The 2022 baseball season saw a revival of interest in baseball card collecting, continuing the surge that began during the pandemic. Thanks to a perfect storm of factors including increased leisure time at home, nostalgia, the rise of social media influences, and the mainstreaming of collectibles as an investment vehicle, the baseball card market hit new heights in 2022.
Top rookies like Baseball America number one prospect catcher Adley Rutschman of the Baltimore Orioles and Seattle Mariners slugger Julio Rodriguez saw tremendous demand for their rookie cards. Rutschman autographs and memorabilia traded hands for thousands of dollars as fans anticipated his debut. Meanwhile, Rodriguez lived up to the hype by putting together a flashy rookie campaign that ended with him finishing third in AL Rookie of the Year voting. His cards jumped in value throughout the summer as his popularity grew.
Veteran stars also held strong demand. The Los Angeles Dodgers duo of Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman had monster seasons, leading their team to the NL pennant before falling to the Houston Astros in the World Series. Betts put up MVP caliber numbers while Freeman proved to be the missing piece for LA, cementing both stars as must-have cards for collectors. Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels continued to astound with his two-way abilities, earning the 2021 AL MVP and keeping him squarely in the collecting spotlight heading into 2023.
Top rookie pitchers like Miami Marlins righty Max Meyer and Kansas City Royals left-hander Kris Bubic also attracted plenty of attention. Meyer’s Elite Prospects autographs sold for $500-1000 each before he debuted in late June and showed promise when healthy. Bubic cemented himself as a future ace with his continued development and electric stuff, raising optimism surrounding the rebuilding Royals.
Several Topps flagship rookie autographed relic cards became exceptionally valuable in 2022. Rutschman’s /250 inscription parallel from Diamond Kings retailed for over $2000 each online. Rodriguez’s red ink parallel /99 sold for north of $3000. Meyer’s Gold /10 parallel changed hands for $4500. Meanwhile, Torkelson’s Red /99 from Topps Chrome Update reached $1200. Even mid-tier Topps rookies like Boston’s Brayan Bello and Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson traded in the hundreds of dollars as renewed interest breathed life into the overall baseball card market.
Vintage legends also posted gains. A PSA 9 1971 Topps Nolan Ryan rookie climbed above $30,000 on the auction market from under $20K just a few years ago. A near-mint 1957 Topps Mickey Mantle sold for $2.88 million, setting a new record for the most expensive sports card ever. 1952 Topps rookie cards of Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Sandy Koufax all brought six figure sums. Riding renewed nostalgia, the golden age of the 1950s continued to represent the pinnacle of collecting for vintage devotees.
Major card companies like Topps, Panini, Leaf and Bowman enjoyed banner years with record sales across their baseball product portfolio. From flagship sets to high-end parallels and autograph offerings, boxes and cases flew off the shelves at record rates. Popular online breakers like Bleecker Trading Cards and Steel City Collectibles struggled to keep popular boxes in stock, sometimes selling out of entire case allocations within hours of release.
The growth of subscription and membership programs aimed at long-term collectors also proliferated the marketplace. The Collect App subscription model enjoyed explosive user growth signing up hundreds of thousands paying monthly customers guaranteeing access to new releases. Topps employed a similar strategy through their baseball membership pass. Meanwhile, services like YouTube breakers and Beckett grading emerged as major centralized hubs for the online card community to congregate, drive awareness and transact business.
Looking ahead to 2023, demand seems unlikely to slow, barring an unforeseen economic downturn. Rookies like the Mets’ Francisco Alvarez, the Cubs’ Caleb Kilian and the Guardians’ Nolan Jones will excite collectors out of the gate. Veterans like Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto and Ronald Acuña Jr. should remain anchored to the upper echelon of the market. As the collectibles space continues to evolve, incorporating new forms of crypto, NFTs and memorabilia, baseball cards again figure to remain at the center of the trading card universe. With new stars emerging and history endlessly recyclable through nostalgia, the classic cardboard industry appears well-positioned to enjoy another boom year.
