Nice Catch: Mike Trout’s National Treasures Autographs Land at Panini America HQ

February 08, 2013

Panini America NT Baseball February 8 Autos Main

Simply put (and with bad puns intended), Los Angeles Angels rookie wunderkind Mike Trout was nothing short of heavenly for the Halos last season. The 21-year-old from Millville, N.J., became the first player in league history to blast 30 home runs, swipe 45 bases and drive in 125 runs in the same season en route to winning — unanimously — 2012 Rookie of the Year honors.

He earned a Silver Slugger Award, played in the 2012 All-Star Game and finished second in AL MVP voting to Miguel Cabrera and the first Triple Crown in 45 years. As a result of all of that, Trout has become one of the biggest fish in the baseball collecting ocean. His splash, however, is about to get even bigger.

Earlier this week, Trout returned to Panini America headquarters a downright filthy stash of hard-signed, game-worn memorabilia cards certain to add a lot more treasure to the upcoming 2012 National Treasures Baseball product. In the gallery below, we’ve profiled the fronts and backs of six different Trout cards slated for the set, ranging in quantity from 99 all the way down to one.

While appreciating the beauty of the gems that follow, keep in mind that Trout’s best autograph cards from the 2009 Elite Extra Edition Baseball set carry current Beckett values of between $350 and $600. Makes you wonder what kind of staggering figures these beauties will fetch. But that’s clearly another post for another time.

For now, enjoy this tantalizing sneak peek. Oh, and just to make things a little more “Treasury,” we’ve included some other impressive recent arrivals from the likes of Cal Ripken Jr., Chipper Jones and more. Stay tuned to The Knight’s Lance for complete coverage of the 2012 National Treasures Baseball packout and quality control processes, which begin later this month.