The Workbench
2026 Topps MLB × KAWS: Checklist, Autographs and KAWS Creations
KAWS brings his distinctive linework to Ohtani, Judge, Griffey and a new generation of baseball players. The best reason to care is visible on the cards.
Aaron Judge readies his bat. Cam Schlittler delivers a pitch in pinstripes. Then the border starts misbehaving: bright blocks of color, looping black forms and KAWS' unmistakable crossed eyes pull the photograph into another visual world. 2026 Topps MLB × KAWS will be available September 28, pairing a 60-card baseball base set with original artwork and signatures from both MLB players and KAWS himself. Topps release page
The collaboration works best when the player still feels like the player. You can recognize the delivery, the uniform and the moment, while the artist changes how the whole card feels. That makes this an appealing detour for a player collection: familiar baseball, a different presentation.
What KAWS brings to the card
KAWS is Brian Donnelly, whose characters, crossed-out eyes and work across art and popular culture give this release its visual vocabulary. This is the first collaboration between Topps, MLB and the artist. Topps' designers describe a project built around original creative elements from KAWS, with particular attention to preserving the precision of his linework. Topps' interview with the design team
Schlittler's card shows the base design clearly. A thin white frame contains the baseball photograph; color and the artist's forms occupy the outer border. The RC logo and player-name panel remain easy to read. It is a busy border around a surprisingly orderly baseball card, and that separation gives the design room to breathe.
KAWS Creations moves the artwork into the scene itself. The Ohtani example layers the artist's sweeping shapes across the stadium background, surrounding the batter with color while leaving his pose legible. The result is much more immersive than a change of border color. Topps' Creations preview
A focused checklist with several generations of baseball
The 60 base subjects include Ohtani, Judge, Bobby Witt Jr., Ken Griffey Jr., Ichiro and Clayton Kershaw. Roman Anthony is card 23, Konnor Griffin is 34 and Nick Kurtz is 53. KAWS Creation has 25 subjects, with Ohtani at KC-1, Elly De La Cruz at KC-5 and Anthony at KC-7. Official checklist
That selection gives the collaboration several points of entry. Griffey and Ichiro suit collectors approaching it through baseball history; Anthony, Griffin and Kurtz bring a younger-player focus. For Ohtani or Judge collectors, the appeal is the chance to compare a conventional action photograph, its KAWS treatment and an autograph version within the same release.
The 25 Creations cards are a separate insert family. They are not the complete base set, and the artist-only Companion cards are another branch again. Keeping those families straight makes the checklist much easier to navigate than a single headline total.
Five MLB players get a distinct on-card autograph section
Topps lists Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Derek Jeter, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki under a dedicated On-Card Autographs heading. The general autograph section contains another 41 entries, including Griffey, Ichiro, Paul Skenes and Elly De La Cruz. Official autograph checklist
Judge's signature has plenty of space below the batting photograph, with the abstract border still visible around the edges. The signature and illustration serve different jobs: one gives the card a personal connection to the player, the other makes it unmistakably part of this collaboration. Of the previewed baseball cards, it is the strongest expression of both ideas together.
KAWS' own signatures appear in the Companion SSP Autographs family. These cards put the artist and his work at the center, making them a different pursuit from a player autograph with KAWS graphics. Topps artist-autograph details
The odds show how the card families differ
Topps publishes the following pack odds:
| Card family | Odds |
|---|---|
| Base unnumbered parallel | 1:3 packs |
| KAWS Creation insert | 1:12 packs |
| Companion SP | 1:78 packs |
| Base autograph Gold parallel | 1:73 packs |
| KAWS autograph SSP Black parallel | 1:5,400 packs |
| KAWS autograph SSP Red parallel | 1:10,800 packs |
| KAWS autograph SSP FoilFractor | 1:54,000 packs |
Those numbers describe categories, not a particular player or artwork. The 1:73 Gold autograph row, for example, is not the chance of pulling Judge. For the art side of the release, the gap between Creations and Companion SPs is especially useful: the photographic player interpretations and the artist-centered short prints occupy very different levels of the chase.
September 28 and the three-pack box
The box configuration is three packs of four cards, or 12 cards, with Topps announcing September 28 availability. It is a compact opening centered on the release's parallels, artwork and autograph chase. Box configuration, Topps availability
For Hammy, the Creations cards are the visual centerpiece. Ohtani's image makes the collaboration feel integral to the card, with the artist's shapes sharing the stadium behind his swing. Judge's generous autograph layout is the standout signature preview. Together, those two cards show the collection at its strongest: recognizable baseball photography, confident artwork and enough space for each to make an impression.
