In 2023, the Topps collectible company launched their first edition of “Topps Rookie Debut Patch” cards. As the name implies, these cards include the patch the players wore on their sleeve in their MLB debut. The cards also have an original signature from the player. For the first year, Topps issued 91 such cards, including for players like Anthony Volpe, Jordan Walker, and Masataka Yoshida. This year, they issued 251.
The new cards were released on November 13th, and featured players who made their MLB debuts between June 1, 2023 and May 24, 2024. There is only one debut patch card produced for each player, so discovering it in a pack is the baseball equivalent of finding the Golden Ticket to visit Mr. Wonka’s famous factory.
Volpe’s card from last year fetched $150,000 from a retailer. In the auction space, Kodai Senga’s card went for just over $17,000.
Jackson Holliday, Jackson Merrill, Jackson Chourio, Elly De La Cruz, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are just a few of the names who have debut patch cards available this season. But, potentially the most interesting card is the one signed by the recently-named National League Rookie of the Year, Paul Skenes.
Skenes made his major league debut on May 11th, so he got in just under Topps’ May 24th wire. By that date he had made three appearances, thrown 16 innings, and struck out 21 batters. That was the jumping off point to a season in which he went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA and a 0.947 WHIP, while striking out 170 batters against only 32 walks.
Skenes collected 23 first-place votes for Rookie of the Year, and filled the remaining ballots with second-place tallies. By collecting ROY honors, he is credited with an additional year of service time, and is now eligible to become a free agent after the 2029 season.
That is all goodnews for the fireball-throwing righty. What is greatnews for some lucky fan is what the Pittsburgh Pirates have offered in return for that golden ticket, er, Debut Patch Card. For whoever happens upon that card, the Pirates – never known for their generosity – have offered perks/treats/rewards.
But that is not all. Skenes’ girlfriend, LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne, decided to double-down on the offer. On the X platform (formerly Twitter), Dunne posted: “Let’s raise the stakes…the person who finds the card can sit with me at a Pirates game in my suite.”
The lucky finder/recipient will have to decide whether to sit behind home plate or next to the social media darling. Regardless of which route he or she takes, the value they will receive from the Pirates could be worth well in excess of a million dollars (for instance, if the Pirates provide two tickets valued at $250/each, for 81 games/season, for 30 years, that adds up to more than $1.2 million).
If nothing else, the Pirates have made news and a gotten a ton of free publicity. Baseball card collectors and little kids (let’s hope it is little kids) all over the country will be breaking boxes of cards at a record pace trying to find this illusive, one-of-a-kind card. Hopefully the finder (a) is a baseball fan, (b) lives in Western Pennsylvania, (c) roots for the Pirates, (d) accepts the deal, and (e) truly appreciates the bounty bestowed upon them. This is a generational prize in return for the baseball card of a generational pitcher.