Beckett Sports Card Hot / Cold – July 7, 2023
Welcome to an All-Star edition of Beckett Sports Card Hot/Cold where we take quick and fun look at what’s hot and what’s not in the worlds of sports and sports cards.
As baseball readies for it’s annual All-Star Game, there’s no question who MLB’s best player has been so far this year. Shohei Ohtani is no stranger to big numbers at the plate and on the mound. But the rate at which he’s putting them up this year makes a legitimate argument for unicorn status. Nobody has seen anything like it before and we probably never will — at least until Ohtani potentially does it again next year. A blister appears to have ended his chances at starting in Seattle for the Mid Summer Classic, but that doesn’t matter much. Ohtani is king on the field and he is in the hobby. Just look at his many 2023 Topps Now Baseball cards. Even the mundane (for him) milestones are selling 4,000+ copies. That’s more than most every other card in the product that doesn’t involve a top prospect’s debut or Victor Wembanyama.
Speaking of whom, the first overall pick in the NBA Draft has his first live autographs in 2022-23 Bowman’s Best University Basketball. They’re stickers, but still more exciting to pull in the short-term than a redemption.
