Fran was a big baseball fan. Ever since he was little, he loved collecting baseball cards and learning about all the different players. This year for his 12th birthday, Fran’s parents told him he could have $50 to spend on new baseball cards. Fran was so excited! He raced to the card shop as soon as he could to pick out new packs of cards to add to his collection.
When Fran arrived at the card shop, he was in awe looking around at all the different cards on display. There were shelves full of loose packs and boxes as well as binders filled with rare individually bagged cards. Fran took his time walking around, carefully considering which packs would be the best use of his $50. He knew if he got some packs from the current season, there was a chance he could pull a rookie card of a up and coming star player. The odds were low and most of the cards wouldn’t be very valuable.
After deliberating for about 20 minutes, Fran decided to put together a combination of packs from the current season along with some older year packs that had retired players. This way he had a chance at some valuable vintage cards as well as present day stars. He selected 10 packs ranging from the past 5 seasons to fill out his purchase. Now came the exciting part – ripping open the packs to see which players he uncovered!
Back at home, Fran sat at his desk and carefully opened each pack one by one. In the first few packs he found mostly common players he already had multiples of in his collection. But in the 4th pack, he gasped when he saw a shiny red parallel card of MVP Mike Trout staring back at him! This was a big hit, as Trout cards hold their value very well. Next, pack 5 contained a rookie card of superstar pitcher Clayton Kershaw from 2008. Score!
By the halfway point, Fran’s pile of new cards was growing but he hadn’t uncovered any other huge hits yet. Then in pack 7, a familiar smile popped out – Babe Ruth from 1914! Fran was thrilled, as the Babe is arguably the most iconic baseball player of all time. Two packs later, pack 9 revealed a rookie season card for Hall of Famer Derek Jeter from 1996. Fran was elated, these vintage pulls were amazing additions to his collection.
In the final pack, pack 10, Fran was hoping for one last great card to top off his day. As he peeled back the wrapper, out slid an incredible 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle rookie card! Fran couldn’t believe his luck, this was surely the biggest card pull of his baseball card collecting career so far. The Mantle rookie in near mint condition could be worth thousands someday.
By the end, Fran’s $50 investment had netted him 17 quality new cards for his collection, including 3 of the biggest stars in baseball history in Trout, Kershaw and Mantle. It was a birthday he’d never forget. From that point on, Fran became even more hooked on the hobby of baseball cards. He started a part time job to fund his growing collection and search for rare vintage steals. Now as an avid collector in his 30s, Fran looks back fondly on that memorable day that sparked his lifelong passion.
