Fans Love Shohei — And Prove It By Buying Ohtani Memorabilia

Collectors of baseball memorabilia, like the Los Angeles Dodgers, are realizing the rising value of Shohei Ohtani.

The svelte Los Angeles leadoff man, who turns 31 on July 5, is going for his third straight Most Valuable Player award (and fourth overall) this season.

He’s coming off the first 50/50 season in baseball history, became the first man with 400 total bases since 2001, has joined Frank Robinson as the only men to win MVP trophies in both leagues, and is about to resume his career as a two-way player: pitcher and hitter. All three of his MVPs featured a unanimous vote by the writers.

A right-handed pitcher but left-handed batter, Ohtani was a star in Japan before he joined the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim as a free agent in 2018. He instantly won Rookie of the Year honors, added his first MVP three years later, and has been an All-Star four times.

International Fan Fervor

Adored by throngs of fans on both sides of the Pacific, Ohtani won his first World Series ring last fall, completing his first full season with the Los Angeles Dodgers after signing a 10-year, $700 million contract that was a pro sports record before the Mets gave Juan Soto 15 years and $765 million before the 2025 campaign.

Ohtani’s money is so heavily deferred that he realizes only $2 million per annum. But he brings home much more in revenue from memorabilia sales.

According to Card Ladder, which tracks card values, Ohtani has enjoyed an increase of a whopping 770 per cent since his rookie year.

At Goldin’s December 2024 Elite Auction, an Ohtani 2018 Topps Transcendent ‘52 Superfractor rookie card was sold for $246,440. Another rare Ohtani card, the 2018 Bowman Chrome Orange Refractor signed rookie went for more than twice as much: $533,140. Clemente Lisi of Sports Collectors Digest added that an Ohtani Topps Chrome $1/1 Autograph Sapphire Superfractor rookie was sold at auction for $336,000.

That’s not just pocket change.

“When Ohtani burst onto the scene, he was a total unknown,” said Justin Shump, chief buyer at Arena Club, an online marketplace and grading company. “Coming to the Dodgers, a team that’s very marketable and in a city that’s a melting pot, Ohtani became a marketing machine.”

When Arena Club added a 2018 Topps Chrome Ohtani Gold Refractor autograph card into its Diamond Slab packs, the digital repacks sold for $1,000 apiece.

Fans Queue Up

Fans line up for hours outside Dodger Stadium for Ohtani bobblehead giveaways, including one featuring the slugger’s dog Decoy. He’s a hero in Little Tokyo, where his image has become an eye-catching mural not far from Dodger Stadium.

Speaking of Ohtani, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin said, “He’s one of a kind. And we work with 5,000 athletes individually – every sport, every team globally.”

Before handing Ohtani a contract nearly $300,000 richer than previous record-holder Mike Trout, the Dodgers anticipated the outpouring of Ohtani love would translate into a financial windfall. Hats, shirts, jackets, jerseys, cards, and assorted trinkets continue to disappear as quickly as the baseballs Ohtani routinely hits over the fence.

His Nike jersey, bearing No. 17, sold more than any other baseball top on the Fanatics network since 2023, according to sales figures released on March 31.

And the cards? After his unprecedented 50/50 season in 2024, Topps NOW printed 650,000 copies of a special commemorative card, coupled with a price tag of $12. It resulted in $8 million of revenue for Fanatics, which owns Topps.

Goldin’s also jumped on the Ohtani gravy train, earning $4.3 million at auction for the ball he hit for his 50th home run in 2024. No other game-used ball has ever earned more.

“He’s one a kind,” Rubin said on the 6-1-1 Podcast hosted by former players Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins. “When I see the numbers he’s doing, what he’s doing for the business, I see he is truly a unicorn.”

Ohtani vs. Griffey

He’s first in almost everything – on and off the field – but there are exceptions. PSA, which authenticates cards, reports that it gets more requests for Hall of Famer Ken Griffey, Jr. But Ohtani is catching up, especially as he adds to his legacy with more achievements on the field, said PSA president Ryan Hoge.

As the 2025 season started, Griffey led Ohtani by some 138,000 cards, PSA said. But then Ohtani homered in the Tokyo Series that opened the season for the Dodgers and the gap started to close, along with requests for fellow Japanese stars Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, and Shota Imanaga.

A ball signed by the four of them sold for $59,999.99 on Fanatics. The ball, which includes the Tokyo Series 2025 logo, helped Fanatics realize $40 million in merchandise and card sales for the two-game series. That was a company record for any special event.

Everything was fueled by Ohtanimania. Fans searched for his name more than 1,700 times per hour after his Opening Day home run.

“If he returns to dominate as a pitcher while continuing to be the game’s most dominant offensive force, we could see yet another surge,” said Hoge. “We may still be at the start of a long-term Ohtani collecting boom.”

According to PSA, half of the top 20 most-collected current players had international origins, with three from Japan.

“The value of Ohtani’s cards continues to climb as he keeps making history,” Hoge said. Demand for Ohtani cards has been consistently growing and reaching new heights for years.”