Hobby Musings: Breaking into 2022 Panini Chronicles Baseball
The Breakdown
6 packs per box, 8 cards per pack
3 autographs per box
1 memorabilia card per box
The Hits
Wander Franco jersey relic card
Khalil Watson autograph
Angel Zerpa jersey autograph /49
Reiss Knehr autograph /99
Patrick Mazeika parallel /50
Mike Trout parallel /199
Bringing a mix of its brands once again to the baseball space, Panini released Chronicles Baseball for 2022 a few months back. There may only be six packs per box, but they contain a wallop with four hits in each offering. With a lot of brands and designs represented, there is a lot for collectors to unpack in each box.
Starting with the hits, I came away with an America’s Pastime player-worn/used jersey relic card of young Rays star Wander Franco. Not numbered, the card featured a single white-color swatch of jersey. My autographs also featured baseball youngsters. The highlight signature was of highly rated Marlins prospect Khalil Watson. The autograph card featured Contenders Optic branding and was a Prospect Ticket signature. My second signature pull was of Royals lefty Angel Zerpa. Coming from Studio branding, the autograph was numbered to 49 and featured a blue swatch of jersey relic. An autograph of Padres pitcher Reiss Knehr rounded out my autographs. All three autographs were on sticker. While I’m used to sticker autographs, part of me would have liked to have had at least one on-card auto in the box.
Besides the autographs and memorabilia cards, I pulled two other numbered cards in my box. One was of Angels superstar Mike Trout. Featuring the design from Elite, the card was numbered to 199. My other numbered card was of catcher Patrick Mazeika. Unlike the other numbered cards, Mazeika’s serial number was on the back of the card and not the front. So, a strong reminder to check all the cards in your box so you don’t miss any numbered ones.
Each pack in the box also contained one acetate card. With a mix of veteran and rookie players, these were a welcome addition to the break. I had a lot of fun seeing the various designs and players included in the trading card potpourri that is Chronicles. It’s certainly not a boring product as you find one different card after the other. There’s also a good mix of shiny cards with more traditional cards. In addition to some notable veterans like Shohei Ohtani, I pulled a number of good rookie cards, including Bobby Witt Jr.
All in all, this was a fun break. Chronicles is a product I had been hoping to try for some time, and it’s one I’d consider again in the future. While a shorter break with the six packs, it’s certainly one of the more entertaining products I’ve ripped this year. It can carry some risk, especially in baseball, due to the rookie-heavy nature of the product. However, if you manage to come away with a nice hit of one of the better rookies in the product, it can pay off in a big way. Aside from Witt and Franco, Oneil Cruz is another top rookie to look out for. Hobby boxes can be found for around $110 online with most of the major retailers, so it’s a box that won’t entirely break your budget while providing some nice value.
Hobby Musings: Breaking into 2022 Panini Chronicles Baseball – Image Gallery
Kelsey’s ability to bring hobby coverage to the mainstream sports fan has been a true asset. GTS is happy to feature his thoughts on collecting in Hobby Musings. The opinions expressed are his and do not necessarily reflect those of GTS Distribution.
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