It wasn’t quite the Miracle on Ice but Team USA’s victory in the 2017 World Baseball Classic resulted in a remarkably quick sellout of relic and autograph cards from Wednesday night’s championship game at Dodger Stadium.
Topps created several different relic cards featuring pieces of game-used baseballs and bases through its NOW program but all sold out within 20 minutes after they went on sale Thursday afternoon–at prices ranging from $49.99 to $999.99.
Topps offered 61 cards carrying the autograph of Marcus Stroman, who tossed six no-hit innings to earn MVP honors. If you waited more than a few minutes, though, you didn’t get one. The same held true for 49 game-used base cards that didn’t carry Stroman’s signature. As usual with Topps NOW, the relic and autograph cards were limited to a certain number with prices based on the print run.
Topps also created a set of four base cards that will be available for sale until Friday afternoon. Those are print-to-demand and will be numbered as such once sales close. The cards can be ordered for $9.99 each or less in quantity. The complete set–sold for $29.99–features two cards of Stroman, one of Ian Kinsler’s two-run homer to open the scoring and one of team members holding an American flag after the game.
The victory over Puerto Rico resulted in the first WBC title for the United States.