Shota Imanaga Rookie Patch Card Nets $82K in Hot Market Surge
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Shota Imanaga’s breakout 2024 campaign is catching attention far beyond Wrigley Field—and the hobby market is taking notice in a big way.
At Goldin’s April Elite Auction, a one-of-a-kind Topps Rookie Debut Patch Autograph 1/1 card featuring Imanaga sold for $82,961. The card includes a patch taken directly from his jersey worn during his Major League debut and is hand-signed by the Cubs star. It now ranks as the fourth-most valuable card ever sold through Topps’ Rookie Debut Patch series.
That series, which launched in 2023, is one of the most exclusive offerings in modern trading cards. Each card contains a single patch worn during a player’s debut game—removed immediately afterward—and is authenticated by both Topps and Major League Baseball.
Imanaga’s debut couldn’t have gone better. On April 1, 2024, he held the Rockies scoreless over six innings, striking out nine and giving up just two hits. That performance—and the patch from that exact uniform—now lives on in cardboard form, with a price tag to match.
Though impressive, the $82K haul still falls short of the all-time high for a card in the program. That belongs to Pirates phenom Paul Skenes, whose version fetched $1.1 million, setting a new bar for modern baseball card sales.
After a stellar career in Japan with the Yokohama BayStars, where he notched a 2.94 ERA and over 1,100 innings, Imanaga arrived in MLB with high expectations—and exceeded them. He wrapped up his first season with a 15-3 record, a 2.91 ERA, and 174 strikeouts in 173.1 innings.
Collectors and Cubs fans alike are watching Imanaga closely, and this sale shows the kind of buzz he’s bringing to both the mound and the market.
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