Shohei Ohtani 50/50 Topps Set Reveal
When Shohei Ohtani signed an exclusive partnership with Topps back in August, you knew the trading card giant would make the most of it. The deal came at a fortuitous time as Ohtani was in the midst of chasing history. So it was to the surprise of no one that when the Dodgers slugger became the first to eclipse the 50 home run, 50 stolen base mark that Topps would take the opportunity to release a curated set geared toward that historic moment.
I decided to purchase one of the 10-pack boxes for roughly $250 before tax when they were posted on Topps' website nearly three months ago and wanted to share my thoughts on the product. The card stock was a bit thin for my liking. I understand that chrome stock would make the product more expensive, but given the gravity of this product, it would have been nice if the paper stock was at least up to par with that of a Series 1 or Heritage.
πππ₯π¦π§ ππ’π’π: The Ohtani 50/50 product is officially here.
β Topps (@Topps) September 29, 2024
Featuring a 100-card base set, thereβs 1 card for each of Ohtaniβs 50 homers and 50 steals. Every card in the product is of Shohei Ohtani.
Key chase cards include parallels, relics & autographs. And of course,β¦ pic.twitter.com/mcg2Y7s1iQ
As you chase the exclusive Dynasty Black 1/1, you are set to receive one parallel, which is of chrome card stock, or one short print. I didn't hit a single chrome card from my box, but as I sifted back through I noticed there was a short-print Kanji name variation depicting Ohtani's 4th home run of the year. Including this particular home run card the final count of HR/SB cards was 32-18 in favor of the long ball with a few duplicates of each statistic.
I like the idea of this type of set, especially when you add in the unique chase of potentially owning a piece of memorabilia from that historic game. I just can't get past the quality of the base cards given the price point. Some packs had small shavings falling off the cards as I flipped through them. They also seemed smaller when placed in a penny sleeve which could impact grading if you decide to do so. Overall, I hope Topps see the feedback from the community and takes the necessary steps to further enhance their next attempt at a product of this nature.
