DICK’S Sporting Goods purchased the 1/1 Paul Skenes MLB Debut card! The card, which sold for $1.11 million, will be displayed at the DICK’S House of Sport store in Ross Park, Pittsburgh. (source: prnewswire.com/news-releases/…)
Paul Skenes card fetches record sale price of $1.1 million at auction
Photo credit: © Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Mar 22, 2025, 09:00 EDT
It’s been an interesting week for baseball card collectors as a new standard has been set for an MLB Debut patch card. Paul Skenes’ one-of-one card was available at auction, and it sold for a record $1.11 million on Thursday evening.
These MLB debut patch cards have become increasingly popular recently, and it’s become something that the players, and even the MLB teams, are more interested in. Several players have pursued their own 1/1 cards, and in the case of Skenes and his MLB Debut Patch, the Pirates were even willing to pay a premium for the lucky fan who pulled it, announcing a bounty on the card.
The Pirates were offering a package that included:
- Two season tickets behind home plate, for the next 30 (!) years
- A Spring Training exclusive experience, including the chance to meet Skenes
- A softball game for 30 people at PNC park
- Skenes’ girlfriend, Olivia Dunne, also offered the chance to join her in a luxury suite for a Pirates game as well
Despite all of the tempting perks, the person who pulled the card decided to sell the card through Fanatics Collectables, earning themselves a pretty sweet payday. The identity of the family is not known, but what is known is that the card was pulled by an 11-year-old, who received the eventual million-dollar pack as a Christmas present this past year. They will have to fork over 20% of the sale to the auction company, but the card will still bring more than $800,000 when all is said and done. The eventual buyer of the card was DICK”s Sporting Goods, who is planning to display the card at one of their Pennsylvania locations.
The MLB patch debut cards were just introduced in 2023, so we won’t be seeing any of these cards for the likes of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, or any of the other veteran stars in Toronto. However, we should see more opportunities in the future. In 2023, the first year of these cards, there were only 91 made. Last year that number climbed to 251, and it’s hard to imagine they’ll become less available as their popularity rises.
All of this card craze left me asking a question that I’ve somehow never thought of before: What is the most expensive Blue Jays baseball card of all time? The answer might surprise you. That’s because the answer is a 1990 Eric Lindros card (huh?!?).
Lindros, of course, is a Hall of Fame NHL hockey player, but back in 1990 “Score” produced very limited offerings of Lindros in a Blue Jays uniform, taking some hacks in the batter’s box. The card varies in value depending on its condition and a variety of other factors, but the estimated value of a PSA Gem Mint 10 is approximately $8000.