Baseball cards have been a beloved collectible for decades, allowing fans to own a piece of their favorite players and teams. The 2022 season saw new stars emerge and old favorites continue excelling, so this year’s baseball card releases contained many exciting rookie cards and big name veterans. The select brands like Topps, Bowman, and Panini offered collectors a wide array of products to chase their wish list cards. Let’s take a closer look at some of the top baseball cards from select 2022 releases.
Topps is the longest running and most iconic baseball card company, and their 2022 offerings as usual contained the true rookie cards for many of the year’s top prospects. One of the most sought-after was Adley Rutschman’s prizm rookie card. As the top pick in the 2019 draft and number one overall prospect, expectations were immense for Rutschman as he debuted with the Orioles. He didn’t disappoint, showing why he’s considered a future star at the catcher position. His Topps Chrome Prizm rookie rocketed up value lists and became a must-own for Orioles PC collectors.
Another hyped Topps rookie was Julio Rodriguez’s paper base card. Rodriguez emerged as one of 2022’s biggest breakout stars, slashing his way to the AL Rookie of the Year award with the Mariners. His prospect pedigree and electric play made his Topps rookie a centerpiece for many Mariners collections. Bobby Witt Jr’s Topps Chrome Prizm rookie also gained steam, as the uber-hyped Royals prospect brought excitement back to Kansas City with his debut. These three rookies all look poised for stardom and their flagship Topps cards are sure to gain value as their careers progress.
While Topps owns the true MLB rookies, Panini’s licenses with the MLBPA allow them to use players’ names and images a year earlier in their Bowman Draft and Prospects sets. This gives them access to a player’s first photo in a major card before they join an MLB team. In 2022, Druw Jones absolutely exploded onto the scene as one of the most hyped prospects in recent memory following his second overall selection in the draft by the Diamondbacks. His Bowman 1st Chrome Purple Refractor /150 parallel rocketed up as collectors scrambled to acquire the first card showing Jones in a Diamondbacks uniform before his pro debut.
Panini also captured several other top prospects like Brooks Lee in their 2022 Bowman sets. As the 8th overall pick by the Twins, Lee had great pedigree and his Bowman Chrome Autograph Purple Refractor /250 became a hot ticket. Jackson Holliday, the #1 overall pick in 2022 by the Orioles, also found early interest in his Bowman cards. While still amateurs, prospects like Jones, Lee, and Holliday generated major buzz that carried over to robust early card values as collectors look to get in early before their inevitable rises up prospect rankings.
Some veterans also saw career years that boosted interest in high-end vintage cards from the years prior. For example, Shohei Ohtani’s incredible two-way performances of 2022 sparked renewed collector attention to his early BBM Japanese baseball cards from before he came to MLB. High-grade versions of his colorful BBM rookie cards climbed steadily. Similarly, Aaron Judge’s chase of the AL single season home run record headlines brought the spotlight back to his Topps Chrome and Bowman Chrome rookie cards from 2013 as collectors looked to commemorate his rise to stardom. Pristine PSA 10 examples of these Judge rookies jumped up secondary market pricing.
The 2022 season also featured breakout campaigns from players like Julio Rodriguez that gave collectors new PC centers to focus on. For example, Rodriguez mania led to heightened demand for his 2019 Bowman Chrome Autograph Refractor rookie, which became a cornerstone for growing Mariners collections. Similarly, Bobby Witt Jr fever drove up his 2019 Bowman Paper Base Autograph rookie as fans looked to get in early. These examples show how a star-making season can provide PC building blocks for years to come in a player’s earliest cards. With so many new emerging talents, the 2022 card year provided options for collectors at every interest level.
The 2022 season gave the baseball card hobby many new and continuing storylines to follow. Rookies like Rutschman, Rodriguez, and Witt established themselves as future stars, while veterans like Ohtani and Judge cemented their place among the game’s elites. The card companies captured these moments for collectors through releases like Topps Chrome, Bowman Chrome, and BBM. With prospects like Jones, Lee, and Holliday also generating buzz, the 2022 crop of cards provided building blocks for collections young and old. It was an exciting year to be involved in the hobby, and these select cards from the season are sure to retain their value for dedicated collectors in the years to come.
