Nick Kurtz Four-Homer Topps NOW Card One of the Most Coveted of the Season
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A little over a year ago, the Athletics selected Nick Kurtz with the No. 4 overall pick in the MLB Draft, and he has certainly made his presence known since that day. Not only did he make his MLB debut back in April, but he also collected the rare four-homer game on July 25 in Houston, which helped him capture not only the AL Rookie of the Month Award, but also the AL Player of the Month Award for July.
Following his four-homer performance against the Astros, Topps NOW released a card to commemorate the occasion, which is something they do for big moments throughout the baseball season. Given that this is a rare feat and Kurtz is a rookie, baseball fans flooded to the Topps website to purchase the card.
In addition to the stock card, there is also a 1/1 that will be distributed among the bunch which is also signed by the A's first baseman. While collectors will be happy with the base card, the 1/1 could be worth a pretty penny, considering the feat, Kurtz's rookie status, and the rarity of the card itself.
Athletics on SI did some digging to see how many of these cards had been printed, and according to a spokesperson with the Topps PR team, there have been 53,611 of these cards that were printed out to be shippd to those that purchased the card.
We also asked where the Kurtz card ranks in relation to other top sellers this season, and received a list of the top six cards this year.
1. Ohtani/Yamamoto/Sasaki from Japan Series (had triple auto chase): 99,226 PR
2. Yamamoto/Imanaga from Japan Series: 65,609 PR
3. Kershaw 3,000th K: 63,363 PR
4. Kurtz 4-HR game: 53,611 PR
5. Japan Series Opening Day Card, first card of year: 52,377 PR
6. Caglianone 1st MLB hit: 33,728 PR
The PR next to each is the "print run" or how many of each card were printed. As you can tell from the numbers above, Kurtz's card is one of the top sellers of the season, and is right there in the mix with the Japan Series, which kicked off the season, and a milestone achievement for future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw. That's pretty impressive company.
The spokesperson was unable to share what other variations of the Kurtz card may be included (if any) when they ship, or when they're expected to start arriving for those that have ordered them, but now and again they'll throw in some cards that have different borders that are numbered to 25, or some other version of rarer card offering.
Given the demand for the original (and let's face it, the potential for the auto/patch), the lucky few that end up receiving any types of variation cards could be sitting on a nice collectable that will be worth quite a bit.
Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.
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