Topps NOW Releases Legendary 1/1 Tokyo Series Card!

On Tuesday, March 18th, Topps announced that it has acquired a game-used baseball from the historic 2025 MLB Tokyo Series, where for the first time ever, two Japanese pitchers faced off on Opening Day. This incredibly historic moment will be featured on a Topps NOW card and allow collectors to chase a 1/1 Game Card, featuring both pitchers and the game used ball.

Mar 16, 2025; Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan; The Tokyo Series logo is printed on the field at Tokyo Dome. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

As a lifelong baseball fan and major sports card collector (yes my personal collection exceeds 1,500,000 individual cards), I live for moments when the game and the hobby intersect.

That being said, Topps just dropped some pretty exciting hobby-related news via X (formally Twitter) saying that they’ve acquired a game-used baseball from Game 1 of the 2025 MLB Tokyo Series, where, for the first time in the history of Major League Baseball, two Japanese starting pitchers faced-off on Opening Day.

In Game 1, Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers faced off against Shota Imanaga of the Chicago Cubs.

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Mar 10, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto during the first inning at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Not only did Topps acquire these absolutely historical pieces of game-used memorabilia, but they announced that they’d be the center of attention for the latest Topps Now release entitled, “1st Japanese Starting Pitchers to Square Off on Opening Day”.

For all of you out there in the hobby world looking to get your hands on this card, it will be featured as a 1/1 chase card for those purchasing the base Topps NOW edition via Topps.com.

𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐈𝐍: We’ve acquired game-used baseball from the MLB Tokyo Series.

For the first time in MLB history, two Japanese starting pitchers faced off on Opening Day — and this card features a game-used ball thrown by each pitcher. pic.twitter.com/7dBluAgpyH

— Topps (@Topps) March 18, 2025

When it comes to baseball, Japan has always been a powerhouse in the category of player production with names like Shohei Ohtani, Ichiro Suzuki, Hideki Matsui, Yu Darvish and even Kodai Senga all players for Major League teams here in the United States.

However, and up until today, there has never been an Opening Day where two Japanese pitchers have faced off against each other in the same game, and it is that exact moment that the wonderful folks from Topps have captured for us.

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Mar 15, 2025; Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan; Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga (18) walks on the field before the game at Tokyo Dome. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

So no matter if you’re a die-hard collector like myself, a fan of Japanese baseball history dating back to the late-19th century and its founding father Horace Wilson, or just a regular joe who gets excited when the game and the hobby intersect, this the exact type of card everyone should be getting excited to come together and chase.

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