Everything We Know About Shohei Ohtani’s Early Japanese Magazine Covers
After a record-setting $40,000 sale of a graded Ohtani magazine from 2012, we set out to catalog all his cover appearances as a high school phenom.
Early this morning, a high-grade copy of a Japanese baseball magazine featuring a young Shohei Ohtani on the cover sold for $40,383 at Goldin Auctions. It’s the latest record-shattering sale of a graded magazine, and the second five-figure number for a 2012 Ohtani cover in the last month — with a third sure to come this week.
As Ohtani’s collectibles market surges beyond comprehension, more copies of his early Japanese covers are likely to surface. Because his rise to top prospect status wasn’t documented by any U.S. publications, we’re simply not as familiar with his magazine cover history as we are with American phenoms like Tiger Woods and LeBron James. To fill those gaps, we set out to catalog and sequence as many of Shohei’s high school-era covers as possible.
How We Did This Without Knowing Japanese
First things first, shout out Google Lens.
I spent a lot of time combing through active and sold listings on sites like Mercari Japan, Rakuten, PayPay Flea Market, and others. Along the way, I stumbled upon some invaluable resources, including Fujisan, a Japanese magazine directory. The digital covers available on Fujisan worked beautifully with Google’s “search by image” function, helping to find better quality photos and covers I’d never seen before.
Thanks to Google Lens, I quickly realized that — unlike most American magazines — Japanese publications print their actual release dates on the cover. The typically appears in fine print along the edges or spine and includes phrasing like “Issued on…” or “Published and released on…”. These dates were essential for sequencing, especially for non-weekly publications that aren’t associated with a specific date.
With that in mind, we’ve accounted for 25 magazine covers featuring Shohei Ohtani during his high school years and listed them below. The issues are ordered by release date, rather than cover date, with a few exceptions for potential discrepancies. I can’t guarantee this a complete catalog of Ohtani’s pre-professional magazine covers, but I think it’s pretty close.
If you notice anything I’ve gotten wrong or know of a 2012 Ohtani cover that isn’t included in the list, please feel free to send me a message or leave a comment on the post. As always, thanks for reading!
Shohei Ohtani’s Pre-Professional Magazine Cover Appearances
Disclosure: I don’t own any of these magazines, so I can’t confirm their exact dimensions. Some quarterly editions and annual draft guides appear large enough to push the limits of what CGC and PSA slabs can accommodate. Please proceed with caution in that regard.
Home Run
January 2012
Released December 9, 2011
“Big heroes and new stars” touts this Home Run issue recapping the 2011 Meiji Jingu Tournament and regional qualifiers. Ohtani’s Hanamaki Higashi High School team didn’t make the Jingu, but his fall performance must have been impressive enough to warrant a spot alongside Japan’s top pitchers. To the far right is Shintaro Fujinami — you’ll be seeing a lot of him on these covers, as he and Ohtani were presented as having a Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson-type rivalry.
In addition to being (potentially) Ohtani’s first appearance on the cover of a magazine, this is also the only early cover where he’s shown as a hitter — all others we’ve found have pitching action photos, Ohtani posing with a ball, or simple profile shots.
Total graded: 0
Graded sales: None
Baseball Magazine
2012 Draft Candidate Supplement
January 2012 (Vol. 36 No. 2)
Released December 14, 2011
This scouting companion book — released nine months before the 2012 Nippon Professional Baseball draft — highlights the top 200 high school and college prospects.
Ohtani is on the right, the player with the most prominent photo. His name appears first under the headline, “A high school baseball player with outstanding potential” in the lower center.
Total graded: 2 (one CGC, one PSA)
Graded sales: CGC 9.6 sold for $780 on Heritage in February 2023
Timely!
January 2012 (No. 16)
Released January 12, 2012
This bi-monthly publication appears to be aimed at youth baseball players, rather than scouts or fans. The cover teases a guide to the newest baseball spikes, as well as the results of a questionnaire revealing “Self-management techniques to beat your rivals.”
Ohtani appears alongside Tatsurō Hamada, another high school star who would be considered among the “Big Three” pitchers of Japan’s national tournaments that year.
Total graded: 0
Graded sales: None
Weekly Baseball
January 30, 2012 (Vol. 67 No. 4)
Released January 18, 2012
The first of many Ohtani appearances on the cover of Weekly Baseball, this issue is described as a “super early” guide to the 2012 NPB Draft.
Total graded: 1, by PSA
Graded sales: None
Shine, Koshien Stars
March 2012
Released February 6, 2012
Known as “Koshien”, the two national high school baseball tournaments that grip Japan every spring and summer have been compared to March Madness and even the Super Bowl. Each game is nationally televised, and big performances turn teenagers into “baseball gods” overnight.
This issue previews the 32-team spring invitational, or “Senbatsu”. As the starting pitcher in Hanamaki Higashi’s first round game, Ohtani threw 173 pitches in 8 and 2/3 innings, giving up five earned runs in a 9-2 loss to Shintaro Fujinami’s Osaka Tōin team. The lone bright spot for Ohtani came when he blasted a home run off Fujinami, flashing the power that would come to define his professional career.
Total graded: 0
Graded sales: None
Weekly Baseball
Spring Special Issue #285 (Vol. 39 No. 6)
Released February 8, 2012
While Ohtani is one of about 60 teenage ballplayers on this cover, he’s noticeably front and center in the lower photo, tall enough that some parents likely muttered birth certificate questions under their breaths from the stands.
This special issue of Weekly Baseball previews the Spring Koshien, with a story on a team from Ishinomaki, a city devastated by a tsunami the year prior.
Total graded: 3 (one CGC, two PSA)
Graded sales: CGC 8.0 sold for $1,848 last week on Goldin
Home Run
March 2012 (No. 24)
Released February 10, 2012
Home Run is a quarterly publication that bills itself as “The No. 1 magazine for high school baseball fans.” This is Shohei’s first solo magazine cover (that we know of), yet somehow not the first cover where he’s standing in fresh snow.
Total graded: 0
Graded sales: None
Standard: Iwate Sports Magazine
March-April 2012 (Vol. 12)
Released February 25, 2012
Iwate: Standard covers local sports in Iwate, one of Japan’s 47 prefectures, located in the northern Tōhoku region.
Ohtani was born, raised, and stayed in Iwate. As a rising star, he could have joined powerhouse teams in bigger cities, but chose instead to play for Hanamaki Higashi High School, just a two-hour drive from his hometown Mizusawa. This local tie-in — combined with the visual appeal of the cover portrait — should make Ohtani’s Standard debut one of his most desirable early magazine covers.
Important note: Shohei’s first three Standard cover appearances — vols. 12 (this one), 19 (March-April 2013), and 46 (January-February 2017) — were reprinted in 2025 to commemorate his rise to global stardom. The reprint covers are identical to the originals, with one small (but easily identifiable) difference: The price in the top right corner. Original issues will have 700円 (yen), while the 2025 reprints will show 900円.
The March-April 2012 was also reprinted in 2017, after Ohtani signed with the Angels. This reprint is much easier to identify, with a zoomed-in photo and totally different wording and design layout.
Needless to say, we take reprints seriously here.
Total graded: 1, by PSA
Graded sales: None
Weekly Baseball
March 26, 2012 (Vol. 67 No. 13)
Released March 14, 2012
As indicated by the numeral in the blue circle, this is part two of Weekly Baseball’s 2012 NPB Draft preview. Shintaro Fujinami is on the left, Tatsurō Hamada is shown pitching below Ohtani, and Kosei Gakuin teammates Tatsuhiro Tamura and Fumiya Hojo are in the bottom right corner.
Total graded: 1, by PSA
Graded sales: PSA 8.5 sold for $3,660 a few weeks ago on Goldin
Hochi High School Baseball
March 2012 (Vol. 35 No. 2)
Released March 15, 2012*
The final Spring Koshien preview marks Ohtani’s first appearance on the cover of Hochi High School Baseball. Here, the rivalry with Fujinami is kicked up a notch. Featuring only their faces, this may as well be a promo poster for a prizefight.
*Note regarding release dates of Hochi High School Baseball issues: Both the front and back covers indicate this issue was published March 15, 2012. The front cover includes the phrase, “Published bimonthly on the 15th of odd-numbered months.” However, the magazine website Fujisan.co.jp states the release date as February 6, 2012.
The release dates on Fujisan correspond pretty consistently with what I’ve found in the fine print of other covers. But given the second phrase about the odd-numbered months, for this list, I’m going with what’s on the actual magazine. If I find another source confirming the February 6 date, I will update this post accordingly.
Total graded: 8, all by PSA
Graded sales: PSA 9.0 sold for $16,470 in March
PSA 9.2 currently up for auction on Goldin
Weekly Baseball
May 21, 2012 (Vol. 67 No. 22)
Released May 9, 2012
Part three of Weekly Baseball’s 2012 NPB Draft preview. Nao Higashihama and Shintaro Fujinami appear above Ohtani on the left.
Total graded: 2, both by PSA
Graded sales: None
PSA 8.5 currently up for auction at Goldin
Home Run
July 2012 (No. 26)
Released June 16, 2012
After Fujinami led Osaka Tōin to a championship in the Spring Koshien, Shintaro vs. Shohei was the big story heading into the summer tournament. This Home Run issue hyped it as “The final chapter of the big rivals.”
Total graded: 0
Graded sales: None
Weekly Baseball
Special Issue
July 1, 2012 (Vol. 67 No. 29)
Released June 16, 2012
Taiga Kasahara and Yudai Mori take center stage on this Summer Koshien preview, with the “Big Three” of Fujinami, Ohtani, and Hamada stuck below the marquee.
Total graded: 1, by CGC
Graded sales: None
Shine, Koshien Stars
July 2012
Released June 23, 2012
The “Big Three” get top billing on this summer preview issue of Shine, Koshien Stars.
Total graded: 0
Graded sales: None
Weekly Baseball
September 24, 2012 (Vol. 67 No. 45)
Released September 12, 2012
Part five of Weekly Baseball’s 2012 NPB Draft preview featuring Ohtani and — who else? — Fujinami.
Note: Ohtani was not on the cover of part four of WB’s draft preview, as that issue was dedicated to “hidden gem” prospects.
Total graded: 2 (one CGC, one PSA)
Graded sales: PSA 9.0 sold for $4,819 in March, CGC 8.5 sold for $2,440 last week, both on Goldin.
Home Run
November 2012 (No. 27)
Released October 1, 2012
Home Run’s NPB Draft preview issue. As we noted near the top, Home Run is a quarterly publication. With this appearance, Ohtani secured spots on the covers of all four Home Run issues published in 2012.
Total graded: 0
Graded sales: None
Baseball Magazine
2012 Draft Candidate Book #1
Released October 3, 2012
Total graded: 1, by CGC
Graded sales: CGC 8.5 sold for $408 in March 2023 on Heritage.
Note regarding CGC’s slab label and pop report entry: Shintaro Fujinami is incorrectly identified as “Kentaro Fujinami”.
Baseball Taro
November 2012 (No. 001)
Released October 5, 2012*
An illustrated Ohtani dominates the cover of this first edition of Baseball Taro. The publication has continued with this theme for subsequent issues, typically portraying one player in the style of a video game character.
*Note regarding the release date: The back cover indicates this issue was released on November 5, 2012. I suspect that is a typo, given the fact the 2012 NPB Draft — for which this issue is a preview guide — took place on October 25. This Facebook post indicates the issue was available in stores on or before October 15, 2012, and Fujisan.co.jp notes an October 5, 2012 release date.
Total graded: 0
Graded sales: None
Amateur Baseball
October 2012 (Vol. 33)
Released October 10, 2012
Shintaro Fujinami — fresh off leading Osaka Tōin to their second Koshien championship of year — lords over his fellow top prospects Nao Higashihama, Shohei Ohtani, and Tatsurō Hamada in this NPB Draft preview.
Total graded: 3 (one CGC, two PSA)
Graded sales: CGC 9.0 sold for $866 on Goldin in March; PSA 6.5 sold for $470 on Goldin earlier this month.
Weekly Baseball
Oct. 29, 2012
Released October 17, 2012
Weekly Baseball’s sixth and final preview of the 2012 NPB Draft.
Total graded: 0
Graded sales: None
Shine, Koshien Stars
November 2012
Released October 27, 2012
With the Koshien tournaments completed, this issue apparently covers the players’ returns to their hometowns. Ohtani is in the lower third, near the left side in a circle cutout, wearing a dress shirt. Probably the least-interesting cover on this list.
Total graded: 0
Graded sales: None
Weekly Baseball
Nov. 12, 2012 (Vol. 67 No. 55)
Released October 31, 2012
Weekly Baseball’s post-NPB Draft issue. Everyone seems very happy! Except Shohei…
Total graded: 3, all by PSA
Graded sales: PSA 7.5 sold for $628 last month on Goldin
Baseball Kid (or Baseball Brat)
December 2012
Released November 9, 2012
Prior to the 2012 NPB Draft, Ohtani made known his desire to leave Japan and pursue a professional career in the United States. The Nippon Ham Fighters selected him in the first round anyway. Two months of negotiations — and uncertainty — followed, leading to cover stores like this one in the December issue of Baseball Kid (or Baseball Brat, depending on your preferred translation):
The Truth About Shohei Ohtani
Major Leagues? Nippon-Ham? Core Report.
Baseball Kid usually had the same design style as Baseball Taro — one 3D polygonal player on a bright background — but broke from that approach for this issue, opting to use a real photograph of Ohtani rather than an illustration.
Total graded: 0
Graded sales: None
Hochi High School Baseball
November 2012 (Vol. 35 No. 6)
Released November 15, 2012*
One of the most recognizable early Ohtani covers, not just because of the sale prices of graded copies, but because it’s the first issue on this list to feature Shohei in his Japan U-18 national team uniform.
*Note regarding release dates of Hochi High School Baseball issues: As mentioned with the March 2012 issue of Hochi High School Baseball, there is a discrepancy between the text on the cover (“Issued on the 15th”; “Published bimonthly on the 15th of odd-numbered months”) and what is in the Fujisan directory entry for this issue (“Release date: October 6, 2012”). For now, we are ordering the two issues based on the cover text, keeping open the possibility that they may move in the future.
Note regarding CGC’s slab label and pop report entry: Whether the actual release date is October 6 or November 15, it’s almost certainly not November 11, 2012, as indicated on CGC’s label. I suspect they saw “11 November” on on the front cover and assumed “11” represented the date, rather than the month.
Total graded: 6 (two by CGC, four by PSA)
Graded sales: CGC 7.0 sold for $2,440 in November; PSA 9.0 sold for $6,710 in February; CGC 9.6 sold for $40,383 last night
Baseball Clinic
December 2012 (Vol. 23 No. 12)
Released November 17, 2012
Not much pizazz to this cover of Baseball Clinic, a magazine focused more on training and coaching rather than game results and story lines.
Total graded: 1, by PSA
Graded sales: None
PSA 7.0 available for $1,842 from Flip Collectibles in Toronto
Resources
Summary of issues above, listed in order of release date:
Dec. 9, 2011: Home Run January 2012
Dec. 14, 2011: Baseball Magazine 2012 Draft Candidate Supplement January 2012 (Vol. 36 No. 2)
Jan. 12: Timely! January 2012 (No. 16)
Jan. 18: Weekly Baseball January 30, 2012 (Vol. 67 No. 4)
Feb. 6: Shine, Koshien Stars March 2012
Feb. 8: Weekly Baseball Spring Special Issue #285 (Vol. 39 No. 6)
Feb. 10: Home Run March 2012 (No. 24)†
Feb. 25: Standard: Iwate Sports Magazine March-April 2012 (Vol. 12)†
Mar. 14: Weekly Baseball March 26, 2012 (Vol. 67 No. 13)
Mar. 15*: Hochi High School Baseball March 2012 (Vol. 35 No. 2)
May 9: Weekly Baseball May 21, 2012 (Vol. 67 No. 22)
June 16: Home Run July 2012 (No. 26)
June 16: Weekly Baseball Special Issue July 1, 2012 (Vol. 67 No. 29)
June 23: Shine, Koshien Stars July 2012
Sep. 12: Weekly Baseball, September 24, 2012 (Vol. 67 No. 45)
Oct. 1: Home Run November 2012 (No. 27)
Oct. 3: Baseball Magazine 2012 Draft Candidate Book (No. 1)
Oct. 5: Baseball Taro November 2012 (No. 001)†
Oct. 10: Amateur Baseball October 2012 (Vol. 33)
Oct. 17: Weekly Baseball Oct. 29, 2012
Oct. 27: Shine, Koshien Stars November 2012
Oct. 31: Weekly Baseball Nov. 12, 2012 (Vol. 67 No. 55)
Nov. 9: Baseball Kid December 2012†
Nov. 15*: Hochi High School Baseball November 2012 (Vol. 35 No. 6)
Nov. 17: Baseball Clinic December 2012 (Vol. 23 No. 12)
* Unconfirmed date
† Solo cover
Cover archives (linked to pages with Ohtani’s first known appearance):
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