OVERSEAS OPS

Good but not great versions abound of one of Ichiro's easierto-find, first-year Japanese cards. And though the population is north of 1,000, only 126 examples have been graded PSA 10.

One of Ichiro's most coveted cards, his Takara rookie has been graded nearly 150 times, and most are quite clean. Eighty-six have earned PSA 10 status.

Ichiro actually has two cards in this set — four if you include the Gold Facsimile parallels — and PSA 10 copies are almost impossible to find. Just 19 PSA 10 examples exist of the four cards, with only one #5 Gold Facsimile getting the honor.

1993 HAWAII WINTER LEAGUE #5 HILO STARS

Want to see the ultimate preMLB Ichiro card? Make sure to check out this issue’s Fast Five interview on page 33.

Collectors love the simple, Topps-like design and the bold purple border, as well as the relative ease of acquiring the card. There are 73 PSA 10s in total, which are valued at around $2,000 apiece according to Card Ladder.

1993 TOMY I.D. #102 BLUE WAVE