No matter who you talk to nowadays, the general consensus is that Shohei Ohtani is baseball’s top player. While the jury is still out regarding where he lands on the list of baseball’s all-time greatest players, there are few who would argue that any player has had a bigger impact both on and off than field than Ohtani has in the last few years.
There has been no shortage of iconic Ohtani moments recently, but few have been more memorable than when he entered the 50/50 club last year. Gaining entry to the 50/50 club is something only a few players have done before because not many players are able to record both 50 homeruns and 50 steals in a single MLB season. In fact, most players would consider themselves blessed if they were able to hit 50 in even one of these categories in a single season.
Shohei Ohtani recorded his 50th homerun against the Diamondbacks last year, and a Topps card commemorating the moment just sold for more than $1 million.
An Ohtani Card Like No Other
The card Topps released to honor Ohtani is, fittingly, a 1 of 1 unique piece. Not only does it feature Ohtani’s autograph and references to his 50 stolen bases and homeruns, it also boasts a patch from the pair of pants he wore while reaching this massive milestone. There are many high-value Ohtani cards out there, but after this PSA 9 was just sold at auction, none of the others come
anywhere near the value of Ohtani’s 50/50 card.
The previous biggest sale of an Ohtani card was a BGS 10 graded rookie that fetched over $500,000 at auction. The 50/50 card, which was sold last weekend, went to a bidder who laid down $1.07 million for the card, or $1,070,000. Though the identity of the buyer has not and will not be revealed by the auction house, it is safe to say this is someone with serious cash. As time wears on and Ohtani’s career continues to shine, it is safe to say we may see this card reappear at a future auction, and it would not be at all surprising to see it sold for even more than $1 million.
Not the Biggest Card Sale Recently
The thought of spending more than $1 million on a baseball card may be simply out of the question for most people, but it is becoming increasingly commonplace to see sales with values so large. Barely one month ago a Paul Skenes (pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates) rookie card sold for even more than the Ohtani 50/50 piece, at a whopping $1.11 million.
Card traders typically associate such high price points with cards from decades ago that have become increasingly scarce and, thus, more valuable. Only recently have we seen cards of current players being sold for such high prices, and that points to the rising popularity of baseball cards. As more people watch the sport and fall in love with its players, companies like Topps and Bowman continue to capitalize on the opportunity and are selling more cards now than ever before.