MLB's Tokyo Series a Hit with Fans and Collectors

Yahoo

20-03-2025

Konnichiwa, Collectors.
The baseball season is officially underway, with the Dodgers sitting at 2-0 after sweeping the Cubs in the Tokyo Series. The games, featuring Japanese MLB stars Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki for the Dodgers, and Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki for the Cubs, was a huge success, with more than 25M fans in Japan tuning into the opening game.
The series was also closely followed by collectors, with Topps releasing a special set of Series 1 cards, Complex, Topps and artist Takashi Murakami collaborating on suite of cards and merch that had lines snaking around retail outlets, and even MLB auctioning off jerseys, balls and bases from the games.
Which makes us wonder, how did MLB authenticate and list all of those items for auction so quickly…?
And here's our answer! ESPN.com published a deep-dive of MLB's authentication process, which aims to ensure the legitimacy of game-used memorabilia. Since 2001, MLB has authenticated over 10.5M items, including jerseys, baseballs, and other equipment. The authentication team, composed of former law enforcement personnel, catalogs and records items using a hologram system and a strict chain of custody. The long-read is a fascinating look at how items like the ball from Ohtani's first hit of the season, or Imanaga's jersey from Game 1, go from field to the auction block.
A rare copy of baseball's most iconic card, the T206 Honus Wagner, known as 'The Connecticut Wagner,' is set to be auctioned in Goldin's Spring Vintage Auction starting May 21. The card, a PSA 1, which last sold publicly in 2010 for $282,000, is expected to sell for significantly more this time around, with estimates cresting the $5M figure. Meanwhile, another T206 Wagner, this one graded PSA Authentic (Restored), is heading to auction through Mile High Card Company, with the sale kicking off April 7.
A copy of the other contender for 'baseball's most iconic card' is up for auction, and it arrived there under unique circumstances. Back in 1980, to settle a $100 debt tied to a game of pinochle, a man accepted a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card in lieu of a crisp Benjamin. The card was then stored safely for 4 decades until it was inherited by his grandson, who got it graded (SGC 2.5) and sent it to Fanatics Collect for auction. The sale ends tonight, and at press time, bidding was already at $36,000, making the card-over-cash decision a very lucrative one.
Hey! Are you reading Mail Day yet? Those who are got the hot tip to pick up J.J. McCarthy rookie cards on Tuesday, a day before news broke that he was likely to be named the Vikings starter headed into the upcoming NFL season. And Mail Day readers got the scoop on the new Capris Sun Moon Punch, that has collectors holstering their plastic straws to preserve the limited edition pouches. The next Mail Day, known in certain never-wrong circles as the most entertaining read in collectibles, drops Tuesday.
To follow up on a story we've been tracking at Above the Mantel, the leader of a crime ring that stole and melted down priceless sports memorabilia, including Yogi Berra's World Series rings and Roger Maris' MVP awards, has been sentenced to an 8-year prison term. Earlier this month Thomas Trotta plead guilty to the crimes, including targeting museums and private collections to steal irreplaceable artifacts. In addition to the prison sentence, Trotta was ordered to pay over $2.7M in restitution.
Today begins one of the best stretches in all of sports, March Madness. Heading into the tournament, all eyes are on freshman sensation Cooper Flagg, after he injured his ankle in the ACC Tournament. Flagg is expected to play, and his sports card market (and firm status as the top pick in the upcoming NBA draft) will be strengthened by a strong run in March. Think Flagg and Duke can win it all? Join Mantel's Bracket Mayhem on Yahoo Sports, where the winner will take home a box of 2024 Topps Chrome McDonald's All-American Basketball Mega Box.
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