Much like Ichiro back in the early part of the 2000s, Yu Darvish has proven to be a huge commodity. Coming over this year from Japan to enter the rotation with the defending AL champion Texas Rangers, Darvish has brought a hoard of fans and journalists along with him. As expected, the card companies chased him mercilessly, trying to establish a deal that would get his cards into their products. Topps won the battle, and much to the delight of collectors, his autographs have received the normal fanfare of a player like he is.

Here are the first of his autographs that were offered in Topps Tribute and Museum Collection as a redemption:

2012 Museum Collection Yu Darvish Auto

2012 Topps Tribute Yu Darvish Auto

2012 Topps Tribute Yu Darvish Auto 2

We also saw the first autograph live in packs pulled and sold yesterday from Topps Gypsy Queen:

2012 Topps Gypsy Queen Yu Darvish Auto – LIVE

I think that as Darvish’s potential becomes more clear, his autograph prices will fluctuate, but I definitely think that his inclusion in both Gypsy Queen and 2012 Bowman will drive up prices in a very nice way. Gypsy queen already has a lot going for it as I discussed yesterday, and I think that the addition of the first live autographs and SPed base cards is a large reason why Gypsy Queen isn’t going to stay on shelves for a long time at your local LCS. Collectors drove the limited production run into the stratosphere for 2011 GQ, and that was without any real unique content. With Griffey, Darvish, and other things that were added to the set this year, 2012 should be very similar.

Its going to be a bloodbath for 2012 Bowman, but that is not anything new. Over the last 3 years, Bowman has been a tough get for collectors looking for a price that it normally sells at. Now that the checklist has been finalized, and autograph content improved, 2012 Bowman is already selling at 400 dollars above pre-sell. I don’t think that is going to change, and I wouldn’t hesitate to say it could end up near the selling price of 2011 once all is said and done. Darvish will be a driving factor as long as he continues to perform.