The 2022 Major League Baseball season saw the release of numerous baseball card products from the top trading card manufacturers. With the return to a normal MLB schedule after two pandemic-shortened seasons, fans were eager to collect the latest rookie cards and stars in their favorite teams’ uniforms.
Some of the biggest releases of 2022 MLB cards included flagship products from Topps, Panini, and Bowman. Topps Series 1 and Topps Update Series are always some of the most anticipated card releases each year as they feature the entire MLB player pool. 2022 was no different, as collectors looked to find rookie phenomenons like Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco and Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodríguez in their base Topps cards.
Panini Donruss also had a strong showing in 2022. Their Optic and Spectrum products offered flashy parallels and refractors of the game’s brightest young talents. Veterans like Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, and Aaron Judge remained highly sought after in Panini designs as well. Bowman Draft, Bowman Chrome, and Bowman Sterling also had collectors excited to chase prospects in their first cardboard. Players like Druw Jones, Termarr Johnson, and Elijah Green were some of the top draft picks covered in Bowman’s extensive licensing deal.
While the flagship products dominated, 2022 also saw reemergence of retro designs that paid homage to iconic baseball card sets of the past. Topps Allen & Ginter made a return after being absent for a few years, featuring unique wooden mini boxes with oddball inserts. Finest from Topps and Diamond Kings from Panini brought back the foil boards and refractors of the late 90s/early 2000s in stunning HD photography.
Upper Deck also released baseball cards for the first time since 2015 with their 2022 Black Gold product. Featuring old-timey sepia photographs in matte black borders, Black Gold had a cool throwback aesthetic that was popular with collectors. GQ Football had a baseball equivalent called High Heat that was issued directly to hobby shops with more limited print runs.
Beyond the core products, specialty sets from Panini and Leaf captured moments throughout the 2022 season in timely fashion. The Chrome Update sets were some of the first to showcase major player movements and accomplishments from the trade deadline and postseason. Leaf History of the Game Relics incorporated authentic memorabilia of MLB icons like Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Nolan Ryan.
Parallels and autographs remained a driving force for collectors chasing bigger and better hits. Ultra Rare 1/1 parallels emerged as the Holy Grail chase cards. Star rookies like Rodriguez, Adley Rutschman, and Bobby Witt Jr. were highly sought after in rare parallel colors from Topps, Panini, and Bowman. Auto and memorabilia card inserts grew exponentially in popularity, with collectors hoping for the randomly inserted on-card signature of their PC player.
Overall, 2022 reaffirmed baseball’s status as America’s favorite pastime. With thriving rookie classes, star veteran performances, exciting playoff races and a classic World Series, there was no shortage of compelling storylines on and off the field. The array of high-quality MLB trading card products captured all the action and allowed fans to showcase their collecting interests long after the final out. With a strong 2023 MLB rookie class looming and product innovation constant, the future remains bright for baseball card collectors.
