Topps Update baseball cards are one of the most anticipated card releases each year from hobby giants Topps. The 2022 Update series continues the tradition of providing fans the latest rookies, prospects, award winners, and major season performances in shining cardboard form.
Released toward the end of each baseball season in September/October, Topps Update cards capture all the exciting action fans have seen unfold over the months. Whether it’s rookie call-ups, award-winning seasons, milestone achievements, or trades and signing happenings – if it made headlines in 2022, it’s getting the cardboard treatment in this year’s Update set.
With the 2022 regular season now wrapped up, hobbyists and collectors are eagerly anticipating getting their hands on this release to add the year’s standouts to their collections. Here’s a more in-depth look at some of what fans can expect to find in the 2022 Topps UpdateSeries baseball cards:
Rookies and Debuts
The rookie class of 2022 included many impact players like AL ROTY favourite Julio Rodriguez of the Mariners and NL ROTY frontrunner Michael Harris II of the Braves. Expect base and parallel rookie cards for breakout first year stars like Rodriguez, Harris, Reds pitcher Hunter Greene, Giants outfielder Heliot Ramos and more. The set also marks the card debuts of 2022 midseason call-ups like Oneil Cruz of the Pirates and Bobby Witt Jr of the Royals.
Award Winners
Heading into the postseason, many individual award races were still heated competitions. Topps Update will include updated base cards featuring the 2022 season stats and accomplishments of players who ended up taking home hardware like MVP, Cy Young and Silver Slugger awards. Fans will be able to collect the official cardboard recognition of players like Shohei Ohtani, Justin Verlander and Manny Machado for their award-winning 2022 campaigns.
Season Stat Leaders
The stat leaderboards saw plenty of movement throughout the long MLB season. Update caps off the year by highlighting the players who finished at the top in various categories with special stat leader parallel inserts. Fans will find cards saluting the leaders in home runs, RBI’s, wins, ERA and more statistical pillars of the game’s best individual seasons.
Traded and Signed Players
A flurry of trades and free agent signings occurred leading up to and after the August 2nd deadline. Update seizes the opportunity to provide the first Topps cards depicting players in their new uniforms post-move. Examples include Juan Soto and Josh Bell as Padres, Luis Castillo as a Mariner after his deadline deal and high profile free agent signings like Aaron Judge as a Yankee and Xander Bogaerts as a Padre.
Memorable Moments and Milestones
The set pays tribute to some of the biggest and most record-breaking performances of the season through special parallel and framed milestone/moment cards. Examples include Cards’ Albert Pujols hitting his 700th career home run, Judge’s pursuit of Roger Maris’ AL single season home run record and Card’s star Yadier Molina playing in his final big league game after a Hall of Fame worthy career.
Prospects and Future Stars
While focused on the current MLB season, Update also takes a glance toward the future by including some of the game’s most promising prospects. Sets in recent years began including the likes of Wander Franco and Bobby Witt Jr as top prospects before their jumps to the show. 2022 Update will grant cardboard debuts and updated stats for the elite farmhands working their way up.
Parallels and Insert Variations
Part of what makes Topps Update such an attractive release is the numerous parallels and insert variations collectors can hunt to complement their base sets. Parallel editions in various numberings like Gold, Black, Orange and Green Splash add to the excitement of each pack or box broken. Special themed inserts on milestone stats, postseason performers and legends of the game sprinkle in more hits throughout cases too.
After such a compelling 2022 MLB season provided no shortage of storylines and performances to immortalize, the yearly Topps Update tradition ensures the hobby has a fitting way to commemorate it all in players’ on-card final 2022 stats. As one of the final major baseball card releases before turning the calendar to the 2023 season, Topps Update hits that sweet spot of wrapping up the past year while also teasing the future all in one coveted product. Between all the exciting rookies, award chase outcomes and late-season movers, the 2022 edition is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated Installments yet when it arrives on hobby store shelves this fall.
