The 2022 Topps baseball card series 1 checklist was released on February 9th, 2022 and contains a wide variety of rookie cards, star players, and rookie debut cards for the upcoming MLB season. This flagship set from Topps contains several chase cards that collectors will be hunting for throughout the release period.
Some of the key highlights of the 2022 Topps baseball series 1 checklist include big rookie debut cards for Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals and Julio Rodriguez of the Seattle Mariners. Both are considered two of the top prospects in all of baseball and their rookie cards in this set are expected to be extremely popular with collectors. Jeremy De La Rosa of the Arizona Diamondbacks also has his official Topps rookie card in this set, along with a wide range of other rookie debut cards.
Veteran stars featured prominently on the checklist include cover athlete Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres, Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Atlanta Braves, and Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals. All of these players are recent All-Stars and among the faces of MLB, so their base cards and any parallels or short prints will be highly sought after.
Rookie debut refractors are also present for some of the top prospects like Witt Jr., Rodriguez, and De La Rosa. These refractors have a colored refractive effect on the front of the card and are serially numbered to only /499 copies, making them quite scarce and valuable pieces for collectors. Gold label parallel versions of stars like Tatis Jr. and Acuña Jr. are also sprinkled into packs, with a bright gold foil label and numbering of /2021 to commemorate Topps’ 2021 release.
An interesting special card in this year’s series 1 checklist is a dual rookie debut of Ronny Mauricio and Francisco Álvarez of the New York Mets organization. Both are top 100 prospects and this dual card acknowledges their status as two of the brightest young talents in the Mets’ deep farm system. Additional special cards pay tribute to the 75th anniversaries of Jackie Robinson breaking the MLB color barrier and the inaugural 1947 Topps set.
On the trading card side, collectors can find base paper cards, foil variants, refractors, and autographed memorabilia cards. Numbered parallels like Gold Foil (/2021), Black (/499), Platinum (/125), and 1-of-1 White are some of the most limited inserts available. Fan favorite insert sets also return like Photo Finishes, Topps Now (featuring timely event cards), Ledger (retro design), and Stadium Club (premium stock photo cards) among many others.
Packaging for 2022 Topps series 1 includes the traditional wax packs as well as specialty releases. Hobby boxes contain 12 packs with 18 cards apiece while Jumbo boxes feature 24 packs with 10 cards each for a total of 240 total cards. Retail blasters, hangers, and fat packs give casual collectors access to the set at affordable price points as well. Mega and jumbo boxes can yield autograph and memorabilia cards for those after chase hits.
The 2022 Topps flagship baseball card series 1 checklist kicks off the annual Topps card cycle with over 700 base cards highlighting this year’s MLB stars, rookies, and key prospects. With a variety of parallels, inserts, and short prints to find, it promises to be another exciting release for collectors as the anticipation builds for the upcoming season. The official start of the new year for baseball cards is here with this checklist serving as a guide to the top cards to look out for from packs in the weeks ahead.
