The Major League Baseball Players Association has granted a license to a group planning to create a set of baseball cards that will be used in conjunction with a fantasy-type baseball game. Honus Bonus Partners, LLC is a newly formed sports marketing firm owned by Steve Charendoff, who currently owns Rittenhouse Archives, Ltd., an entertainment-themed trading card company with products based on Star Trek, Game of Thrones, James Bond and other properties.
The first series of HBP Fantasy Baseball Game Cards will be released in March 2017, and will feature 500 current Major Leaguers. No sample cards were made available with the initial announcement.
“As a lifelong baseball card collector and long-time fantasy game player, it made perfect sense to combine these two overlapping passions in this unique series of cards,” stated Charendoff. “We’re extremely pleased to partner with the MLBPA, particularly at this time when so many of its players are enjoying unprecedented popularity.”
Honus Bonus’ first series of Fantasy Baseball Game Cards will feature 500 base set cards, which will have unique scratch-off codes that fans may use to play monthly and season-long fantasy baseball games for chances to win prizes ranging from $100 to $5,000. Fans will be able to manage the players they collect and organize their fantasy rosters and entries online through the website, www.honusbonus.com. There is no fee to enter a roster, and fans may enter as many rosters as they like, although each unique scratch-off code may only be used once.
Each game-play entry will consist of 30 players featuring 13 pitchers, 6 outfielders, 2 of each of the infield positions and catcher, and 1 designated hitter (any non-pitcher). Hitters’ statistics will include Batting Average, Runs Scored, Home Runs, Runs Batted In, Stolen Bases and OPS (On-Base plus Slugging Percentage); while Pitchers’ statistics will consist of Wins, Saves, Holds, Strikeouts, ERA (Earned Run Average) and WHIP (Walks-plus-Hits/Innings Pitched). The combined results in each statistical category will determine each entry’s ranking in the monthly and season-long contests.
Honus Bonus Fantasy Baseball Game Cards will also include silver foil-etch parallel cards, unique Career Milestone cards, plus hand-drawn sketch cards. All of these bonus cards will have unique scratch-off codes for playing the HBP Fantasy Baseball Game.
“We are consistently trying to find unique and innovative ways to connect fans and our Players, and we are excited to enter a new frontier with the Honus Bonus Partners team,” said Evan Kaplan, MLBPA Director, Licensing and Business Development.
The Honus Bonus Fantasy Baseball Game Cards will be printed in a 2.5”x 3.5” format and feature 8 cards per pack, 24 packs per box and 20 boxes per case. Suggested retail pricing is $3.99 per pack.
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