Fauci’s Topps baseball card sold out, breaks Topps print record of all time
When I was a kid collecting, flipping and trading my Topps baseball cards, I never dreamt that the most popular Topps card in 2020 would be that of a 79-year-old federal government immunologist. But yesterday, Topps, the leading producer of trading cards in the U.S. announced that it sold out of the Dr. Anthony Fauci baseball card after the company had printed 51,512 of his cards – making that card “the highest print run to date.”
Fauci’s card was only available for 24 hours and Topps reported that they probably wouldn’t be re-printing it. Before being sold out, the Fauci card was retailing on the Topps website for $9.99.
The image captures the ball just as it’s leaving Fauci’s hand. That’s probably a good thing, as Fauci’s pitch sailed far away from the plate. Fauci had a sense of humor about his errant throw, saying he thought he was supposed to throw the pitch to first base. ~ Yahoo! Sports
There have been a few memorable and embarrassing ceremonial first pitches thrown out in Major League Baseball games over the years. To open the 2020 MLB season in D.C., the highly respected and venerable Dr. Anthony Fauci – the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases – was invited to throw the first pitch to open the game between the Washington Nationals and the New York Yankees. Fauci’s pitch was one for the record books.
The good doctor – a self-proclaimed Washington Nationals’ fan – walked onto the field confidently, decked out in Nats’ attire and sporting his Nats’ face cover. His windup looked promising; but his release was just a tad off. Play the video below.
The pitch landed about six feet out in foul ball territory. Twitter fans were online saying that Fauci was just doing all he could to “flatten the curve” and make sure that “no-one catches anything.”
Fauci, like all other medical experts, has been advocating for months for Americans to practice social distancing when leaving the home — basically, maintaining a space of six feet away from others at all times when possible. It’s always heartening to see someone who preaches such advice follow it, even if it is with his pitch location. ~ CBS Sports
And Fauci’s first pitch wasn’t the only memorable aspect regarding last night’s opening season game.
The pregame ceremony included nods to the Nationals’ title and the Black Lives Matter movement. Players from both teams jointly held a long black piece of cloth, then knelt in unison. ~ ESPN
The opening of the 2020 season marked the first time in Nationals’ history that the team opened the season against an American League team.
Due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the game was played with not a single fan in the stands, although fake crowd noise was piped in through the stadium speakers. Players and umpires wore masks. There was a “no spitting, no high fives, no eating sesame seeds” rule in effect. The weather turned nasty and the game was called on account of lightning and heavy rains.
The final score for the season opener was Yankees, 4, Nationals, 1 – and a whole lot of love for Dr. Anthony Fauci.
For more on Fauci’s best selling and sold out Topps card, see the video accompanying this article.
~ Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Connect with Richard on Facebook and Twitter
