Collaborations have never been more popular in sports, especially in Major League Baseball. As a way to expand their fan base and bring additional excitement to the game, teams are partnering with popular brands, entertainment franchises, and artists to create limited-edition promotional items and merchandise that quickly become collectors’ items.
Whether it’s a One Piece Los Angeles Dodgers card, a San Francisco Giants Hello Kitty Funko Pop, or a Baltimore Orioles Tupac bobblehead, fans can cheer on their home team and take home some collectible swag that can command big money on the secondary market.
The latest collaboration will delight Yankees and Dodgers fans—and especially fans of the artist KAWS. Celebrating the upcoming three-game series at Yankee Stadium from July 17-19, Fanatics and Complex are launching the KAWS X MLB Collection. The collection brings KAWS’ signature “XX” motif and COMPANION character to a wide array of reimagined Yankees and Dodgers merchandise, including Nike jerseys and hats, Rawlings baseballs, Marucci bats, and perhaps the most collectible of all, Topps trading cards.
From Street Art to Yankee Stadium
Brooklyn-based Brian Donnelly, known professionally as KAWS, recently wrapped a major West Coast exhibition of his work at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Over the years, KAWS has collaborated with a who’s who of streetwear, pop culture, and fashion brands, including BAPE, Uniqlo, Air Jordan, Dior, and Reese’s—and even redesigned the iconic MTV “Moonman” statue in 2013. KAWS’ artwork is highly sought after by collectors inside and outside of the art world, often drawing comparisons with the works of Andy Warhol.
Topps Cards Bring a New KAWS Chase
The Topps cards will be produced in limited quantities, with special parallels and rare, randomly inserted KAWS autographs for collectors and fans to chase. Based on the popularity of the 2025 Topps Tokyo Series cards featuring the work of Japanese artist Takashi Murakami and Topps’ multiple releasesfeaturing Travis Scott’s Cactus Jack brand, collectors can expect high demand and potentially higher prices for those who miss the retail drops
Where Collectors Can Find the KAWS X MLB Collection
The KAWS X MLB Collection will be available through a variety of outlets, including in-person at Fanatics Fest in NYC July 16-19, the Yankees team store beginning July 16, and the Dodgers team store beginning July 31. The full collection (including the Topps Trading Cards) launches globally on July 20 MLB Flagship Store in NYC, Nike.com (and Nike stores), and select Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees team stores
With the Yankees-Dodgers rivalry, the excitement around Fanatics Fest 2026, the global collector following of KAWS, and rare Topps autographs in the mix, this could shape up to be one of baseball’s most sought-after collaborations of the summer
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Published 1 hour ago| Modified 1 hour ago
LUCAS MAST
Lucas Mast is a writer based in California’s Bay Area, where he’s a season ticket holder for St. Mary’s basketball and a die-hard Stanford athletics fan. A lifelong collector of sneakers, sports cards, and pop culture, he also advises companies shaping the future of the hobby and sports. He’s driven by a curiosity about why people collect—and what those items reveal about the moments and memories that matter most
