Sports Media Report
Aaron Judge’s A.L. record setting home run display was not just a boon to the Yankees — and his impending free agency. It was also a big hit with collectors, as the Topps NOW card depicting his historic 62nd blast of the season enticed fans to purchase 91,685 of the base card, the most ever in the seven-year history of Topps NOW, which depicts the greatest moments and milestones from Major League Baseball almost as soon as they happen, with physical cards limited to the number ordered within 48 hours of issue.
And it wasn’t just the final bomb that appealed to fans as they bore witness to greatness: home runs #61 (29,523) and 60 (21,490) and two base cards shared with former league homer champs Roger Maris (19,741) and Babe Ruth (13,804) set the precedent, rounding out five of the top six sellers of the 2022 season. Albert Pujols’s 700th career shot (third most, 28,898) was the only other card to top 10,000 in sales.
In all, the five top Judge cards accounted for a total of 176,243 cards issued, more than half of all the base cards (330,699) produced through the regular season (112 individual cards).
Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani (qualifying as pitcher and hitter, 7th, 7331 cards; and reaching 200K strikeouts, 10th, 4381), the Mets’ Francisco Alvarez (debut, 8th, 6005) and Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez (sets rookie HR record, 9th, 5449) rounded out the top 10 for 2022.
Fans can continue to purchase Topps NOW cards throughout the MLB playoffs at https://www.topps.com/toppsnow.
2022 Top Ten
- Aaron Judge, 62nd home run, 91,685
- Aaron Judge, 61st home run,29,523
- Albert Pujols, 700th career home run, 28,898
- Aaron Judge, 60th home run, 21,490
- Aaron Judge and Roger Maris, 61 home runs, 19,741
- Aaron Judge and Babe Ruth, 60 home runs, 13,804
- Shohei Ohtani, qualifying as pitcher and hitter, 7331
- Francisco Alvarez, debut, 6005
- Julio Rodriguez, sets rookie HR recorded, 5449
- Shohei Ohtani, 200K strikeouts, 4381
