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Major League Baseball just gave collectors — and Los Angeles Dodgers fans — an early look at a big Shohei Ohtani trading card moment for 2026.
On January 6, MLB posted a “just in” teaser showing that Ohtani will be one of the cover athletes for 2026 Topps Series 1, sharing the spotlight with Aaron Judge, Ken Griffey Jr. and Hank Aaron on the new box design.
Topps/Fanatics did not have additional details to share at this time, meaning the cover reveal is doing most of the work right now, but there are still a few concrete nuggets collectors can track as the release takes shape.
What MLB showed and what’s still unknown
The box image is a pretty loud signal: Topps is leaning into a multi-era marketing play, pairing modern superstars like Ohtani and Judge with two of the sport’s most iconic names in Aaron and Griffey.
But beyond the cover athletes, the product is still in early-preview mode. Hobby coverage tracking the set has the release date listed as “TBA,” but the set is expected to come in February, per a source.
Key details (early):
Cover athletes: Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Ken Griffey Jr., Hank Aaron.
Release timing: Listed as TBA by hobby guides, but expected in February.
Early hobby configuration (as currently listed): 12 cards per pack, 20 packs per hobby box, according to Beckett.
Box guarantee (as currently listed): 1 autograph or relic in a hobby box (Beckett).
(As always with early set pages: specifics can change once Topps publishes finalized product copy and odds.)
Why this is a big Ohtani collector moment
For Dodgers fans, Ohtani being featured in the flagship Series 1 marketing is the kind of “simple” news that still matters, because it’s Topps telling you, months in advance, who it believes will move the most attention when the next collecting year begins.
Series 1 is the entry point for the annual flagship cycle, and the cover athlete reveal is basically Topps’ first public statement about the story it wants the set to tell.
In this case, the story is pretty clear: Ohtani isn’t just a current star; he’s being positioned in a lane with all-timers, on packaging that collectors will see everywhere once 2026 products start rolling out.
And Ohtani has already drawn major headlines in the card industry recently. At a card auction, his 1/1 Topps Chrome Gold Logoman Patch Autograph sold for $3 million.
The 75th anniversary angle to watch
One reason the cover choice feels intentional: hobby outlets say Topps is launching this product alongside a 75th anniversary campaign, using Series 1 as an early tentpole for that messaging.
That matters because anniversary years often come with new branding, throwback-style inserts, or commemorative parallels, the kinds of details that can quickly turn a “teaser” into a much bigger collector conversation once a checklist and odds structure are public.
Right now, though, those specifics are still TBD.
What happens next: the checklist and the “chase” clues
If you’re a Dodgers collector, there are three follow-ups that will essentially dictate how big this becomes beyond the cover:
Checklist drop: Which Dodgers (and which Ohtani cards) are actually in the base set, inserts, and variations.
Odds + parallels: What the short prints, image variations, and anniversary elements look like (and how hard they are to pull).
Format breakdown: Hobby vs. jumbo vs. retail differences, especially what’s guaranteed and where.
For now, MLB’s teaser is the headline: Ohtani is on the box, his placement among some of the best players in MLB’s history is a huge tell, and the collecting world will be waiting for Topps to fill in the rest.
Erik Anderson is an award-winning sports journalist covering the NBA, MLB and NFL for Heavy.com. He also focuses on the trading card market. His work has appeared in nationally-recognized outlets including The New York Times, Associated Press , USA Today, and ESPN. More about Erik Anderson
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