The baseball card market saw huge growth in 2022 as interest and prices skyrocketed across the industry. Rookie cards of current stars like Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuña Jr. led the way, but vintage cards also broke records. Iconic pieces from legends like Mickey Mantle and Ken Griffey Jr. shattered estimates as new collectors entered the space.
Leading the way was a 1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner card that sold for $6.6 million in a private sale in January 2022. The iconic Wagner is the rarest and most coveted baseball card in existence due to the strict limitations placed on its production over 100 years ago. Fewer than 50 examples are said to still exist in collectors’ hands today. This sale shattered the previous record amount paid for any card, cementing the Wagner as officially the most valuable trading card of all time.
Not far behind was a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle in near mint condition that went for $5.2 million at auction in August 2022. The Mantle is one of the most historically significant cards ever produced due to his legendary playing career and the card’s excellent state of preservation over 70 years. The photo used is widely considered one of the cleanest and most iconic in the history of the hobby. Thisexamplesurpassed the all-time auction record by over $1 million, furthershowing the strength of the high-end vintage card market.
Modern rookies also dominated money lists in 2022. Most notably, a 2020 Bowman Chrome prospect autograph card of Shohei Ohtani sold for $3.9 million in August. As the reigning AL MVP and a true five-tool star, interest in Ohtani’s rookie cards reached a new level. His career is just getting started and collectors are paying up big for a chance to own a critical piece of what could become one of the game’s all-time great careers.
Not far behind was a 2018 Bowman Sterling Ronald Acuña Jr. prospect autograph that brought $3.12 million at auction in January 2022. Like Ohtani, Acuña has established himself as a true superstar in the game today still early in his career. That potential for future Hall of Fame-caliber production combined with his explosiveness on the field has heightened demand for his best low-numbered prospect cards from just a few years ago.
The $3+ million sales of Ohtani and Acuña cards show that modern investors are willing to risk big money betting on today’s young talents to achieve the iconic status of players from the past. Both players have all the tools to join the ranks of superstars collectors clamor over for decades to come like Mantle, Wagner and Griffey. The massive prices paid are a testament to their popularity amongst today’s new generation of wealthy card collectors.
Ken Griffey Jr. cards also had an incredible year with several of his best rookie cards setting new records. Most notably, his upper-tier 1989 Bowman rookie card, widely considered the most iconic in the modern era, sold for over $3.9 million in a private sale. The Griffey rookie defined the 1990s for a whole generation of collectors and retains an incredibly strong cultural significance decades later. For many collectors, owning this card is a prestigious trophy piece as much as an investment.
Another Griffey rookie, the more accessible 1989 Upper Deck, had one of its highest graded examples sell for $686,111 at Goldin Auctions in August 2022. While not quite reaching the prices of modern titans Ohtani or Acuña, these massive eight-figure Griffey rookie sales show that his cards remain blue-chip investments arguably unrivaled in collectibility decades after his playing career.
2022 also saw huge sums paid for star prospects on the verge of their MLB debuts. Shortstop Jackson Jobe, selected #3 overall in the 2021 MLB Draft by the Detroit Tigers, had two of his 2021 Bowman Draft autographs sell on the Goldin auction house for over $100,000 each in January 2022. As the highest-drafted high school pitching prospect of the last decade, it’s clear collectors were impressed by his potential and rushed to buy into his early cards.
Cal Poly star Brooks Lee, selected 8th overall by the Minnesota Twins in 2022, had one of his 2021 Bowman Draft autographs sell for $83,333 on eBay immediately after the draft. With Lee’s outstanding college stats and hype leading up to the draft, it was no surprise collectors pounced on his low-printed prospect card the moment he was drafted by a major league club. Deals like this show how far in advance investors are getting into top prospects nowadays based purely on scouting evaluations, before they ever reach the minors.
While premium vintage and stars of today drove enormous sums, some under-the-radar bargain deals were had as well in 2022’s frothy market environment. A 1919 Boston Braves ‘error card’ featuring manager Judge Quinn with the Red Sox logo misprinted on it sold for $125,000. The uncommon error and vintage significance drew major attention from an untapped area of the market.
To sum it up, 2022 was truly a breakout year for the entire sports card market. Heightened interest from new collectors coupled with mainstream media coverage brought unprecedented investment money that blew through every previous record. Iconic pieces like the Mantle and Wagner cemented their status as the blue-chip investments of the industry, while modern stars like Ohtani and Acuña demonstrated they have the potential to eventually join those ranks. Prospect dealing reached new levels of aggressiveness as investors rush to get in on the next generation. It was the year that showed the entire industry has graduated to a new level of serious big-money dealings.
