NEW YORK, March 24, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Hot on the heels of Spring Training, Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa will be the Topps MLB BUNT cover athlete spotlighted on the app icon and splash screen with special Correa cards in various sets released throughout the year. As a rookie, Correa was the first to sign an exclusive memorabilia and autographed trading card partnership with Topps, with the relationship extending to Topps' ground-breaking digital trading card app, BUNT. Topps MLB BUNT 2016 introduces new trading and progression features to the only real-time, real-world Major League Baseball digital trading card game where sports fans get the chance to earn points based on the performance of their favorite players.

"I grew up dreaming of playing in the major leagues and being featured as the cover player for Topps BUNT is incredible," said Correa. "The popularity and technology behind digital cards is impressive and allows me to carry a complete collection with me on my phone. I can't wait for fans to collect, trade and play with my BUNT cards this season."

In addition to Correa already being recognized as one of baseball's top young talents, baseball legends and current stars are featured in Topps BUNT with special cards covering multiple generations of the game's biggest names being swapped and collected. There have been more than 350 million digital baseball cards purchased in the app and BUNT is projected to reach the half a billion-card mark in 2016.

"Correa is a great player to feature in Topps BUNT, his Rookie of the Year season was outstanding and he is part of a new generation of MLB stars," said Jeremy Strauser, General Manager of Topps Digital. "We couldn't be more excited to have such a hard-working, talented and gracious athlete represent BUNT."

Topps MLB BUNT 2016 features the easiest way to collect your favorite MLB teams, players and moments in the palm of your hand. New content and exclusive cards are released on a daily basis during the season, and cards can be traded within the Topps BUNT community instantly and worldwide. Players can take their cards into contests and earn points in real-time based on the card style and the player's real-world performance.

"Topps continues to drive innovation in the digital trading card and collection space. Fans and collectors have a unique opportunity to collect their favorite Major League players, build dynamic teams, and compete against their collectors from around the world using real-time statistics," said Evan Kaplan, Major League Baseball Players Association director of licensing and business development.

New to BUNT this year is Topps Card Exchange, where fans can trade-in and upgrade cards instantly without a trading partner needed. Also new are player levels in BUNT, to help fans track their progress and compare their collection, trading and play accomplishments to other fans.

Topps MLB BUNT 2016 is available for free on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch and in the Google Play Store for Android devices. CLICK HERE to download it now: http://m.onelink.me/705a6246

Topps MLB BUNT 2016 is officially licensed by Major League Baseball Advanced Media and by Major League Baseball Players Association.

About Topps: Founded in 1938, The Topps Company, Inc. is the preeminent creator and brand marketer of physical and digital sports cards, entertainment cards and collectibles, and distinctive confectionery products. Topps' leading sports and entertainment products include Major League Baseball, National Football League, Major League Soccer, UEFA Champions League, English Premier League, Bundesliga, Indian Premier League, Star Wars, WWE, UFC, Wacky Packages, Garbage Pail Kids, Mars Attacks and other trading cards, sticker album collections and collectibles. Topps' app portfolio, including Topps BUNT®, Topps HUDDLE®, TOPPS KICK® and Topps® Star WarsSM: Card Trader, has been a hit with millions of fans around the world. Topps' confectionery brands include Ring Pop®, Push Pop®, Baby Bottle Pop®, Juicy Drop ® Pop, Crunchkins ™ and Bazooka® bubble gum. Topps was acquired by Michael Eisner's Tornante Company and Madison Dearborn Partners in October 2007. For additional information, visit Topps.com and Candymania.com.

ABOUT MLBAM: Established in June 2000 following a unanimous vote by the 30 Major League Baseball club owners to centralize all of Baseball's Internet operations, MLB Advanced Media LP (MLBAM) is the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball. MLBAM manages the official league site, MLB.com, and each of the 30 individual Club sites to create the most comprehensive Major League Baseball resource on the Internet. MLB.com offers fans the most complete baseball information and interactivity across computers and mobile devices, including up-to-date statistics, game previews and summaries, extensive historical information, online ticket sales, baseball merchandise, authenticated memorabilia and collectibles, fantasy games, live full-game video streaming and in-progress and on-demand highlights, live and archived audio broadcasts, Gameday pitch-by-pitch application, Statcast tracking technology, around-the-clock hosted and specialty video programming, complete blogging capabilities, console and mobile video games and the award-winning At Bat and Ballpark mobile applications. MLBAM powers more live events across the Internet than any other company in the world.

ABOUT MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYERS ASSOCIATION (MLBPA): The Major League Baseball Players Association (www.mlbplayers.com) is the collective bargaining representative for all professional baseball players of the thirty Major League baseball teams and serves as the exclusive group licensing agent for commercial and licensing activities involving active Major League baseball players. On behalf of its members, it operates the Players Choice licensing program and Players Choice Awards, which benefit the needy through the Major League Baseball Players Trust, a charitable foundation established and run entirely by Major League baseball players. Follow: @MLB_Players; @MLBPAClubhouse; @MLBPlayersTrust

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SOURCE Topps

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