Opening baseball card packs with famous baseball players past and present has become one of America’s favorite pastimes.
But an incident unlike any other took place on Saturday in Lynnwood, New Jersey. In this case, the man who ripped open the package had an unusual association with the sport, not to mention not to mention notoriety in another incident.
“It’s a really cool day,” said seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady, who gave cards to celebrate Topps’ inaugural Hobby Rip Night event at the Wax, Packs and Throwbacks store in Lynwood. The collectors were in for a surprise. “(I was 10 years old) when I started collecting all my baseball cards. “I still have a binder full of my favorite players. “
The event is part of the National Topps Rip Night event held at participating stores across the country. Brady’s appearance highlights his love of baseball, which he developed as a child. But he wasn’t just a card collector – he was a very good catcher.
In fact, he was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 18th round of the 1995 MLB draft out of Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, California. This is the same high school that produced Barry Bonds.
But Brady chose to play football at the University of Michigan, which in hindsight seems like a pretty good choice.
“I’m a pretty good catcher,” said the 6-foot-4 Brady. “But being a catcher and being big wasn’t going to work. So I had to choose football.”
Brady was drafted by the New England Patriots in 2000 and became one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. In addition to winning a record seven Super Bowls, Brady is a three-time Most Valuable Player, 15-time Pro Bowl selection and five-time Super Bowl MVP, just to name a few of his many accolades.
Still, like others who have achieved great things in other sports, Brady is, at heart, a great baseball fan. As he wore an Expos jersey bearing No. 12, the number he had throughout his illustrious football career, he tore open the first pack and the first card he drew was rather intriguing: Warriors superstar Ronaldinho. Ronald Acuña Jr.
Brady then presented what he called a “vintage Derek Jeter card” to Pete Alonso, Shohei Ohtani and others, then signed autographs and even made some trades with kids in the crowd.