Monday, December 11, 2023

Twenty Years Of First Pitch

At some point during the 2004 season, someone at BBM got the idea that they should include a subset of celebrities throwing out the first pitch at ballgames.  As a result, the 2nd Version set that year including a four card "Ceremonial First Pitch" subset featuring three retired baseball players - Tetsuharu Kawakami, Jim Paciorek and Akira Ohgi - plus a soccer player - Daisuke Ohhata.  It was popular enough that BBM brought it back for 2005.  They doubled the size of it and included non-athletes.  This apparently went over well enough that they've included in every 2nd Version set ever since.  They also included it in the Fusion set when they introduced that set in 2016.  With 2023 being the 20th season that BBM has included "Ceremonial First Pitch" cards, I thought it'd be interesting to do a bit of a deep dive into them.

From that humble four card beginning, the subset has grown steadily every year.  This year there's a total of 61 cards split between 30 in the 2nd Version set and 31 in Fusion.  The total number of "Ceremonial First Pitch" cards from 2004 to 2023 is 455 although some may disagree with my count.  I'm including 13 cards that were only available as inserts in issues of Sports Card Magazine - two with issue #101 in September of 2013, six with issue #113 in September of 2015 and five with issue #120 in November of 2016.  Which means that only 442 of those 455 cards were available in packs.  I'm also including in that count the "Secret Versions" - short printed photo variations - of three cards.  The three cards are 2017 2nd Version #FP-05 (Ami Inamura), 2022 Fusion #FP-44 (Saya Kanagawa) and 2023 Fusion #FP-60 (Haru).  So it could be argued that there are really only 439 cards total.

In 2020 COVID caused the start of the season to be delayed until late June, right around the time 2nd Version went to press.  With almost no games having happened yet (and the games that had having no fans or first pitch ceremonies), BBM instead included a "Ceremonial First Pitch History" subset in the 2nd Version set that featured first pitches from the previous three decades (conveniently tying into BBM's 30th Anniversary celebration that year).  Those 13 cards are also included in the count.  The Fusion set that year had the regular "Ceremonial First Pitch" subset with ceremonies from the 2020 season.

The subset has been called "Ceremonial First Pitch" every year except two.  It was "First Pitch Ceremony" in 2005 and "Ceremony & First Pitch" in 2008.  For the first ten years it was numbered as part of the 2nd Version set but starting in 2014 it was numbered separately.  When Fusion was introduced in 2016, its "Ceremonial First Pitch" cards were numbered in continuation of the subset from the 2nd Version set.  Starting in 2021*, the cards were short-printed.  In recent years, BBM has added serially numbered parallel versions along with autographed cards.

*It's possible they were short printed earlier but I just didn't realize it until 2021

By my count there's been 392 different subjects of the cards over the years.  Twenty three of them have been baseball players.  Besides Kawakami, Ohgi and Paciorek, there's been Masaaki Ikenaga, Masaji Hiramatsu, Masanori Murakami, Kazuhiro Sasaki, Hiromichi Ishige, Kazuhiro Kiyohara, Shigeo Nagashima, Hideki Matsui (twice - 2013 & 2023), Isao Harimoto, Hisashi Yamada, Choji Murata, Hideki Kuriyama and Randy Bass.  This count also includes Ayumi Kataoka from the Ibraki Golden Golds and Minako Uemura, Asaka Tsuru, Mizuki Bandoh, Iori Miuri and Wakana Mori from the Tigers Women's Team.

That leaves a lot of non-baseball people as subjects and BBM has brought in a wide variety of Japanese celebrities to put on these cards.  There are other athletes like soccer players, softball players, wrestlers (both sumo and pro), MMA fighters, golfers (including the 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama), skaters, skiers, snowboarders, curlers and jockeys.  There are Idols galore along with models, actors and actresses (including Minami Hamabe, the lead actress from "Godzilla Minus One"), kabuki actors, comedians, singers, TV announcers and politicians.  The last few years have seen YouTubers and a "social media personality".  Some of the subjects have't been real people but mascots and characters from anime or movies.  Some of the more interesting subjects have been Keiko Masuda, one of the singers from "Pink Lady" (for those of us old enough to remember "Pink Lady And Jeff");  "celebrity ichthyologist" Masayuki Miyazawa aka "Sakana-kun"; and Lin Xiang aka Mizuki, a cheerleader from the Rakuten Monkeys of the CPBL.

With 393 subjects on 455 cards, it's obvious that some have been on more than one card.  The person with the most cards is model/announcer Ami Inamura, who's been on a whopping 14(!) cards, ten more than the next highest person.  Six of those cards were only available in Sports Card Magazine and that total also includes a "Secret Version" but even if you didn't count those cards, she'd still be in the lead with seven cards.  There are three people tied for second with four cards each - singer Maria Makino, model Ruriko Kojima and Sadako, the main antagonist from "The Ring" franchise.  (Sadako is the only one of those three to have a Sports Card Magazine card.)

Here's the list of all the "Ceremonial First Pitch" cards, including both the Sports Card Magazine cards and the "Secret Versions".  I've made note of all the baseball players but I haven't attempted to categorize any of the other people.  I have noted which cards were the "Ceremonial First Pitch History" cards.  (And if it's not obvious, the cards marked "SV" are the "Secret Versions".)

Year Set Number Subject Note
2004 2nd Version 837 Tetsuharu Kawakami Baseball Player
2004 2nd Version 838 Jim Paciorek Baseball Player
2004 2nd Version 839 Akira Ohgi Baseball Player
2004 2nd Version 840 Daisuke Ohhata
2005 2nd Version 815 Masaaki Ikenaga Baseball Player
2005 2nd Version 816 Masaji Hiramatsu Baseball Player
2005 2nd Version 817 Masanori Murakami Baseball Player
2005 2nd Version 818 Nobuaki Kakuda
2005 2nd Version 819 Nobuhiko Takada
2005 2nd Version 820 Yuko Ogura
2005 2nd Version 821 Tomoka Kurotani
2005 2nd Version 822 Mickey
2006 2nd Version 760 Shizuka Arakawa
2006 2nd Version 761 Tomomi Okazaki
2006 2nd Version 762 Sakura Yokomine
2006 2nd Version 763 Kinichi Hagimoto
2006 2nd Version 764 Razor Ramon HG
2006 2nd Version 765 Daijiro Hashimoto
2006 2nd Version 766 Kazuhiro Sasaki Baseball Player
2006 2nd Version 767 Ultraman Mebius
2006 2nd Version 768 Hakuho
2006 2nd Version 769 Un Girls
2006 2nd Version 770 Kyokushuzan
2006 2nd Version 771 Mao Miyaji
2006 2nd Version 772 Aki Hoshino
2006 2nd Version 773 Lily Franky
2006 2nd Version 774 Musashi
2007 2nd Version 731 Aya Ueto
2007 2nd Version 732 Asami Mizukawa
2007 2nd Version 733 Kumiko Ikeda
2007 2nd Version 734 Hidehiko Ishiduka
2007 2nd Version 735 Shingo Suetsugu
2007 2nd Version 736 Ayumi
2007 2nd Version 737 Ayumi Kataoka Baseball Player
2007 2nd Version 738 Akane Osawa
2007 2nd Version 739 Hiromichi Ishige Baseball Player
2007 2nd Version 740 Akira Hokuto
2008 2nd Version 764 Takajin Yashiki
2008 2nd Version 765 Hinata Eto
2008 2nd Version 766 Yukiko Ueno
2008 2nd Version 767 Hakuho
2008 2nd Version 768 Kotomitsuki
2008 2nd Version 769 Mami Yamasaki
2008 2nd Version 770 Masako Chiba
2008 2nd Version 771 Takashi Ono
2008 2nd Version 772 Hideki Saijo
2008 2nd Version 773 Shinobu Moromizato
2008 2nd Version 774 Miki Saiki
2008 2nd Version 775 Akina Minami
2009 2nd Version 800 Tomoaki Ogura
2009 2nd Version 801 Hideo Higashikokubaru
2009 2nd Version 802 Satoko Miyata
2009 2nd Version 803 Shosuke Tanihara
2009 2nd Version 804 Mari Motohashi
2009 2nd Version 805 Yumi Kobayashi
2009 2nd Version 806 Sachi Jinno
2009 2nd Version 807 Miyuki
2009 2nd Version 808 Hidehiko Masuda
2009 2nd Version 809 Keisuke Okada
2010 2nd Version 802 Yumi Sugimoto
2010 2nd Version 803 Keiichiro Nagashima
2010 2nd Version 804 Maki Tamaru
2010 2nd Version 805 Sayaka Isoyama
2010 2nd Version 806 Nanao
2010 2nd Version 807 Maomi Yuuki
2010 2nd Version 808 Nozomi Ohashi
2010 2nd Version 809 Daisuke Takahashi
2010 2nd Version 810 Haru
2010 2nd Version 811 Kaori Nakamura
2011 2nd Version 719 Kinichi Hagimoto
2011 2nd Version 720 Mika Hazuki
2011 2nd Version 721 Conan Edogawa Spelled "Konan"
2011 2nd Version 722 Suzuko Mimori
2011 2nd Version 723 Kazuhiro Kiyohara Baseball Player
2011 2nd Version 724 Hiromichi Sato
2011 2nd Version 725 Yuki Himura
2011 2nd Version 726 Hirotada Ototake
2011 2nd Version 727 Tatsuya Kawagoe
2011 2nd Version 728 Akane Takayanagi
2011 2nd Version 729 Akina Minami
2012 2nd Version 671 Emi Takei
2012 2nd Version 672 Mari Natsuki
2012 2nd Version 673 Tomoe Genzaki
2012 2nd Version 674 Masami Nagasawa
2012 2nd Version 675 Risa Yoshiki
2012 2nd Version 676 Yuji Tanaka
2012 2nd Version 677 Misako Yasuda
2012 2nd Version 678 Shizuka Arakawa
2012 2nd Version 679 Yutaka Take
2012 2nd Version 680 Kanon Miyahara
2012 2nd Version 681 Sadako
2012 2nd Version 682 Akina Minami
2012 2nd Version 683 Kamen Rider Fourze
2012 2nd Version 684 Fuku Suzuki
2012 2nd Version 685 Shinji Kagawa
2013 2nd Version 674 Kotaro Koizumi
2013 2nd Version 675 Kazumasa Osa
2013 2nd Version 676 Louis Kurihara
2013 2nd Version 677 Saya Tajima
2013 2nd Version 678 Rika Adachi
2013 2nd Version 679 Natsumi
2013 2nd Version 680 Ryoko Yonekura
2013 2nd Version 681 Sugichan
2013 2nd Version 682 Osamu Hayashi
2013 2nd Version 683 Kanon Tani
2013 2nd Version 684 Shigeo Nagashima Baseball Player
2013 2nd Version 685 Hideki Matsui Baseball Player
2013 2nd Version 686 Seiran Kobayashi
2013 2nd Version 687 Rie Tanaka
2013 2nd Version 688 Mai Asada
2013 2nd Version 689 Hitomi Shimatani
2013 2nd Version SCM 691 Nishikokun
2013 2nd Version SCM 692 Sadako
2014 2nd Version FP01 Noriaki Kasai
2014 2nd Version FP02 Kankura Kudoh
2014 2nd Version FP03 Bob Sapp
2014 2nd Version FP04 Ruriko Kojima
2014 2nd Version FP05 Naoya Inoue
2014 2nd Version FP06 Nobuo Yana
2014 2nd Version FP07 Moeka Numata
2014 2nd Version FP08 Eiko Kano
2014 2nd Version FP09 Tsubasa Masuwaka
2014 2nd Version FP10 Yuka Harada
2014 2nd Version FP11 Megumi Kurihara
2014 2nd Version FP12 Karen Michibata
2014 2nd Version FP13 Erina Mano
2015 2nd Version FP01 Megumi Asahina
2015 2nd Version FP02 Nozomi Sasaki
2015 2nd Version FP03 Ryoko Yonekura
2015 2nd Version FP04 Mitsuki Ohishi
2015 2nd Version FP05 Riho Takada
2015 2nd Version FP06 Ruriko Kojima
2015 2nd Version FP07 Saika Fujita
2015 2nd Version FP08 Daisuke Miyagawa
2015 2nd Version FP09 Sayaka Yoshimura
2015 2nd Version FP10 Miho Tanaka
2015 2nd Version FP11 Ayu Ohmasa
2015 2nd Version FP12 Shozo Endoh
2015 2nd Version SCM FP13 Nonoka Ono
2015 2nd Version SCM FP14 Ayame Goriki
2015 2nd Version SCM FP15 Mai Oshima
2015 2nd Version SCM FP16 Ami Inamura
2015 2nd Version SCM FP17 Rurika Yokoyama
2015 2nd Version SCM FP18 Tomoka Takeuchi
2016 2nd Version FP01 Norika Fujiwara
2016 2nd Version FP02 Momoka Tsukishima
2016 2nd Version FP03 Tomomi Takano
2016 2nd Version FP04 Erika Matsumoto
2016 2nd Version FP05 Ami Inamura
2016 2nd Version FP06 Nagisa Yuzuki
2016 2nd Version FP07 Mariko Shinoda
2016 2nd Version FP08 Hinako Sano
2016 2nd Version FP09 Sari Kobayashi
2016 2nd Version FP10 Sachiko Kobayashi
2016 2nd Version FP11 Shizuka Nakamura
2016 2nd Version FP12 Sadako
2016 2nd Version FP13 Kayako/Toshio
2016 Fusion FP14 Ayame Goriki
2016 Fusion FP15 Moemi Katayama
2016 Fusion FP16 Ami Inamura
2016 Fusion FP17 Sumire
2016 Fusion FP18 Maki Okazoe
2016 Fusion FP19 Manami Hashimoto
2016 Fusion FP20 Isao Harimoto Baseball Player
2016 Fusion FP21 Ruriko Kojima
2016 Fusion FP22 Hisashi Yamada Baseball Player
2016 Fusion SCM FP23 Ami Inamura
2016 Fusion SCM FP24 Ami Inamura
2016 Fusion SCM FP25 Ami Inamura
2016 Fusion SCM FP26 Ami Inamura
2016 Fusion SCM FP27 Ami Inamura
2017 2nd Version FP01 Anna Ishibashi
2017 2nd Version FP02 Yuriko Koike
2017 2nd Version FP03 Nicole Fujita
2017 2nd Version FP04 Chiaki Taguchi
2017 2nd Version FP05 Ami Inamura
2017 2nd Version FP05-SV Ami Inamura
2017 2nd Version FP06 Yukiko Kawabe
2017 2nd Version FP07 Saki Kiyoi
2017 2nd Version FP08 Chika Yamane
2017 2nd Version FP09 Haruka Christine
2017 2nd Version FP10 Ayano Kudo
2017 2nd Version FP11 Miyu Yoshimoto
2017 2nd Version FP12 Rena Takeda
2017 2nd Version FP13 Maria Makino
2017 Fusion FP14 Tatsuya Nakadai
2017 Fusion FP15 Ayame Goriki
2017 Fusion FP16 Tomomi Itano
2017 Fusion FP17 Ren Ishikawa
2017 Fusion FP18 Ami Inamura
2017 Fusion FP19 Airi Eino
2017 Fusion FP20 Kanako Momota
2017 Fusion FP21 Kome Watanabe
2017 Fusion FP22 Aya Hirano
2018 2nd Version FP01 Nao Kodaira
2018 2nd Version FP02 Riho Asaka
2018 2nd Version FP03 Ryuhei Ueshima
2018 2nd Version FP04 Norie Ichihashi
2018 2nd Version FP05 Shinobu Sakagami
2018 2nd Version FP06 Kazumasa Oda
2018 2nd Version FP07 Haruhi Ryoga
2018 2nd Version FP08 Miho Takagi
2018 2nd Version FP09 Rena Hasegawa
2018 2nd Version FP10 Hideki Matsuyama
2018 2nd Version FP11 Nana Takagi
2018 2nd Version FP12 Nanako Fujita
2018 2nd Version FP13 Wakaba Higuchi
2018 2nd Version FP14 Yu Serizawa
2018 2nd Version FP15 Ami Hachiya
2018 2nd Version FP16 Azusa Uesugi
2018 2nd Version FP17 Maria Makino
2018 2nd Version FP18 Shizuka Nakamura
2018 Fusion FP19 Akari Suda
2018 Fusion FP20 Nao Matsushita
2018 Fusion FP21 Rika Izumi
2018 Fusion FP22 Ami Inamura
2018 Fusion FP23 Asuka Hanamura
2018 Fusion FP24 Mayuko Morita
2018 Fusion FP25 Yumiko Takino
2018 Fusion FP26 Ao Ueshita
2018 Fusion FP27 Ruriko Kojima
2018 Fusion FP28 Misato Tsuboi
2018 Fusion FP29 Kanako Momota
2018 Fusion FP30 Shiori Tamai
2018 Fusion FP31 Reni Takagi
2018 Fusion FP32 Ayaka Sasaki
2019 2nd Version FP01 Minami Hamabe
2019 2nd Version FP02 Ryoyu Kobayashi
2019 2nd Version FP03 Aya Sameshima
2019 2nd Version FP04 Jimon Terakado
2019 2nd Version FP05 Charlotte Kate Fox
2019 2nd Version FP06 Tomokazu Harimoto
2019 2nd Version FP07 Aiko Watarai
2019 2nd Version FP08 Nozomi Suzuki
2019 2nd Version FP09 Ami Yamazaki
2019 2nd Version FP10 Kanae Watanabe
2019 2nd Version FP11 Rika Izumi
2019 2nd Version FP12 Suzuran Yamauchi
2019 2nd Version FP13 Sumire Nakamura
2019 2nd Version FP14 Pee Hayashiya
2019 2nd Version FP15 Airi Suzuki
2019 2nd Version FP16 Kazuchika Okada
2019 2nd Version FP17 Tae Kimura
2019 2nd Version FP18 Kaori Sakamoto
2019 2nd Version FP19 Mai Mihara
2019 2nd Version FP20 Sadako
2019 2nd Version FP21 Hiroshi Tanahashi
2019 Fusion FP22 Mima Ito
2019 Fusion FP23 Mario Kuroba
2019 Fusion FP24 Sarina Soda
2019 Fusion FP25 Tomoka Igari
2019 Fusion FP26 Kazusa Okumasa
2019 Fusion FP27 Sara Honda
2019 Fusion FP28 Airi Hatakeyama
2019 Fusion FP29 Maria Makino
2019 Fusion FP30 Yuzuki Hidaka
2019 Fusion FP31 Asuka Kijima
2019 Fusion FP32 Naoya Inoue
2019 Fusion FP33 Riho Yoshioka
2019 Fusion FP34 Ayumu Takeuchi
2019 Fusion FP35 Shotaro Mamiya
2019 Fusion FP36 Momoka Tanabe
2019 Fusion FP37 Aimi Terakawa
2019 Fusion FP38 Yuki Kaji
2019 Fusion FP39 Enako
2020 2nd Version FP01 Naoko Iijima Ceremonial First Pitch History
2020 2nd Version FP02 Ryoko Hirosue Ceremonial First Pitch History
2020 2nd Version FP03 Miki Ando Ceremonial First Pitch History
2020 2nd Version FP04 Saki Aibu Ceremonial First Pitch History
2020 2nd Version FP05 Saki Fukuda Ceremonial First Pitch History
2020 2nd Version FP06 Ikumi Hisamatsu Ceremonial First Pitch History
2020 2nd Version FP07 Chiaki Kuriyama Ceremonial First Pitch History
2020 2nd Version FP08 Show Aikawa Ceremonial First Pitch History
2020 2nd Version FP09 Saori Yoshida Ceremonial First Pitch History
2020 2nd Version FP10 Toshiro Yanagida Ceremonial First Pitch History
2020 2nd Version FP11 Jurina Matsui Ceremonial First Pitch History
2020 2nd Version FP12 Koji Kikkawa Ceremonial First Pitch History
2020 2nd Version FP13 Erika Toda Ceremonial First Pitch History
2020 Fusion FP14 Nonoa Aoi
2020 Fusion FP15 Choji Murata Baseball Player
2020 Fusion FP16 Shiori Kubo
2020 Fusion FP17 Riho Takada
2020 Fusion FP18 Roland
2020 Fusion FP19 Mika Miyazato
2020 Fusion FP20 Reika Sekimoto
2020 Fusion FP21 Thelma Aoyama
2020 Fusion FP22 Airi Suzuki
2020 Fusion FP23 Timon D
2020 Fusion FP24 Nozomi Nishida
2020 Fusion FP25 Yuna Sano
2020 Fusion FP26 Sachiko Kobayashi
2021 2nd Version FP01 Shiori Tamai
2021 2nd Version FP02 Miyu Ikeda
2021 2nd Version FP02 Ukon Onoe
2021 2nd Version FP04 Yukihisa Tamura
2021 2nd Version FP05 Minako Uemura Baseball Player
2021 2nd Version FP06 Asaka Tsuru Baseball Player
2021 2nd Version FP07 Mizuki Bandoh Baseball Player
2021 2nd Version FP08 Conan Edogawa
2021 2nd Version FP09 Tosa Brothers
2021 2nd Version FP10 Yuumi Nagashima
2021 2nd Version FP11 Mirei Suganami
2021 2nd Version FP12 Fuku Suzuki
2021 2nd Version FP13 Rikako Yagi
2021 2nd Version FP14 Tokusan
2021 2nd Version FP15 Ami Inamura
2021 2nd Version FP16 Haruka Momokawa
2021 2nd Version FP17 Shiori Kubo
2021 2nd Version FP18 Maria Makino
2021 Fusion FP19 Yui Narumi
2021 Fusion FP20 Meicyun
2021 Fusion FP21 Miyuki Imori
2021 Fusion FP22 Erina Kamiya
2021 Fusion FP23 Hinano Sakura
2021 Fusion FP24 Miwa Asao
2021 Fusion FP25 Yuriyan Retriever
2021 Fusion FP26 Hifumi Abe
2021 Fusion FP27 Hakata Hanamaru
2021 Fusion FP28 Kaho Minagawa
2021 Fusion FP29 Misaki Emura
2021 Fusion FP30 Jurino Matsui
2021 Fusion FP31 Gachapin
2021 Fusion FP32 Asuka Terada
2021 Fusion FP33 Airi Suzuki
2021 Fusion FP34 Ririka Hironaka
2021 Fusion FP35 Mokuo
2021 Fusion FP36 Momiji Nishiya
2021 Fusion FP37 Cowcow
2021 Fusion FP38 Miu Goto
2021 Fusion FP39 Moe Sasagawa
2021 Fusion FP40 Dachou Club
2021 Fusion FP41 Misaki Jimbu
2021 Fusion FP42 Rikoko Ikee
2021 Fusion FP43 Daiki Hashimoto
2021 Fusion FP44 Masato Yoshihara
2021 Fusion FP45 Makoto Tachibana
2021 Fusion FP46 Aaron Wolf
2021 Fusion FP47 Ichika Osaki
2022 2nd Version FP01 Sena Tomita
2022 2nd Version FP02 Seika Inoue
2022 2nd Version FP03 Yuuki Tokunaga
2022 2nd Version FP04 Mana Okamura
2022 2nd Version FP05 Seiya Ishikawa
2022 2nd Version FP06 Ryuichi Hamaie
2022 2nd Version FP07 Akito Watabe
2022 2nd Version FP08 Fuminori Ogawa
2022 2nd Version FP09 Ryoyu Kobayashi
2022 2nd Version FP10 Iori Miura Baseball Player
2022 2nd Version FP11 Miu Hirano
2022 2nd Version FP12 Miho Takagi
2022 2nd Version FP13 Manatsu Akimoto
2022 2nd Version FP14 Ayano Kudo
2022 2nd Version FP15 Manami Toyota
2022 2nd Version FP16 Honoka
2022 2nd Version FP17 Masanori Hasegawa
2022 2nd Version FP18 Marin Honda
2022 2nd Version FP19 Masaharu Miyake
2022 2nd Version FP20 Kokomo Murase
2022 2nd Version FP21 Nagisa Aoyama
2022 2nd Version FP22 Naomi Payton
2022 2nd Version FP23 Anju Inami
2022 2nd Version FP24 Rikako Aida
2022 2nd Version FP25 Yua Shinkawa
2022 2nd Version FP26 Hiroe Igeta
2022 Fusion FP27 Sayuri Date
2022 Fusion FP28 Nako Misaki
2022 Fusion FP29 Anna Yamada
2022 Fusion FP30 Yui Okada
2022 Fusion FP31 Yuuka Suzuki
2022 Fusion FP32 Misato Ugaki
2022 Fusion FP33 Shu Uchida
2022 Fusion FP34 Naenano
2022 Fusion FP35 Wakaba Higuchi
2022 Fusion FP36 Fumiya Takahashi
2022 Fusion FP37 Ourin
2022 Fusion FP38 Daigo
2022 Fusion FP39 Keiko Masuda
2022 Fusion FP40 Mayu Sagara
2022 Fusion FP41 Akana Ikeda
2022 Fusion FP42 Saria Seira
2022 Fusion FP43 Mario Kuroba
2022 Fusion FP44 Saya Kanagawa
2022 Fusion FP44-SV Saya Kanagawa
2022 Fusion FP45 Miyabi Kondou
2022 Fusion FP46 Tomokazu Miura
2022 Fusion FP47 Sei Matobu
2022 Fusion FP48 Sakana-kun
2022 Fusion FP49 Rei Matsuzaki
2022 Fusion FP50 Hiroiki Ariyoshi
2022 Fusion FP51 Hohomi Nasu
2022 Fusion FP52 Maiko Kano
2022 Fusion FP53 Matsuya Onoe
2022 Fusion FP54 Chihiro Kawakami
2022 Fusion FP55 Sora Tokui
2023 2nd Version FP01 Hideki Kuriyama Baseball Player
2023 2nd Version FP02 Haruka Kaki
2023 2nd Version FP03 Randy Bass Baseball Player
2023 2nd Version FP04 Rika Adachi
2023 2nd Version FP05 Toshimitsu
2023 2nd Version FP06 Akiyoshi Nakao
2023 2nd Version FP07 Wakana Mori Baseball Player
2023 2nd Version FP08 Pekopa
2023 2nd Version FP09 Karen Hara
2023 2nd Version FP10 Katsuhiro Higa
2023 2nd Version FP11 Keisuke Okada
2023 2nd Version FP12 Hideo Tokoro
2023 2nd Version FP13 Ryota Osaka
2023 2nd Version FP14 Yuna Taira
2023 2nd Version FP15 Machico
2023 2nd Version FP16 Yuki Ono
2023 2nd Version FP17 Kaori Sakamoto
2023 2nd Version FP18 Shiori Kubo
2023 2nd Version FP19 Nanase Aikawa
2023 2nd Version FP20 Kumiko Kaneda
2023 2nd Version FP21 Ayano Kudo
2023 2nd Version FP22 Marina Kawano
2023 2nd Version FP23 Hideki Matsui Baseball Player
2023 2nd Version FP24 Yoki Tanaka
2023 2nd Version FP25 Honoka
2023 2nd Version FP26 Junpei Mizobata
2023 2nd Version FP27 Minami Sakuma
2023 2nd Version FP28 Koyakky's Studio
2023 2nd Version FP29 Akane Sakanoue
2023 2nd Version FP30 Risa Yukihira
2023 Fusion FP31 Saki Fujita
2023 Fusion FP32 Yuuko Ogura
2023 Fusion FP33 Midori Oka
2023 Fusion FP34 Airi Tanaka
2023 Fusion FP35 Ichikawa Danjuro XIII Hakuen
2023 Fusion FP36 Anna Yamada
2023 Fusion FP37 Yuuka Kikuchi
2023 Fusion FP38 Sae Takemoto
2023 Fusion FP39 Shiori Nagata
2023 Fusion FP40 Momo Sakurai
2023 Fusion FP41 Moeko Kanizawa
2023 Fusion FP42 Megumu Nakazato
2023 Fusion FP43 Ayae Hakamada
2023 Fusion FP44 Sarina Soda
2023 Fusion FP45 Chihiro Kawakami
2023 Fusion FP46 Risa Yukihira
2023 Fusion FP47 Ano
2023 Fusion FP48 Ami Inamura
2023 Fusion FP49 U-JIKOJI
2023 Fusion FP50 Nabuaki Kakuda
2023 Fusion FP51 Nicole Fujita
2023 Fusion FP52 Hazuki Mukai
2023 Fusion FP53 Yuzuki Hidaka
2023 Fusion FP54 Masashi Sada
2023 Fusion FP55 Yuri Komogata
2023 Fusion FP56 Harami-chan
2023 Fusion FP57 Wakana Matsumoto
2023 Fusion FP58 Lin Xiang
2023 Fusion FP59 Hiyuka Sakagawa
2023 Fusion FP60 Haru
2023 Fusion FP60-SV Haru

Here's a card from each year (with two from 2020 to show one of the "Ceremonial First Pitch History" cards).  I tried to pick a wide variety of folks although baseball players probably ended up being over-represented:

2004 BBM 2nd Version #837

2005 BBM 2nd Version #821

2006 BBM 2nd Version #770

2007 BBM 2nd Version #737

2008 BBM 2nd Version #766

2009 BBM 2nd Version #804

2010 BBM 2nd Version #811

2011 BBM 2nd Version #721

2012 BBM 2nd Version #681

2013 BBM 2nd Version #684

2014 BBM 2nd Version #FP03

2015 BBM 2nd Version #FP06

2016 BBM Fusion #FP20

2017 BBM 2nd Version #FP07

2018 BBM Fusion #FP22

2019 BBM Fusion #FP29

2020 BBM 2nd Version #FP10

2020 BBM Fusion #FP26

2021 BBM 2nd Version #FP03

2022 BBM 2nd Version #FP10

2023 BBM 2nd Version #FP23

I think opinions on the "Ceremonial First Pitch" cards are divided.  They're obviously very popular, otherwise BBM wouldn't be expanding the subset every year.  But I also know a couple collectors who really don't like them very much.  I thought I was in that group but after I skipped getting them with my 2021 Fusion set, I found that I actually missed them.  This led me to recently decide to go back and pick them up after all.  

Love them or hate them, they're a unique aspect of BBM sets that no one else has really been able to pull off.  Topps did similar inserts between 2015 and 2017 and Epoch added a couple cards of Ami Inamura to their Japan Women's Baseball League sets in 2016 and 2018 but no one has done it as long as BBM has.

5 comments:

Unknown said...


Wow, super impressive post on these cards.

Thanks for the time consuming work!

Scott

Nick Vossbrink said...

Okay that Sadako card is fantastic and now I want to see how she walked to the mound.

NPB Card Guy said...

@Scott - Thanks! I've got several projects going on simultaneously so I'm glad I finally got one finished!

@Nick - It's on YouTube. I think each of her appearances coincide with some new "Ring" movie. The one in 2016 was a tie-in for the crossover film with "The Grudge" - "Sadako vs Kayako" - so Sadako is actually pitching to Kayako. Kayako and her son Toshio are on another card.

Zippy Zappy said...

These first pitch cards are great because quite a lot of them are just women in swimwear showing cleavage.

NPB Card Guy said...

There is that but they (unfortunately) have seemed to be moving away from that over the past 10 years or so.