He was a wait and see curiosity at first. A player good enough to be in the lineup every day as a hitter who could also strike major league hitters out? It didn’t seem possible but Shohei Ohtani quickly proved it could be done. The two-way star came as advertised and his success connected those who’d watched Babe Ruth do the same with 21st century fans. In 2024, Shohei Ohtani didn’t pitch, he just re-wrote the record books for his jaw-dropping, do-it-all offensive skills.
Last week he hit. 500, with home runs, 17 RBI, seven stolen bases and scored 11 runs.
Reaching 50 homers and 50 stolen bases–and who knows what the final numbers will be– supercharged an already potent Ohtani baseball card market. A day after he became the lone member of the 50-50 club, one of the Hobby’s largest card shows opened at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center.
“Ohtani’s probably been the most asked about all day, yesterday too,” dealer Stephen Hilowitz from B&B Sportscards in Virginia Beach, VA said at the Philly Show on Saturday. “The price increase has just been crazy. There’s probably been about a 15-20% increase just in the last two days.”
Growth Stock
The market for Ohtani has almost always been robust, but his historic 2024 season has sent it to another level. The index for the 90 Ohtani cards tracked by CardLadder shows a 733% growth rate since his rookie season, better than the blue chippiest of blue chip stocks.
The index is up nearly 25% this season–and it’s not all high-end cards that have seen dramatic increases.
PSA 9 copies of the 2018 Topps Chrome (pitching) rookie are now selling for over $100. That’s a 240% jump in the last month.
PSA 10 copies of his 2018 Topps Heritage base card have doubled to nearly $200 in that same time frame.
Ohtani’s PSA 9 Chrome Update card is up over 200% in the last three months.
A rare card with a rare autograph style that closed at auction the night he reached 50-50 set a new record:
Shohei Ohtani card from 2018 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions–one of 10 with a Kanji signature–sold for $93,000 late last night via Fanatics Collect: https://t.co/HVNC4FaZDP pic.twitter.com/pB8HqhNYbs
— Sports Collectors Daily (@SportsCollector) September 20, 2024
A 2018 Topps High Tek Autograph Shohei Ohtani Rookie Black & White #5/40 graded BGS 10 with a 10 signature sold for $22,800 Sunday night at Robert Edward Auctions.
At the Philly Show, collectors were buying everything from $10 cards of recent vintage to signed copies that stretched into four and five figures but it was one of the more accessible cards moving most.
“His Topps Chrome,” Hilowitz said. “Because it’s just more affordable for the public. But people have been asking about RPAs and things like that. There are some big ballers (buyers) out here in Philly.”
They’re online, too.
On eBay, 13 Ohtani cards have sold for $10,000 or more this month alone.
Remember When?
There was plenty of hype around Ohtani when he signed with the Angels ahead of the 2018 season. Considering what he’s done, just about every collector and dealer is kicking themselves for not buying every rookie card in sight.
Ohtani first appeared on a US trading card product inside Mega boxes of 2017 Bowman Chrome sold at Target. Over 1,300 cards have been awarded a PSA 10 grade since then. The standard, non-parallel versions sold for less than $300 until March of 2021. In the last year, they’ve skyrocketed more than 63%, with the most recent sale at $1,800.
Those who thought his market would drop after surgery took him off the pitcher’s mound for 2024 had no idea what was about to unfold.
“We can’t stock enough of him,” Hilowitz said. “It’s just in and out, in and out. His stuff is just on fire right now.”
-Alex Tressler contributed to this story
Related Stories:
10 Players And Cards To Watch In The Second Half
Notes: Archives Retired Set for Release; O’s to Give Autograph Collector Access; Fanatics Auction; More
Notes: Ohtani Impact; Autographed Items, McDavid Memorabilia at Auction; Topps Partners in Card Deal with West Ham
Jordan, Ohtani Cards, Big Influx of 1986-87 Fleer Basketball Among Top Items Graded in January
Stroud, Ohtani Among Most Graded Players in February
Shop Talk: Hot Hands, Buying Slabs, Ohtani Allegations
Notes: Shoeless, Mickey Items Top Auction; Ohtani Dodgers Gamer, FDNY Gear for Charity; COMC Update; Kid Entrepreneur
Government Looks to Seize Cards Translator Bought with Ohtani’s Money
