A young fan has rejected Olivia Dunne and the Pittsburgh Pirates’ special offers in exchange for a rare Paul Skenes card.
Amid Skenes’ stellar rokie season, Topps created a one-of-one card of the pitcher featuring his autograph and a patch of his jersey from his MLB debut.
And despite his girlfriend Dunne previously offering a spot alongside her in a Pirates luxury suite for a game – and the team putting forward a huge list of perks – an 11-year-old has instead decided to take the card to auction.
That update was provided on Friday by Fanatics Collect, as the company said the card will be available in their March Premier auction.
Fanatics Collect added that all the proceeds from the card would be donated to LA fire relief funds.
The card could fetch up to $1million at auction, according to The Athletic’s Larry Holder.
Olivia Dunne’s special offer in exchange for a rare Paul Skenes card has been denied
Dunne, seen with Skenes at MLB’s All-Star red carpet, has been a big supporter of the pitcher
In attempt to obtain the piece of history for Skenes, the Pirates offered two season tickets behind home plate for the next 30 years, a meet and great with Skenes and two Skenes autographed jerseys in exchange for the card.
Pittsburgh also offered a softball game for 30 people at PNC Park, with coaching from Pirates alumni and a private tour of Pirate City and LECOM Park, with the latter tours part of the team’s Spring Training facilities in Florida.
The Pirates even teased ‘more unique experiences’ as part of the trade for the card.
Dunne later upped the stakes to include the chance to take in a Pirates game with her in a suite.
Following the fan’s decision, Topps posted a journal entry from the 11-year-old from after he drew the card.
He called landing the card a ‘dream come true’ and said he ‘started bouncing all over the place’ in celebration.
The Pirates responded somewhat melancholily to the news that the fan was rejecting their offer.
‘Well…we’re bummed that we won’t be seeing you behind home plate for 30 seasons, the team wrote on X. ‘But we’d still love to bring you to Pittsburgh for a special day at PNC Park this season.
Skenes, 22, had a stellar rookie year as he was named an All-Star and quickly established himself as one of the best pitchers in the sport.
In 23 games, he tossed an incredible 1.96 ERA and averaged 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings.
