Paul Skenes was really happy a young fan pulled his incredibly rare Topps baseball card.
Earlier this month, an 11-year-old in California opened a pack that included a one-of-one Skenes card featuring an MLB debut patch and an autograph. Topps announced the card would be released in November, and fans had desperately been seeking it for months. The Pirates put out a compelling bounty for the card that the fan declined, taking the card to auction.
On Tuesday night, Skenes appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers and discussed his feelings about the card being found.
When Meyers asked the Pittsburgh Pirates ace how excited he was that an 11-year-old kid pulled the card, he said, "Super. Super excited."
Skenes then said the worst outcome would have been a 50-year-old collector finding it.
The fact that a young kid found the card and not one of the thousands of collectors out there is truly one of the best stories of MLB's offseason.
Skenes won National League Rookie of the Year for his performance in 2024 where he went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP and 170 strikeouts in 133 innings. The 22-year-old is widely considered the best young pitcher MLB has seen in years.
The card that 11-year-old pulled is only going to go up in value as Skenes's career progresses.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Paul Skenes Was 'Super Excited' to Find Out Young Kid Found His Sought-After Rookie Card.
