Before losing him to a hamstring injury last month, signing Munetaka Murakami clearly paid off for the White Sox.
Now, a 9-year-old from Arizona is also reaping the benefits.
Mason Deane, who collects trading cards, lucked into a box of Topps cards in April that contained a one-of-one redemption for a Murakami autographed rookie card, according to a story from Arizona television station KPNX.
“It’s something that’s fun to do with your son. We have what we call a trading business, and we just buy and sell baseball cards,” Mason’s father Bradley told KPNX.
“We normally just look around, and if I feel lucky, we get a pack,” Mason added.
“I was like, ‘This is crazy.’ I’d never heard of a card like that,” he said.
The family decided to put the card up for auction and sold it for $75,000.
“I was like, ‘Oh, wow. That’s a lot.’ I was just surprised,” Mason said.
Mason wanted to use the money to buy more cards. Bradley overrode his son’s wishes and put the cash in a college fund.
The family intends to travel to Chicago next month to meet Murakami and take in a Sox game at Rate Field.
“That’s probably the best card I’m gonna get,” Mason said.
This is Sandlin’s second tour with the Sox this season. His first start in the big leagues was memorable. After allowing a leadoff homer to Byron Buxton, Sandlin retired the next 18 Twins.
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With the White Sox on upswing, Reinsdorf, 90, needs to come out of the shadows.
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The ball was the final out of Game 1 of the series against the Astros, whom the Sox swept in four games.
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The resurgent Sox have been aggressive on the basepaths, and those players who succeed are rewarded with points from Leger, who tracks their progress on a chart displayed in the clubhouse.
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