Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was perhaps the story of this past weekend in the Major Leagues, and now we have another way of measuring fans’ immense interest in his debut.
The Topps trading card company announced Monday that Guerrero’s first rookie card, made available the day after his debut Friday in Toronto, has broken a record for any card released through the company’s TOPPS NOW program by selling 19,396 copies within the one day of sales. That mark broke the previous one-day record of 17,323, set by Angels two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani last year.
TOPPS NOW trading cards capture memorable MLB moments and are available for just 24 hours on Topps.com. Guerrero’s card featured his first career hit -- a ninth-inning double down the right-field line -- that set up Brandon Drury’s two-run walk-off homer for the Blue Jays against the A’s on Friday night.
The 20-year-old Guerrero is viewed as one of the most promising offensive prospects in recent memory. He received an extremely rare 80-grade for his hit tool from MLB Pipeline, which ranked Guerrero as the sport’s No. 1 prospect as he dominated Minor League pitching at four different levels last year. Guerrero, the son of baseball Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, is 3-for-12 with a walk and three strikeouts through his first three big league contests.