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The Topps 2022 Series 1 Review

As the 2021 season reaches its later stages, it is time for the Topps 2022 Series 1 review. Next year’s release brings a new iteration of Topps flagship release. It includes a fresh new design and a strong rookie class to boot.

We expect 2022 Topps to be released on February 9th, 2022.

After the news that Fanatics is taking over the production of licensed baseball cards starting in 2025, we know that this is one of the last releases of the flagship series in its traditional format. That makes this set an essential element in the Topps legacy.

Topps 2022 Series 1 Review Of The Design

After a very busy design in 2021, Topps is rolling with a more minimal design similar to recent Bowman designs. The borders maintain the spirit of the 2021 flagship, with a full border around the card.

Topps has removed all of the diagonals that plagued the 2021 design and made the nameplate significantly easier to read. All relevant information about a player can be found clearly at the bottom of the card, with the rookie card designation in the top right.

The bottom left is occupied by a partial baseball that connects to the team-colored border around the action shot. Unfortunately, Topps has not revealed the back of the card yet, so we will have to wait before forming opinions. Nonetheless, the reaction by collectors has mainly been positive.

The Bowman-inspired design for Topps 2022 Flagship is getting a good reaction so far (picture from Blowout Forums).

Topps 2022 Series 1 Review Of The Checklist 

The checklist for Series 1 will include 330 players, as it did last year. Series 2 will have the exact same number of base cards. That is down from 350 in 2020.

Here is the full base checklist:

1 Shohei Ohtani
2 Craig Kimbrel
3 Huascar Ynoa
4 Travis d’Arnaud
5 Rougned Odor
6 Jazz Chisholm Jr. – Future Stars
7 Bobby Dalbec – Future Stars
8 Xander Bogaerts
9 Elieser Hernandez
10 Archie Bradley
11 Jesus Luzardo
12 Gavin Sheets RC
13 Freddy Peralta
14 Amed Rosario
15 Jose Iglesias
16 Tommy Pham
17 Gregory Soto
18 Emmanuel Rivera RC
19 Brian Anderson
20 Jake Cousins RC
21 Shane Bieber
22 Bryan De La Cruz RC
23 Gio Urshela
24 Trevor Rogers – Rookie Cup
25 Vidal Brujan RC
26 Devin Williams
27 Mike Trout
28 Cesar Hernandez
29 Jose Berrios
30 Kyle Muller RC
31 Matt Manning RC
32 Taylor Rogers
33 Danny Jansen
34 Adam Wainwright
35 Gerrit Cole
36 Jorge Alfaro
37 Michael Conforto
38 Mason Thompson RC
39 Andrew Miller
40 David Price
41 Clayton Kershaw
42 Mitch Moreland
43 Josiah Gray RC
44 Didi Gregorius
45 Sonny Gray
46 Raimel Tapia
47 Alex Reyes
48 Vladimir Guerrero Jr./ Salvador Perez / Shohei Ohtani – LL: AL Home Runs
49 Brett Gardner
50 Mookie Betts
51 Zack Greinke
52 Greg Holland
53 Hanser Alberto
54 Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
55 Robbie Grossman
56 Ke’Bryan Hayes – Future Stars
57 Kyle Gibson
58 Lars Nootbaar RC
59 Trea Turner / Juan Soto / Bryce Harper – LL: NL Batting Average
60 Mike Moustakas
61 Jakson Reetz RC
62 Luke Williams RC
63 Christian Vazquez
64 Tim Anderson
65 Austin Hedges
66 Connor Wong RC
67 Freddy Galvis
68 Alex Bregman
69 Corey Kluber
70 Ryan Weathers
71 Ernie Clement RC
72 Pedro Severino
73 Johnny Cueto
74 Merrill Kelly
75 Christian Walker
76 Nicky Lopez
77 Josh Naylor
78 Aaron Ashby RC
79 Trey Mancini
80 Mitch Haniger
81 Jesse Winker
82 Charlie Morton
83 Will Smith
84 Jose Abreu
85 Rodolfo Castro RC
86 Kris Bryant
87 Nolan Arenado
88 Travis Shaw
89 Jorge Mateo
90 Enrique Hernandez
91 Kyle Seager
92 Avisail Garcia
93 Isiah Kiner-Falefa
94 Cedric Mullins
95 Chad Pinder
96 Cincinnati Reds – Team Card
97 Curtis Terry RC
98 Francisco Lindor – Combo Card
99 Aaron Judge
100 Fernando Tatis Jr.
101 Clint Frazier
102 Ian Kennedy
103 Mike Yastrzemksi
104 Nelson Cruz
105 Julio Urias / Adam Wainwright / Walker Buehler – LL: NL Wins
106 Pavin Smith
107 Luis Robert
108 Zach Pop RC
109 Toronto Blue Jays – Team Card
110 Yordan Alvarez – Combo Card
111 Tony Santillan RC
112 Marco Gonzales
113 Brock Holt
114 Tony Kemp
115 Austin Riley
116 Alcides Escobar
117 Brandon Crawford
118 Alex Wells RC
119 Gleyber Torres – Combo Card
120 Andrew Vaughn – Future Stars
121 New York Yankees – Team Card
122 Shohei Ohtani – Combo Card
123 Miguel Sano
124 San Diego Padres – Team Card
125 Fernando Tatis Jr. – Combo Card
126 Bo Bichette
127 Zack Wheeler / Max Scherzer / Corbin Burnes – LL: NL Strikeouts
128 Matthew Boyd
129 Max Fried
130 Tyler Gilbert RC
131 Luis Gil RC
132 Ryan McMahon
133 Zac Lowther RC
134 Tylor Megill RC
135 Chas McCormick RC
136 Houston Astros – Team Card
137 Anthony DeSclafani
138 Robbie Ray / Gerrit Cole / Dylan Cease – LL: AL Strikeouts
139 Omar Narvaez
140 Ivan Castillo RC
141 Yermin Mercedes
142 Aroldis Chapman
143 Ian Happ
144 Arizona Diamondbacks – Team Card
145 Joey Wendle
146 Fernando Tatis Jr. / Adam Duvall / Pete Alonso – LL: NL Home Runs
147 Willson Contreras
148 Zack Short RC
149 Matt Olson
150 Juan Soto
151 Kwang-Hyun Kim
152 Austin Meadows
153 Eddie Rosario
154 Jared Walsh
155 Mike Minor
156 Logan Gilbert – Future Stars
157 Bruce Zimmermann
158 Riley Adams RC
159 Angels – Team Card
160 Anthony Bender RC
161 Jon Gray
162 Spencer Howard
163 Stuart Fairchild RC
164 Atlanta Braves – Team Card
165 Yuli Gurriel/ Michael Brantley / Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – LL: AL Batting Average
166 Patrick Mazeika RC
167 Daniel Bard
168 Kyle Hendricks
169 Kyle Freeland
170 Kevin Pillar
171 Kurt Suzuki
172 Nick Solak
173 Raisel Iglesias
174 Hunter Renfroe
175 Tyler Stephenson – Rookie Cup
176 Matt Chapman
177 Carson Kelly
178 Jean Segura
179 Zach Eflin
180 J.T. Realmuto
181 Adam Duvall / Austin Riley / Ozzie Albies – LL: NL RBI
182 J.D. Martinez
183 Ji-Man Choi
184 Hoy Park RC
185 Justin Dunn
186 Jake Burger RC
187 Jarren Duran RC
188 Ha-Seong Kim
189 Michael Pineda
190 Emmanuel Clase – Rookie Cup
191 Willi Castro
192 Eduardo Rodriguez
193 Dom Nunez
194 Miguel Cabrera
195 Drew Smyly
196 Randy Arozarena – Rookie Cup
197 Alex Kirilloff – Future Stars
198 Jake Rogers
199 Michael Brantley
200 Ronald Acuña Jr.
201 Reid Detmers RC
202 Salvador Perez/ Jose Abreu / Teoscar Hernandez – LL: AL RBI
203 Wade Miley
204 Corbin Burnes / Max Scherzer/ Walker Buehler – LL: NL ERA
205 Yadier Molina
206 Kyle Lewis
207 Eduardo Escobar
208 Jorge Soler
209 Buster Posey
210 Oakland Athletics – Team Card
211 Cristian Javier
212 Martin Perez
213 Jon Lester
214 Jake Arrieta
215 Wander Franco (RC)
216 Kyle Schwarber
217 Eli Morgan RC
218 Washington Nationals – Team Card
219 Salvador Perez
220 Gerardo Parra
221 Max Kepler
222 Colorado Rockies – Team Card
223 Mike Brosseau
224 Martin Maldonado
225 Harrison Bader
226 Josh Donaldson
227 Zach Thompson RC
228 Spencer Turnbull
229 Xander Bogaerts – Combo Card
230 Jonah Heim
231 Ronnie Dawson RC
232 Brendan Rodgers
233 Cristian Pache – Future Stars
234 Garrett Hampson
235 Jarred Kelenic – Future Stars
236 Freddie Freeman
237 Albert Pujols
238 Chris Taylor – Combo Card
239 Garrett Crochet
240 Corbin Burnes
241 Tommy La Stella
242 Anthony Rizzo
243 Brandon Marsh RC
244 Shane McClanahan – Future Stars
245 Whit Merrifield
246 Mauricio Dubon
247 St. Louis Cardinals – Team Card
248 Alek Manoah – Future Stars
249 Zack Wheeler
250 Bryce Harper
251 Mitch Keller
252 Victor Reyes
253 John Means
254 Chris Archer
255 Chicago White Sox – Team Card
256 James McCann
257 Justin Turner
258 Andre Jackson RC
259 Marcus Stroman
260 Trevor Story
261 Framber Valdez
262 Tom Murphy
263 Trey Amburgey RC
264 Jackson Kowar RC
265 Keston Hiura
266 Joe Musgrove
267 Edwin Diaz
268 Liam Hendriks
269 Jose Ramirez
270 Gerritt Cole/ Chris Flexen/ Steven Matz – LL: AL Wins
271 Patrick Wisdom – Rookie Cup
272 Eric Hosmer
273 Luke Weaver
274 Tampa Bay Rays – Team Card
275 Ketel Marte
276 Steven Matz
277 Cal Raleigh RC
278 Jose Altuve
279 Adam Duvall
280 John Gant
281 Sean Manaea
282 Carlos Rodon
283 Robbie Ray/Lance McCullers Jr./Gerrit Cole – LL: AL ERA
284 Yasmani Grandal
285 Ben Gamel
286 Jacob Stallings
287 Andrew Heaney
288 Christian Yelich
289 Nate Pearson
290 Joey Votto
291 Lucas Giolito
292 Kyle Higashioka
293 Mike Foltynewicz
294 Yan Gomes
295 Jake Meyers RC
296 Ryan Zimmerman
297 Hyun-Jin Ryu
298 Drew Ellis RC
299 Julio Urias
300 Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
301 Corey Seager
302 Tyler Glasnow
303 Matt Barnes
304 Adam Frazier
305 Starling Marte
306 Andrelton Simmons
307 Steven Brault
308 Sammy Long RC
309 Yu Darvish
310 Max Scherzer
311 Chris Flexen
312 Taijuan Walker
313 Brady Singer
314 Eugenio Suarez
315 Pete Alonso
316 Matt Vierling RC
317 Colin Moran
318 Josh Reddick
319 Kyle Tucker
320 Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – Combo Card
321 Bryce Harper – Combo Card
322 Joey Gallo
323 Jason Heyward
324 Mike Zunino
325 Max Kranick RC
326 Miami Marlins – Team Card
327 Ty France
328 Keegan Akin
329 Wander Franco – Combo Card
330 Jacob deGrom

Topps 2022 Series 1 Review Of Inserts and Parallels

The base cards for 2022 Topps come in diverse parallels, with 16 available. In addition, jumbo boxes, hobby boxes, and retail packs all have exclusive versions.

Gold Foil parallels will be limited to jumbo boxes. Meanwhile, the black parallels will be limited to both jumbo and hobby boxes. There is also a partial parallel, which is Clear. Clear will be available for 100 cards in the set and is exclusive to hobby boxes. Finally, the Royal Blue parallel will be exclusive to retail packs.

Base Parallels

  • Gold Foil: 1:2 packs (Jumbo)
  • Rainbow Foil: 1:10 packs
  • Royal Blue:  1:10 packs (Retail)
  • Gold: /2022
  • Green Foilboard: /499
  • Orange Foilboard: /399
  • Red Foilboard: /199
  • Vintage Stock: /99
  • Independence Day: /76
  • Black: /70 (Hobby, Jumbo)
  • Mother’s Day Hot Pink: /50
  • Father’s Day Powder Blue: /50
  • Memorial Day Camo: /25
  • Clear: /10 (Partial, Hobby)
  • Platinum: 1/1
  • Printing Plates: 1/1

Printing Plate inserts are 1/1 (get Cody Bellinger Printing Plates inserts on eBay).

Insert Parallels

2022 Topps has a slew of inserts highlighting everything from custom cleats to the hottest upcoming stars. Diamond Greats features 25 baseball legends on a unique shaped card. Flashiest Feet will show off some of the best custom cleats in the game, while Turnin’ Two focuses on the best shortstop and 2nd baseman duos.

Topps also revisits the best offensive players of the 2021 season, with 2021’s Greatest Hits. Welcome to the Show looks at some of the best standouts in MLB history and uses their rookie photos. Meanwhile, Generation Now features the younger stars of the game.

The tradition of revisiting years in Topps’s past continues as they revisit the 1987 Topps design. This insert will be available in the parallels below, as well as a 1/1 Wood parallel. Each insert here will have five parallels, as well as some autographs available.

Insert Parallels

  • Blue
  • Black: /299
  • Gold: /75
  • Red: /10
  • Platinum: 1/1

Two inserts will be available exclusive to retail packs. These are Stars of MLB and the Chrome Stars of MLB, which are both in 1:10 packs. They visit some of the biggest stars in baseball today.

Retail Insert Parallels

Stars of MLB

  • Red: /70
  • Black: /25
  • Platinum: 1/1

Stars of MLB Chrome

  • Red Refractor: /70
  • Black Refractor: /25
  • SuperFractor: 1/1

A brand new insert is coming with 2022 Topps, Salute to The Mick. It will be found in Series 1, Series 2, and Update and include nine cards. As you might guess, this insert celebrates the immortal Mickey Mantle.

Autographs

Topps flagship series features a slew of autograph options, including 1987 Topps Baseball Autographs and Baseball Stars Autographs. In addition to those, collectors will also have the chance to get World Series Champion Autographs, (/50) Postseason Performance Autographs, (/50) Major League Material Autographs, (/50) and Baseball Stars Dual Autographs. (/5)

Each autograph insert has a few parallels available, which are listed below.

Autograph Insert Parallel

1987 Topps Baseball Autographs

  • Black: /199
  • Gold: /50
  • Platinum: 1/1 (Hobby)

Flagship hobby boxes contain platinum 1/1 autos (get Kyle Lewis autos on eBay).

Baseball Stars Autographs

  • Black: /99
  • Gold: /50
  • Red: /25
  • Platinum: 1/1

World Series Champion Autographs

  • Base: /50
  • Red: /25
  • Platinum: 1/1

Postseason Performance Autographs

  • Base: /50
  • Red: /25
  • Platinum: 1/1

Major League Material Autographs

  • Base: /50
  • Red: /25
  • Platinum: 1/1

Relics and Sketch Cards

Relics and memorabilia inserts are available as stand-alone inserts or as variations to some listed above. World Series Champion and Postseason Performance both have October-themed relics and autographed memorabilia cards, available /99 and /50, respectively. 1987 Topps Baseball will also have relics.

Major League Material is a more generic insert with lots of room for memorabilia. In The Name Relics will be exclusive to hobby boxes and feature nameplate letters. A few manufactured relics will also be in 2022 Topps, MLB Medallions, and City Flag Patch.

Sketch cards will be in both hobby and hobby jumbo packs. These cards will all be one of one, as they each feature a unique drawing on them. Also exclusive to the hobby and hobby jumbo packs are the Topps Reverence insert, which will have autographs and patch swatches.

Relic Parallel

World Series Champion Relics

  • Base: /99
  • Red: /25
  • Platinum: 1/1

Postseason Performance Relics

  • Base: /99
  • Red: /25
  • Platinum: 1/1

1987 Topps Baseball Relics

  • Black: /199
  • Gold: /50
  • Red: /25
  • Platinum: 1/1 (Hobby, Jumbo)

Major League Material Relics

  • Black: /199
  • Gold: /50
  • Red: /25
  • Platinum: 1/1 (Hobby, Jumbo)

MLB Logo Medallion

  • Gold: /75
  • Red: /10
  • Autograph: /10
  • Platinum: 1/1

City Flag Patch

  • Black: /299
  • Gold: /75
  • Red: /10
  • Autograph: /10
  • Platinum: 1/1

Autographed Relic Parallels

World Series Champion Auto Relic

  • Base: /50
  • Red: /25
  • Platinum: 1/1

Postseason Performance Auto Relic

  • Base: /50
  • Red: /25
  • Platinum: 1/1

Major League Material Auto

  • Base: /50
  • Red: /25
  • Platinum: 1/1

Major League Material has produced some beautiful cards in the past (look for Luis Robert patch cards on eBay).

Topps Reverence Auto Patch

  • Base: /10
  • Red: /5
  • Platinum: 1/1

Silver Packs

The silver packs promotion continues with 2022 Topps. Each hobby box is guaranteed to have one silver pack, while jumbo boxes contain two. In addition, the packs include exclusive Topps Chrome cards. If past years are any indication, expect the Chrome inserts to feature the 1987 Topps design.

Topps 2022 Series 1 Review Of The Release Formats

Topps will release the 2022 flagship series in all the traditional and time-tested formats. Here are the relevant details.

Hobby Jumbo Box

  • 10 packs
  • 46 cards per pack
  • 6 boxes per case
  • 1 Autograph, 2 Relics, 2 Silver Packs
  • Presells at $200

Hobby Box

  • 24 packs
  • 14 cards per pack
  • 12 boxes per case
  • 1 Autograph or Relic, 1 Silver Pack
  • Presells at $125

Blasters

  • 7 packs
  • 14 cards per pack
  • 8 boxes per case
  • Presells at $25

Hangers

  • 67 cards
  • 8 boxes per lot
  • 8 lots per case
  • 4 retail inserts per box on average
  • Presells at $16

Fat Packs

  • 36 cards per pack
  • 12 packs per lot
  • 2 retail inserts per box on average
  • A lot presells for $85

Retail Box

  • 16 cards per pack
  • 24 packs per box
  • Presells for $90.

Topps 2022 Series 1 Review Of The Rookie Class 

While last year’s rookie class was slightly lacking, 2022 Topps seems to be a significantly stronger class. 2022 is headlined by rookie Wander Franco, who was confirmed as a rookie when Topps revealed the design for the release. But what other youngsters, like Adley Rutschman and Jarred Kelenic, will be joining Franco in 2022?

It seems likely that Jarred Kelnic will be in the 2021 Topps Update release, not joining Franco in 2022. Jarred made his MLB debut almost an entire month before Wander, on May 13th. Number one prospect Adley Rutschman has not made his debut yet, but I anticipate it being in time for 2022 Topps thanks to his age and lofty ranking. Julio Rodriguez, currently the number two prospect, is less of a guarantee. Rodriguez has limited professional experience in his career, and the Mariners have said they want to take their time with him.

Rutschman and Franco have been at the top of the baseball prospect heap for several years now, so their rookie cards will headline this class. Julio is still a toss-up, but he may well make his debut in time for 2022 Topps. Younger prospects like Julio have shown to be capable of excelling in the MLB in recent years. From Trout’s early call-up to Wander’s excellent campaign, examples abound.

Wax Value

Let’s take a look at the value of unopened wax from recent years of Topps Series 1. First, here are some recent sales for blaster boxes

2018 Blasters $49.99
2019 Blasters $38.99
2020 Blasters $31.75
2021 Blasters $49.95

Blaster box prices remain pretty consistent, with minimal change year to year. This seems to be due to a plentiful supply of blaster boxes. Next up are hobby boxes.

2018 Hobby $160
2019 Hobby $86.50
2020 Hobby $175
2021 Hobby $118.50

As you can see, hobby boxes are not going to be worth it every year. However, 2022 looks like it will be worth more than 2021, based on the strength of the rookie class alone. Therefore, expect it to hold value on the level of the 2020 boxes instead of the lower 2019 value.

The 2018 Series 1 hobby boxes have maintained value better than most (get 2018 flagship hobby boxes on eBay).

The Bottomline Of The Topps 2022 Series 1 Review

2022 Topps is an exciting release. Topps made significant strides in terms of its cards design. As a result, the 20222 release looks like it will hold up nicely from an aesthetic perspective.

Overall, the value of rookies tends to be the most significant factor when it comes to the price of a set. Therefore, this seems like a good release to invest in with a star-studded rookie class like this one. Despite missing out on having Jared Kellenic in 2022, Franco, Rutschman, and possibly Julio Rodriguez will be able to carry the class and make this a memorable year for Topps flagship.

More in Releases »

Shaiel Ben-Ephraim

Shaiel Ben-Ephraim

Shaiel Ben-Ephraim is the emeritus editor of Cardlines. He continues to write for several hobby outlets, including this one and Cardbase. He collects primarily vintage baseball and soccer and has a weird obsession with 1971 Topps.

In his spare time, Shaiel is sobbing into his bourbon when the Mets lose and playing Dungeons and Dragons. In a past life, Dr. Ben-Ephraim was a political science professor, journalist, and diplomat. But cards are more fun.

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