The 2022 Topps baseball card release saw Topps return to producing physical cards after COVID-19 impacted production in previous years. As with any large release by the sports card giant, errors were inevitable in packaging, design, and printing. Here’s an in-depth look at some of the notable error cards found in 2022 Topps baseball so far:
One of the most amusing and talked about errors was a printing plate variation in the design of Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr’s base card. While Tatis Jr’s graphic is cleanly shown on most versions of the card, some copies saw the graphic offset upwards, revealing the printing plate underneath. This quirky error made for an eye-catching conversation piece. Though not overly rare, the plating error on Tatis Jr’s flagship card created buzz out of proportion to its pull rate.
A much rarer error came in the form of a missing image on Bobby Witt Jr’s Topps Series 2 base rookie card. A number of copies ended up being produced and shipped with just a blank white space where Witt Jr’s picture should have been. The missing image left collectors with an empty front for one of the year’s top rookie cards. While precise print run data on error cards is scarce, hobby experts estimate fewer than 10 copies were produced without Witt Jr’s picture. Given his star status as one of baseball’s brightest young talents, even a single-digit run of the missing image rookie makes these a true novelty for Kansas City Royals PC collectors.
Among the checklists and team cards in 2022 Topps Series 2, errors in layout and content appeared as well. One Cards/Checklist pulled had several teams listed out of alphabetical order. This type of minor checklist error caused by a botched print file happens periodically in large sports sets but is still noticeable for the mistakes. More significantly, at least a handful of Blue Jays team cards were found to have been duplicated from the Braves’ team design instead. Though production oversight saw such mistakes introduced, finding different team designs swapped in error cards adds an interesting layer.
Moving to the autograph and memorabilia inserts, some variations cropped up that challenge the printing process. Two cases saw “reverses” of autographs instead of the player’s true signed name. An Aaron Judge autograph printed backwards, and similarly a Willson Contreras autograph came out flipped. While autograph matching experts can determine the players, such reversals stand out in contrast to the correctly printed signature parallels. On the memorabilia side, patches or swatches intended for certain players were found affixed to others’ cards in error. A Mookie Betts relic card carried a swatch clearly from an Angels uniform despite Betts never playing for that team.
Among the many parallels and short prints released in 2022 Topps, inadvertent variations arose as well. In Series 2, roughly a dozen copies of rookie fireballer Hunter Greene’s short print parallel featured the standard base design rather than the intended photo variation. The presence of the wrong design transformed Greene SPs into accidental parallel errors. Similarly, production glitches saw subsets like Topps’ “Tribute” cards end up with swapped images between players. For example, one card paid homage to Yankees legend Goose Gossage but bore the image of another Hall of Famer entirely.
Lastly, variations occurred in the standard base paper stock colors themselves. While most 2022 Topps Series 2 cards used the traditional white backdrop, exceptions emerged. A smattering of base cards were found printed on pink, orange or other misc. color stock rather than white. Errors in the printer likely caused such stock aberrations, though they add interest as accidental variants. Whether missing images, swapped designs, autograph and patch reversals or color stock deviations – inadvertent errors arose that create subset-within-a-subset collector interest in the 2022 Topps release. While mistakes, they represent an organic part of the modern sports card landscape.
Large mainstream sports sets like 2022 Topps baseball will inevitably produce errors across print runs involving tens of millions of cards. Missing content, swapped designs, reproduction flukes with autographs and patches, unintended parallel variations – all arose to varying degrees of scarcity. While production mistakes, their emergence as accidental variants engages error collectors within the broader hobby. For PC builders of certain players like Tatis Jr, Witt Jr, Greene or others, orphan errors multiply options as non-traditional parallel additions. And for set builders, locating elusive mistakes provides the thrill of an added chase. Whether designer foibles or printer glitches, errors constitute an organic part of Topps releases whilst enhancing long-term collectability.
