NEW YORK — Shohei Ohtani is reaching new heights on the field. He’s also breaking records on the auction block.
On Tuesday night in Harlem, the record sale of an Ohtani baseball card kicked off “Holy Grails” auction, the first live auction collaboration between Fanatics Collect, the collectibles wing of the global sports giant, and Sotheby’s.
Ohtani’s one-of-a-kind 2018 Topps Chrome Sapphire Autographs Superfractor rookie card sold for $336,000, which surpassed the previous record of $312,000 for an Ohtani trading card set in December 2021. The exact card that sold on Tuesday night previously sold in October 2021 for $62,730 and in May 2019 for $4,800. Sotheby’s estimated price range for the card was $80,000 to $120,000. It just came five days after Ohtani became the first player in MLB history with 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a season.
“I think my favorite thing in the sale was, in a way, the Ohtani card,” said Brahm Wachter, head of collectibles at Sotheby’s. “It’s why I put it in lot one.”
BREAKING NEWS 🚨
Shohei Ohtani’s 2018 Topps Chrome Sapphire Rookie Superfractor Auto 1/1 just sold at @Sothebys Holy Grails Auction for $336,000! This sets a new record for Ohtani’s highest-sold card! pic.twitter.com/k8O7m1PSkY
— Fanatics Collect (@FanaticsCollect) September 25, 2024
The sale came in front of a gathered crowd inside Harlem Parish — a former church turned event space — that included Tom Brady, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, YouTuber Logan Paul, and rapper Meek Mill.
Brady, in his first season as a Fox color analyst, sat next to Kraft in a front row pew, which proved fortunate when Kraft bought a Brady card — a 2000 Playoff Contenders Rookie Ticket Autograph — for $120,000.
Other notable sales on the night included Elly De La Cruz’s 2022 Bowman Chrome 1st Bowman Prospect Autograph Superfractor, another 1-of-1 card, going for $360,000 — even more than the Ohtani record — and a 1-of-1 2005-06 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Dual Logoman Autographs Michael Jordan and Julius Erving card, featuring a game-used NBA logo patch from each player’s jersey, that sold for $780,000.
(Photo: Kristina Bumphrey / Variety via Getty Images)
