Reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge has been selected as the cover athlete for 2025 Topps Series 1 Baseball, the company announced Monday.
Judge’s appearance on the cover follows a number of recent superstars, including Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani, Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez and Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout.
According to Topps, this is the 16th time Judge has appeared on the cover of a Topps or Bowman product. Judge has most recently covered 2024 Topps Big League, 2023 Topps Series 2 and 2022 Topps Heritage.
Among Topps’ most popular flagship releases, Series 1 debuted more than 70 years ago and remains arguably the most important product in sports cards today.
Series 1 is expected to land in hobby shops and retail stores Feb. 12.
Similar to Acuña Jr.’s announcement for 2024 Topps Series 1, Judge was requested to attend a photoshoot before being surprised with the news. In a video featuring longtime New York sports fan and director Spike Lee and Acuna Jr., Judge is announced as the cover athlete and presented with a Series 1 box.
In 2024, Topps pulled off a similar stunt with Acuña Jr. where the former MVP was confirmed as the cover athlete in a conversation with Rodriguez following a photoshoot.
Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct.