The 2022 Topps Chrome Baseball set release was highly anticipated by collectors. It was quickly discovered that some key rookie cards and parallels were missing from factory sets and retail blasters/hangers. This created a frenzy in the hobby as collectors scrambled to find the missing cards on the secondary market at inflated prices.
Some background – Topps Chrome is an annual insert set released alongside the main Topps flagship set. What makes it unique is that the cards feature a shiny “chrome” design on the front. Topps Chrome sets are prized by collectors for their photo negative designs and the fact they contain some of the most sought after rookie cards and parallels from the current season.
This year’s Topps Chrome release centered around one of the most hyped rookie classes in recent memory, headlined by Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez and Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman. Both were considered favorites for Rookie of the Year and their rookie cards were being heavily anticipated. Upon the release of Series 1 in late August, it became apparent some key cards were missing.
Specifically, the prized green bordered parallels of Julio Rodriguez and Adley Rutschman were absent from factory sets. These parallel cards, numbered to just 99 copies, are the most scarce versions and command the highest prices. Their absence was a major blow to collectors hoping to pull these rare cards themselves. The base rookie cards of several other top prospects like Spencer Strider and Bobby Witt Jr. were also missing from factory sets sold by retailers.
This created a mad rush on the secondary market as collectors rushed to eBay, Twitter and Instagram to find the missing cards. Prices skyrocketed within hours as savvy flippers acquired boxes/packs and listed the cards for sale at huge markups. For example, green parallels of Rodriguez and Rutschman that normally sell for $100-200 raw instead fetched $500-1000 due to the low population. It became clear Topps had severely underprinted some of the set’s most coveted cards.
Theories quickly emerged online as to why Topps left these cards out of factory sets. Some speculated it was intentional to artificially increase demand and prices. Others thought it was an unfortunate production error. Over the following weeks, Topps remained silent on the missing cards fiasco. More missing parallels were discovered in Series 2 as well.
In late September, Topps finally acknowledged the issue in a statement. They confirmed “select short prints and parallels” were inadvertently left out of initial factory set and retail product configurations. Topps apologized for any frustrations caused and stated they were working to get the missing cards directly to collectors.
In October, Topps began direct shipping make-up packs containing the missing parallels to people who contacted their customer service department. The number of packs sent fell far short of the estimated number of missing cards. Secondary market prices remained high well into the off-season. The 2022 Topps Chrome release will long be remembered as one of the most volatile and controversial in the modern era due to the missing cards fiasco. It highlighted issues with Topps’ quality control and production planning that left many collectors disappointed. Going forward, Topps will need to restore confidence that future releases won’t have similar problems. But for now, the missing 2022 Topps Chrome cards remain a hot topic of debate in the baseball card community.
While 2022 Topps Chrome contained some of the most hyped rookie cards in years, the set was overshadowed by Topps failing to include several key short prints and parallels in factory sets sold to consumers. This created a frenzy on the secondary market and damaged Topps’ reputation among collectors. It’s a cautionary tale of how even major companies like Topps are not immune from production mistakes that can upset the hobby. The long term effects of the missing cards are still playing out today in the collectibles marketplace.
