Sometimes, they say, the baseball gods are smiling.
But what happens when the baseball gods and the hobby gods are smiling together?
That happened Thursday, July 27, and it happened in a big way.
On the day that one of the most anticipated National Sports Collectors Convention in history was getting underway in Chicago, the most talked about player in the hobby went full-on unicorn in a doubleheader in Detroit. Shohei Ohtani pitched a complete game one-hit shutout, and then hit two home runs as a designated hitter in the second game as the Los Angeles Angels swept the Detroit Tigers and moved closer to a playoff spot. The Angels are still a handful of games back of a wild card berth and they have a couple of teams to leapfrog, but they have been one of the hottest teams in the Major Leagues since the All-Star Break.
And if the Angels make the playoffs, all eyes will be on Ohtani. In a best-of-three wild card series game, whoever faces the Angels would likely have to go up against Ohtani and Lucas Giolito, two of the best pitchers in baseball.
In the first game, Ohtani was masterful on the mound, tossing the first complete game shutout of his career.
Seventy-nine minutes later, Ohtani put an exclamation point on that. Early into the second game of the twin bill, he grabbed a bat and cranked a Matt Manning pitch over the fence for his 37th home run of the season. He followed it up later in the game with another homer. It was the 16th multi-home run game of Ohtani’s career.
After the game, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch summed it up in the post-game press conference. “He’s the best at both,” Hinch said. “He showed us in person.”
Reaction At The National
The second home run hit by Ohtani may not have been a shot heard around the world, but its impact was certainly heard and felt all the way to the Donald Stephens Convention Center in Chicago. There wasn’t a dealer on the floor with graded, serial-numbered Ohtani cards in their display cases that were not grinning from ear to ear.
Chatter turned to the feats of Ohtani in one of the greatest performances in a doubleheader in Major League history. While Ohtani was already the king of baseball sales, what he did on that day supercharged interest in buying and selling. The situation was unique for the National. When the show takes place each year, baseball is the only one of the four major sports in the midst of its season.
The only time anything really happened on the field that affected the show was in 1998, as both Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa hit home runs on the weekend of the National during their chase for Roger Maris’ record of 61 home runs in a season.
In 2000, golf suddenly mattered on the show floor. Tiger Woods earned one of the greatest tournament victories of his career as he won the Open Championship at St. Andrew’s in Scotland. While Upper Deck was still a year away from producing golf cards with Woods’ autograph, collectors were scrambling for Woods cards. There were Sports Illustrated for Kids cards, promotional cards, and autographed cards that were selling on Shop At Home. People were following the tournament during the show, but the victory came on Sunday, when the show was wrapping up.
The frenzy for Woods cards and autographs at the 2000 National must have played a factor in Upper Deck’s urgency to get a PGA license for 2001.
Doubleheader Triggers Online Sales
While Ohtani ruled the show floor, he was driving interest online.
Predictably, Topps Now created a special card to commemorate Ohtani’s historic day. While that card was on fire, Ohtani was dominating the list of most watched baseball card auctions on eBay.
By the time the show ended, three of the top five most watched graded rookie cards were 2018 Ohtani cards. The number one card was a 2018 Topps Chrome Blue Refractor numbered out of 150 autographed card.
The second card was a 2018 Topps Chrome #RASO Autograph BGS 9.5/10 Auto. The card sold for $7,700.
The fifth card was a 2018 Bowman Chrome Rookie Autograph with a BGS 9.5 grade and a 10 grade for the autograph. It was already into five figures and bidding won’t end until next Sunday.
In the last week, nearly $2 million worth of Ohtani cards were sold on eBay with six bringing at least $10,000.
Most watched Shohei Ohtani cards on eBay
Ohtani is not the first player to be a great pitcher and hitter. He is often compared to Babe Ruth, who was a top pitcher before becoming the game’s greatest home run hitter. More recently, Rick Ankiel was a pitcher who became an outfielder. Tim Wakefield was a shortstop in the minors before becoming a knuckleball pitcher. John Olerud, who chased .400 as a first baseman 30 years ago, was an exceptional pitcher in college. In 2019, Jacob deGrom was arguably the New York Mets’ best hitter, though he never played as a position player.
But what separates Ohtani is that he is the game’s best hitter and one of the most dominant pitchers at the same time and isn’t likely to give up either of those jobs anytime soon. The only comparison close to Ohtani is Guy Hecker. In 1886, he was a batting champ and won 26 games as a pitcher.
History may have largely forgotten Guy Hecker, but it won’t forget Ohtani. More and more fans and collectors are starting to call him the best player in baseball history.
For the past several years, it hasn’t been uncommon to hear collectors, hobby writers or podcast hosts, or sellers talk about the industry’s Mount Rushmore. Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Tom Brady and Mickey Mantle are considered by many to be the four athletes on the hypothetical mountain.
The legendary doubleheader and the hobby’s reaction has put him atop any list of the most in-demand players.
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