This might be a new record for the most recent set to be featured on Cheap Wax Wednesday. 2022 Topps Archives Snapshots Baseball went live on the Topps website on Friday, February 17. They were on sale for just a matter of hours (maybe just two hours) before they sold out. I received the boxes this past Saturday. They were shipped well protected, with each box in an individual sealed bubble bag.
What to expect?
2022 Topps Archives Snapshots Baseball boxes contain just a single pack of 12 cards. Of those, you should expect to find one on-card autograph and at least one parallel. Most of the parallels are hand numbered, with the exception of the most common Black & White parallels.
That is kind of a big deal. A guaranteed on-card autograph for the price of a blaster box? That is certainly worth a shot to me. There are some big names included in the 64-card autograph checklist. Mike Trout, Julio Rodriguez, Bobby Witt, Jr., Wander Franco, Derek Jeter all have autographs in this one. Keep in mind, though, that not all of the names on the checklist are superstars.
2022 Topps Archives Snapshots Baseball Box Break
Cards per pack: 12
Packs per box: 1
Price paid: $25 per box
Shop for 2022 Topps Archives Snapshots Baseball boxes on eBay.
I ripped two of these to share since I am still within the $50 cheap wax budget.
Box 1:
The first pack kicks off with Whit Merrifield. I kind of wish the packs weren’t clear, but that’s nit picking.
Vets:
Whit Merrifield, Mookie Betts, Chipper Jones, Corbin Burnes, Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., Ronald Acuna, Jr. & Bucky Dent
This Red Sox fan just had to pull Bucky Dent, huh?
Rookies:
Kevin Smith, Wander Franco & Reid Detmers
Detmers, of course, threw a no-hitter May 10, 2022.
Parallel & Auto:
Torii Hunter Black & White and Juan Gonzalez Autograph Negative Inverse (089/100) (1:7 boxes)
I am still undecided about whether these Negative Inverse parallels are cool or creepy.
Box 2:
Brandon Marsh RC on top.
Vets:
The all-Bay Area trio; Brandon Crawford, Rickey Henderson & Mike Yastrzemski
I don’t believe there are any bad Rickey cards in existence. I’m always up for adding more.
Rookies:
Lars Nootbaar, Romy Gonzalez, Kevin Smith (again), Jarren Duran, Brandon Marsh & Vidal Brujan
Bummer on the duplicate Smith, but a couple decent RC names in here.
Parallels & Auto:
Jonathan India Black & White, Shohei Ohtani Blue (12/50) (1:9 boxes) & TJ Friedl Autograph
The Ohtani definitely outshines the autograph in this one!
Lastly, the Juan-Gone card back. Notice the hand numbering, which is used on all the numbered cards in this set.
Did I find a superstar autograph? Unfortunately not. There was a chance, though. The Ohtani Blue parallel is the star of the show for me. This is one of the online-exclusive releases that I did try to grab every year. Clearly, you had to be quick to even have a shot to buy these, though, as they did sell out in just an hour or two.
Shop for 2022 Topps Archives Snapshots Baseball on:
Want more installments of Shane Salmonson’s Cheap Wax Wednesday? Check out his other breaks in the archives.