2017 Bowman Mega Box Prospects Shohei Otani #BCP31
The first American Shohei Ohtani card showed up as something of a surprise. Then it seemed to have disappeared from shelves before reappearing once again. The 2017 Bowman Mega Box Shohei Ohtani (or Otani as the card has him) could only be found in special boxes at Target. These mixed five regular 2017 Bowman packs with a pair of exclusive Mega Box Chrome packs with their own patterned versions of the Prospect cards. Part of the reason for the surprise was that Ohtani wasn’t among the 2017 Bowman Prospects. He was going to represent Japan at the World Baseball Classic but an injury kept him out of the tournament. A couple of international players did get Bowman cards in the main release. Ohtani was added only to the Bowman Mega Boxes. A similar Team Japan card was not in 2017 Bowman Chrome or Bowman Draft. This card has proven to be extremely popular. Not only was it the first to market but the abnormal distribution added to it. Ohtani has international appeal. Japan does have hobby channels, but overseas collectors would have to look to the secondary market to get one of these. Because it’s his first American card, some collectors treat this as a Shohei Ohtani Rookie Card. Others point to other Bowman Prospect cards and how they’re more like inserts. Either way, this has been a popular card since its release.