It is official: Shohei Ohtani signed the biggest deal in sports history with the Los Angeles Dodgers for an astonishing $700 million contract. And who else but Topps will jump on this opportunity? In only a matter of hours upon signing the deal, Topps created the very first Shohei Ohtani Los Angeles Dodgers card ever.
Topps Now used the magic of Photoshop to create the first Los Angeles Dodgers Shohei Ohtani baseball card. The card is numbered #OS21 and was completed only hours after Ohtani signed with the Dodgers.
In a Topps Now Off-season card, Shohei Ohtani is featured in his new uniform lining up to bat. The uniform is a nice touch, utilizing the magnificence of photo editing. This allows fans to glimpse the international star representing his new team.
Let’s dive into everything you need to know about this card.
Two Records at Once
Upon his initial signing, this card was released for sale for only a short 24 hours by Topps. However, within that time, the card demolished another record by selling the most copies in a print-on-demand line.
The total number of cards purchased during this time was 107,541 copies. If we look back at when Shohei Ohtani first signed with the Los Angeles Angels back in 2017, we can see a monumental difference in volume sold.
Shohei Ohtani’s first card as an Angel sold around 17,000 copies. Unsurprisingly, he sold less at this time as he had not yet proven his immense star quality to the world. In addition, this was when Topps Now was relatively new and hadn’t yet gained much traction.
Fast forward to now, and we can see how huge his star presence has become. Shohei Ohtani’s first card as a Dodger was the first Topps Now card ever to break the 100,000 copy mark in only 24 hours.
For reference, the only other Topps Now cards that have come close were Bernie Sanders’s inauguration card. The Aaron Judge’s 62nd home run card also had over 90,000 copies sold each.
2023 Topps Now Shohei Ohtani Los Angeles Dodgers Card #OS21
The card shows an intense Shohei at the plate decked out in the Dodger’s home white jersey. The Topps Now logo is placed in the top left-hand corner. The word “SIGNED” with the words “10 Years /// LAD” is centered.
Future Value
With so many copies sold, you can obtain this card relatively easily. However, as Shohei Ohtani continues to prove himself to be one of the world’s best, the value of this card will only increase.
Last season, Shohei Ohtani recorded an astounding 44 home runs and 95 RBIs. These card sales are not the only record he has broken, as last season, he was also the first in the MLB to end the season with a 9.0 fWAR.
On the other side of the field, Shohei Ohtani had 167 strikeouts last season, pitching in 132 innings. These impressive stats are nothing to take lightly, especially when considering how his performance will affect the value of his card.
2023 Topps Now Shohei Ohtani Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Card Value?
Current auction prices on eBay have the first Shohei Ohtani Los Angeles Dodgers #OS21 baseball card selling between $5 to $12.
Buy now eBay prices are falling between $9 and $19.
I would suggest investing now.