The 2022 season of Major League Baseball saw another exciting year play out on the diamond. Fans followed their favorite players and teams with hopes of playoff runs and championship glory. For collectors, 2022 also meant a new crop of cards from the major hobby brands to chase after. Panini is one of the leading sports card manufacturers and their Select brand offers collectors high-end products with memorable rookies, stars, and parallels. With the season now in the books, let’s take a look at some of the most valuable and sought after cards from 2022 Panini Select Baseball.
Perhaps the biggest rookie sensation of 2022 was Houston Astros’ shortstop Jeremy Peña. After winning ALCS and World Series MVP honors in just his first full MLB season, the hype around Peña skyrocketed. His rookie cards surged in value accordingly. One of the most coveted Peña cards from Select is his Green Wave parallel, limited to /25 copies. These rare parallel cards frequently command four-figure prices online. Another highly valuable Peña is his Auto patch card, which features his autograph on a piece of his worn jersey. The combos of a top rookie, autograph, and patch make this a true holy grail card for Astros’ PC collectors.
Two other rookies that made huge impacts in 2022 were Seattle Mariners’ outfielder Julio Rodríguez and Atlanta Braves’ pitcher Spencer Strider. J-Rod dazzled with his 5-tool talents and won AL Rookie of the Year. Strider emerged as a breakout starter for the Braves staff. Their Select rookies and parallels are very sought after, especially low-numbered versions. A prized Julio RC would be his Green Wave /25, while a top Strider includes his Auto patch card. These young stars look poised for continued excellence, keeping collector demand for their rookie cards quite high.
Of the veteran superstars in the game, few can match the star power and collecting popularity of Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. The dual threat Angels duo are perennial favorites for collectors. Some of their top 2022 Select cards include Trout’s Green Wave /25 and Ohtani’s 1/1 Printing Plate auto. Low-numbered parallels and one-of-one cards featuring these modern greats will pull top dollar on the resale market. Yankees slugger Aaron Judge also remains a huge draw after his record-setting 62 home run season. His Select RCs, especially short printed versions, hold tremendous value.
Panini Select is known for its sharp photography and creative card designs. This leads to some of the set’s most valuable cards highlighting unique on-card moments or performances. One such card is Braves’ DH Matt Olson’s Game 5 walk-off home run relic from the 2022 NLDS. Numbered to /5, this truly one-of-a-kind piece captured Olson’s playoff heroics. Another is Phillies’ catcher J.T. Realmuto’s Game 1 10th inning inside-the-park home run relic from the 2022 NLCS. Only 3 of these exist and they showcase a truly amazing and rare playoff feat. Cards like these that memorialize iconic playoff moments are absolute grails for serious PC collectors.
While rookies and stars drive much of the hobby, collectors also flock to parallel cards with extremely low print runs. Some of the most valuable 2022 Select parallels come numbered to impossibly low amounts. For example, Green Wave parallels capped at /25 copies are already quite rare, but Select also offered 1/1 Green Wave Prizms of top talents like Soto, Acuña and deGrom. The exclusivity of a single copy makes these ultra high-end trophies. Other examples are Red Prizms limited to a single digit like /5, /3 or the elusive 1/1. These ultra-rare parallel cards featuring baseball’s best players can sell for thousands depending on the player and design.
The 2022 season of Panini Select Baseball provided collectors with another opportunity to chase memorable rookie cards, player autographs, relic cards, and low-numbered parallels featuring that year’s MLB standouts. Young stars like Peña, Rodríguez, and Strider saw their rookie cards surge in value after impressive debut campaigns. Veteran superstars Trout, Ohtani and Judge remained perennial hobby draws. Unique on-card moments from the postseason like Olson and Realmuto’s playoff heroics resulted in truly one-of-a-kind collectibles. And the extremely low-printed parallels capped at 1/1 took exclusivity to a whole new level. With strong player performances and dedicated collectors, 2022 Panini Select Baseball ensured its most prized cards would retain and gain value for years to come.
