my favorite cards of the year - 2022 edition

you may recall that i have a mini collection focusing on my favorite cards from each year that i've been a collector. the basic gist is that i wanted to create a space for the cards that i most appreciated having in my collection in the year that they were released. these were cards that i acquired in the year that they were issued, and that i considered to be my favorites at the time. i have disallowed (most) cards that are already in other mini collections in order to avoid having a mini collection consisting of more steve garvey, double plays, and dodger stadium cards.

with 2022, that was a tough rule to follow as there were some great garvey and dodger stadium cards. plus all those 1978 design cards from archives! i went ahead and completed that subset, so i didn't consider any of them, either. 

this is one of my favorite cards of the year, 

but it went in to my "name/number on the back" mini-collection instead. please take a moment to remember roberto clemente who died 50 years ago today working to serve others.

favorite non-dodger card of the year: 2022 topps byron buxton

i think my favorite non-dodger card that was released this year could have been dusty baker's card from 2021 topps chrome platinum anniversary, but since that was technically a 2021 product i decided to not consider it. still, buxton's card might have won out anyway. i was also excited to see andruw jones' card from 2022 topps stadium club, but it goes in to the dodger stadium mini-collection and didn't quite make the same impact on me as buxton's card did.

i was really hoping to see buxton play in 145 games this season. he is so talented yet is so injury prone. he only played in 92 games in 2022, but that still is the second highest total of his 8 year career. he hit 28 homers, including a big one in the all-star game, and played errorless defense in center field for the twins. his 2022 topps card appealed to me greatly because it showcases his athleticism, but it also serves as a representation of the 2021 season and the realities that we must face as a society. 

the photo comes from a game on may 4, 2021 - just a few weeks after daunte wright was killed by local police during a traffic stop. in the background, you can see the large mural that was placed on the outfield wall at target field prior to the start of the 2021 season. it said "justice for george floyd" in large font, with the names of numerous other african americans who were killed unjustly including emmett till, philando castile and breanna wright. this banner replaced a similar one that was in the stadium during the last few months of the 2020 season following floyd's murder in minneapolis and was itself replaced by a different memorial shortly after this photo was taken.

favorite dodger card of the year: 2022 topps now clayton kershaw

i already have two of this card in other placed in my collection - the dodger collection and the games i've attended in person collection - but it represents such a highlight in my dodger fandom that it has to represent 2022 for me.

here's a link to my previous post about this card and the events of that day, but to summarize, i had never seen clayton kershaw pitch in person before, and so was just happy to see him on the mound at target field on april 13, 2022. what he did that day was beyond my wildest expectations - 7 perfect innings and 13 strikeouts! it was a joy to watch, even though it was a cold day in the ballpark.  having a card as a souvenir of that experience easily makes this my favorite dodger card of the year.

i didn't set any collecting goals for 2022, and i am not going to do so for 2023, either. i will say that i had hoped to have my full dodger collection catalogued on tcdb by the end of the year and i am going to fall just short of that. i have part of 2021 and all of 2022 to enter yet, but i am now atop the leaderboard for dodger cards. who knew?

looking forward to more great cards in 2023. happy new year!