A Guide To The 2022 Topps Chrome Release

UPDATE 10/17/2022: Check out our important updates on the Rookie Checklist and Controversy and More Controversy on the SP’s, Topps response to the matter and full information on Silver Pack compensation as well as what’s in 2022 Topps Chrome Silver Packs.

Inspired by Topps flagship product, but on premium chromium stock, 2022 Topps Chrome offers a rainbow of colors, new inserts and parallels, autographs, and more. There was even a buyback program offered for Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt cards.

Find the latest prices of 2022 Topps Chrome hobby boxes on eBay

2022 Topps Chrome release format

In 2022, Topps Chrome will be available in a number of different release formats, including retail and hobby-only.

Topps Chrome 2022 hobby box

The standard hobby box offers four cards per pack and 24 packs per box. There are 12 boxes per case. Collectors can expect two autographs per hobby box on average.

The hobby box was released on September 16, 2022

Hobby boxes were pre-selling for around $375, but have come down significantly after it was revealed that they did not have the short print cards.

Find the latest prices of 2022 Topps Chrome pre order hobby boxes on eBay

Topps Chrome 2022 Hobby Lite boxes

2022 Topps Chrome Hobby Lite boxes were also released and gained popularity as one of the few releases (in addition to Logofractors) that featured rookie short print cards.

These boxes have 16 packs with four cards per pack. They can be purchased on the Topps.com website or on the secondary market.

Check out prices for Topps Chrome 2022 Hobby Lite boxes

2022 Topps Jumbo hobby box

Topps Chrome Jumbo boxes offer supersized packs of 13 cards. Jumbo boxes contain 12 packs per box, and there are 8 Jumbo boxes per case. Jumbo boxes contain 5 autographs per box on average, and have been pre-selling for $750-850 dollars.

The Jumbo hobby box is expected to be released on September 16, 2022 (subject to change).

Topps Chrome 2022 Blaster / Value box

This retail offering consists of eight packs of 4 card each. There are no guaranteed autographs in this format, but there are retail-only exclusives to chase.

It is expected this retail offering will be released later than the hobby-exclusive packaging, with a targeted release date of late September.

Pre-sale prices for blaster/value boxes are currently in the $42-$60 range, but also came down in price after the short prints were omitted.

Check eBay for the latest prices on 2022 Topps Chrome Blaster boxes.

2022 Topps Chrome Sapphire

If you are looking for a higher-end version of 2022 Topps Chrome, look no further than 2022 Topps Chrome Sapphire. The product was released in early December and features Topps’s trademark premium sapphire finish.

The set features 600 base cards which includes 112 rookies such as Julio Rodriguez, Bobby Witt and Wander Franco.

2022 Topps Chrome Sapphire Edition includes 8 packs per box and 4 cards per pack.

Shop for 2022 Topps Chrome Sapphire Edition hobby boxes on eBay

2022 Topps Chrome baseball base set and design

The 2022 Topps Chrome baseball base set consists of 200 cards, featuring a mix of veteran stars and top rookies. The design is based on the 2022 Topps Flagship offering but printed on chromium stock.

Cards #201-225 are “extended base set short prints”, meaning they continue the base set numbering but are tougher pulls than cards #1-200. Exact odds aren’t known, but they should be tough pulls.

Rookie Checklist & Related Controversy

The good news is that 2022 Topps Chrome contains many of the top rookies who were on opening day rosters. This includes Wander Franco, Oneal Cruz, Bobby Witt Jr., Julio Rodriguez, Spencer Torkelson, Hunter Greene, and CJ Abrams.

The less great news is that the last five of those seven names aren’t part of the base set, but only available in the short prints (and the autograph offerings). This is generating a bit of controversy.

On one hand, it’s better to have these players available as hits than not have them in the set at all. On this I think we can all agree.

But by making them all “hits”, it makes it far more difficult to pull one of these key rookie cards when ripping packs and breaking boxes. Is this Topps way of trying to motivate fans to buy more product?

And does it matter? If these rookies had base rookie cards, there would be more of them, and more fans would get to share the love, but would they be a big hit? We know that the Covid lockdown card bubble has burst, and with it the mad rush to grade base set rookies. At least if you pull an SP or an auto of one of these exciting young players, you know you have a big hit on your hands.

Regardless of where you land on the argument, we here at Cardlines want you in the know so you can make the right choice for you.

UPDATE: MORE CONTROVERSY

As we mention above, there was some controversy going into release day about the fact that many of the key rookie cards in the set are SP’s and/or autograph offerings only, not part of the base set.

A couple days post release, it’s looking much worse. It appears that SP’s, including those top rookies, are NOT included in hobby or jumbo boxes. As of this writing, there have been ZERO reports of these cards being pulled.

Whether this is an error by Topps, these will be retail-only (exclusive in Fanatics blasters?), or what else could be going on is conjecture at this point. What do we do know is that there are a lot of disappointed collectors, embarrassed breakers, and box prices are dropping like crazy.

We’re also hearing that many of the top rookie autographs are redemptions. Collectors prefer a real hit to pulling an IOU. There are also reports of quality control issues with the product, from bad centering and cards bowing to bricking.

The whole story of 2022 Topps Chrome has not yet been written. That being said, the early returns aren’t good. Proceed with caution, and let’s see what comes out of the whole SP situation, and what the retail situation looks like.

Topps responds

On September 20th, Topps has responded to the controversy with a series of tweets on Twitter. In short, the issue was related to a manufacturer, which did not insert the cards in early hobby boxes due to a miscommunication. Purchasers of the cards will be compensated with an extra Silver pack for each box purchased.

A few days after the initial statement, Topps.com detailed how the Silver Pack compensation plan would work.

Topps Chrome 2022 Buyback program

In an effort to drum up interest for Topps Chrome 2022 and celebrate the two MVPs from Major League League baseball, Topps introduced a buyback program in late November, 2022. Through the program, collectors are eligible to exchange Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt cards for hobby store credit through March 2023.

Depending on scarcity, Topps will offer up to $200 in store credit when exchanging the cards. For full details, be sure to check out the 2022 Topps Chrome buyout page.

Topps Chrome 2022 parallels

Refractors have long been a popular part of the Chrome offering, and they return with gusto in 2022.

Topps Chrome offers a rainbow of Refractor parallels, per usual, with two new offerings Purple Speckle Refractor (#/299) and Aqua Lava Refractor (#/199).

Refractor Parallels Include:

• Refractor – 1:3 packs
• Prism Refractor – 1:6 packs
• X-Fractor – 10 per Jumbo Box
• Sepia Refractor – 2 per Blaster
• Pink Refractor – 2 per Blaster
• Negative Refractor
• Magenta Refractor – #/399
• Magenta Speckle Refractor – #/350
• Purple Speckle Refractor – #/299
• Purple Refractor – #/250
• Aqua Refractor – #/199
• Aqua Lava Refractor – #/199
• Blue Refractor – #/150
• Green Refractor – #/99
• Green Wave Refractor – #/99
• Blue Wave Refractor – #/75
• Gold Refractor – #/50
• Gold Wave Refractor – #/50
• Orange Refractor – #/25 (Hobby-only)
• Orange Wave Refractor – #/25
• Red Refractor – #/5
• Red Wave Refractor – #/5
• SuperFractor – 1/1
• Printing Plates – 1/1

Image Variations

20 cards get the limited print run Image Variation treatment.

Super Short Print

With even longer odds, five cards get the super short print parallel. The checklist here is all big name and top rookies: Shohei Ohtani, Ken Griffey Jr., Wander Franco, Jackie Robinson, and Oneil Cruz.

2022 Topps Chrome Base Variation Refractor Parallel offerings include:

• Green Speckle Refractor – #/99
• Gold Speckle Refractor – #/50
• Orange Speckle Refractor – #/25
• Red Speckle Refractor – #/5
• SuperFractor – 1/1

2022 Topps Chrome inserts

There are a number of insert sets available in the 2022 Topps Chrome product. These range in how easy they are to pull, and each has parallels that increase the difficulty (and excitement and value) of the hits.

1987 Topps

Extending Topps year-long, brand-spanning celebration of 1987 Topps and its iconic woodgrain design,

1987 Topps Inserts are seeded 1:6 packs. Additional parallel versions are available, including Green (/99), Gold (/50), Orange (/25), Red (/5) and Superfractors (1/1).

Future Stars

Another throwback to classic Topps designs, “Future Stars” featured the colorful logo seen on many a 1980’s “can’t miss” prospect’s card. The set features top rookies and young stars.

Parallel versions include Green (/99), Gold (/50), Orange (/25), Red (/5) and Superfractors (1/1).

Heart of the City

Heart of the City features fan favorites and pictures them overlooking the cities they rose to fame in. Seeded 1:16 packs.

Also available are Green Refractors (/99), Gold Refractors (/50), Orange Refractors (/25), Red Refractors (/5) and Superfractors (1/1) parallels.

New Classics

Seeded 1:16 packs, this offering also highlights young stars and rookies.

Green Refractors (/99), Gold Refractors (/50), Orange Refractors (/25), Red Refractors (/5) and Superfractors (1/1) parallels are found here as well.

Pinstriped

Featuring pinstriped designs, these are the toughest of the insert offerings at 1:24 packs.

These offer some new parallels in Champagne Gold Speckle Refractors (/50), Orange Pearl Speckle Refractors (/25), Candy Apple Red Speckle Refractors (/5) and Superfractors (1/1).

Topps Chrome 2022 memorabilia

The 2022 Topps Chrome baseball set has one memorabilia offering. These relics also have parallel and autographed versions available.

Topps Chrome Authentics relics

These uniform relic cards come with “MLB Authentication,” meaning each has a hologram that links it to a specific game and proves authenticity. Interesting idea, although I have to say it’s somewhat lacking visually to have a hologram sticker on the patch.

Parallels also are available, including Green Refractors (/99), Orange Refractors (/25), Red Refractors (/5) and Superfractors (1/1).

2022 Topps Chrome autographs

Autographs have long been a staple of the Topps Chrome product, and one of the hottest hits.

Chrome Rookie autographs

Featuring some of the top 2022 rookies, the Chrome Rookie Autographs have a similar design to the base set with on-card autographs. Set size and checklist are not available at this time.

Chrome Veteran autographs

Veterans join in the fun when it comes to autographs in 2022 Topps Chrome. Like the rookie offering, these closely match the design of the base set. Set size and checklist are not available at this time.

Chrome Rookie and Veteran Autograph parallels

The 2022 Chrome Rookie and Veteran Autographs offer the following parallel versions:

• Refractors – /499
• Purple Speckle Refractors – /299
• Purple Refractors – /250
• Aqua Wave Refractors – /199
• Blue Refractors – /150
• Blue RayWave Refractors – /150
• Green Refractors – /99 (retail only)
• Gold Refractors – /50
• Gold Wave Refractors – /50
• Orange Refractors – /25
• Orange Wave Refractors – /25
• Red Refractors – /5
• Red Wave Refractors – /5
• Printing Plates – 1/1
• Superfractors

1987 Topps Baseball Autographs, Future Stars Autographs, Heart of the City Autographs, Pinstriped Autographs

Select cards from the 2022 Topps Chrome insert sets receive the autograph treatment. Exact numbers, print runs, and checklists aren’t available at the time of this writing, but stay tuned for more details as they are available.

What is known is that each will have parallel versions, with Orange #/25, Red #/5, and SuperFractor 1/1 versions of each autograph available.

Topps Chrome Authentics Autographs

Just as the inserts get autographed versions, so do the Authentics relics. While checklist and production numbers aren’t known as this point, these promise to be a popular card with the combination of a relic and an autograph.

Dual Rookie autographs

Pairing up two of the top 2022 rookies on one card, this is sure to be one of the more popular pulls in the product. While the checklist isn’t yet known, we know they are serial-numbered to 25 copies each.

Red #/5 and SuperFractor 1/1 parallels are also available.

The final word on Topps Chrome 2022

Topps Chrome is always a popular release, and 2022 is no different. Bringing a chromium flair to the flagship design, and with some attractive and hard-to-pull inserts, parallels, relics, and autographs, it should help keep baseball top of mind for many collectors as autumn nears.

Find the latest prices of 2022 Topps Chrome hobby boxes on eBay

Other recent Topps releases

• 2022 Topps Museum Collection
• 2022 Topps Finest Flashbacks
• 2022 Topps NPB Japanese
• 2022 Topps Archives

2022 Topps Chrome Checklists