The hobby of collecting baseball cards has seen a massive surge in interest and investment over the past few years. As with any collecting niche, there are certain cards that seem to stand above the rest and generate the most buzz among enthusiasts. Let’s take a look at some of the most sought-after and valuable baseball cards on the market in 2022.
One of the obvious choices for most popular baseball card of 2022 would have to be cards featuring Los Angeles Angels pitcher and two-time American League MVP Shohei Ohtani. As one of the game’s brightest young stars and a true dual-threat as both a pitcher and hitter, Ohtani mania is in full effect. His 2021 Toppschrombase cards in particular have been flying off the shelves of card shops and selling for hundreds of dollars online raw. PSA 10 Graded versions of this iconic Ohtani rookie card have even eclipsed $10,000 at auction.
Rookie cards for other young stars like Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres also remain extremely hot. While Tatis missed much of the 2022 season due to injury, his Topps cards from 2019 and 2020 are still regarded as sure-fire long term investments. The Tucker cards featuring Houston Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker from 2018 and 2021 also fit firmly into this category of sought-after young star rookie cards.
Vintage Mike Trout cards from his early Angels days between 2011-2014 also make frequent appearances on lists of the most expensive and desirable cards on the market right now. This includes his coveted 2009 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks and Prospects Superfractor parallel, which recently sold for $405,100 making it one of the highest prices ever paid for a Trout card. Trout’s incredible longevity and consistency as one of MLB’s greatest players has only increased demand for cards from his early career.
Going back earlier, rookie cards for baseball legends like Mickey Mantle continue to captivate collectors more than 60 years after they were printed. One of the holiest grails is the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle in pristine gem mint condition. Just a few years ago, a PSA 9 copy of this iconic card sold for a record $2.88 million, showing no signs of the Mantle mania slowing down. His 1951 Bowman and 1953 Topps rookie cards follow closely behind as absolute pinnacles in the vintage market.
Other transcendent stars whose early career cards ignite tremendous buzz include Ken Griffey Jr, Albert Pujols, Bryce Harper and more recently Juan Soto. The Griffey cards tend to center around his esteemed 1989 Upper Deck rookie which has changed hands for as much as $350,000 in high-grade. Pujols’ 2001 Bowman Chrome and Topps Chrome rookie refractor parallel from the same year are also perennial favorites. Meanwhile, Harper’s 2010 Bowman Chrome Prospect card showed renewed strength in 2022 as he hit new career highs with the Phillies.
When it comes to entire sets rather than single cards, the most iconic remains the flagship 1987 Topps set largely due to the chase for the elusive Nolan Ryan Express Poster subset. The high-grade full sets routinely crack six figures, with unopened wax boxes reaching astronomical numbers like the one that sold for $480,000 in late 2021. Similarly, 2009 Topps Tweet Set boxes including short print cards of players Tweeting have gained immense popularity thanks to viral social media coverage that’s breathing new life into the modern classic.
The rise of premium modern sets from Topps like Finest, Chrome, and Prizm have also boosted several star rookies as new darling “investments” for collectors. Many of those same young guns discussed earlier like Ohtani, Tatis Jr, Soto, Acuna Jr. etc. command premiums in their various parallels, autographs and 1/1 printing plates from products in recent years. These include standouts like Ohtani’s 2018 Topps Chrome Yellow Refractor Prizm rookie which topped $15,000.
Several factors have contributed to the surging interest and prices in the baseball card market in 2022 and beyond. Increased liquidity in the economy, integration of cards as a mainstream hobby again, renewed fascination with nostalgia and documenting stories/records has reopened the vintage floodgates. Simultaneously, cards are now being viewed as both collectibles and potential investments – something previously isolated to other physical/digital asset classes. This has attracted many new collectors willing to spend big to land their favorites.
As long as the games greatest icons of both past and present continue producing memorable seasons alongside the next wave of budding stars, their corresponding cards figure to remain prevalent in the obsessive discussions around the hobby’s most coveted cardboard. It’s an endlessly fascinating outlet for connecting to baseball, its history and the intense fandom surrounding superstar players both established and emerging. With no signs of the industry slowing, 2022 shapes up to be another bumper year for the most prized cards to change hands at eye-watering sums.
