NYC Card Shop Wants Yankees’ Star’s RDPA
With 27 world championships and 61 Hall-of-Famers, the New York Yankees are the most revered baseball franchise.
Judge, Jeter, DiMaggio, Mantle, Gehrig, Ruth. Each name is better than the last.
Because of exceedingly high expectations, any big prospect coming up through the Yankees’ farm system feels the weight of the world on their shoulders. The most highly regarded prospect recently to feel the added pressure is Jasson Dominguez. Signed by the Yankees in 2019 as a baby-faced 16-year-old, the Dominican Republic native was touted as the next can’t-miss prospect. He has garnered comparisons to Mike Trout and Bo Jackson.
Hobbyists and prospectors were attracted to Dominguez’s potential right away. Even though he hadn’t played in his first professional game, his Superfractor sold at auction for a staggering $474,000 in February 2022.
In a September call-up in 2023, Dominguez made his presence felt instantaneously at the MLB level. In his first career at-bat, Dominguez launched an opposite-field home run off future Hall of Fame pitcher Justin Verlander. While enjoying a spectacular performance in his MLB debut, Dominguez was sporting an MLB Debut Patch. That 1-of-1 memento is now on Dominguez’s Rookie Debut Patch Auto (RDPA) card in the 2024 Topps Chrome Update product.
Dominguez’s RDPA is one of 251 RDPA cards in this year’s Topps Chrome Update Series. Dominguez is one of the major chases in this star-studded group of players.
Bleecker Trading, which has two hobby shops in New York City, in the West Village and the Upper West Side, wants to be the first to acquire the Dominguez RDPA.
“Where we are as a store, we want that card pulled in our store—whether it’s us or our customers,” Bleecker Trading CEO Mark Zablow said. “We’re aggressively running our promotions to make that happen in our venue.”
Busy Release Day
When 2024 Topps Chrome Update Series was released on November 13, a consistent stream of customers made their way into Bleecker’s in search of the Dominguez card.
“Obviously, in New York, Dominguez is the big draw,” Zablow said. “We have so many Dominguez collectors, so it’s been big. Also, having a big card come out for him is nice. We haven’t had one recently. It’s been a big story.
“But, overall, the MLB Rookie Debut Patches are a real conversation, and they’re driving people across the board.”
For Dominguez, nicknamed The Martian for his ability to hit absolute bombs into orbit, this is his best card released in the last four years since his First Bowman Superfractor. That certainly begs the question, which is the more sought-after card, Dominguez’s 2020 Bowman Chrome Superfractor or his 2024 Topps Chrome Update RDPA?
“I need to be careful—I respect the Superfractor more than anything—but I would put the RDPA up there, almost greater, definitely close to equal,” Zablow said. “I say that strictly because of what he did in his first game. It’s special when you think about the provenance behind the patch and how he performed. The RDPA represents his moment of moments.”
Shot Heard ‘Round the World
Zablow isn’t too keen on placing bounties on cards because it can get out of control. However, Bleecker’s is eager to work out a trade if the Dominguez RDPA makes its way into their hobby shop.
“Right now, we’re doing double cash back, and we’re going to flip to $500 bounties on any Debut Patches pulled in-store,” Zablow said.
Anyone who pulls the Dominguez can contact Bleecker’s on Instagram @bleeckertrading via DM or email team@bleeckertrading.com.
“If we pulled it, we would probably sell it as fast as we could, just because we’re running two businesses,” Zablow joked. “We don’t rip any product, though. So, if anybody pulls it in our store, it will be a customer.
More 2024 Topps Chrome Update Series RDPAs
- Pittsburgh Pirates Offer Bounty for Chrome Update Skenes RDPA
- Seeking Elly De La Cruz’s Rookie Debut Patch Auto
- There’s Only One Rookie Debut Patch Auto
