The 2022 season marked another year of high expectations but disappointing results for the Los Angeles Angels. While the franchise boasts superstar players like Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, consistent playoff success has eluded them. Still, collectors remained excited about the Angels release for the 2022 season.
Topps, the longest running baseball card manufacturer, released a standard 312 card base set as their flagship Angels product. As with every team, the base cards featured all players on the 40-man roster at the start of spring training. Some of the more notable rookie and prospect cards included catcher Logan O’Hoppe, first baseman Matt Thaiss, and pitchers Janson Junk and Reid Detmers. The designs were clean with solid photography, though lacked some of the flashier aesthetics seen in other Topps sets that year.
Parallel and short print cards added chase factors for collectors. The popular “Rainbow Foil” parallels inserted color-tinted foil patterns on certain cards. Numbers were low, making these parallels quite scarce. Short prints featured select players with reduced print runs to increase rarity. Trout, as always, headlined the short prints as one of the most sought after cards in any Angels release.
Topps Chrome took the standard design and added their trademark “chrome” refractor technology to player photos. The refractors had intricate color-shifting effects that popped under light. The Chrome set included the base roster along with several parallel variations like Gold, Black, and Orange refractor versions of stars. The Chrome products are often collector favorites due to the enhanced photography compared to the standard issue.
Panini took a different approach with their Angels offerings in 2022. Their main release was the “Prizm” set, featuring creative designs with colorful graphics and player photos featuring prismatic color-shifting effects. The base set totaled only 198 cards but included all notable players. Short prints and parallels like “Rainbow Foil” and “Green Prizm” pumped up the chase. However, Panini products tend to be more expensive secondary market due to lower initial print runs.
Bowman is the brand that caters most directly to prospect collectors. Their 2022 Angels release focused heavily on minor leaguers and recent draftees. Top prospects like catcher Logan O’Hoppe and outfielder D’Shawn Knowles headlined the set. Parallels like “Chrome”, “Rainbow Foil”, and “Blue Paper” added to the product mix. While Bowman sets lack current MLB stars, they provide a fun way to collect future Angels before they reach the show.
Several insert sets rounded out the Angels card offerings. Topps Archives paid tribute to classic Angels designs of the past. Topps Heritage featured retro-style photos in a nod to the earliest card years. Topps Holiday Snow provided a wintery photo twist. And Topps Update and Topps Transcendent updated rosters and included short prints through the season.
While the Angels struggled on the field again in 2022, collectors remained engaged with the franchise through baseball cards. With stars like Trout and Ohtani still in the fold alongside an exciting farm system, interest in Angels cards should stay high going forward. Even in down seasons, the cards preserve the optimism of spring each year and allow fans to collect their favorite players outside of wins and losses. As long as the Angels field competitive teams, their baseball cards will continue to be a popular collecting category.
