Mike Trout rookie baseball card sells for a record $3.936 million

Mike Trout already signed the largest contract by total value in baseball history, so it’s only fitting that his 2009 rookie card was sold for the highest price of any baseball card in history.

The 2009 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Mike Trout Superfractor in question was part of a limited series, and the only one with Trout’s signature, was sold over the weekend for $3.936 million by Goldin Auctions. That broke the record for a single baseball card, held previously by a 1909 T-206 Honus Wagner card that sold for $3.12 million.

Dave Oancea, who sold the Trout card, bought it off eBay from a seller in Taiwan for $400,000 in 2018. Not a bad return on investment.

Angels manager Joe Maddon was awestruck by the selling price.

“That puts him right up there with, what does the Mona Lisa sell for?” Maddon said on Sunday. “Wow, that’s pretty phenomenal.

“Somebody is investing in their future. I mean that’s probably gonna put some kids through college several years from now.”

“This event was somewhat of a perfect storm as we had a remarkable collection of historic memorabilia supported by incredible marketing and publicity during a great market for sports collectibles,” said Ken Goldin, founder of Goldin Auctions.

Links

• Anthony Rendon overcame an early slump and now his seasonal numbers are among the best in baseball. David Adler of MLB.com analyzes Rendon’s approach at the plate over the season.
• Maddon doubts the defensive metrics that rate Trout poorly, writes Jeff Fletcher at the Orange County Register.
• Mike DiGiovanna at the Los Angeles Times wrote about Jo Adell’s rookie struggles.
• Will Leitch at MLB.com picked a surprise star for all 30 MLB teams, including Dylan Bundy for the Angels.
• In case you missed it, the Angels will play the Indians in Williamsport in 2021 for the “Little League Classic.”