The release of 2022 Topps baseball cards marked another highly anticipated release from the iconic trading card company. Since founding in 1938, Topps has established itself as the premier brand in the sports card industry and release of its annual baseball card set is always a major event. While retail prices for packs and boxes of 2022 Topps cards remained fairly stable compared to 2021, the potential value and secondary market prices for some of the top rookie cards, parallels, and autographed or memorabilia cards skyrocketed.
Two of the biggest rookie sensations in baseball from the 2021 season were Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco and Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez. Both players had incredible debut campaigns that saw them finish near the top of rookie of the year voting in their respective leagues. Not surprisingly, their rookie cards from 2022 Topps became two of the most in-demand and valuable in the set. Franco’s base rookie card quickly settled at a minimum value of $100-150 through the early release period of 2022 Topps as collectors scrambled to obtain this prized rookie. His most coveted parallels like the rainbow foil and gold refractor rookie jumped even higher in secondary market value, commanding $500-1000 or more per card.
Julio Rodriguez’s base rookie settled just below Franco’s at $75-100 minimum but his parallels climbed at a similar rate. The Rodriguez hype grew as he led the Mariners back to the playoffs for the first time in over 20 years and won the AL rookie of the year award. By the holidays as Rodriguezmania was in full effect, even his base rookie jumped up to $150-200 minimum value. Top graded versions of the Franco and Rodriguez rookies in Gem Mint 10 condition out of PSA were bringing $5,000+ each online. Other emerging rookie stars like Cincinnati’s Jonathan India and Houston’s Jose Altuve also saw their 2022 Topps rookies valued around the $50-75 range through the end of the year.
Veteran superstars carried similarly high values, even on their base cards. Cover athlete and defending NL MVP Bryce Harper led the way with his base card valued at $25-50 minimum. Fellow cover athletes Shohei Ohtani and Fernando Tatis Jr. also commanded $15-30 for their base cards as two of the game’s biggest stars and fan favorites. Veteran hobby standouts like Mike Trout, Ronald Acuna Jr., Mookie Betts all held $10-20 minimum values on their base cards as well. Lower print run short prints or parallels of these elite vets easily jumped into the $100-500+ range too. Top graded rookies and stars in PSA 10 slabs were bringing multiple thousands on the auction block at year’s end as well.
High-profile retirements also drove card values up. Iconic players like Albert Pujols, Clayton Kershaw, and Ryan Zimmerman all enjoyed a final surge of interest upon retiring, with Pujols in particular seeing high demand. His 2021 Topps base card eclipsed $100 as collectors sought his last rookie card issue before retirement. Kershaw and Zimmerman’s key rookie cards from previous Topps sets were also in high demand and increased in value in late 2022. The 2022 Topps set paid tribute to these retirees with special insert cards that also found popularity amongst collectors looking to commemorate their careers.
Personalized and autographed cards held top dollar values across the entire 2022 Topps release. Box toppers, memorabilia cards, and 1/1 printing plates captivated collectors willing to spend thousands. 1st edition boxes offered a chance at rare Superfractor parallels signed by stars like Harper, Tatis Jr. and Acuna Jr. Baseball’s breakout phenoms like Franco and Rodriguez saw their earliest Topps autographs commanding $500-1000 each based just on name recognition alone before ever taking a major league at-bat. Top rookie autographs rose even higher reaching the low five-figure range by year’s end as their success continued.
The 2022 Topps set contained over 700 total cards making it one of the largest releases in modern years. While base cards under $20-50 made up much of the checklist, there were plenty of short prints, variations, parallels and high-ends to discover that drove secondary values well above initial MSRP costs. With another exciting rookie class like Adley Rutschman joining young talents cementing their stardom in 2023, the values associated with 2022 Topps releases are poised to rise further still for years to come as these players’ careers progress. Constant fluctuations in the baseball card and collectibles market will determine ultimate profitability, but the 2022 Topps Baseball release proved once more to reinvigorate the hobby.
