The Philadelphia Phillies are cruising. They lead their division by 5.5 games with a record of 68-49. The clubhouse has a relaxed, confident feel to it at the moment after winning 13 of their 21 games post-All-Star Break. This winning mindset creates a situation where it allows the players the luxury to focus on other things. For one Phillies pitcher, this is the ideal opportunity to help a superstar teammate start on an epic side quest, and he’s calling on all of baseball for help.

The hunt is officially on. Topps, the trading card company, released the news on their Instagram page. It was an announcement about a special partnership between two players from the Phillies. It read, “Phillies relief pitcher & renowned collector Matt Strahm is helping Bryce Harper hunt for his rarest cards 👀.” They further added, “Strahm posted that he’s looking for any of Harper’s rarest cards in exchange for game-used memorabilia. Let’s help them out…who’s got a card to trade?? 🤝” This post piqued the interest of the sports card world.

The man behind the mission, Matt Strahm, has his own tweet that reads, “Anyone with low pop/rare Harper cards that is interested in trading him game used memorabilia (batting gloves, bats, cleat) for them comment the card below. Going to help get his collections started.” It opened up a straightforward channel for fans to play a role and contribute to the mission of their dearest superstar.

So, why is Strahm leading this charge for his superstar teammate? Strahm seems to be motivated by both friendship and passion. Harper wasn’t known to be a lifelong collector, but he recently shared a different rationale. “I didn’t. I’m not the biggest collector with anything. But I might start doing it a little bit more since I have a son now. If I can get some cool stuff for him growing up…I think it’d be pretty cool for him,” he said. Strahm is, after all, a noted collector and is just helping a teammate get that cool stuff.

This initiative is a natural fit for Strahm. He has become one of the most visible collectors in the game. Matt Strahm isn’t your average collector; he calls himself a “packrat” and is very into the hobby. In 2018, he found his way back to his childhood passion and has been hooked ever since. Strahm estimates his personal collection to be almost a million cards. Also, he even hosts “The Card Life,” which is the first national TV show for sports cards, and has a YouTube channel named “Strahm’s Stadium Pulls.”

In his words, “Value of collection, I would say (I am) not even close.” He added, “But greatest, like authentic collection, most amount of cards … Yes, I would think I have the most amount of cards.”

His passion is infectious, and he frequently opens boxes of cards in the Phillies’ clubhouse. He said, “My teammates will say, ‘I have a Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card. What’s it worth?’ I’m like, ‘Well, dude, sit down and grab a chair. I can explain this to you.’ But again, I’m not into this for the value of the card as much as I am into it for, like, the sport of collecting. And the chase. There’s just something about getting a box and looking for that top rookie, and then hitting the autograph of that top rookie. It’s just an adrenaline rush.”

How to Join the Ultimate Side Quest

And this isn’t the first time Strahm has used his hobby for his colleagues. He has a reputation as a thoughtful gift-giver.  After Craig Kimbrel got his 400th career save, Strahm bought the rare 1-of-1 Topps Now card, which marked the occasion, and presented it to Kimbrel. Also, he has gifted players like Kyle Schwarber and Trevor Story (Story Topps Chrome Rookie Orange Parallels /25)special cards for their own collections, often for their children.  While giving the  1/1 Schwarber relic to Schwarber, he shared, “He lit up like a 12-year-old, but I also explained to him, ‘Kyle, your son’s 3 years old right now. He’s not really going to remember all of this, but you have these to maybe spark a memory.”

The cards Strahm is seeking for Harper are among the rarest in the hobby. He is after “low pop/rare” cards, which refers to items with a very limited and low print run. This includes cards like the 2011 Bowman Chrome Prospects Autograph Superfractor, which is a one-of-a-kind card sold for a sky-high $432,000. Other targets include rare colored parallels, such as the Orange Refractor that sold for $45,600, and super short-printed rookie cards that command thousands.

For those who want to join the hunt, the process is very simple. Strahm is offering his own game-used memorabilia, which includes his bats, his batting gloves, and his cleats, up for trade in exchange for rare Harper cards. He has put out a request to the collectors who are interested to comment on his or Topps’s social media posts with info about the card they are looking for. This is a once in a life time opportunity. So, check your collections—you might have exactly what Bryce Harper is looking for.