When New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe takes the field Thursday afternoon on Opening Day at Yankee Stadium, the 21-year-old will do so with a small “MLB Debut” patch affixed to the sleeve of his pinstripe jersey. After the game, the first of Volpe’s big league career, the quarter-size accessory will be removed, authenticated by a member of MLB’s authentication program and placed on a rookie card to be released in a future Topps set. The result will be a one-of-a-kind collectible from what MLB Pipeline’s fifth-ranked prospect and the Yankees hope is the first of many special moments in the Bronx.
The debut patch is the latest contribution to the card collecting hobby from sports apparel and e-commerce company Fanatics, which has made MLB’s on-field uniforms since 2017; launched its collectibles division and secured exclusive rights to produce trading cards for several leagues, including MLB, in 2021; and acquired the Topps brand in January 2022.
Every player who makes his MLB debut this season — not just highly touted prospects such as Volpe and St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker — will wear the patch, which will feature the same red, white and blue design for all teams and was created in partnership with Major League Baseball and MLB Players, Inc.
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“Debut patches represent one of the first steps that Fanatics Collectibles is taking to bring the players and leagues closer to the products, and ultimately fans,” Mike Mahan, the CEO of Fanatics Collectibles, said in a release.
The patches will be placed toward the bottom of a player’s sleeve by each team’s equipment manager. For rookies on the handful of teams with advertising patches on their jerseys this season, the patch will be placed on the opposite sleeve.
MLB’s authentication program calls for two third-party authenticators at every regular season game to witness and authenticate game-used equipment that may be discarded during and after the game. The release date and other details of the Topps sets that will include the debut patch rookie cards are to be determined.
“For a player there is no bigger moment than the first time they step onto a field for their Major League debut,” Tony Clark, executive director of the MLB Players Association, said in a release. “The Debut Patch is one way to capture the timeless nature of this moment and provide fans the opportunity to be part of it by collecting a player-worn item.”
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Player-worn items on trading cards are nothing new, but this is the first time a company has made memorabilia in collaboration with a league specifically for trading cards, according to Fanatics.
Upper Deck introduced game-worn jersey patch cards in its 1996 hockey set, with jersey patch inserts for Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, Doug Gilmour, Jaromir Jagr and Ray Bourque. The next year, Upper Deck inserted pieces of jerseys worn by Ken Griffey Jr., Tony Gwynn and Rey Ordóñez in its baseball release. Since then, pieces of game-used bats, batting gloves, hats and other equipment have been featured as rare inserts in various sets. Some of these cards include a hologram sticker with a unique alphanumeric code that collectors can enter into MLB’s authentication program database to see when the equipment was worn. With the debut patch rookie cards, that date won’t be in question.
“A Major League player’s debut day is a cause for great celebration and the culmination of many years of hard work,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a release. “Topps has been a great partner to baseball for decades, and I think this particular initiative is crucial to the development of deeper fan engagement.”
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