After winning the 2025 AL Rookie of the Year award unanimously, Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz came back in 2026 and kept right on hitting. Early in the season he reached base in 48 straight games, tying Mark McGwire's 1996 record for the longest single-season on-base streak in Athletics history, the longest run in the majors since 2018.
He was named AL Player of the Month for May after hitting .333 with a big league best 26 RBI in the month. By July 3 he had 20 home runs, capped by a 457-foot blast, and he was named to the American League All-Star team for the first time. He finished the year with 21 home runs and a .396 on-base percentage, and through two seasons he already has 57 career home runs.
Who is Nick Kurtz?
The Athletics took Kurtz fourth overall in the 2024 draft out of Wake Forest, and he reached the big leagues in April 2025. That July he went 6-for-6 with four home runs against the Astros, the first rookie in MLB history with a four-homer game. He finished his rookie year with 36 home runs and became the first Athletic to win Rookie of the Year since 2009.
Nick Kurtz cards
For the Athletics fan on your list, our Nick Kurtz 8x10 fan plaque mounts three of his cards from Topps and Bowman with an engraved nameplate, ready to hang in a fan cave. There is also a one-card 4x6 plaque and a 2025 AL Rookie of the Year plaque. To go with his McGwire moment, his 2026 Topps Chrome Past to Present card pairs him with Big Mac himself, and our 2026 Topps Athletics team set includes his card with the rest of the roster.
