18,000 rookie cards for one player

[Rich Klein]

It's been a while and I'm trying to remember the exact circumstances that there was a Heritage 1st series card which came out in a very short print before it should have been issued.

Here is my best memory "guesstimation"

If you go back to 2007 when Daisuke Matsuzaka was a Red Sox Rookie Topps knew he was going to make the team and had cards ready to go the minute he officially became part of the MLBPA.

So it's either one of two things, Topps did an Ohtani card with the purpose of being a redemption and not to be released until the season began. I don't remember if it came in packs or not. I'm sure you can check the Blowout Forums to see exactly when the card hit

Or, Topps just messed up and goofed up. This still happens years later. On literally the last day of 2021, Topps released their Bowman's Best product and there was a Rookie Card of Wander Franco (a big deal then) and four other people before they should have been included in 2022 products.

So it's not really a loophole but probably more just human error

Regards
Rich