New Collector Pulls TWO 2024 Topps Debut Patch Autograph Cards From LCS!
Alec Word just finished his college degree at University of Southern California this week, and that might not be the most exciting thing that happened to him in December.
In a Saturday December 7th visit to Jaspy's Sports Cards & Collectibles, he bought some packs of 2024 Topps Update Jumbo and ripped them there in the store. Much to everyone's surprise, he pulled the 1/1 MLB Debut Patch autograph redemption for 2024 All-Star Jordan Westburg of the Baltimore Orioles.
"I didn't even know what it was at first," Alec told me. "But the shop started to go bonkers."
"We were all going crazy about what he just pulled!" Maren Jaspersen of Jaspy's told me. "I believe that was the first time he ever stopped into our shop."
The MLB Debut patches were introduced in 2023 Topps product, and have been wildly popular. Players like Paul Skenes want their own MLB Debut patch autograph card, and teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates are offering bounties for their players' cards. A collector has even started tracking every card and if it has been pulled.
MLB attaches an MLB Debut patch to a player's jersey for his debut game. After the game, the patch gets removed and sent to Topps. The entire patch is inserted into the player's card, and an autograph is added. There is, of course, only one of each player's card.
Only 251 of the cards created for 2024 Topps. When Alec made his first visit to Jaspy's, 151 -- approximately 60% of the population -- had been pulled and reported to the tracker. The odds were stacked against Alec pulling one.
But Alec's luck wasn't done yet.
Jaspy's is closed on Sundays and Mondays, so he went back on Tuesday December 10th to test his luck on a few Breaker's Delight boxes, which have better odds of pulling a low-numbered card. This time he didn't open them there in the shop.
"I was on a Facetime call with some of my closest friends and I saw the patch and legit couldn't believe it," Alec told me. "I started running up and down the stairs screaming."
The patch was from Jose Ferrer's MLB Debut patch autograph. This one, since it was in a Breaker's Delight box, was not a redemption. The autograph and patch were live.
Alec was a collector when he was a kid and is a massive sports fan, but he just got back into collecting on Black Friday. "My brother has been getting back surgery, and it's something we can do together to pass time and have fun."
"We couldn't believe his luck on back-to-back visits!" Maren told me.
What will Alec do with the cards? He has already sold the Westburg to an Orioles supercollector:
As for the Ferrer, he is not planning to sell it.
With his recent Business Administration and Finance degree from USC's Marshall School of Business, Alec, a huge Dodgers fan, is hoping to get into the sports industry in some way.
Mike runs the hobby YouTube channel Junk Wax Hero, where he talks about a lot of different aspects of the hobby from a collector’s perspective. His most popular series is Attic Find Friday. He also writes a free weekly hobby recap newsletter at junkwaxhero.com. It’s a cliche, but his favorite card is the 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr.