Topps unveiled its exclusive rookie card for San Diego native Stephen Strasburg in an unusual way.
Strasburg, the Washington Nationals rookie, debuted in the majors on June 8 and Topps grabbed an image of his first pitch to create the limited edition card. The company bragged that "before he even hit the showers" they expected customers to own the pitching phenom's baseball card.
A company spokesperson likened the Strasburg rookie card to those of Mickey Mantle, Cal Ripken, Jr. and Nolan Ryan.
Last year Topps announced an exclusive multi-year deal with Strasburg granting Topps exclusive rights for autographed cards, game-used memorabilia cards and the use of Strasburg's image on packaging and advertising.
