Topps baseball cards are one of the most iconic and popular collectibles in the sports card hobby. Each year, Target eagerly awaits and stocks the latest Topps baseball card releases, attempting to meet growing consumer demand. 2022 proved to be another memorable year for both Topps and Target as they teamed up to deliver new and exciting baseball card products to the market.
In January and February of 2022, Topps began previewing some of its flagship baseball card products scheduled for release throughout the upcoming season. This included revealing initial designs and release plans for its two staple sets – Topps Series 1 and Topps Series 2. As in past years, Topps Series 1 baseball cards were planned for wide distribution beginning in early March to coincide with the start of spring training and the upcoming MLB regular season. Given the pandemic has further fueled interest in the hobby over the last two years, anticipating increased sales volume, Target made Series 1 one of its focal baseball card releases of the year.
Beginning in late February, Target stocked Series 1 baseball cards in its stores and added online listings to accommodate all consumers. With a standard 132-card base set featuring the latest photos of players from all 30 MLB franchises plus additional inserts, parallels and rookie cards, Series 1 packs, boxes and blasters flew off shelves for weeks after hitting retail. Due to higher allocations from Topps and prudent staggering of inventory by Target to sustain interest, the 2022 Topps Series 1 release was largely available nationwide for an extended period – marking one of the most accessible and findable versions of the annual set in years. Many collectors who previously struggled to find Series 1 in stores could now easily complete their sets by checking multiple Target locations.
As Spring turned to Summer, Topps began teasing its 2022 Topps Heritage release, a retro-styled set honoring the designs and aesthetics of baseball cards from the late 1960s. Topps Heritage had developed quite a dedicated following in recent years given its throwback designs on current players. Anticipating strong demand, Target once again made Topps Heritage a highly stocked release. When Heritage officially arrived in-stores in June, Target carried all of the major Heritage products from blasters to jumbo boxes. With steady restocks happening each week for months, Heritage ended up being one of the most fruitful releases at Target all season regarding availability and finding sought-after rookie cards, autographed parallels and more within Heritage packs.
While Series 1 and Heritage remained steadily on Target’s shelves all spring and summer, the biggest planned release of 2022 was nonetheless still to come – Topps Allen & Ginter. Despite not featuring MLB players but rather various athletes, entertainers and historical figures on its eclectic cards, Allen & Ginter had gained major buzz in the collecting community over the previous few years due to its fun, unique designs and increased chances of valuable autograph and memorabilia cards within its packs and boxes. Knowing Allen & Ginter’s rising popularity, Topps and Target alike were determined to make the 2022 version their most accessible ever beginning in late July and through August when A&G officially launched. Target carried all A&G product tiers from packs to jumbo box cases and allocated immense amounts based on surging demand.
As seen with other 2022 Topps baseball card releases at Target, Allen & Ginter proved to be one of the most findable and available versions of the set to date. Weeks after initially stocking shelves, Target locations across the country still held solid stock of Allen & Ginter to satisfy collectors still seeking to complete their sets or take chances at hitting lucrative serial numbered autographs. Beyond the flagship products, Target additionally carried many of Topps’ smaller baseball card sets throughout 2022 such as Archives, Diamond Kings and Opening Day among others, ensuring a wide array of options for all collector budgets and interests during the season.
2022 wound up being a uniquely successful year for Topps baseball card availability through Target due to prudent planning and logistics between the brands. For collectors, finding the latest Topps releases in stores became markedly easier compared to the frenzied situation of recent years surrounding other popular sports card products. With quantities in stock often lasting a couple months compared to just weeks before, Target locations throughout much of the United States transitioned from being spots where it was difficult to find any Topps cards to reliable spots where collectors could almost always plan to walk in and buy a pack or complete a desired base set if desired. While product demand remains as strong as ever, Topps and Target showed in 2022 what coordinated mass distribution can accomplish – greater accessibility and collecting experiences for sports card collectors of all types at the world’s leading big box retailer. With another baseball season and new Topps releases on the horizon in 2023, Target figures to remain a staple stockist for the hobby.
