Collectibles On SI

11-Year-Old Who Pulled Paul Skenes MLB Debut Patch Speaks

The Athletic interviewed the 11-year-old, revealing insights into how the family reacted to one of the most publicized cards in recent memory. The story verifies the boy's existence and the lengths Topps and Fanatics took to keep him and his family anonymous.

Horacio Ruiz

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (30) eyes up the runner on first base during the second inning of his MLB Debut against the Chicago Cubs Saturday evening at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA.
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (30) eyes up the runner on first base during the second inning of his MLB Debut against the Chicago Cubs Saturday evening at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA. / Michael Longo/For USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK
In this story:

The Athletic spoke to the 11-year-old boy who pulled the Paul Skenes MLB Debut Patch redemption card from a 24-pack hobby box. The article detailed where the box came from and why the family has chosen to remain anonymous.

Paul Skenes pitches against the New York Yankees
Sep 28, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) smiles as he walks off the field after the second inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Fanatics Controls the Narrative of the Paul Skenes MLB Debut Patch Card

The boy's mom told reporter Larry Holder that the family bought the box from StockX for $320. It was the boy's only Christmas present, given the hefty price. The boy opened three packs before allowing his other family members to open their gifts. On the fifth pack, he pulled the Paul Skenes redemption card.

The Hobby Takes Late Night: Paul Skenes and Seth Meyers Talk Cards

"I was immediately just kind of stupified, and then that went into excitement and then I was just kind of slackjawed,” the father told The Athletic's Holder.

The family decided to maintain its privacy for two reasons: fear of the national attention being too much for the 11-year-old. The second is that with wildfires raging through Los Angeles, the family didn't feel right celebrating their luck during such a difficult time for others.

“It’s been a really hard time in the community,” the mother told The Athletic. “It’s not the time to be walking around and saying, ‘I got the golden ticket.’”

The family contacted several auction houses including Robert Edward, Heritage, and Fanatics Collect. The family ultimately decided to go with Fanatics Collect, where the card will be up for sale in March.

The article also addressed the criticism Fanatics received for its delay in announcing the card's redemption. Fanatics Collectibles CEO seemed to understand the criticism, blaming the industry's history of keeping collectors in the dark and defending the move to keep the boy and his family anonymous.

“An 11-year-old boy holds the card of the year that everybody’s talking about and everybody’s chasing,” Mahan told The Athletic. “Something everyone unequivocally should celebrate and people are skeptical, and that skepticism doesn’t happen if it weren’t for years and years, and frankly decades, of neglect of the collector.”

It turns out, Mahan still doesn't know the boy's name or the names of his parents.

“You had a father of an 11-year-old son who wanted to remain private," Mahan told The Athletic. "And we wanted to work that out with the father in a way that he felt comfortable with. When you have the privacy of an 11-year-old boy at stake, that becomes the focus. ... I’m the father of an 11-year-old boy
myself. I understand that desire not only to keep it private, but to keep it insulated.”

Mahan said he understands the collecting community's skepticism, questioning whether the 11-year-old boy was real or simply a character created by Topps.

“There’s a lot of collectors that want transparency and want communication and want integrity and want honesty and for years, they didn’t get it,” Mahan said. “And so now, all of that is pent up when something really extraordinary happens. ... And so I understand why people are skeptical. I understand why people want Fanatics, as a big company comes in (to the hobby space), to prove it to them.”

A Topps executive flew to Topps headquarters in Dallas and picked up the card, then flew back to Los Angeles on the same day on Jan. 22 and brought the Skenes card to the boy's house. The family hung out with it for a day until the next day when a Fanatics Collect representative took the card to PSA to get it graded. It was graded a Gem Mint 10 with a Gem Mint autograph.

The family knows there's potential that the card can sell for seven figures. The boy insisted on using the money to save for college for him and his brother. The story ends with him asking if he could use just a bit of the money to buy more baseball packs.

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Horacio Ruiz
HORACIO RUIZ

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