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Dan Hajducky, ESPNAug 29, 2024, 08:00 AM ET
- Hajducky is an associate editor for ESPN. He has an MFA in creative writing from Fairfield University and played on the men’s soccer teams at Fordham and Southern Connecticut State universities.
Los Angeles Dodgers star and two-time MVP Shohei Ohtani has signed an exclusive long-term global trading card deal with Topps, a division of Fanatics Collectibles, it was announced Thursday.
Ohtani has signed other deals with Fanatics — including an exclusive autograph, collectibles and memorabilia deal in 2021, but it didn’t include sports cards.
“Ohtani’s been a part of the Topps family since he signed with the Angels in late 2017, early 2018, so this deal is super important to us,” said David Leiner, president of trading cards at Fanatics Collectibles. “Best player in the game, unique, global player, who pitches and hits. You’ve got to have this guy in product, you’ve got to have his autographs and memorabilia for fans to chase.”
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The agreement includes autographs and game-used memorabilia cards and will feature cards centered around moments and achievements, involving U.S.- and Japan-based products, a bourgeoning region for Topps and collecting.
“I’m happy to be exclusively partnering with Topps to give fans unique cards and collectibles for seasons to come,” Ohtani said in a statement.
Ohtani joins fellow Japanese players Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui with Topps deals.
“Japanese allocation is a big piece and you better believe, for the accounts in Japan, there’s never enough [product],” Leiner says. “They’re always asking for more. Our largest Japanese partner, Mint Collectibles, they own and operate a chain of 28 stores across Japan and the hobby is vibrant over there.”
In early January 2018, Fanatics opened an office in Tokyo and launched Fanatics Japan, nearly four years to the day before acquiring Topps. Topps followed suit, opening an office in Tokyo in 2021.
“We’re pushing, we’re well-distributed,” Leiner says. “7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Lawson’s, the hobby is in its early stages there, but we’re going to continue to push and grow there. Japan is a great baseball country, a passionate group of folks over there, and [Shohei] is so important back home.”
Leiner notes that 2025 Opening Day is the Dodgers vs. the Chicago Cubs in mid-March at the Tokyo Dome: “Look for some fun stuff there featuring our newly exclusive man.”
While financial details weren’t disclosed, Leiner said the deal is similar to the one Fanatics inked with Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James in January and “longer than many of the other deals you see us doing.”
“We want to change the way our athlete partnership group works,” Leiner says. “Historically, trading card companies would stick a thousand cards in front of an athlete in a hotel room on the road or something, scribbling away. It’s no secret, these guys make a lot of money, [but] we want true partnerships, 360 deals; they’re gonna sign their cards, that’s part of the gig, but there’s bells and whistles — marketing and partnering on the category, social media — and we’re trying to, like with LeBron, bring Shohei into the family and have a true partnership.”
While the deal doesn’t include contractual appearances, given the level and stature of the deal Leiner says, Topps and Fanatics expect Ohtani to participate in programs and elevate the collectible category on social media authentically.
Leiner also notes that Ohtani is a collector himself.
“When he signs cards” — which Leiner notes Topps continues to have flexibility on, Ohtani signing inscriptions in English or Kanji — “he asks a lot of questions, looks at them, understands them and likes them. He has some of his own cards as well, we’ve made cards for him, too; last year, we called it A Transcendent Season, put it in a really nice box, he [put] it on social media.
“He enjoys seeing kids at stadiums, fans with his cards, attempting to get them signed at the stadium. He has a lot of respect for the category, going back to when he was a growing superstar in the Nippon Professional Baseball league.”
Ohtani currently leads the NL in home runs, slugging, OPS and he’s second in RBIs and stolen bases. According to ESPN BET, he’s a -1600 favorite to win NL MVP, which would be his third MVP award in seven MLB seasons. Only 11 players in MLB history have won three.
“[Shohei] is a guy that has a chance to expand the sport of baseball on a global basis and something I’ve been passionate about — and we’re passionate about at Fanatics — is global expansion,” Leiner says. “This guy’s doing things we haven’t seen since Babe Ruth and hopefully [Shohei continues to convert] more fans into collectors.”
