Upon release, BBM Hokkaido baseball cards didn’t make much noise in the American market. But as Shohei Ohtani has ascended into one of the best players to take the diamond, Japanese cards featuring the two-way superstar have exploded in significance. BBM Hokkaido produced the first Ohtani professional autograph card in its 2013 release after he joined the Nippon Ham Fighters in December 2012. The company, which dominated the Japanese baseball card market at the time, continued producing Shotime autos such as this one until he departed for MLB.
This offering and its sticker auto comes from the 2017 BBM Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters release and showcases Ohtani in his windup shortly before he was posted to the Angels. This is the only example of this card assessed by PSA, and its PSA 10 / DNA 10 label only enhances its importance and prestige. With Ohtani looking primed to continue dominating baseball on a team that will likely remain a World Series contender, rare Japanese printings such as this could become all the more coveted in the years to come.
Learn more about Shotime’s early issues in our Guide to Shohei Ohtani Rookie Cards: https://www.fanaticscollect.com/definitive-guides/a-guide-to-shohei-ohtanis-rookie-cards
The certification number on this card has been checked against the third-party grader's online database and is active as of 06/03/2025.
