The 2022 season was an exciting one for the Chicago White Sox and their fans. After making the playoffs in 2020 and 2021, there was hope that this year the team could take the next step and make a deep postseason run. While they ultimately fell short of winning the World Series, there were many remarkable individual performances that baseball card collectors took note of.
Top rookies like Luis Robert, Andrew Vaughn, and Michael Kopech continued developing into key contributors. Robert in particular had an All-Star caliber season, slashing .301/.339/.496 with 12 home runs and 56 RBI in 122 games. His success translated to him being one of the most sought after rookie cards on the market in 2022 releases from Topps, Bowman, and Panini. Likewise, Vaughn emerged as the everyday first baseman and hit 15 home runs while batting .271 in his first full MLB season. Kopech made the transition to being a full-time starter and showed why his talent and potential made him such a highly rated prospect, with a 3.25 ERA and striking out 100 batters in 112.2 innings pitched.
On the veteran side, shortstop Tim Anderson once again proved why he is the face of the franchise. In earning his second career All-Star selection, Anderson led the AL with a .335 batting average to capture a batting title for the second time. His impressive season revived interest in his cards from past years as collectors looked to add a batting champ to their collections. First baseman José Abreu continued his consistent production with 15 home runs and 75 RBI in 122 games played while batting .304 at age 36. Third baseman Yoán Moncada also bounced back from an injury plagued 2021 with 15 home runs, 62 RBI and a .248/.320/.428 slash line over 130 games.
But perhaps no White Sox player had a bigger breakout year than center fielder Luis Robert. After an injury limited 2020 rookie campaign and issues with consistency in 2021, Robert put it all together in 2022. He was selected to his first career All-Star team after hitting .301 with 12 home runs and 56 RBI before the break. Robert continued his stellar play in the second half by winning the Gold Glove for centerfield defense and slamming 11 more home runs. He finished with a career high in almost every major offensive category including batting average, slugging percentage, and OPS.
Newcomers like catcher Seby Zavala and pitchers Davis Martin and Johnny Cueto also popped in limited roles to generate buzz among card collectors. Zavala made his MLB debut at age 28 and delivered clutch hits in key moments to carve out playing time behind Yasmani Grandal. His rookie cards became hot sellers on the secondary market. Martin made 7 starts after being called up in August and impressed with a 3.95 ERA over 40.2 innings pitched to raise interest in his rookie cards. Cueto, in his first year with the White Sox at age 36, still had some magic left by going 7-9 with a 3.35 ERA in 26 starts.
While the pitching staff featured more ups and downs, Dylan Cease emerged as the ace. In his first season as a full-time starter, Cease struck out 230 batters over 174.2 innings and posted a 2.20 ERA at home to earn himself All-Star and Silver Slugger honors. He increased his trade value and the value of any cards from 2022 enormously with his breakout season. Relievers like Kendall Graveman, Joe Kelly, and Liam Hendriks handled the late innings with Graveman thriving as the closer after a midseason trade from Seattle.
When it came to baseball cards from 2022 White Sox releases, the top rookies and breakout players like Robert, Vaughn, Kopech, Cease, and Zavala among others were the most sought after by collectors. Parallels, autographs, and memorabilia cards featuring these young talents commanded large price tags on the secondary market. For veteran standouts like Anderson, Abreu, Moncada, and Cueto, collectors looked to prior years to add to their PC collections of franchise cornerstones. Even with an underwhelming postseason result, there were inspiring individual stories and rookie cards generated from the 2022 White Sox season that collectors appreciated for years to come.
While the championship expectations were not met, the 2022 Chicago White Sox still provided plenty of storylines that translated well to the baseball card hobby. Young stars like Robert and Cease taking the next steps in their development made for highly valuable rookie cards. Breakout contributors helped generate renewed interest in the franchise and its longtime veteran leaders. There remains optimism that these building blocks can help the team get over the playoff hump in 2023, which would surely increase enthusiasm from both White Sox fans and collectors.
