Ohtani had signed a major league contract, meaning he wasn't going to start the season in the minors. The agreement between Topps and the MLBPA that created the rookie logo designation sets forth that a player who is on a major league contract and has played in an official major league game may be included as a rookie card with the logo. It might seem odd, but in the agreement, the term "official major league game" is specifically defined to include spring training, regular season, and post season games. If memory serves, Ohtani's first rookie logo card was in Topps Opening Day, which would have come out after the start of spring training.
|