Panini America has long been one of the top licensed sports card manufacturers in the industry and their 2022 baseball card releases were no exception. With rights to create cards for Major League Baseball, Panini delivered another high quality set for collectors to enjoy.
Their flagship release was the 2022 Panini Diamond Kings baseball card set. The Diamond Kings set has become a fan favorite in recent years thanks to its high-end photography and focus on today’s biggest stars. For the 2022 version, collectors could find cards of superstars like Shohei Ohtani, Fernando Tatis Jr., Ronald Acuña Jr., and Juan Soto adorned with gorgeous action shots on a textured diamond-patterned backdrop. There were also parallels like Emerald, Ruby, and more to find that added to the visual allure.
In total, the 2022 Diamond Kings set featured 324 base cards along with variations, parallels, and inserts. Some of the more desirable inserts included Diamond Hits, which featured borderless cards on a diamond-shaped window to maximize the photography. Diamond Vision cards also spotlighted unique action shots through a diamond-cut frame. For rookie card collectors, top prospects like Bobby Witt Jr. and Julio Rodríguez had their first MLB licensed cards in this set as well.
To mark a player’s achievements, Panini also included category leaders in the Diamond Kings set. For example, cards highlighted Shohei Ohtani’s stats as the home run and stolen base leader from 2021. Accolades inserts also recognized individual honors like the Rookie of the Year and MVP awards. Numbered parallels like Emerald (/25) and Ruby (/10) versions added even more incentive for collectors to search packs. The 2022 Diamond Kings set showed why it has become a premier modern baseball card product year after year.
Besides Diamond Kings, Panini also released several other baseball sets in 2022 to appeal to a wide range of collector budgets and interests. This included the more affordable Donruss baseball brand. For Donruss, Panini delivered the 2022 Donruss Baseball set as well as a 2022 Donruss Baseball Optic product with refractor parallels on striking card designs. Both Donruss sets featured the same players as Diamond Kings but at lower pack and box costs to make the cards more accessible.
Another mid-tier Panini set was 2022 Illusions baseball. Known for its imaginative prismatic photography, Illusions featured creative card designs that made stars like Ronald Acuña Jr. literally glow on the page. Parallels like Black, Gold, and Prismatic versions added several striking card variants. Illusions was also notable in 2022 for including the highly-coveted 1-of-1 Parallel cards that were hand-numbered and matched to box serial numbers for true rarity.
Panini also had releases targeting value and memorabilia collectors. The 2022 Allen & Ginter’s Worldwide Classics baseball card set blended classic designs with varied insert sets at affordable prices. It paid homage to the early days of the hobby while still spotlighting current MLB players. For relic collectors, Panini offered the 2022 Diamond Icons baseball set featuring uniform and memorabilia swatches of legendary players old and new.
Lastly, one of Panini’s most unique offerings was the 2022 Donruss Football x Baseball crossover product. It merged the sporting worlds by putting baseball players in creative football-inspired photoshoot settings and uniforms. Stars like Fernando Tatis Jr. and Mike Trout got to flex their gridiron skills through fun concept photography that captivated collectors. Numbered parallels like Green Foil (/99) versions made the crossover concept cards even more compelling chasing subsets.
In summary, Panini built upon their success with another stellar year of MLB releases in 2022. From their flagship Diamond Kings down to value sets like Donruss and Allen & Ginter’s, they truly had something for every baseball card enthusiast. With the combination of amazing photography, sharp designs, special parallels and inserts, it’s no wonder Panini baseball continues gaining legions of loyal collectors year after year. Their diverse offering of MLB properties ensures there will be plenty for fans to enjoy well into the future.
