TODAY’S TALKER

Auction makes Hall of Famer Ted Williams a nonfungible token

Teddy Ballgame is about to become Teddy Blockchain. Hall of Famer Ted Williams is coming to the digital memorabilia market with a release of nine different cards that follow his career from rookie to Hall of Fame inductee.

The collectors’ items offered by Williams’ daughter are handdrawn by Brazilian illustrator Andre Maciel, known as Black Madre, who created the nonfungible tokens for football star Rob Gronkowski that sold out last month for $1.6 million.“i wrote to him. I told him who I was. I said, ‘My dad is Ted Williams.’ I said, ‘Here’s what I want to do,’” Claudia Williams said, adding that she didn’t know whether Maciel would be familiar with the baseball star. “Just the respect that he showed the art, I know that he knows who Ted Williams is.”

Eight cards come in limited editions numbered 1-9, with the ninth — titled “The Splendid Splinter” — a oneof-a-kind release that comes with an autographed bat, three autographed pictures and an Airbnb stay at a house Williams lived in. Each of the 73 cards include the digital autograph of the Red Sox slugger, who remains the last major leaguer to bat .400.

The collection also recognizes Williams’ achievements as a fishing hall of famer and a fighter pilot who missed parts of five seasons to serve in WWII and the Korean War. Claudia Williams wrote the text on the back of each card. The auction begins today and runs through Saturday.

Nonfungible tokens, or NFTS, can be works of art, video clips or even tweets or news articles tied to a digital record — or blockchain — that allows the collector to prove ownership.