Jackson Holliday’s first home run in the major leagues was a grand slam. His 439-foot bomb off Yerry Rodriguez Wednesday offered a glimpse of what Orioles fans, not to mention collectors who’ve been buying up his cards, have been waiting for.
The ball bounced onto Eutaw Street where Orioles fan Tim Sartwell and his five-year-old son Wyatt were standing.
“As we’re walking over there we heard the crack,” the elder Sartwell told Sam Cohn of The Baltimore Sun. “Everyone in front of us started moving around and I just see the ball come over.”
The Orioles found the Sartwells and set up a postgame meeting with the 20-year-old Holiday, who is the youngest player in franchise history to hit a grand slam. They turned the potentially very valuable artifact over to Holiday in exchange for a signed bat.
Baseball is the best. pic.twitter.com/wA0bdkzUme
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) July 31, 2024
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A completely graded 1969 Topps Baseball set with nearly every card rating a 9 is now part of SCP Auctions’ current sale that wraps up Saturday. With its GPA of 8.929, the recently retired set would rank in the top 10 in the current PSA set registry across all basic sets. Every card is graded 8 or higher.
Another late addition: the shoes Kobe Bryant wore in his second-to-last career playoff game. The Kobe VII sneakers date to Game 4 of the 2012 Western Conference semifinals that pitted the Lakers against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Bryant dropped 38 points in a narrow defeat at the hands of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden.
The shoes have been photomatched to the contest by Sports Investors and also include a Panini COA verifying they are from the game.
A PSA Gem Mint 10 1985 Topps Mario Lemieux rookie was also among the late arrivals to the auction that also includes the warmup jacket Bryant wore in his last NBA game and a signed baseball from members of the first class of Baseball Hall of Famers that carries a current bid of $140,000.
In all, nearly 425 lots are being offered.
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Goal pucks from 85 NHL tallies during the 2023-24 season are on the block in MeiGray’s latest series of ongoing hockey auctions.
Leon Draisaitl, Nathan MacKinnon, David Pastrnak and Steven Stamkos are among those who shot them. All date from games played between late February and early March.
Bidding runs through August 12.
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Simone Biles made it nine Olympic medals and six golds on Thursday with her epic performance to win the women’s all-around gymnastics title in Paris.
She’s not in the recently released Topps Chrome Olympic product but she had cards in the 2016 release. Sticker autographs and parallels have been hot over the last week. The average price of a Biles card sold Thursday on eBay was over $110. Auctions for her cards have had plenty of bidding activity.
Swimming superstar Katie Ledecky does have cards in the recently released product–and in those from past years. Her cards, too, have been hot.
The status of each as the undisputed queens of their sport isn’t likely to be challenged anytime soon.
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Publicity for the promotion seems kind of sparse compared to previous years, but the 2024 edition of Topps Trading Card Day (formerly International Trading Card Day and National Trading Card Day) is set for Saturday, Aug. 3.
As is the case each year, hobby shops across the country that participate in the event will hand out free packs of TTCD exclusive cards. Customers can pick from MLB, Bowman U Football and Garbage Pail Kids. Those who spend $10 ore more in store will get a free card of Shohei Ohtani or Elly De La Cruz as a bonus.
As of Thursday evening, Topps hadn’t released a checklist or a list of participating shops so it’s best to call ahead.
Topps has been sponsoring free card nights at major league parks this summer with free exclusive packs handed out to fans. Many of those have wound up on eBay.
Related Stories:
1969 Topps Football: Last Pre-Merger Set
Cartes de Baseball: Collecting the Original Montreal Expos
Sinking Ship: Collecting the 1969 Seattle Pilots
Reggie Jackson: Mr. October’s Career in Cardboard
Mistaken Identities: “The Sporting News” 1969 Topps All-Stars
Early Struggles Aside, Jackson Holliday Era Could Be Fun
1969 Topps Baseball Team Posters – Part 1: Big, Bold & Borrowed
1989 Fleer Billy Ripken Gets a Topps Face for 2024
