The 2022 season marked another year for the Chattanooga Lookouts minor league baseball team and consequently another year for Chattanooga Lookouts baseball cards. As one of the oldest continuously operating teams in minor league baseball history, the Lookouts have a long tradition of issuing team sets each season for their loyal fans to collect.
2022 was no exception as collectors could find 2022 Lookouts baseball cards featuring the top prospects developing in the Minnesota Twins farm system as they played games at AT&T Field in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee. Some of the notable players featured include top Twins prospects like Royce Lewis, Jordan Balazovic, Matt Canterino, and Alerick Soularie who all spent time in Chattanooga last season.
Like in previous years, the 2022 Lookouts set was produced by Return Match Inc., the exclusive producer of Chattanooga Lookouts team sets since 2015. The 70-card base set featured standard size cards with player photos on the front and stats/career highlights on the back similar to major league cards produced by Topps, Panini, etc. The cards featured a classic blue, yellow, and red color scheme paying homage to the Lookouts’ longstanding team colors.
Beyond the base set, collector’s could also find special insert cards throughout Lookouts wax packs/boxes. These included parallels like Gold Foil (/70), Silver Foil (/50), and Red Foil (/25) cards of the base players. There were Silver Signature cards featuring acetate embedded autographs of Lookouts stars. Numbered patch cards featuring game-worn jersey swatches were also available at ultra-low print runs.
Perhaps the most prized insert among hardcore Lookouts collectors was the serially numbered “At The Plate” 1/1 parallel insert set showing players in their batting stances. Only one of each existed in the world, making these the holy grails to obtain if completing a rainbow set of the inserts. Other lesser numbered parallels included Green (/199), Orange (/99), Pink (/75), and Purple (/50) color variations adding to the hunt.
While targeted towards Lookouts collectors first and foremost, the 2022 baseball cards gained popularity outside of the Chattanooga fanbase as well. The rise of the MLB Prospect movement combined with the popularity of the Twins farm system made the cards of Top 100 prospects like Royce Lewis in Lookouts uniforms very desirable to the wider collecting community. Savvy flippers recognized this increased interest and some Lookouts cards started showing up on the popular card marketplaces like eBay and COMC.
Many within the local Chattanooga card collecting community lamented this increased “outside” attention and speculation on the Lookouts releases. They worried it could reduce access for the area fans who have followed the team for generations if flippers cleaned out the retail shelves. Return Match attempted to address this by printing runs larger than previous years while also selling boxes directly on their website. Still, the buzz around Royce Lewis and others led to multiple sellouts at local card shops.
The 2022 season itself was a mixed bag for the actual Lookouts on-field product. While boasting talented prospects, their 70-64 record was only good for 4th place in the Double-A South standings. The development of players like Lewis, Balazovic, and Matthew Canterino gave fans reason for optimism about the future of the Twins big league club. And in what has become an annual summer tradition, the Lookouts cards were there to commemorate another season and allow collectors to re-live the magic of AT&T Field from the comfort of their collections for years to come.
With the team poised to kick off its 133rd season in 2023, Lookouts fans can rest assured that Return Match will continue to produce high-quality team sets chronicling the squads for card collectors everywhere. While the increased attention from the wider hobby brings challenges, the historic legacy of the franchise in Chattanooga ensures the cards will remain a beloved staple for generations of Tennessee baseball fans. Whether collecting for nostalgia, investment, or fandom of America’s pastime in the Scenic City, the 2023 Lookouts cards will surely excite collectors when released next spring.
