Colon's home run card smashes Topps' sales record
It's been more than 24 hours since Bartolo Colon slugged his way into the baseball record books, and yet his epic home run is still rewriting history.
Topps announced Monday that Colon's "The impossible becomes possible" baseball card commemorating his first career home run shattered the record for limited-edition print by selling 8,826 cards in 24 hours.
"This moment was the perfect storm," Jeff Heckman, director of product development and e-commerce for Topps, told ESPN's Darren Rovell. "It was the right player in the right market and it happened on a weekend."
According to Rovell, the special-edition card is part of the collectible series "Topps Now" in which the company recreates a popular moment and sells as many cards that are ordered within a 24-hour period. The cards sell for $9.99, though buyers can purchase in bulk for a cheaper price.
Colon, 42, became the oldest player in major-league history to notch his first career homer Saturday when he connected on a James Shields fastball and sent it into the stands at Petco Park, some 365 feet away from home plate. The home run triggered an avalanche of memes, GIFs, and other funny recreations in honor of one of baseball's most beloved players.
The previous record was held by Jake Arrieta's no-hitter, which sold 1,808 cards.
"When we first developed this, we thought that the best-selling card this season would be a no-hitter, a player hitting for the cycle, or maybe Ichiro's 3000th hit," Heckman said. "Colon just has a cult following. We could have never dreamed up something like this."
(Video courtesy: MLB.com)