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THE STORY


My name is Andrew, and I have been collecting cards since I was a kid (I am now 34). A few days before Christmas 2019, I was at my local card shop and had the pull of a lifetime. I bought a 500.00 box of cards called Panini National Treasures as an early Christmas present to myself. I knew there was a possibility to pull some good cards, but I had no idea what was in store for me. I contemplated buying this box of cards for about 3 hours and went back and forth with another guy in the shop about if I should get it or not. I asked the shop owner if there was another box besides the one that was out on display. He said I'll go check. He comes back with another box. The shop now had 2 boxes so the other customer pulled the trigger on the first one and I said I would follow suit on the second one. Well, it turned out to be a good call. The 2 guys in the shop (who I will just refer to as my new buddies), kept in contact via group text throughout the afternoon because they wanted to know what I pulled when I opened the box. (Remember, this was a 500.00 high end baseball card box.) So fast forward to about 11 in the evening when decided I could not wait any longer, it was time. It was time to end the suspense.  I set up a card table I had just bought at Target earlier that day, and laid out a blank white paper mat on top. I very nervously took the scissors and cut the plastic shrink wrap around the box in an X pattern across the back of the box. There was no turning back now, I was fully committed.  The first few cards good, but not quite what I was looking for. So fast forward about 4 cards in, and things started to get more interesting. First, there was a Giancarlos Stanton button relic (which is such a cool card), then came the Pete Alonso 8 piece relic, followed by a Keston Hiura autograph relic card. I was pretty happy at this point just from what I had pulled so far. It just got better though. The next card was a Carter Kieboom autograph relic, followed by another autograph relic of Whit Merrifield! I was completely content on my pulls at this point and still had the best card left which was a booklet at the bottom! I knew the last card was a booklet, however I realized that this booklet was 3 parts instead of 2!  I immediately knew something was special because I knew I probably had 3 autographs or something like that, but never in a million years did I think it was what it ended up being! I was thinking how awesome it would be to get a Mike Trout autograph, or a Pete Alonso autograph. The thought of pulling what I pulled wasn't even on my radar...In fact, I didn't even know (or believe) that it was possible for someone like me to pull this card!  

 

As I slow revealed the booklet with a blank cover card, I saw the name Ty....The first name that came to mind was obviously Ty Cobb, so I knew I had something special...At this point, I was thinking, wow, I just pulled a 3 page booklet of Ty Cobb and was just thinking relic, not even autograph at this point. As I slid the cover card over more, I saw the name Babe...At this point, I was not believing what I was seeing...I knew I had something very, very special, but was still thinking it was going to be a relic of Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth, nothing more.  As I opened the first part of the three page booklet, I saw the words 1 of 1 in fancy gold foil italicized lettering. Things were really heating up in my mind and the possibility of what was in front of me was starting to numb my brain with disbelief and shock. As I turned over the 2nd part of the booklet, I just about s*** my pants...It was 2 legendary autographs! What was I looking at?!?!? Could this be? Was I in fact looking at a Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb autograph in front of me? It couldn't be, I actually was thinking I received a cutout of the bat with their auto imprinted from the barrel like they do on baseball bats. I could not grasp my mind around the fact that there was a Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb autograph in my hands. I still didn't quite believe what I had. As I slowly unfolded the full 3 part booklet, I was amazed at what I had in front of me. To the left was 2 pieces of Babe Ruth's bat and to the right, was 2 pieces of Ty Cobb's bat. Dead center, was 2 autographs. At this point, it all clicked. I had just pulled the cover story card of this set! I had the bat relics and the autos of 2 baseball legends. I immediately sent a text message to my 2 newfound buddies who were on a group text with a picture of what I had pulled. You can imagine the response...They were in disbelief as well! They could not believe they were actually holding this box at the shop a few hours earlier. Just to kind of prove I did pull it, I wrote on my paper mat that I opened the box on, "Surf City Cards WTF!!!" and "AG F**K YEAH!" and sent the picture with those captions below...I also sent them a picture of me holding the card. They were so excited, they told me to come to the shop first thing in the morning to show them. I stared at that card for a good 5 minutes trying to figure out if this was still real. Midnight was fast approaching, so I decided to go to bed and see if I still have it when I wake up in the morning or if it was just a dream that had been shattered when I awoke. As I write this letter to you, I still have the card, and 1 day has passed so it must be real. It's a good thing I can type this because my handwriting would be so shaky from nervousness and excitement, you probably would not be able to read this. I am sharing my story to show that average sportscard hobby enthusiasts like me, can indeed pull such a card! 

Actual Card: 2019 Panini National Treasures Babe Ruth/Ty Cobb Autograph Dual Bat Relic 1 of 1

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