2018 Donruss Optic Baseball Variations Gallery and How to Spot Them
The 2018 Donruss Optic Baseball variations take a similar page from the variants in the main 2018 Donruss Baseball set — it’s all about variety. Some have different names, some change up where the team name goes and others go with the basic photo swap approach.
For the most part, the 2018 Donruss Optic Baseball variations are easy to spot unless you’re blasting through the base cards. It’s hard to miss Rhys Hoskins becoming “Rhys Lighting” or Ozzie Albies playing in “The ATL.” The exception would be the straight-up photo variations where a little memorization might be in order.
Or a trick.
Like on the back.
There is a tip-off where you can easily spot variations without even really trying. A lot of Topps sets have it in the fine print with production codes. For the 2018 Donruss Optic Baseball variations, the giveaway is also on the back, but it’s incorporated into the design. It’s the baseball near the card number. If you’ve got a regular base card, the ball is white. If you have a variation, the ball is black.
Base – white baseball
Variation – black baseball
A couple of things for clarification.
First, Walker Bueler’s variations isn’t any different from the front. On the back, the write-up is different on the two cards. There’s also the ball method of telling the base from the variant.
Card #176, Shohei Ohtani, is listed as a variation by Panini. But there actually isn’t another card that goes along with it. It’s more of an addition to the checklist.
Parallels
It’s not just base-level cards that have variations. Parallels do to. All 25 of variants come with the following versions as well:
• Bronze
• Holo
• Pink
• Purple
• Red and Yellow
• Shock
• White Sparkles
• Aqua – /299
• Orange – /199
• Blue – /149
• Red – /99
• Carolina Blue – /50
• Black – /25
• Gold – /10
• Cracked Ice – /7
• Green – /5
• Gold Vinyl – 1/1
Here’s a quick breakdown of the 2018 Donruss Optic Baseball variations.
2018 Donruss Optic Baseball Variations Checklist
31 Miguel Andujar – Team
32 Nick Williams – Nickname
33 Clint Frazier – Nickname
35 Rafael Devers – Nickname
36 Ozzie Albies – Team
37 Amed Rosario – Team
38 Rhys Hoskins – Nickname
39 Ryan McMahon – Photo
40 Willie Calhoun – Nickname
41 Walker Buehler – Back
42 Victor Robles – Photo
51 Chance Sisco – Team
56 Shohei Ohtani – Photo
65 Gleyber Torres – Nickname
109 Giancarlo Stanton – Team
114 Aaron Judge – Photo
115 Cody Bellinger – Photo
121 Mike Trout – Photo
122 Miguel Cabrera – Nickname
123 Francisco Lindor – Team
125 Andrew McCutchen – Nickname
135 Andrew Benintendi – Photo
148 Adrian Beltre – Team
165 Mickey Mantle – Nickname
176 Shohei Ohtani
2018 Donruss Optic Baseball Variations Gallery
31 Miguel Andujar, New York Yankees
Variation – The Bronx
Base – New York
32 Nick Williams, Philadelphia Phillies
Variation – Nicky Dubs
Base – Nick Williams
33 Clint Frazier, New York Yankees
Variation – Red Thunder
Base – Clint Frazier
35 Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox
Variation – Raffy Big Stick
Bse – Rafael Devers
36 Ozzie Albies, Atlanta Braves
Variation – The ATL
Base – Atlanta
37 Amed Rosario, New York Mets
Variation – Queens
Base – New York
38 Rhys Hoskins, Philadelphia Phillies
Variation – Rhys Lightning
Base – Rhys Hoskins
39 Ryan McMahon, Colorado Rockies
Variation – purple jersey
Base – white pinstripe jersey
40 Willie Calhoun, Texas Rangers
Variation – June Calhoun
Base – Willie Calhoun
41 Walker Buehler, Los Angeles Dodgers
Variation Back – write-up is different, black baseball icon
42 Victor Robles, Washington Nationals
Variation – ball in line with head
Base – ball behind head, back of jersey partially visible
51 Chance Sisco, Baltimore Orioles
Variation – Charm City
Base – Baltimore
56 Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
Variation – running
Base – batting
65 Gleyber Torres, New York Yankees
Variation – #GleyberGood
Base – New York
109 Giancarlo Stanton, New York Yankees
Variation – 2017 MVP
Base – New York
114 Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
Variation – batting stance, eye black
Base – swinging, ’99’ visible
115 Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers
Variation – batting stance
Base- swinging, cheeks puffed
121 Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
Variation – gray wristband
Base – red wristband
122 Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
Variation – Miggy
Base – Miguel Cabrera
123 Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians
Variation – 2X All-Star
Base – Cleveland
125 Andrew McCutchen, San Francisco Giants
Variation – Cutch
Base – Andrew McCutchen
135 Andrew Benintendi, Boston Red Sox
Variation – back of jersey visible
Base – dirt on pants
148 Adrian Beltre, Texas Rangers
Variation – 3,000 Hit Club
Base – Texas
165 Mickey Mantle, New York Yankees
Variation – The Mick
Base – Mickey Mantle
276 Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
Variation – pitching
Has no base version.
Kind of strange to have the variation checklist come out before the regular checklist.
@JDonovan – Looks like some surfaced at retail. At this point, all of what’s here has been put together manually based on the info gleaned from that. No official checklist has been released yet so likely at least a couple more to be added.
Is there an error with Walker Buehler? Pulled a base RR and holo RR, both with the black baseball on the reverse of the card, but doesn’t seem to be anything special on the card to indicate they are variations
@Bengi – Buehler’s variation is on the back. The write-up is different. Everything on the front appears to be the same.
What is the deal with the Trout shadow in the background? Is that an error or intended?
@Adam — probably just a production mistake in the prep stages somewhere.
Interesting that the Trout variation also has the silhouette of his base card, not just the wrist band. I don’t see it on any other variations. I thought it was an error until I saw the pic above looked the same as my card.