News
World Series MVP Jeremy Pena hot on sports collectible market
Jeremy Pena became only the third rookie ever to earn World Series MVP honors, following Livan Hernandez (1997) and Larry Sherry (1959).
And what a series he had! In 25 at-bats, Pena had 10 hits (a .400 average), including a double and a homer. He also scored five runs and knocked in three.
Baseball collectors and fans were already onto Pena because of his solid regular season. He stepped in for Carlos Correa and performed like a veteran, winning a Gold Glove award while hitting 22 homers to go with 72 runs, 63 RBI and 11 stolen bases. His performance put him on the radar among collectors.
On eBay, sellers currently have more than 5,000 Pena listings on the market. And in early November, as Pena was helping Houston topple the Phillies, collectors were paying these types of prices for his rookie cards:
• $6,900 on 78 bids for a 2020 Bowman Chrome signed Sapphire Purple Refractor. It was one of only 10 made and had been graded PSA 10.
• $3,052 on 13 bids for an autographed 2020 Bowman Sterling Superfractor. Graded PSA 10, it was a 1-of-1 card.
• $2,475 on 54 bids for a signed 2020 Bowman Chrome Purple Refractor marked #72/250. It was graded PSA 10.
• $1,650 on 28 bids for a 2020 Bowman Chrome Yellow Refractor marked #52/75. It was graded PSA 9.
Among the current-year Pena gems to sell was an ungraded 2022 Topps Update Clear Acetate. Marked #9/10, it brought $1,400.
Now, if we could just prevail upon young Pena to put a little more effort into his autograph …. Seriously. His signature is an impossible-to-decipher scribble. Yet it’s valuable; for a Pena-signed (authenticated) baseball, you’ll spend $150-$200.
