The 2022 Topps Holiday baseball card set is one of the most highly anticipated seasonal releases each year from Topps. The holiday set is a fan favorite known for its festive designs and themes centered around the Christmas holiday season. This year’s checklist includes current stars, legends of the game, and memorable rookie cards all wrapped up in classic winter and Christmas motifs.
The 2022 Topps Holiday baseball set includes 198 total base cards along with several insert cards to round out the complete checklist. The set features players from both the American and National Leagues and includes a mix of active players, legends, and prospects. Some of the biggest names in this year’s checklist include Shohei Ohtani, Fernando Tatis Jr., Juan Soto, Ronald Acuña Jr., Mookie Betts, Aaron Judge, and Mike Trout among many others. Fans of the vintage era will be excited to find cards of legends like Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and Hank Aaron also included.
Topps continues its tradition of including memorable rookie cards in the Holiday sets as well. This year fans can find prized first cards of Bobby Witt Jr., Adley Rutschman, Julio Rodriguez, and Spencer Strider. With these talented young players poised to become future stars, their holiday rookie cards are sure to become highly coveted by collectors in the coming years. Beyond the base cards, Topps Holiday inserts this year include Snowflakes, Ornaments, and Candy Canes parallels adding more variety for collectors to track down.
The design theme for the 2022 Topps Holiday baseball cards centers around a wintry snowscape. Each player’s photo is framed within a border of falling snowflakes on a light blue background. Player names and team logos appear below in festive colored text. The reverse side of each card continues the snow theme but adds Christmas elements like trees, presents, and holiday lights. Statistics for each player are also included on the back along with career highlights and fun facts. Overall the classic yet modern designs perfectly capture the cozy winter holiday atmosphere that Topps Holiday sets are known for.
In addition to the base cards and inserts, collectors will find several special parallel and short print variations to hunt for to complete their 2022 Topps Holiday baseball collections. Rarer parallel versions like Gold, Silver, and Black border the player photos adding extra visual pop. Topps Holiday also features several short printed Red Snowflake parallel cards scattered throughout packs and boxes at a much lower print run than the base variants. Finding these elusive red parallels is a challenge for collectors.
As with all Topps releases, the Holiday baseball set also includes several special serially numbered parallel cards at an even lower print quantity. This year collectors can search for Gold Snowflake parallels numbered to only 50 copies each. An ultra-rare Platinum Snowflake parallel exists numbered to just 5 copies featuring some of the set’s biggest star players. Rounding out the high-end parallels are 1/1 Diamond Snowflake parallel cards that are completely unique for the lucky collectors who manage to pull them.
While the base cards, inserts, and parallels make up the core of the 2022 Topps Holiday baseball checklist, collectors will also find several special extras mixed in. Memorabilia cards featuring game used bat or uniform swatches of today’s top talents add valuable autograph and memorabilia options. Topps Holiday also includes a selection of autographed rookie cards letting collectors obtain a first signature of emerging young stars. Retail exclusive autograph and memorabilia cards can also be found within exclusive hobby box products.
As with any Topps holiday release, secondary market demand and collector interest is high for these festive baseball cards. While retail blaster and hanger boxes provide an accessible entry point, the best odds of completing a set or finding chase cards come from breaking a full hobby box. With 198 base cards plus numerous inserts, parallels, and short prints, completing even the common base set presents a fun winter collecting challenge. Add in the allure of finding hits like autographs or 1/1 parallels and it’s easy to see why the 2022 Topps Holiday baseball set is a much anticipated seasonal release that collectors are already eagerly awaiting to add to their collections.
