With the release of 2023 206, we see more changes brought about by Fanatics. Some of which are positive, but some may not be. After years of the same basic format, 206 goes through some changes this year. After a very brief pre-order window, this release went on sale with a July 6 release date. Rather than the hobby box containing a single ten card pack as in years past, this year, a hobby box contains four ten card packs, with a small discount for buying sets of five boxes at once.

Another major departure from years past, is there are fixed odds for autographs, indicating a fixed release size. Gone are the days of print on demand for this set. There isn’t as much lead time from orders to delivery, but that may end up meaning the cards are more difficult for everyone to obtain direct from Topps. I really don’t like the way releases barely have any lead time today. I suspect long term, that’s going to cause problems for collectors who are trying to budget their hobby, if they have no idea what may be coming when.

This release is also referred to as “Low Series”. Does that imply only a high series coming later? Could there be a mid series? This release has 150 base cards, which is higher than last year, when the overall set hit 500 cards after 100 card series. Will they cut back to 300 cards this year? That remains to be seen. The release itself is very similar to previous years. Many of the advertising backs return, but in different rarity levels. Overall, the set looks and feels the same as previous year releases.

A box advertises four packs with ten cards per pack, and each pack containing two parallels. For the first time, an autograph is said to be contained in one out of every three boxes.

This box contained:

32 Base (21.3% of 150 card set)
2 Base All Star Background Parallels
4 Base Piedmont Parallels
2 Base Polar Bear Parallels
1 Base Uzit Parallel
1 Base Carolina Brights Parallel