Calbee Pro Yakyuu Potato Chips with Baseball Player Cards
In Japan, some kinds of snacks available in stores come with Omake (おまけ) or a freebie, and one of the representatives is what I introduce here, Calbee’s Pro Yakyuu Chips (プロ野球チップス).
Calbee Pro Yakyuu Chips
Produced and sold by the leading Japanese snack food maker Calbee, Pro Yakyuu Chips (プロ野球チップス: professional baseball chips) has now become a long-selling potato chip product with a lot of fans.
The item went on the market in 1973 under the name of Pro Yakyuu Snack (プロ野球スナック), and since its first release in 1973, it has offered professional baseball player cards as a freebie.
Regarding the current edition, a golden packet is firmly attached to the package front, in which there are two baseball player cards.
Luckily, I got a special title-holder’s card this time, which features a holographic color print on the front.
Potato Chips
I bought this 2020 edition for about 100 yen at a 7-Eleven store, but the bag only contains 22 grams of potato chips since its primary selling point is the professional Japanese baseball player cards.
However, as for the taste, these lightly salted crisps are just as good as regular Calbee Potato Chips.
Professional Baseball Player Cards
As Calbee Pro Yakyuu Chips has been around since 1973, many rare cards exist, and so do a bunch of Pro Yakyuu Card collectors.
Such difficult-to-obtain cards are highly evaluated and traded at premium prices on auction sites, like this Yahoo Japan Auction.
(Reference Page: Wikipedia プロ野球チップス )
