2018 Topps Finest
Where do you start collecting Shohei Ohtani Rookie Cards?
You should know by now that Shohei Ohtani is having another historic year with dominating performances on both the mound and at the plate ... it's stuff that could only be called Ruthian -- and yet Babe Ruth didn't do it all at the same time.
Right now, on June 28, he leads the league in homers (28), RBI (64), slugging percentage (.654), total bases (200) and other offensive stats, while also having. 7-3 record on the mound with 127 Ks in 95 innings and a 3.02 ERA ... in short, he leads his team in pretty much everything. This kind of showing could mean serious headlines by year's end, too, with that home run pace alone.
The Japanese icon and pitcher-slash-DH's 2018 Rookie Cards are ones you should be thinking about right now as there's been a serious uptick in interest -- and it was already high. But, thanks to there being plenty of sets that year and with him in most of them, there's still a lot to choose from that's not priced out of many collectors' budgets. Things do get quite interesting with basic cards in slabs, too. (Prices should surprise you ... they did for me just prepping this.)
Ohtani, who had a ton of cards during his career in Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan starting in 2013, appears on literally thousands of unique baseball cards -- he'll probably hit around 15,000 by year's end or this time next year. More than 3,000 of those are from 2018 alone. His time in MLB releases started almost immediately as he never needed MiLB time and arrived in almost everything in the 2018 lineups from Topps, Panini America and elsewhere -- Rookie Cards, parallels, autographs, memorabilia you name it he's had it all since then. And there will be plenty more to come, perhaps making those earlier cards feel more unique to some ... especially if they missed out.
For simplicity's sake here, we have carved out all of his Topps Now and several other small-set cards sold as online releases as well as Panini America's meaty lineup of Ohtani (about 30 basic RCs and tons more when it comes to hits and inserts). We've also punted all autographs and Relic cards to make this a starting point with the widest affordability and accessibility possible, though there are plenty of high-dollar cards in this roundup.
Keep reading for a rundown of Shohei Ohtani Rookie Cards ... and it won't even be all of his stuff you could dabble with from that key year as there are plenty of cards with RC logos that don't fall under the definition.
Three notable rookies get 2018 Topps Finest Mystery nods
If you pulled a Mystery Redemption in 2018 Topps Finest, you won big.
Topps revealed three rookies for the program and two of them are reigning Rookie of the Year award-winners.
eBay Buzz Weekly Update: SportKings surprises, Prizm powers, Ohtani's new Superfractor, big Stranger Things ink & more
Have you seen the latest cool or interesting items on eBay? If not, you just might see some of those here every week as we're launching a weekly version of our eBay Buzz pieces that pop up from time to time. We’ll spotlight some items that have a story or just wow us with how much interest it might have — and we’re not just talking baseball cards, either.
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SPORTKINGS SURPRISES
The Item: Kevin VanDam 2018 SportKings Volume 1 silver patch-auto card (/10)
The Price: $113.50 after seven bids (about nine hours remaining)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: SportKings is back with SAGE behind the wheel and this is one of the interesting inclusions that could surprise you. There's one hit per blaster box but you get multiple autos and mem cards per box and this is one of the cards that you might not think is cash but when a star has few other cards then supply and demand takes over. There are obvious legends of yesteryear here like Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown and more recent stars such as WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels. There are base cards for legendary bull (really) Bodacious and really fun stuff like paintings and patch cards that will wow you. It's worth a serious look.
Similar Pieces: Other 2018 SportKings autos on eBay
The BlowoutCards.com Hunt: Click here for 2018 SportKings boxesKeep reading for four more interesting items in this week's roundup ...
Buzz Break: 2018 Topps Finest baseball cards (hobby box)
From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.
The box: 2018 Topps Finest (hobby)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com
Packs per box: 12 (via two mini-boxes)
Cards per pack: 5
Cards in this box: 60
Base set completion: 44 of 100 (44 percent)
Duplicates: 0Base cards of note – Gary Sanchez, Albert Pujols, Stephen Strasburg, Kris Bryant, Clayton Kershaw, Paul Goldschmidt, Giancarlo Stanton, Alex Bregman, Buster Posey, Miguel Cabrera, Max Scherzer, Adrian Beltre
Rookie Cards (7) – Shohei Ohtani, Miguel Andujar, Rhys Hoskins, J.P. Crawford, Nicky Delmonico, Brandon Woodruff, Chance Sisco
Board Buzz: Must-read threads on Blowout Forums (June 7)
The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.
What's Buzzing Today: Big pulls -- including a Shohei Ohtani Superfractor -- and NSCC chatter in today's edition.
Board Buzz: Must-read threads on Blowout Forums (June 6)
The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.
What's Buzzing Today: eBay discounts, supply and demand, NSCC prep and big pulls today.
First Buzz: 2018 Topps Finest baseball cards
What: 2018 Topps Finest baseball cards
Arrives: June 6
Box basics: One auto per mini box with two minis per master (eight masters per case)
Checklist: Click here to viewWhat's buzz-worthy: Finest is back as a hobby release once again with a number of inclusions that add to its chromed legacy of autographs and inserts.
Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.
7 Item(s)