A Mike Trout Debut Ticket, Signed and Slabbed and Inscribed and All Mine

Today's post is such an old addition I had to double-check that I did not post it some time between now and acquiring it while Covid was still strong and dominating our lives. The ticket was purchased already signed and authenticated but raw, and then I dropped it off at PSA while still employed there. Why I procrastinated so long before writing it up, I honestly do not know. But, as they say, better late than never!

I still love tickets and what they represent but I don't collect them with the fervor I once did. Hell, to say I even collect them any longer would be a stretch. A cool ticket would still catch my attention, but what I would spend money on now is a very short list. A Mike Trout signed MLB Debut ticket would certainly make that short list and I wish I had waited to buy one as I 100% overpaid based on what they sell for now compared to 2020/2021. Alas, we make decisions and that money was fair at the time so I can't complain. Plus, the benefit of still being single with no kids is that money was getting spent on myself one way or another.

The ticket returned from PSA with a 6 grade and a 10 for the John Hancock. While I decided to abandon my Every Mike Trout Home Run Ticket project and am currently working on selling those off, an iconic ticket such as this one is going to remain with me for the foreseeable future.

Oddball Mike Trout Slabbed Tickets

While I have not been collecting tickets with the same fervor I did a couple of years ago, I still have plenty from that time period to scan in, write up, and share. I still enjoy tickets immensely but without my PSA employee discount to slab them for a reasonable fee, I have moved away from chasing them.

I will get them all documented and displayed despite my shift. Today's tickets are season ticket stock variations of a ticket I posted almost a year ago. Mike Trout signed with the Angels and took his first batting practice session as a member of the franchise way back on July the 2nd in 2009.

These are extremely low POP mostly because who would think to get this slabbed? Well, this weird guy decided it would be a good use of funds and I do not regret the decision to slab a handful of these fun oddities.

They are most welcome in my Millville Meteor PC.

Mike Trout Signs, Takes Batting Practice

Weird items hold a special place in my heart -- read into that what you will. I find the unique in our hobby to be fascinating, and while unique is a broad and "to each their own" term, I think consensus can be found more often than not on what falls into or at the least leans into that category. A ticket from the Angels' game on the day in which Mike Trout was signed following his draft certainly is in that realm, and is certainly cool on top of that. 

This fun piece popped up on eBay in one of my many random searches and it instantly appealed to me with its story and interesting nature. I'm a giant Mike Trout fan and when my love of tickets is added in, this was an easy call for a small amount of money. Trout also took batting practice at Angels Stadium for the first time on July 2nd of 2009.

This oddball item, not surprisingly, is POP 1 as in the only one PSA has ever graded. For the price it was an easy "grade it" decision even knowing the grade would be middle of the road and factoring in that it's only Box Office Stock. I will take the 5 and enjoy this piece of Angels history!

Mike Trout's 1st Three-Something

Here's a fun little addition to my Mike Trout Collection that I thought I already owned but apparently do not. Or I do and I can't find the first one -- either way, I spent little to buy it raw on eBay and little (relatively speaking) to grade it. So, a happy pickup no matter the situation.

A first cup of coffee Trout recorded his very first three-hit game on September 3rd of 2011 in a win over Minnesota. Mike drew a walk and drove in career RBI number 14 as well. PSA deemed this newest ticket score a solid 6.

One Of Many Pandemic Purchases

I splurged many a time during the pandemic as I was fortunate enough to have my job only increase by about a million percent in terms of the amount of work and the amount of overtime I picked up. Granted, I had almost no life outside of work but considering I wasn't going anywhere during Covid anyways, the extra cash yielded many an awesome PC item.

This stunning Mike Trout 2019 Topps Five Star Auto was a highlight of my OT-fueled acquisitions. I struggle to not buy awesome Trouts to add to the PC and this one jumped off of the eBay page when I spotted it. I definitely paid a strong price as the market was up, it's Mike F'in Trout, and it was sold by Probstein. All that said, I love this Green Parallel numbered 8/15 and it being near quad-9.5s for an overall grade of 9.5 by BGS is sweet icing on the already sugar-filled cake.

Did anybody else find themselves making more big purchases during an admittedly scary and tough time? It wasn't what I ever thought would happen in that situation but I'm fortunate and very grateful I was in a position to do so.

Mike Trout Quakes Minor League Card, Signed and Slabbed PSA/DNA Authentic!

This unique item is something I've had for a couple of years now. I was simply lazy in sending it in to PSA and then posting about it, with a wait time in between leading to the former and contributing to the latter. I spotted it on eBay way back when and decided for as much as it would run me, the one-of-a-kindness of the piece combined with its awesomeness was worth the dough and the time I would need to invest getting it re-slabbed.

While I should have been collecting Mike Trout much, much earlier it is really hard to pass up a killer item of his now. When it's an autographed minor league stunner like this Rancho Cucamonga Quakes team-issued card pulling the trigger is just a formality. I've never seen another of these so trusting my gut was the right call.

It arrived in an old slab and crooked so I knew it would need to be corrected. I begged and pleaded with the PSA Research Department to give it a title other than "CARD" and even offered to call the team to get confirmation. I was turned down and told maybe one day it could be "spec'd" but for now it could not be slabbed any other way than this.

While I was disappointed at that outcome I was not all that surprised and owning it is more important than having any grading company call it what I know it to be. I will likely check back in down the road to see if anything has changed but I don't expect the answer to be yes.

Nonetheless, having this firmly secured and better displayed in my Millville Meteor PC is all that matters, and I could not be happier with this gorgeous seductress of cardboard goodness!

Mike Trout HR Ticket Tracker: # 35 (A Celebration of Power and Speed)

I inch closer to having a ticket from every game Mike Trout homered in with today's featured item. September 30th of 2012 saw Trout go yard for the 35th time in his then young career as the Angels edged Texas by a run in the first game of a doubleheader. It was Trout's 30th homer of that season and he also swiped his 48th base of the year.

What makes this an extra significant ticket is Trout became the youngest player in baseball history to have a 30 HR/40 SB season with his offensive output that day.

I picked up a pair of tickets by sheer luck from the contest in an eBay purchase. I thought only one would arrive despite two being shown as the listing did not indicate it was for both. I got a price I was happy with for one but two ending up in my mailbox was a nice cherry on top. PSA gave them a 7 and a 5, respectively.

Mike Trout and His 1st All-Star Game

I like adding oddball tickets to my Mike Trout PC and his first Midsummer Classic appearance was an easy target to desire and acquire. I love me a good ticket or stub and Trout had a great first showing with a single, stolen base, and walk.

PSA gave this a 5 and I still don't understand ticket grading. This appears to have a crease/wrinkle in addition to the writing on the front. But a 5 is a 5 and it ran me under $20 including grading so it's a win in my mind in the grand scheme of things.

Mike Trout HR Ticket Tracker: # 308

Following up with yesterday's post is another addition to the Trout PC and the Trout HR Ticket PC. April 21st of 2021 saw a bomb off the bat of The Millville Meteor as the Angels fell to Texas. For my purposes however, the game was a winner.

Homer number 308 returned from Orange County in a PSA 9 slab.

Mike Trout HR Ticket Tracker: # 307

Another piece to the lifelong Mike Trout HR Ticket Project is secured with this 2021 offering from an Angels' victory over the Rangers on April 20th (lol). With PSA pricing on tickets at a very high level and my employee discount no longer a possibility, I haven't been as active in chasing these but I did land a few before leaving Collectors early in 2022.

Career jack number 307 returned in a beautiful PSA 10 slab after submission. If only I had focused more of my attention and funds on my Mike Trout Collection in general years earlier....oh, what could have been!

Mike Trout HR Ticket Tracker: # 18

July 17th of 2012 -- my 23rd birthday -- saw Mike Trout and Albert Pujols leave the yard in a 12-0 thumping of the Detroit Tigers. Pujols' jack was number 461 in his career and Trout's was number 18.

This PSA 9 is another fine addition to my Trout HR Ticket Project!

Mike Trout's The Catch Signed Ticket: Coming To A Blog Post Near You Today!

Late 2020 or early 2021 saw me send a few items off to a Mike Trout private signing. It was the first time I had ever participated in such an event for any player and I was super excited. The price was.....not at all cheap....but that mid-pandemic cash flow in the hobby was truly a crazy sight to behold.

This beautiful "The Catch" ticket returned to me as part of the grouping. I decided to pay for an inscription and went with the simple phrase you see in quotation marks above. The inscription actually came out stronger from an ink perspective than Mike's signature as it appears he had some pen issues to deal with. Nevertheless, I love this ticket and am beyond pumped to add it to my Millville Meteor and Tickets/Stubs PCs!

The ticket was then shipped to PSA for added protection despite already having an MLB Cert on the reverse. It came back as a straight Authentic by choice, but not a choice I originally envisioned having to make. The company I went through for the signing shipped this back poorly and the tape on the cardsaver ended up getting stuck to the top of the ticket in transit. Once removed from the cardsaver, it ripped off some of the ticket stock, so I had to cut it off and thus submit a short ticket.

The company was not great about handling it and I still need to take advantage of the small credit we worked out, although I'm sure the owner will deny any responsibility again as he did upfront. I love people.

Mike Trout HR Ticket Tracker: # 279 (One In Every MLB Park, Finally!)

My good friend and former coworker Beth sent me a wonderful gift last year. She is the preeminent Mookie Betts collector -- I would venture to say that exists -- and I had a cool Test Proof /49 I sent her way after getting it graded (it even 10'd!). I did not expect anything in return but she decided to add something to my collection and it's an amazing gesture and item I'm thrilled to have.

Behold, a ticket to the game in which Mike Trout homered for the 279th time in his illustrious career. What makes it extra special is it's the first homer he hit at Fenway which also marked a homer in every MLB ballpark available for him to go deep in.

Another notch in the belt of my lifelong project! Thank you Beth!! :)

Mike Trout HR Ticket Tracker: # 1!!!

What would a "collect one ticket from every game Mike Trout homered in" project be without an entry into the first game he ever left the yard in? A shitty project, that's what. Purchased ungraded from eBay, this bad boy was sent in to PSA and returned quite some time ago. I am just slow and waaaay behind, that's all.

I'm more than happy with a 6 on the grade and simply stoked to have the toughest and priciest piece of the puzzle in-hand and safe and sound within the PC.

A PSA 10/10 Mike Trout On-Card Auto!

I've never gotten into the Topps Now craze like a lot of collectors but I appreciate the on-card autos and memorable moments that Topps has produced for those various releases. It's an opportunity to acquire cool cardboard so I don't preclude Now cards from my eBay searches. On one of my many pandemic-fueled ventures online, a search yielded a true beauty....

Meet the newest member of my Mike Trout Collection -- this stunning 2018 Topps Now on-card auto numbered 79/99 and slabbed a PSA 10 with a 10 for Trouty's John Hancock! The card commemorates Mike reaching 1,000 MLB games played and I absolutely dig the shot Topps used for the card with the fans behind him and the clear as day sign with "1,000" in bold red.

The price was reasonable enough and while I don't agree that the auto is a 10 -- I see you, obvious streak in the T -- the slab will forever say otherwise.

Mike Trout HR Ticket Tracker: # 253 (A.K.A. Ménage à Ticket!)

Here's a ticket I would have needed to acquire no matter what as it knocks off another small piece of my "ticket from every game Mike Trout has homered in" project. Number 253 occurred in a one-run loss to Seattle on May 31st, 2019. PSA gave it a 9 and while the flip is....busy....it was always going to be as two other milestones just so happened to take place that day.

PTSIA favorite Jay Bruce hit career dinger number 300 -- I totally forgot he was a Mariner -- and Shohei Ohtani left the yard for the 25th time in his young career.

A Terrific Mini Mike Trout, PSA 10

Here's another in the long line of "Was there a reason to grade this? No, but eight bucks is eight bucks so f it" cards I am slowly going through. My usual first reaction is to remember that I actually own it and sent it in as I haven't seen it in months and month and months.

Most of my modern has been coming back in less than stellar grades but here's a beautiful PSA 10 to alleviate that wave of mediocrity for at least a moment. I don't recall if I pulled this Mike Trout 2018 Ginter Black Mini or received it for free otherwise, and were I a betting man I would lay some cheddar on the latter.

Mike Trout HR Ticket Tracker: # 6

May 5th of 2012 saw Mike Trout hit his first homer of the season. It was the sixth of his young career and he would end the year hoisting the Rookie of The Year Award. I wanted the flip on this PSA 8 graded ticket from that game to reflect all of that.

I had to send this in twice to achieve that as the first flip was awful and abbreviated to the point it made no sense, but eventually it was corrected and now resides safely in my Trout HR Ticket Project PC.

A Random Mike Trout I Like

I don't recall how I came about owning this Mike Trout 2013 Topps Allen & Ginter Black Mini -- I would wager it's from a long since forgotten trade -- but I really enjoy everything about it. I enjoy it so much so that I decided for $8 it was worth slabbing for shits and giggles.

It returned as a PSA 9 and I am still quite fond of it. It is a most welcome and weird addition to my modest but growing Mike Trout Collection of cards, tickets, and other odds and ends.

Mike Trout HR Ticket Tracker: # 62

This may be the last Trout ticket post for a bit, but I intend on posting every weekday for quite some time. I certainly have plenty to showcase as my collecting has not stopped at any point despite my posting ceasing on a number of occasions. With that said, here is the ticket from home run number 62 as the Angels lost to Texas on September 29th of 2013.

This entry in the Project came back from PSA as a 7.