Shohei Ohtani is widely considered one of the most exciting and talented baseball players in Major League Baseball today. The Japanese star is unique in that he is an elite power hitter and also one of the top pitchers in the game. Due to his two-way abilities and record-breaking success early in his MLB career, Ohtani cards from Topps have skyrocketed in popularity and value in the collector’s market.
Ohtani was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels with the first overall pick in the 2017 MLB draft and made his professional debut in 2018 after rehabilitating from elbow surgery. That year, Topps inserted Ohtani into its flagship Topps Series 1 product for the first time. The 2018 Topps Shohei Ohtani rookie card (card #134) immediately became a highly sought-after rookie card for Angels and Japanese baseball fans eager to start collecting the young star.
With an electric fastball and devastating splitter pitch, Ohtani made a huge splash in his MLB pitching debut in 2018. He also showed prodigious power at the plate with 22 home runs in just 104 games. Due to his two-way performance and franchise player status for the Angels, the 2018 Topps Ohtani rookie card price climbed steadily through 2019 and into 2020 as more collectors jumped on the bandwagon. Graded gem mint examples now commonly sell for over $100 on the secondary market.
In 2021, Ohtani took his game to an unprecedented new level that captivated the entire baseball world and saw interest in his Topps cards absolutely explode. He became the first player since Babe Ruth to be chosen as an All-Star as both a hitter and pitcher. At the plate, Ohtani led the major leagues with 46 home runs – the most ever for a Japanese-born player in a single MLB season. On the mound, he posted a 3.18 ERA with 156 strikeouts over 130 1/3 innings pitched.
Due to his historic two-way 2021 season and American League MVP award victory, Ohtani cards from Topps’ 2021 series skyrocketed in value across the board. The 2021 Topps Series 1 Ohtani base card (card #99) reached over $100 for a PSA 10 graded gem. His parallel and autographed rookie cards from 2021 Topps Series 1 also saw unprecedented gains, with low-numbered parallels exceeding $1,000 and autographed variants reaching up to $5,000 for top gem condition.
Perhaps most notably, the 2021 Topps Update #US381 Shohei Ohtani printing plate autograph card captured the imagination of collectors. With a run of only 5 copies produced, each featuring Ohtani’s autographed plate used in the printing process of his card, these became some of the most coveted and valuable modern baseball cards ever. Just a few months after Update was released, authenticated PSA/DNA slabbed examples changed hands for over $50,000 each – a record for any standard issue Ohtani card and a testament to collectors’ massive enthusiasm surrounding the superstar after his MVP season.
Heading into the 2022 baseball season and beyond, most experts predict Shohei Ohtani’s status as one of the game’s premierTwo-way talents will lead to sustained interest from collectors in his Topps rookie cards and newer prospect issues. As long as he continues performing at an MVP level both pitching and hitting, his iconic Topps cards will maintain their cachet for Angels fans as well as Japanese baseball collectors around the world. Savvy investors would be wise to consider high-grade examples of Ohtani rookie cards from Topps Series 1 as a prudent long term hold, as the player’s legend grows and value soars to greater heights with each passing season.
In summary, Shohei Ohtani’s unprecedented two-way success in 2021 with the Angels fully captivated baseball fandom and transformed him into a true superstar of the sport. This new-found fascination and fervor among both casual fans and serious collectors has carried over directly to the trading card market. With Ohtani demonstrating he is capable of feats never before seen in over 100 years of Major League Baseball, his Topps rookie cards and new prospects issues have emerged among the most desirable investments in the entire modern baseball card industry. As long as he remains a consistent dual superstar at the plate and on the mound, Shohei Ohtani cards from Topps are poised to break even more records in value moving forward.
