What is up FANation we are back with another edition of “What’s in the Pack?” If you listened to the FAmily Times Podcast last week then I teased that I had a quite a pull from yet another pack that honestly had me first, surprised, then pretty excited. Ok, I will end the suspense and get to it.

1) New York Mets Mascot Patch

So, this is a Commemorative Mascot Patch from the 2020 Topps Opening Day set. At first glance, I was a bit disappointed that the material on the face was pulled but after further research it appears that all the Mets cards were produced this way. This card was No.63 of 99 in the bundle and a card like this I figured could be worth a few dollars. If you remember, the Max Scherzer jersey card from last week had a value of $6 so I assumed this would have been in the same range but boy was I wrong….In MINT condition this card is valued at $60…. SIXTY…. SIX-ZERO… The box of 11 packs that I purchased only cost me $10.99 and I now have a card that’s worth nearly 6x that amount. Now, the market for card selling is not what it once was to be, but you can bet that I ordered a special sleeve to put this bad boy in immediately. If anyone reading this is interested feel free to hit me up on twitter and we can negotiate.

2) Sean Murphy , C Oakland Athletics

So, this is the official Topps rookie card as you can see from the RC in the top left corner. Topps has a few versions of their rookie card as you will see the occasional All-Star Rookie which was featured in last week’s article. Hard to tell from the image above but this card is actually a bit glossy as well. Overall, it is a nice-looking card, but it is unfortunate that it happens to be a Sean Murphy card and not someone of value currently. Now, Murphy could be a hall of famer by the time his career is over and this may end up being a nice card to have but for now he gets lumped in with the rest of the cards that I glance at and move on. Murphy did have an OK debut with Oakland, hitting .245 with four home runs and an OPS of .899 over 20 games.

3) Fernando Tatis Jr. , SS San Diego Padres

 

Here is another example of the Topps All-Star Rookie card and we have a solid pull here with Tatis Jr. This is a pretty common card within the Topps deck so while the player has a ton of upside the card itself is not worth much more than $2 given the amount in circulation. That said, it is a nice grab and I am hopeful to pull another FTJ rookie card in a future pack that is closer to the Sean Murphy card above because this kid is a STUD and that one would be worth a few dollars more. FTJ hit .317 with 22 home runs, 16 stolen bases and an OPS of .969 over 84 games in 2019.

4) Justin Verlander , SP Houston Astros

We have a standard Verlander card here. Not worth much more than $1, he is obviously an elite pitcher and won the 2019 A.L. Cy Young award after going 21-6 with a 2.58 ERA over a league leading 223 innings but with this is a generic card that I will more than likely pull a few more times. Great player, not a great card unless you are an Astros fan.

5) Yadier Molina , C St. Louis Cardinals

This is actually a pretty solid photo of Yadi in my opinion so while the card itself is a generic card worth about 50 cents it is one of my favorites so far just on appearance. Molina is a future hall of famer that is winding down his career. In 2019 he appeared in 113 games and hit .270 with 10 home runs and an OPS of .711. Solid card for the collection even if there is minimal monetary value.

So, that wraps up this weeks pack. Since the pack contained the Mets Mascot card this pack actually contained less cards than standard packs. I don’t imagine I will continue to pull such valuable cards moving forward after the Scherzer jersey card and now this Mr.Met mascot patch but you just never know what will be in the pack and that to me is part of the allure.

If you are into card collecting tweet me your favorite cards in the collection @jimpemba777