JAY COHEN Associated Press
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Cam Booser's bumpy road to the major leagues included arm and back injuries, along with a stint as a carpenter in his native Seattle. Such an unlikely big league debut was worth commemorating, and he was determined to track down a specific memento -- a one-of-a-kind baseball card that included a jersey patch from his uniform for his first game.
So was his older sister, Kelsey.
After scheming with the Neighborhood Card Shop in California for about a month, Kelsey surprised her younger brother with the prized card for one memorable Christmas present.
"That was one of the cooler moments I've ever had," said Cam Booser, a reliever who was traded from the Red Sox to the White Sox in December.
Topps' debut patch cards, which are autographed and contain a patch from the jersey from the player's first MLB game, have captured the attention of some young major leaguers -- even the ones with little previous interest in baseball cards -- and longtime collectors. The patches are even part of this year's MLB The Show video game.
People are also reading... 33-year-old arrested after 9-person after hours brawl at West Middle, 2nd multi-person fight in a year South Sioux City ready to float big development ideas with new port designation Siouxland's Choice 2025: Ever wanted Cardi B's fingernails? The Angel Collective can do that and more Will Curtis Jones, Keshon Gilbert play tonight at Oklahoma State? Here's the latest Suspect in Dakota Dunes stabbing death wants murder trial moved Siouxland's Choice for Best Barista ready to spill some beans Siouxland's Choice 2025: After an eight-year absence, Little Chicago Deli tops Siouxland's Choice for best sandwiches Sioux City IRS office, U.S. attorney's office appear to be on chopping block of Elon Musk's DOGE Sioux City man charged with beating driver, stealing vehicle Le Mars Fire Rescue, other local departments responded to multiple fires Friday Sioux City slashing Human Rights Commission budget, blames state for revenue issues Woman gets probation for writing bad checks at Sioux City stores South Sioux City man charged with sexually abusing children Sioux City Schools updates school days to make up weather cancellations Siouxland's Choice 2025: SoHo Kitchen & Bar's Taylor Sarff earn yuks as Siouxland's Choice for local comic
The hype was ramped up by the pursuit of Paul Skenes' card after it was released in November. Dominic Canzone's mother managed to get her son's card for him, and Chandler Seagle's father presented his son's card to him. Joey Loperfido, an outfielder who made his major league debut last year, wrote "DM me" on the back of his card and offered an invitation to Thanksgiving in exchange for the memento -- and got it back.
"I think it is a resemblance of a lifetime of work right in front of your eyes," Booser said.
The debut patch cards are featured in Topps Chrome Update. Fanatics, which owns Topps, released a Major League Soccer version in December, and it plans to try the card in other properties as well.
Some of the patch cards are inserted into Chrome Update, but many are distributed via redemption codes -- where Topps ships out the one-of-one card in a protective case after it is claimed in an effort to protect its condition.
There were 91 debut patch cards in the first year in 2023 and 251 last year. Jackson Merrill and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are among the sought after cards that haven't been publicly uncovered just yet.
"So this was a completely different take on the traditional, let's call it, relic card," said Clay Luraschi, the head of product development for Topps. "You know, how can we work with Major League Baseball to create something that's exclusive for our trading cards versus receiving a jersey, cutting it up and making a card out of something that was used prior."
The patches are sent to major league equipment managers before the season starts. When a player makes his debut, the patch is added to a sleeve on his jersey. It is removed after the game and authenticated before it is shipped back to Topps.
"I'm not a collector. I've never been a collector," Skenes said. "I can imagine that it's cool for these kids to sort of feel that connection. I think the one thing that I would say you know potentially that hopefully it's giving them some hope and some relationship to the majors. Because we were all that kid at one point."
The debut patch cards for Skenes -- a hard-throwing right-hander who won the NL Rookie of the Year award with the Pittsburgh Pirates -- and Jackson Holliday are part of a Fanatics Collect auction this month. Junior Caminero's card was sold for $66,000 in a Fanatics auction in December.
Skenes' card was hotly pursued before an 11-year-old boy in Southern California opened the redemption on Christmas morning. The Pirates offered a package for the card in November that included two season tickets for 30 years, but the boy's family opted for the auction.
The card was redeemed on Jan. 3, and Topps announced on Jan. 21 that it had been found. Topps posted on X on Jan. 4 that the Skenes card had yet to surface publicly, and published a video of Skenes talking about the card on Instagram on Jan. 8, along with the caption "Are you accepting the Pirates offer if you pull this card??"
The 18 days between when the card was redeemed and Topps' public announcement led to some criticism from collectors who suspected it was a purposeful delay to help increase sales. A Fanatics Collectibles spokesman cited a variety of factors for the timing, including the holidays, protecting the anonymity of the family and the LA wildfires. The social media posts were attributed to the time it took for word of the card's discovery to filter through the large company.
A Massachusetts man found a redemption for Loperfido's card and got in touch with the outfielder through social media. He drove the card to Loperfido's New Jersey home.
Loperfido, who was traded from Houston to Toronto in July, gave the man money to cover his travel expenses, along with a bat, jersey and tickets and VIP passes for a Blue Jays game at Boston. Since the card hadn't been pulled yet, there was no Thanksgiving appearance.
The 25-year-old Loperfido plans to raffle the card off to raise money for a non-profit organization that he volunteered with in college.
"It captures an exciting and once-in-a-lifetime moment for guys in their career; their first game played in the big leagues," Loperfido said. "I think it's special. ... People are looking for them. The guys coming up in the league, great players like Paul Skenes, these cards are really going to be worth something one day."
Best draft picks of all-time for every MLB team Best draft picks of all-time for every MLB team Arizona Diamondbacks: Max Scherzer Atlanta Braves: Chipper Jones Baltimore Orioles: Cal Ripken Jr. Chicago White Sox: Frank Thomas Cleveland Guardians: Jim Thome Colorado Rockies: Todd Helton Houston Astros: Kenny Lofton Kansas City Royals: George Brett Los Angeles Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw Miami Marlins: Giancarlo Stanton Milwaukee Brewers: Robin Yount Minnesota Twins: Bert Blyleven New York Mets: Nolan Ryan New York Yankees: Derek Jeter Oakland Athletics: Rickey Henderson Philadelphia Phillies: Mike Schmidt Pittsburgh Pirates: Barry Bonds San Francisco Giants: Will Clark Seattle Mariners: Alex Rodriguez Tampa Bay Rays: Evan Longoria Texas Rangers: Kevin Brown Toronto Blue Jays: Roy Halladay Washington Nationals: Randy Johnson Boston Red Sox: Roger Clemens Chicago Cubs: Greg Maddux Cincinnati Reds: Johnny Bench Detroit Tigers: Justin Verlander Los Angeles Angels: Mike Trout San Diego Padres: Ozzie Smith St. Louis Cardinals: Albert Pujols 0 Comments Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
Get in the game with our Prep Sports Newsletter
Sent weekly directly to your inbox!
Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.