This is one of a number of Japanese packs I bought at The National this past summer; they’ve remained unopened through a combination of restraint and a phenomenon known as “out of sight, out of mind”.
I’ll confess up front that while I’ve been fascinated by Japanese baseball for much of my life, I know very few players who hadn’t played in MLB at some point… so if I list the name of your favorite player or a 10-time Japanese All-Star, and didn’t show their card, just leave me a comment; I’d be happy to do an additional post featuring that card.
One thing that struck me immediately when opening this pack is that the wrapper material is a bit odd; it’s more like a foil than mylar; it feels kinda metallic, and when you fold or bend it, it tends to stay in that position to a large degree.
Getting on to the cards…
Roberto Petagine – Giants
Right off the bat I’ve got a former Met! Well, OK, he only played in 62 games over two seasons, but it counts. He also spent time with the Astros, Padres, Reds, Red Sox and Mariners. Roberto made more of a name for himself in Japan, having played for 6 years and hit 223 homers. 2003 was his first with the Giants after 4 seasons with the Yakult Swallows, so this set must not have gone to press until sometime after the start of their Spring Training.
Yukinaga Maeda – Giants
Masayoshi Izumi – Swallows
Makato Yoshino – Tigers
Fumiya Nishiguchi – Lions
Hisanori Takahashi – Giants
Another former Met, only this one goes in the other direction; it pictures him with the Yomiuri Giants before he played with the Mets (and Angels and Pirates). Takahashi will be in camp with the Cubs this spring, as he’s signed a minor league contract with the Northsiders.
Takayuki Ohnishi – Dragons
I’m not sure what to make of this card… I initially thought I’d pulled an autographed card, but when I looked closer there’s no evidence of ink on top of a card, it seems more like the autograph is printed on the card. I guess it’s a parallel… Too bad I can’t read the Kanji on the wrapper to see what inserts come in the set (assuming that this information is there in the first place).
Hitoshi Taneda – Bay Stars
Goki Ikeda – Fighters
Chris Holt – Bay Stars
I couldn’t quite place this guy until I found this image of his 1998 card…
1998 Topps Chrome Refractors #373 – Chris Holt – Courtesy of COMC.com
…then I said “Oh, THAT Chris Holt.” He pitched for the Astros & Tigers from 1996 to 2001.
Being a fan of “Arrested Development”, when I saw Chris Holt’s name I went fists-to-the-sky and said “CHRIS HOLT!” I pretty much do that whenever I run across anyone with the name of Holt (although I only do it in my head when I meet them in person).
…If you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s really not worth explaining.
BBM tends to do partial parallels in several of the sets, including the facsimile signed card you have. 120 of the 1st version cards were signed and they come one per pack. Ohnishi is a common.
I’m glad someone else is enjoying Japanese cards! I have a feeling that I’ll have some good luck with my Japanese type collection if I can get to the National – menko cards can be tough to find here in Japan.
Thanks for the info! The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that it was a parallel… but there’s that whole Kanji-illiterate thing going on…
I’ve been to the two Nationals which have been in Baltimore, and there was at least one dealer selling Japanese cards… I think it was Prestige Collectibles. I’m pretty sure they had menko cards, but I didn’t pay much attention to those because they were priced well beyond what they were worth to me.
I’ve got a small collection of Japanese cards, but I’ll be sharing them here and there… I’ve got the 1979 TCMA Japanese set, singles from various sets (mostly former Major Leaguers) and the 15 or so packs I picked up at the two Nationals, most of which are still unopened.
No problem. It’s nice to have knowledge about something and be able to share it.
Prestige is pretty expensive from what I’ve seen, and I’m sure they only carry the higher-end singles.
I’m curious what you paid per pack – the bottom of this one states 200 yen and I’m wondering if there’s a big markup.