Fanatics and Topps are currently working with Major League Baseball to improve how debut patches are affixed to jerseys after two appeared to detach during play last month.
Collectors first noticed an issue when Boston Red Sox pitcher Payton Tolle, MLB Pipeline’s No. 27 overall prospect, took the mound in the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Fenway Park on Aug. 29.
Tolle allowed three hits and two runs while striking out eight in 5 1/3 innings, but his debut patch didn’t see an official pitch.
Images taken by Worcester Red Sox team photographer Ashley Green prior to the game showed Tolle’s debut patch loosely attached to his sleeve while warming up in the bullpen.
“It definitely fell off somewhere between warming up in the dugout and the start of the game,” Green wrote on X.
“The patch was recovered and is currently in the possession of Topps. Topps intends to include this debut patch alongside other debut patch cards, with the acknowledgement that this patch was worn during warmups immediately prior to the game and not during the game,” a Fanatics Collectibles spokesperson told cllct.
“We are working with Major League Baseball and all partners to avoid similar issues in the future.”
Details for what changes will be made to better secure patches weren’t immediately made available.
While the collecting community has been closely monitoring whether patches are worn correctly to start events, less attention has been dedicated to whether or not they remain attached throughout.
A review of Getty Images featuring debut patches from August shows Tolle’s wardrobe malfunction was at least the second during the month after a similar issue appeared to impact Tampa Bay Rays rookie Carson Williams, MLB Pipeline’s No. 46 overall prospect, on Aug. 22.
Early images of Williams batting and playing the field during the second inning show the debut patch attached to his left sleeve. Additional photographs from the game, including Williams’ first career home run in the seventh inning, show a clean sleeve without a patch.
Fanatics Collectibles confirmed Williams’ patch was properly authenticated by MLB and is going through the process of being turned into a trading card as normal.
Hoping to create something more significant than the hobby’s flagship Rookie Patch Autograph, Topps launched the first Rookie Debut Patch Autograph cards as part of 2023 Topps Chrome Update Baseball. Created and worn only during the player’s debut, the patches are typically removed after the game, authenticated by MLB and placed into one-of-a-kind trading cards before being signed by the player.
RDPAs have since become some of the most important cards in the hobby, with secondary-market sales often eclipsing records previously held by Superfractor 1/1s.
The most notable sale of an RDPA to date is the $1.11 million paid for Paul Skenes’ in March.
Purchased by Dick’s Sporting Goods, that card has since been placed on display at one of the company’s stores in Pittsburgh.
According to Card Ladder’s public records, five Rookie Debut Patch Autographs have sold for $50,000 or more and three have topped $100,000.
After first launching with MLB in 2023, Fanatics and Topps have expanded the debut patch program to additional leagues, including MLS in 2024, WrestleMania, Smackdown and RAW events in April and UFC events in May.
Without sleeves or jerseys, how patches would be affixed to fighters and wrestlers was something Fanatics had to navigate with UFC and WWE. Topps and Fanatics eventually settled on attaching patches to boots or sneakers for WWE wrestlers and to walkout jerseys for fighters.
Fanatics is also expected to expand the program again when it takes over exclusive licenses from Panini America for the NBA in October and the NFL in the spring of 2026.
Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture. He was previously the collectibles editor at Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on X and Instagram @benmburrows.