Shohei Ohtani's MVP Performance and Impact on Card Performance

John Dudley | Sep 9, 2024

Sep 7, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17). / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Shohei Ohtani is on his way to another MVP award and quite possibly the first 50/50 season in MLB’s long history. When ripping packs, he’s the name collectors are quietly hoping they hit. For all the success he has had in 2024, his cards have not appreciated as much as one might expect. I fact, according to the Card Ladder Player Index his cards are only up about 9% for the season. That’s not what one normally expects when the most popular player in the hobby has an MVP-caliber season so we need to see what’s going on with Ohtani pricing.

You can expect to see Shohei Ohtani signed @Topps cards for a long time to come.

Today, in a press release, Topps announced that they have signed Ohtani to a long-term exclusive global trading card deal. pic.twitter.com/FcDkCR3ZsK

— Sports Card Investor (@SportsCardInv) August 29, 2024

The obvious reason for the lack of upward movement in Ohtani’s cards is that even if he sets all manner of hitting records, his place at the top of the MLB portion of the sports card world is dependent on being a two-way player. As a two-way player, Ohtani is now in a class by himself. As a hitter, he’s got peers. The fact his card prices haven’t dipped is a testament to Ohtani’s stellar hitting, but his cards’ ceiling is lowered when not pitching as well.

Not only is he not pitching, he’s not playing in the field either. Fans of David Ortiz, Yordan Alvarez, and Edgar Martinez can all attest that time spent at DH can negatively impact card values even for the great Ohtani.

Sep 8, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) is greeted in the dugout after hitting a home run during the fifth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Lastly, another possible reason for the lack of major gains is that many collectors are assuming that his cards have skyrocketed and are thus consequently avoiding them. Anecdotally, I assumed his cards had gone up at least 50% based on social media chatter and had not seriously considered buying any for that reason. It’s likely others have steered away from Ohtani cards for the same reason.

🚨 TOPPS x OHTANI 🚨

This morning, in a press release Topps announced they have signed Shohei Ohtani to a long term exclusive global trading card deal.

The deal includes exclusive autographs, relics and more! pic.twitter.com/mXECf6bgB0

— The Collectibles Guru (@ericwhiteback) August 29, 2024