2022 Topps Update is so good, but comes at the expense of Series 2

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I’ve considered buying just one product in the last couple of weeks – 2022 Topps Baseball Update Series. The allure is there because the rookies I thought might be in Series 2 were held until the final flagship release, which came out after the season concluded.

With the inclusion of Julio Rodriguez, Bobby Witt Jr., Spencer Torkelson, Seiya Suzuki, Steven Kwan, Hunter Greene and others as part of the base set, it made Update one of the best baseball products of the year, so far.

It wasn’t as though Series 1 or Series 2 were wholly lacking. Series 1 had Wander Franco’s first flagship cards, and low-numbered parallels of Franco’s base card sold for five figures last winter.

Also, it’s Series 1. It will always bring out new and old collectors to celebrate the start of the baseball season.

Series 2 had Oneil Cruz’s first flagship cards and Mascot short prints as some of the big chase items. Topps also snuck in Rodriguez, Witt Jr., Torkelson short prints. There were also a handful of autographed cards from these players.

Update is where all the big rookies finally showed up in flagship and overshadowed nearly all the other baseball products this season, and collectors are showing it with their wallet.

I can walk into my LCS tomorrow and still buy Series 2 Hobby and Jumbo boxes. Update supply, however, is quickly dwindling and one of my shops was out of Jumbo this past weekend.

While Update is a fun product – at a reasonable cost – it’s a little frustrating that it took until November to finally have a product this enjoyable. Topps Chrome should have been, but the missing card debacle put a damper on that release (and all those reliever autographs!). And collectors are inclined to open Logofractor boxes more than traditional Topps Chrome.

It’s not about the hits (although my Jumbo hits are pictured above). I enjoy collecting the first flagship base cards of notable players.

When I sorted an Update Jumbo box, the pile of cards that included top rookies was significant. This is what I want as a collector.

But players like Kwan and Suzuki shouldn’t have had their first flagship in Update considering both were on Opening Day rosters.

It’s unfortunate that Update was so good because it came at the expense of Series 2.

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