Coming off an MVP-caliber season, Shohei Ohtani has become one of the game’s all-time great players whose play on the mound and at the plate is consistently measured by the Hall of Fame career of Babe Ruth.
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Although Aaron Judge won the 2022 American League MVP, Ohtani – who won the MVP in 2021 - finished second and crafted a season for the ages this past season. On the mound, Ohtani led the American League with 11.87 strikeouts per nine innings. At one point, he coaxed 29 swings-and-misses in a game vs. Boston – the most by any pitcher in a start in 2022.
At the plate, he slugged 34 home runs with 95 RBI, had an OPS of .875, scored 90 runs with 304 total bases, earning his second straight MLB Edgar Martinez Designed Hitter Award as the game’s top DH.
This issue we thought we would look back at Ohtani’s 2018 Rookie Card lineup.
Now it’s time for major league cards.
By the time his rookie season with the Los Angeles Angels came to a close, collectors had a lot of Shohei Ohtani Rookie Cards, inserts and autographs to choose from.
2018 Bowman Shohei Ohtani Rookie Card #49
The regular Shohei Ohtani Rookie Card in 2018 Bowman Baseball is a fairly straightforward affair. It’s simple, doesn’t draw attention to itself and is readily available. So in the big picture, it’s going to be one of the more affordable choices out there. The parallels bring some color and added scarcity. But the big interest in the set comes from the Bowman Chrome Shohei Ohtani autograph that’s found in packs. It’s an insert and not a traditional RC, but that hasn’t stopped it from going for thousands and even tens of thousands for some of the rarest Refractors.
Parallels: Sky Blue (/499), Purple (/250), Blue (/150), Green (/99), Gold (/50), Orange (/25), Red (/5), Platinum (1/1), Printing Plates Black (1/1), Printing Plates Cyan (1/1), Printing Plates Magenta (1/1), Printing Plates Yellow (1/1)
2018 Bowman Chrome Shohei Ohtani RC #1
This one is found in the hobby-only 2018 Bowman Chrome. It has the Chrome shine and a good amount of parallels but the product is more focused on autographs and prospects. So it’s somewhat on the overlooked side.
Parallels: Refractors (/499), Purple Refractors (/250), Blue Refractors (/150), Green Refractors (/99), Gold Refractors (/50), Orange Refractors (/25), Red Refractors (/5), Superfractors (1/1)
2018 Bowman Platinum Shohei Ohtani RC #34
The 2018 Bowman Platinum Shohei Ohtani is one of the Angels star’s wilder looking Rookie Cards. Besides the colorful graphics dancing in the background, the card comes printed on foil. It’s not a scarce card but the product was an exclusive to Walmart.
Parallels: Ice, Sky Blue, Purple (/299), Blue (/150), Green (/99), Orange (/25), Red (/10), Foilfractor (1/1)
2018 Bowman’s Best Shohei Ohtani RC #1
Coming on the heels of Bowman Draft, it’s probably not surprising that Best is somewhat overlooked as many prospectors were moving on to the latest draft picks. But for those who like chromium and the Bowman name, there’s more color and design elements than Bowman Chrome. There’s still a parallel rainbow, too, but it’s not as large.
Parallels: Refractors, Atomic Refractors, Purple Refractors (/250), Blue Refractors (/150), Green Refractors (/99), Gold Refractors (/50), Orange Refractors (/25), Red Refractors (/10), Superfractors (1/1)
2018 Classics Shohei Ohtani RCs #7, #13
Found in the anthology-style 2018 Panini Chronicles.
Parallels:
Timeless Tribute (/199), Timeless Tribute Gold (/99), Timeless Tribute Red (/25), Timeless Tribute Purple (/10), Timeless Tribute Green (/5), Printing Plates Black (1/1), Printing Plates Cyan (1/1), Printing Plates Magenta (1/1), Printing Plates Yellow (1/1), Timeless Tribute Platinum (1/1)
2018 Diamond Kings Shohei Ohtani RCs #73 and #76
2018 Diamond Kings has a pair of Ohtani RCs in the base set, one with him pitching and the other with him batting. Neither is a short print or part of a subset so both get the RC tag and are held on equal footing as far as value goes.