The 2022 Major League Baseball All-Star Game marked the 92nd edition of the annual Midsummer Classic, held this year at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. As is tradition, a variety of baseball cards were produced commemorating the event and honoring the players selected to participate. These special cards attract collectors both for their unique designs celebrating a singular game and the inclusion of some of the sport’s biggest stars in one limited release.
Topps continues to hold the exclusive license for MLB trading cards and produces the main All-Star Game card sets each year. For 2022, their flagship issue contained 34 total cards – 33 focusing on individual player selections across both the American and National Leagues with another “Team Checklist” card rounding things out. Rosters for the ’22 exhibition were dominated as usual by superstars routinely included in these special card sets like Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Mookie Betts, and Ronald Acuña Jr. Some first-time All-Stars like Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez and Atlanta’s Michael Harris II also received their own rookie cards through Topps’ release commemorating making their All-Star debut.
Outside of Topps, several other trading card manufacturers took advantage of the high-profile Midsummer Classic to create their own unique products. Panini America, known for its impeccable on-card autographs, featured a “Road to the All-Star Game” insert set in its “2022 Donruss Baseball” release leading up to July. Cards in this parallel depicted players’ individual stats from the season before the exhibition which helped earn them a spot on the rosters. Several fortunate collectors pulled rare on-card autographs of All-Stars within Panini packs like Boston’s Rafael Devers.
Another niche player in the baseball card space, Leaf Trading Cards, produced an ultra-premium “Precious Metal Gems” box set exclusively for the 2022 All-Star festivities. Numbered to only 50 copies worldwide, these encapsulated gems prominently displayed two All-Star starters on each – either Bryant/Acuña or Ohtani/Judge. Crafted from 24K gold with diamond accents, each gem carried an MSRP north of $1,000, cementing them as the most expensive cards commemorating the 2022 Midsummer Classic.
While the standard Topps base set focused strictly on the annual game itself, the brand also created numerous insert sets leading up to and following the event. Topps “All-Star Voting” parallels tracked the online fan balloting process to select the starters at each position. Players like Judge who topped their league’s Outfield voting received a “Voting Leader” designation on these special parallel cards. After the July 12th showcase concluded, Topps issued an “All-Star Final Vote” mini-set highlighting the winners of the fan polling to determine the final player on each league’s roster – American standout Brandon Voter and National representative Jeff McNeil in 2022.
Additionally, Topps incorporated some of its most premium inserts highlighting All-Stars into wider releases. Products like “Allen & Ginter” and “Stadium Club” treated collectors to intricate artwork variants of superstars participating in the Midsummer Classic. Precious parallels like Gold Foil, Sapphire, and Diamond parallels pulled from these sets commanded high values due to their rarity and inclusion of MLB’s elite talent. Stadium Club even crafted 1/1 Topps Authentic autographed memorabilia cards of several 2022 All-Stars including Ohtani and Betts which now hold legend status among collectors.
While the game marked the halfway point of the regular season, its attendant baseball cards represent a pinnacle for collectors interested in assembling rosters featuring the very best in MLB over the course of one year. Between Topps’ base sets, Panini’s autographs, and limited premium products, the 2022 All-Star Game release fulfilled that mission by prominently highlighting talent at the top of their games. From rookie debuts to perennial superstars, these special cards captured a signature moment and provide a timely remembrance of when baseball’s finest converged in Los Angeles for a summer’s Midseason Classic. Whether as investments, keepsakes, or to admire the craft, 2022 All-Star cards hold distinct value for collectors committed to chronicling the tradition of July’s best-on-best exhibition.
