The 2022 Topps Select baseball card set is one of the hobby’s most highly anticipated releases each year. With only 99 cards in the base set and a variety of valuable short prints and parallels, Topps Select offers collectors a high-end experience at both the retail and investment level.
Released in late summer as the flagship portion of Topps’ Fall release schedule, the 2022 Topps Select baseball cards included a base set of 99 cards showing each team’s starting lineup and select pitchers. Ranging from rookie stars to established veterans, the base set checklist featured names like Juan Soto, Shohei Ohtani, Ronald Acuña Jr., Mookie Betts, and Fernando Tatis Jr. With its rigidly limited print run, the base set alone holds value for collectors. On the secondary market, individual base cards have sold for $5-10 each ungraded and $15-30 graded Gem Mint. Complete team sets with all nine cards for a club have fetched $100-150.
Of course, the real valuables in Topps Select come in the form of short prints and parallels. Numbered to /499 or less copies, short prints like auto or memorabilia parallels rapidly escalate a card’s price. Some especially notable 2022 SPs include:
Wander Franco Rc Auto /50 (~$1500)
Bobby Witt Jr. Rc Auto /50 (~$1200)
Julio Rodríguez Rc Auto /50 (~$1000)
Adley Rutschman Rc Auto /50 (~$800)
Jeremy Peña WS MVP Auto /50 (~$600)
Even more limited are the ‘1/1′ insert autos and relics, basically hand-numbered pieces of art. Examples from 2022 include a Vince Velasquez patch auto 1/1 ($4000), a Manny Machado dual patch auto 1/1 ($3000), and a Nolan Arenado triple relic auto 1/1 (~$2000+).
Collectors can also target parallels that greatly influence value. The prized Refractors (#/25) and Rainbow Foil variants command multi-hundred dollar prices for key rookies. The ultra-rare Magma /5 parallel inserts have consistently realized north of $1000 each. Multi-colored Rainbow parallels numbered /10 or less often break four figures as well. Black 1/1s usually pull in the highest auction bids at $1500-3000 range.
As a high-end brand, Topps Select naturally holds value well long term. Cards from past years’ checklists maintain strong resale prices years later as the players develop. For example, a 2015 Kris Bryant auto /50 recently sold for $900 graded, showing six years of stable appreciation. Vintage 1990 Select Barry Bonds rookie auto fetched $6250 in recent auction.
Despite its smaller print run size, Topps Select offers immense rewards for collectors. With sharp short prints, parallels, and serial-numbered inserts, it’s easy to find valuable cards. Even the base set holds intrinsic worth due to product scarcity. Overall the 2022 edition maintains the brand’s reputation as a premier investment-caliber baseball card set primed to gain value for decades to come. For fans, Select represents the pinnacle collecting experience from Topps each season.
