6 Cheap Shohei Ohtani Rookie Cards Under $100

Collecting Shohei Ohtani rookie cards is a smart exercise for any sports card collector, not just baseball card collectors. Ohtani’s impact reaches far beyond Major League Baseball, and people from multiple continents want to add his cards to their collections.

What Makes Shohei Ohtani Cards So Special?

While Ohtani recently became the first player to ever join the “50/50 Club,” for hitting at least 50 home runs and stealing at least 50 bases, he was making headlines long before this.

From the time he joined the Los Angeles Angels in 2018 through his first season with the L.A. Dodgers in his record-breaking 2024 season, Ohtani has amazed fans from the mound and in the batter’s box.

Coming from the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league in Japan, this two-way player became one of the best hitters and pitchers the game has seen in a long time.

Ohtani now has three MVP awards, and along with Baseball Hall-of-Famer Frank Robinson, he’s the only player to ever have won an MVP award in both the American League and National League. Ohtani is on pace for a Hall-of-Fame career as both a hitter and a pitcher!

“It’s tough enough to just be a great hitter or an offensive player or to be a great pitcher. For him to be able to do both, is pretty remarkable. I can’t relate to it, I really can’t relate to it. You run out of adjectives to describe him.” — Derek Jeter on Fox Sports’ “Flippin’ Bats with Ben Verlander” podcast 

6 Low-Priced Shohei Ohtani Rookie Cards Under $100

Disclaimer: This is not investment advice, as I am not a financial planner. These are my observations as a sports card collector. Please make your own decisions.

Raw cards will certainly come at a lower price, but ungraded Shohei Ohtani rookie cards might have already been given a lower grade, then the slab cracked, so the card could sell for more raw. Prices are taken from 130point.com during the spring of 2025.

Shohei Ohtani True Rookie Card: 2018 Topps Shohei Ohtani #700 PSA 9 $50

It’s true that Ohtani’s true rookie card is not his greatest photo, considering it’s a little dark, not a full body shot or a tight profile photo, and he’s pitching instead of hitting. But it’s still the main card everyone wants and it’s cheap enough for everyone to have. There would be cards in the 2018 Topps Update and 2018 Topps Team Set with Ohtani batting, but they’re not his first true rookie card.

2018 Bowman Shohei Ohtani Rookie Card #49 PSA 9 $45

Most people go to Topps for rookie cards and Bowman for that player’s prospect cards, or 1st Bowman cards. While Bowman does produce “rookie cards” with the RC logo on them, they’re usually not as sought after as their Topps’ counterpart or that player’s Bowman 1st card.

However, in this case, Bowman’s first card of the Japanese phenom happens to be both his 1st Bowman card and a Shohei Ohtani rookie card in the set. This is because he was signed in the previous offseason and he started his MLB career in the pros, allowing his rookie card to be produced in the same season he entered the league.

2018 Topps Chrome Shohei Ohtani 1983 Throwback #83T-6 PSA 9 $90

Ohtani’s arrival to the majors coincided with Topps’ 35th anniversary throwback inserts portraying the 1983 card design. With a great action shot and a nice head shot, this makes for one of the all-time best looking Shohei Ohtani rookie cards ever!

2018 Topps Archives Shohei Ohtani Rookie Card #50 PSA 9 $70

Throwback cards like Topps Archives are nice because we get to see awesome players in older Topps designs. The 2018 Topps Archives set used three older designs (1959, 1977 and 1981), and the Ohtani rookie card landed in the 1959 look, which is ultra colorful. (There’s also a 1981 Angels Future Stars insert card that looks pretty great, too, along with a fantastic 1993 Coming Attractions Ohtani RC insert!)

2018 Topps Heritage Shohei Ohtani Rookie Card #600 PSA 9 $60

Once again, taking their design from vintage 1969 Topps Baseball, this Ohtani rookie card is simple, clean, and awesome.

2018 Topps Now Shohei Ohtani Japanese #42J PSA 10 $85

While this card didn’t come in packs, it’s pretty fantastic for other reasons! First, it has Japanese Kanji text on the front. Second, the print run is reportedly small, at 2,660, and as of 2025, there were only 322 graded as PSA 10s. Finally, it’s just an awesome card that celebrates on the text on the bottom that he was the “1st Angels rookie to homer in each of 1st three home games.”

Speaking of great rookie cards, we listed the Best Baseball Rookie Cards Ever from every Topps Baseball set if you are trying to pick up some other great RCs.

There’s no question that every baseball card collector would improve their collection with some Shohei Ohtani rookie cards, whether they are the budget-friendly ones or the ultra expensive ones.