2022 In Review - BBM

BBM issued 30 sets in 2022, the same as they did in 2021.  As always I'm going by the "cover date" of the cards rather than the date of release so the "publication year" of 2022 covers cards issued in mid-December of 2021 up until the end of December of 2022.

The bulk of BBM's offerings - 24 of them - were what I refer to as their perennials - sets that they pretty much issue every year.  This includes the "flagship" sets 1st Version, 2nd Version and Fusion; the twelve "comprehensive" team sets for the Swallows, Hawks, Buffaloes, Dragons, Marines, Giants, Baystars, Lions, Carp, Eagles, Tigers and Fighters; the high-end "Genesis" set; the ultra-high-end "Glory" set; the Rookie Edition (draft pick) set; the two Dancing Cheerleader sets (Hana and Mai); the "Icons - Rough Diamonds" and Rookie Edition Premium box sets, the "Farewell" set for retiring baseball players and other athletes and the multi-sport set "Infinity".  

BBM may be changing things up a little for 2023 as they did not issue the 2023 version of "Glory" in mid-December of 2022 - instead they issued a new ultra-high-end set in November called "Glory Neo" with a 2022 "cover date".  This set may replace "Glory" in BBM's list of perennials.  Another set that may become an annual event is the ultra-high-end multi-sport set "Crown" which came out right at the end of December.

Two of the four remaining BBM sets for the year were the latest two entries in their OB team history series that they've been doing since 2020.  This year's sets were Swallows History 1950-2022 and Hawks History 1938-2022 which brought the total number of sets in the series to eight with only the Lions, Eagles, Fighters and Baystars (and Kintetsu Buffaloes) left to be done.  BBM also issued a box set celebrating Roki Sasaki's perfect game called "Roki Sasaki Perfect Game" and an ultra-high-end OB/active player team set for the Carp called "Carp Masters".