Ohtani recent card sales show his market keeps on chugging
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Last Wednesday, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the baseball and hobby worlds got a scare when Shohei Ohtani was pulled during a start after struggling with his command. Clearly looking uncomfortable on the mound, the encouraging sign was that the superstar did stay in the game to take his at-bats. Now, it appears that Ohtani was suffering from cramping and the injury is not considered serious. The injury, combined with a relative down month for Ohtani in July has not led to a downturn in Ohtani's card market. Still a favorite for his fourth MVP award, Ohtani cards are more than treading water.
Shohei Ohtani could win his 4th MVP award in the last 5 years 👀 pic.twitter.com/NyFe9FLxuT
— MLB (@MLB) July 29, 2025
In fact, the performance of Ohtani's cards during a month in which he batted .204 with an OPS of .826 (he did also hit a home run in five straight games, and put up nine during the month), is a testament to the strength of Ohtani's card market, and his current domination over the hobby. Since July 1, Ohtani's Card Ladder Rate of Growth is listed, at writing, at +7.42%.
The biggest Ohtani sale since July 1 was for this 2024 Topps Dynasty Glove Patch Auto 1-of-1, which sold for $114,000 through Fanatics Premier. While there have been plenty of sales well above this low-six-figure price in recent times, it ensured that there has now been an Ohtani sale of $100,000 or more for six straight months, per Card Ladder.
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This 2018 Bowman Chrome Auto numbered to 50 sold for $101,000 on Jul. 14. A PSA 10 version of the card is the current high sale of the Gold /50, selling for just over $200,000 in March.
In addition to big-ticket items going for big money, Ohtani's spot at the top of the active player hobby is also well-exemplefied by the depth of interest. Since July 1, Card Ladder registers 828 Ohtani sales of $1,000. Simply put, no other baseball player compares. Aaron Judge accounted for just over 400 such sales. Skenes? 190. Trout? 126.
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This Atomic Refractor 2018 Bowman Chrome Auto numbered to 100 sold for $44,000 on Jul. 14.
Ohtani's spot on top also extends to recent releases. One example can be found in the 2025 Topps Series 2 Baseball All Kings insert. This recently graded PSA 10 sold for $2,750 on Aug.2. At writing, 15 cards among the All Kings insert have sold for $1,500 or more. 13 of those are Ohtani's. The only other two cards to breakthrough were 1-of-1's of Elly De La Cruz and Bryce Harper.
Michael Terry is a writer based in Brooklyn. He specializes in sports, culture, and collecting. His work has appeared at Topps RIPPED, ESPN, Grantland, Vice Sports, and more.
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