The Topps Baseball Series 1 cards have now been released to kickoff the start of the collecting year.
This is the set that I collected when I was 12 and I’m certain to still be doing so when I’m 90. I collect other sets but this is the cornerstone of the hobby for me. I like the look of this year’s offering because they are easier to read and have full borders. I don’t understand why they have dropped the size of series 1 to 330. Up to 2019, series 1 & 2 totaled 700 cards and now we’re down to 660. I think the 700ish size should be standard. Of course, many players end up in the update set that could be moved to an earlier release. One drawback is that cards in the update set are not included in the factory complete set.
I’m not a fan of cards that have a horizontal photo. I’d be ok with a few but I loath it when I open a pack and there are like five in a row. Normally, you can just flip a card over and rotate it to have the stats showing horizontally. This is perfect for me. However, for some cards when you do that; the back is then upside down. I’m not sure if that was planned or if it is a printing error. I believe all the base cards should have the same format.
I love opening packs. Right off the bat, I’ll be putting aside cards of my favorite team, and random stars while trying to comprehend the year’s rookie class. Various inserts and parallels mix things up a bit and it is always great to find a serial-numbered card or even better an autographed one. From time to time I’ll have an ‘I’ve never seen one of these before’ moment. Of course, short prints can be exciting but sometimes they can be overlooked until more research is done. My goal is always to complete the set but sometimes this can take a lot of time and money.
On the other hand, as much as I love the treasure hunt of ripping wax; I also have an affinity for just buying the factory complete set which usually includes a bonus cello pack of key rookies. But that’s another story.
Topps organized a fan vote again for the number one card and the winner was Shohei Ohtani. He was selected from a list of 20 choices that included 10 from each league. The last three number one cards were Tatis, Acuna, and Trout.
Series Two contains about fifty Rookie cards. There are also 3 ultra-rare ‘Salute to the Mick’ cards which of course honor Mickey Mantle. There will end up being nine cards divided evenly between the three parts of the flagship set.
The two most common inserts are, first of all, the Topps 35th anniversary cards which emulate those from the 1987 season. This was a beloved set of cards from the earlier days of the junk wax era that had the simulated wood grain borders. The second most common insert is the ‘Stars of MLB’ subset. To give you an idea of possible inserts, I opened a Blaster box, ($20). It contained 8 Stars of MLB including 1 Chrome, 2 35th anniversary cards, 1 Home Run Challenge, 1 Generation Now, 1 Royal Blue Parallel, and the Commemorative Relic card. So no signed cards and no numbered cards.
Release date: February 16, 2022
Cards per pack: Retail 16, Blaster 14, Hobby 14
Packs per Box: Retail 16, Blaster 7, Hobby 24
2022 Topps Series 1 Checklist
Series One has 49 rookies.
Key:
FS = Future Star
LL = League Leader
RC = Rookie Card
CUP = Rookie Cup
1 Shohei Ohtani
2 Craig Kimbrel
3 Huascar Ynoa
4 Travis d’Arnaud
5 Rougned Odor
6 Jazz Chisholm Jr (FS)
7 Bobby Dalbec (FS)
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 (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 Jensen
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 Guerrero Jr/Perez/Ohtani AL HR LL
49 Bret Gardner
50 Mookie Betts
51 Zack Greinke
52 Greg Holland
53 Hanser Alberto
54 Lourdes Gurriel Jr
55 Robbie Grossman
56 Ke’Bryan Hayes (FS)
57 Kyle Gibson
58 Lars Nootbaar (RC)
59 Turner/Soto/Harper NL AVG LL
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
99 Aaron Judge
100 Fernando Tatis Jr
101 Clint Frazier
102 Ian Kennedy
103 Mike Yastrzemski
104 Nelson Cruz
105 Urias/Wainwright/Buehler NL Wins LL
106 Pavin Smith
107 Luis Robert
108 Zach Pop (RC)
109 Toronto Bluejays Team Card
110 Yordan Alvarez
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
120 Andrew Vaughn (FS)
121 New York Yankees Team Card
122 Shohei Ohtani
123 Miguel Sano
124 San Diego Padres Team Card
125 Fernando Tatis Jr (Combo)
126 Bo Bichette
127 Wheeler/Scherzer/Burnes NL Strikeouts (LL)
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 Ray/Cole/Cease AL Strikeout (LL)
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 Tatis Jr/Duvall/Alonso NL HR (LL)
147 Wilson 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 (FS)
157 Bruce Zimmerman
158 Riley Adams (RC)
159 Los Angeles Angels Team Card
160 Anthony Bender (RC)
161 Jon Gray
162 Spencer Howard
163 Stuart Fairchild (RC)
164 Atlanta Braves Team Card
165 Gurriel/Brantley/Guerrero AL AVG (LL)
166 Patrick Mazeika (RC)
167 Daniel Bard
168 Kyle Hendricks
169 Kyle Freeland
170 KevinPillar
171 Kurt Suzuki
172 Nick Solak
173 Raisel Iglesias
174 Hunter Renfroe
175 Tyler Stephenson (CUP)
176 Matt Chapman
177 Carson Kelly
178 Jean Segura
179 Zach Eflin
180 JT Realmuto
181 Duvall/Riley/Abies NL RBI (LL)
182 JD 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 (CUP)
191 Willi Castro
192 Eduardo Rodriguez
193 Dom Nunez
194 Miguel Cabrera
195 Drew Smyly
196 Randy Arozarena (CUP)
197 Alex Kirilloff (FS)
198 Jake Rogers
199 Michael Brantley
200 Ronald Acuna Jr
201 Reid Detmers (RC)
202 Perez/Abreu/Hernandez AL RBI (LL)
203 Wade Miley
204 Burnes/Scherzer/Buehler NL ERA (LL)
205 Yadier Molina
206 Kyle Lewis
207 Eduardo Escobar
208 Jorge Soler
209 Buster Posey
210 Oakland As 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 Brenda Rodgers
233 Cristian Pache (FS)
234 Garrett Hampson
235 Jarred Kelenic (FS)
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 (FS)
245 Whit Merrifield
246 Mauricio Dubon
247 St Louis Cardinals Team Card
248 Alek Manoah (FS)
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 Cole/Flexen/Matz AL Wins (LL)
271 Patrick Wisdom (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 Ray/McCullers Jr/Cole AL ERA (LL)
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
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
Stars of MLB Checklist (30)
These are Retail exclusives. There is one in every pack. Since it is only 30 cards and the most common insert; it is the easiest subset to assemble.
One out of ten will be Chrome. The Chrome will be SMLBC-#.
Parallels:
Red 1-70
Black 1-25
Platinum 1 of 1
SMLB-1 Mike Trout
SMLB-2 Ronald Acuña Jr
SMLB-3 Freddie Freeman
SMLB-4 Rafael Devers
SMLB-5 Javier Baez
SMLB-6 Luis Robert
SMLB-7 Jose Ramirez
SMLB-8 Alex Bregman
SMLB-9 Mookie Betts
SMLB-10 Jazz Chisholm Jr
SMLB-11 Christian Yelich
SMLB-12 Byron Buxton
SMLB-13 Jacob deGrom
SMLB-14 Aaron Judge
SMLB-15 Bryce Harper
SMLB-16 Ke’Bryan Hayes
SMLB-17 Fernando Tatis Jr
SMLB-18 Buster Posey
SMLB-19 Yadier Molina
SMLB-20 Wander Franco
SMLB-21 Joey Gallo
SMLB-22 Vladimir Guerrero Jr
SMLB-23 Juan Soto
SMLB-24 Shohei Ohtani
SMLB-25 Nolan Arenado
SMLB-26 Gerrit Cole
SMLB-27 Kris Bryant
SMLB-28 Clayton Kershaw
SMLB-29 Pete Alonso
SMLB-30 Bo Bichette
Salute to The Mick Checklist
STM-1 Mickey Mantle
STM-2 Mickey Mantle
STM-3 Mickey Mantle