Albuquerque Isotopes Season and Baseball Card Collection: 2025 Review

Daily baseball and a carefully tracked card collection made 2025 a memorable year for this Albuquerque collector. The season brought a first-ever run as a season ticket holder, new favorites among the Albuquerque Isotopes, and a year-end collection total of 36,324 cards. The numbers grew more slowly than in some previous years, but the collection’s annual lists still reveal plenty about which cards keep arriving—and which have gone quiet.

Season tickets, foul balls and familiar faces

After moving to Albuquerque at the end of 2024, the author found the ballpark less than a mile from home. That made it practical to walk to games and finally pursue a longstanding ambition: becoming a season ticket holder. The team was the Albuquerque Isotopes, the Colorado Rockies’ AAA affiliate. The level of play exceeded expectations, and regular attendance turned a once-or-twice-a-season outing into a close look at the roster.

The seats were along the left-field line, close to the foul pole. They came with a raised swivel chair and a bar top, a setup the author preferred to sitting behind the net near home plate. The position also brought plenty of foul-ball action. A barehanded attempt at a hard-hit line drive early in the season left a bruise for a week, making a glove a sensible companion. By season’s end, the author had accumulated a bucket of balls—but says many were given to others, with balls kept only when no children were in the section.

Seeing nearly every game meant learning the roster beyond familiar players with major-league experience. Sterlin Thompson became the standout favorite. He played left field on five of the Isotopes’ six days in a typical Pacific Coast League series, finished the season as the club’s leader in nearly every offensive category, and acknowledged the author with a wave before games. Thompson wasn’t on the Rockies’ 40-man roster during the season, but was added after it to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. The author hopes he earns a place in Denver during Spring Training.

Other players who made an impression included Zac Veen, Sam Hilliard, Sean Bouchard and Aaron Schunk. Hilliard broke Albuquerque’s career home-run record across the city’s baseball history, which includes the Dukes, Isotopes, Dodgers, Marlins and Rockies. He signed to play in Korea next year. Veen was described as entertaining to watch, while Schunk’s walk-up music, “Brass Monkey” by the Beastie Boys, became a family joke: the author’s daughter heard it as “Brass Schunky.”

The author renewed the season tickets for 2026 and is looking forward to Opening Day. A new left fielder may be in order if Thompson makes the Rockies roster.

Topps appearances and collection totals

On the card front, Wallach appeared in two Topps sets in 2025, though one appearance came as an autograph insert in Topps Archives rather than a standard set card. He was also included in Shoe Box Legends. The unexpected cards prompted the author to spend beyond the planned budget chasing special insert variations instead of adding more copies of a familiar card such as his ’87 Topps base card.

The collection stood at 36,324 cards heading into 2026. The annual figures report 741 cards added and growth of 2.1%. The source labels the additions figure as “Cards added in 2024,” and its additions ranking also refers to 2024, despite the year-in-review framing around 2025.

The 25 most abundant cards showed no change in ranking from the prior tracking year, a first since records began in 2015. The leader remained 1982 Topps at 1,792 copies, followed by 1984 Topps (1,287) and 1987 Topps (1,236). Next came 1988 Donruss (1,224) and 1983 Fleer (1,073). The rest of the top ten were 1989 Topps (1,041), 1988 Topps All-Star (1,025), 1988 Topps (981), 1986 Topps All-Star (820) and 1990 Topps (783).

The top 25 also included 1990 Fleer (712), 1990 Donruss (637), 1989 Donruss (622), 1986 Topps (594), 1991 Upper Deck (583), 1989 Fleer (574), 1987 Donruss (556), 1985 Topps (536), 1982 Fleer (505), 1983 Topps (452), 1990 Upper Deck (444), 1991 Donruss MVP (443), 1990 Score (435), 1988 Fleer (428) and 1991 Donruss (421).

Additions, gaps and returns

The leading card in the “Top 10 Most Added Cards in 2024” list was 1988 Topps All-Star, with 46 copies. The next entries were 1991 Upper Deck Checklist (36), 1982 Fleer (32), 1988 Donruss (30) and 1992 Donruss (23). Tied at 22 were 1988 Topps and 1993 Topps; 1991 Leaf had 20, while 1987 Topps and 1993 Donruss tied at 17. The author noted there were no unusually large additions.

Three major base cards were absent from the year’s additions: 1994 Topps, 1983 Fleer and 1985 Fleer. By contrast, several long-unseen cards returned to the incoming pile. A 1993 Memphis Chicks card appeared for the first time since 2017, followed by 1990 Donruss Learning Series, last added in 2018. The 1987 Indiana BlueSox, 1990 Sportflics and 1993 O-Pee-Chee each returned after last appearing in 2020.

The all-time most-sent list puts 1988 Donruss first at 531, with 1987 Topps at 501 and 1989 Topps at 491. Next are 1988 Topps All-Star (465), 1990 Fleer (434), 1988 Topps (432), 1990 Donruss (385), 1990 Topps (384), 1991 Upper Deck (380) and 1986 Topps All-Star (351). Rounding out the 15 are 1987 Indiana Blue Sox (332), 1986 Topps (313), 1991 Donruss MVP (311), 1989 Donruss (304) and 1991 Donruss (291).

Thanks to readers and everyone who sent cards. The year also brought a new family member: the author and his wife welcomed a boy named Rocky, after his maternal grandfather. With tickets renewed, the collection counted and a new season ahead, 2026 promises fresh memories at the ballpark—and more cards to log.

Daily baseball and a carefully tracked card collection made 2025 a memorable year for this Albuquerque collector. The season brought a first-ever run as a season ticket holder, new favorites among the Albuquerque Isotopes, and a year-end collection total of 36,324 cards. The numbers grew more slowly than in some previous years, but the collection’s annual lists still reveal plenty about which cards keep arriving—and which have gone quiet.

Season tickets, foul balls and familiar faces

After moving to Albuquerque at the end of 2024, the author found the ballpark less than a mile from home. That made it practical to walk to games and finally pursue a longstanding ambition: becoming a season ticket holder. The team was the Albuquerque Isotopes, the Colorado Rockies’ AAA affiliate. The level of play exceeded expectations, and regular attendance turned a once-or-twice-a-season outing into a close look at the roster.

The seats were along the left-field line, close to the foul pole. They came with a raised swivel chair and a bar top, a setup the author preferred to sitting behind the net near home plate. The position also brought plenty of foul-ball action. A barehanded attempt at a hard-hit line drive early in the season left a bruise for a week, making a glove a sensible companion. By season’s end, the author had accumulated a bucket of balls—but says many were given to others, with balls kept only when no children were in the section.

Seeing nearly every game meant learning the roster beyond familiar players with major-league experience. Sterlin Thompson became the standout favorite. He played left field on five of the Isotopes’ six days in a typical Pacific Coast League series, finished the season as the club’s leader in nearly every offensive category, and acknowledged the author with a wave before games. Thompson wasn’t on the Rockies’ 40-man roster during the season, but was added after it to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. The author hopes he earns a place in Denver during Spring Training.

Other players who made an impression included Zac Veen, Sam Hilliard, Sean Bouchard and Aaron Schunk. Hilliard broke Albuquerque’s career home-run record across the city’s baseball history, which includes the Dukes, Isotopes, Dodgers, Marlins and Rockies. He signed to play in Korea next year. Veen was described as entertaining to watch, while Schunk’s walk-up music, “Brass Monkey” by the Beastie Boys, became a family joke: the author’s daughter heard it as “Brass Schunky.”

The author renewed the season tickets for 2026 and is looking forward to Opening Day. A new left fielder may be in order if Thompson makes the Rockies roster.

Topps appearances and collection totals

On the card front, Wallach appeared in two Topps sets in 2025, though one appearance came as an autograph insert in Topps Archives rather than a standard set card. He was also included in Shoe Box Legends. The unexpected cards prompted the author to spend beyond the planned budget chasing special insert variations instead of adding more copies of a familiar card such as his ’87 Topps base card.

The collection stood at 36,324 cards heading into 2026. The annual figures report 741 cards added and growth of 2.1%. The source labels the additions figure as “Cards added in 2024,” and its additions ranking also refers to 2024, despite the year-in-review framing around 2025.

The 25 most abundant cards showed no change in ranking from the prior tracking year, a first since records began in 2015. The leader remained 1982 Topps at 1,792 copies, followed by 1984 Topps (1,287) and 1987 Topps (1,236). Next came 1988 Donruss (1,224) and 1983 Fleer (1,073). The rest of the top ten were 1989 Topps (1,041), 1988 Topps All-Star (1,025), 1988 Topps (981), 1986 Topps All-Star (820) and 1990 Topps (783).

The top 25 also included 1990 Fleer (712), 1990 Donruss (637), 1989 Donruss (622), 1986 Topps (594), 1991 Upper Deck (583), 1989 Fleer (574), 1987 Donruss (556), 1985 Topps (536), 1982 Fleer (505), 1983 Topps (452), 1990 Upper Deck (444), 1991 Donruss MVP (443), 1990 Score (435), 1988 Fleer (428) and 1991 Donruss (421).

Additions, gaps and returns

The leading card in the “Top 10 Most Added Cards in 2024” list was 1988 Topps All-Star, with 46 copies. The next entries were 1991 Upper Deck Checklist (36), 1982 Fleer (32), 1988 Donruss (30) and 1992 Donruss (23). Tied at 22 were 1988 Topps and 1993 Topps; 1991 Leaf had 20, while 1987 Topps and 1993 Donruss tied at 17. The author noted there were no unusually large additions.

Three major base cards were absent from the year’s additions: 1994 Topps, 1983 Fleer and 1985 Fleer. By contrast, several long-unseen cards returned to the incoming pile. A 1993 Memphis Chicks card appeared for the first time since 2017, followed by 1990 Donruss Learning Series, last added in 2018. The 1987 Indiana BlueSox, 1990 Sportflics and 1993 O-Pee-Chee each returned after last appearing in 2020.

The all-time most-sent list puts 1988 Donruss first at 531, with 1987 Topps at 501 and 1989 Topps at 491. Next are 1988 Topps All-Star (465), 1990 Fleer (434), 1988 Topps (432), 1990 Donruss (385), 1990 Topps (384), 1991 Upper Deck (380) and 1986 Topps All-Star (351). Rounding out the 15 are 1987 Indiana Blue Sox (332), 1986 Topps (313), 1991 Donruss MVP (311), 1989 Donruss (304) and 1991 Donruss (291).

Thanks to readers and everyone who sent cards. The year also brought a new family member: the author and his wife welcomed a boy named Rocky, after his maternal grandfather. With tickets renewed, the collection counted and a new season ahead, 2026 promises fresh memories at the ballpark—and more cards to log.