry Bonds

104 Roger Clemens

105 Ryne Sandberg

106 Fred McGriff

107 Nolan Ryan

108 Will Clark

109 Pat Listach

110 Ken Griffey, Jr.

111 Cecil Fielder

112 Kirby Puckett

113 Dwight Gooden

114 Barry Larkin

115 David Cone

116 Julio Gonzalez

Chase Players: Rare Refractor Finds (SP)

  • Ken Griffey Jr.
  • Sammy Sosa
  • Joe Carter
  • Ivan Rodriguez
  • Brian Harper

FAQs:

What is the most valuable 1993 Topps Finest Baseball Trading Card?

The 1993 Topps Finest Ken Griffey Jr. All-Star Refractor #110 PSA Mt-9 HOF trading card was the highest-priced card sold on eBay for $9000 in December, 2024.

How many cards are included in each box?

The base set of the 1993 Topps Finest Baseball includes 199 cards that include 30 All-Star players starting from #84.

Who are some of the most notable players featured in the 1993 Topps Finest Baseball trading card set?

The set features the most-anticipated rookie from UD Series 2, that is, Connor Bedard, Young Guns.”

Are there any short print cards to look out for in the 1993 Finest Baseball?

There are a bunch of short-print cards offered in the 1993 Topps Finest Baseball. However, only refractor cards offer short prints. The List includes names like Mickey Tettleton, Sammy Sosa, and Ken Griffey Jr.

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Founded in December 2024 by Keven Reynolds, a dedicated trading card collector from Arkansas, this website was born from a passion to share a wealth of knowledge about the hobby.

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