Pittsburgh Pirates fans are well aware of all of the buzz that surrounds Paul Skenes. Skenes just put together one of the most impressive rookie debuts we have ever seen in the sport of baseball after an overwhelming amount of hype as the former #1 overall pick. Living up to that is no small task, but that Skenes has somehow exceeded expectations is turning into not only a massive boon for the Pirates, but into big business as well.
In baseball card collecting, the most prized Skenes card without question is his 1/1 Rookie Debut patch auto from 2024 Topps Chrome Update. While other massive cards of his have been pulled and sold for big money, the fervor around this one of a kind patch auto has dwarfed all others and even got the team involved in the fun as the Pirates put a bounty on the card that includes 30 years of season tickets and a pretty sweet spring training package. Skenes' girlfriend Livvy Dunne also offered to let whoever pulled the card to watch a Pirates game in her suite.
Until now, the card had remained elusive and caused hobbyists everywhere to search in earnest for the card that, in all honesty, is probably worth far more than the public bounties on it and caused the prices of 2024 Topps Chrome Update to shoot through the roof. Well, the wait is finally over as Topps revealed on Tuesday that an 11-year-old unnamed collector in Los Angeles pulled the card of a lifetime.
Paul Skenes' most prized rookie auto was just pulled by a young collector in California
First of all, it is absolutely amazing that a young baseball fan is the one that ended up pulling this prized Skenes rookie card. There are a lot of "investor" types of people out there that have been buying up boxes trying to pull it to flip for a massive profit, so that it was a kid who ended up with it is the best kind of karmic justice. Hopefully they have a good support system around them that will help protect them from what is likely to be a LOT of attention and people coming out of the woodwork to try and get their hands on the card.
Whoever this young person is, they have a tough decision ahead of them. Obviously Pirates season tickets won't do them much good given that they live on the west coast, so that bounty isn't likely to be cashed in by them. They could sell it for what is likely to be an easy six figures (if not more) through an auction house given the hype around the card and the big auction houses are almost certainly going to be trying to reach out. Of course, the option to just keep the card exists and boy would that be the ultimate flex if that was the choice made.
One hopes that folks won't hound this kid too much. It is not hyperbole whatsoever to say that pulling this Skenes' Rookie Debut patch auto is a life-altering pull and there is a lot of money on the line here. Everyone should be thrilled for the kid and if the Pirates want to get their hands on it, they are going to have to really up the ante over their initial bounty.