Rare Baseball Card Pulled In Essex County As Part Of New Collecting Trend, 'Card Breaks'

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — If you're not yet up on the latest trend in baseball card collecting, "card breaks," pay attention and you, too, may someday pay a small amount for a box of cards that — when opened live on the internet — yields a rare item worth five figures.

Vintage Breaks, a card collecting company that moved from Somerset to Millburn, N.J. last week, gave the good news to client Jacob Lazinger Thursday.

The company — which says they'll open a showroom in Millburn to the public in September — opened a box of 2021 Topps Dynasty Baseball Cards live on the internet on Thursday. Their hired breaker, Sam Rosenfield, pulled out what they call "an incredibly rare Mike Trout Autographed Patch Gold 1/1 Card."

In fact, the Trout card is one of a kind.

Ken Pescatore, the company's general manager, explained, "The card is one of a kind with only a single example being produced globally by its manufacturer, The Topps Company, Inc." in 2021.

Trout, a center fielder for the Los Angeles Angels, was born in Vineland, NJ. He's been a nine-time
All-Star, three-time American League MVP, and the 2012 American League Rookie of the Year.

The real winner in the "card break" is client Jacob Lazinger, who paid $85 for a "five-box MLB Team Break" and was randomly assigned the Angels. Thus, he gets the spoils of the Trout card.

"We are all excited that his new Mike Trout card could be worth five figures," Pescatore said.

Mike Trout recently became a baseball card collector himself, Pescatore noted, saying during a June 12 game against the Mets, “I didn’t really collect cards but I’m starting, to because I want to get a nice collection for my son. I’m collecting a lot of Mike Trout cards."

The new card breaks trend "allows hobbyists to fractionally purchase into card products," the general manager explained. "When products are sold, their opening is live streamed on the internet via platforms like YouTube and Twitch."

VintageBreaks moved their operations to 296 Millburn Ave. last week, after more than five years in Somerset.

Their vintage sports card and memorabilia showroom, called Just Collect, will hold its grand opening for the public in September.

As for the Trout card, it's "one of the most valuable modern sports cards ever pulled by the company," Pescatore said.