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So A Mark Zuckerberg Little League Baseball Card NFT Is A Thing. But Why?

mark zuckerberg little league baseball card NFT

Mike Zuckerberg is one of the world’s best-known and most influential people. But what is his connection to the sports collection world? He has recently announced that an authentic little league card from his childhood will be sold through ComicConnect.

So why and what does it mean? We have all the answers in our full Mark Zuckerberg Little League NFT guide.

Tarantino kept the card in his basement, not knowing Zuckerberg would someday become a billionaire
Photo from AP

Who is Mark Zuckerberg?

Though not associated with our hobby, Mark Zuckerberg is one of the most prominent players in the international economy. He was one of the founders of Facebook in the early 2000s. If you are interested in that story, do yourself a favor and watch the classic movie, The Social Network.

As Facebook became the most popular social network on earth, he became a world-renowned figure. Among other things, Zuckerberg is known for his charity work. Together with their wife, Priscilla Chan, he heads the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

They have donated hundreds of millions of dollars to charity, including to revitalize Newark’s public school system and other vital causes.

However, Zuckerberg is no stranger to controversy. Facebook has been accused of fostering many social ills: including spreading disinformation about U.S. elections and having a profoundly detrimental effect on the mental health of teenagers.

It is fair to say that just about everyone has an opinion on Mike Zuckerberg. Therefore, his 1/1 card and NFT are bringing a lot of interest to the hobby.

What is ComicConnect, and why is it Involved?

ComicConnect sells collectibles direct to the consumer, this bypassing eBay. Or, as their website calls it, “feebay.” They promise the sellers of comics an optimal selling experience sans “exorbitant sellers’ fees to take a cut out of what money the seller receives.”

They are one of the biggest names in the comics biz. Notably, they have broken the Guinness World Record four times for the most expensive comic book ever sold. Here are the records they have set:

  1. Action Comics 1 (1st Superman) CGC 9.0 for $3,207,852 in August 2014.
  2. Action Comics 1 CGC 9.0 for $2,161,000 in December of 2011
  3. Action Comics 1 8.0 for $1,000,000 (the first ever 7-figure comic sale) from February of 2010.
  4. Action Comics 1 8.5 for $1,500,000 from March of 2010.

Not surprisingly, all of the top comics sales are for the first appearance of Superman. So, they are used to handling significant money transactions, like the Zuckerberg card.

ComicConnect CEO Stephen Fishler said, “Is it one-of-a-kind?  I believe so. Is it valuable? Undeniably.”

What is the Mark Zuckerberg Little League NFT?

Meta (yes, that is what they call Facebook nowadays) is launching a new initiative. It allows you to store and share your NFTs easily on social media. We will talk more about that below.

To promote it, Metaverse announced it would auction off a signed genuine little league card of Mark Zuckerberg. It depicts the future tycoon at 8 years old, smiling and ready to swing his bat. The young Zuckerberg gave the card to his camp counselor back in the day.

Here is the full description of the card:

“[Zuckerberg] had this card personally made in 1992 and gave it to his favorite camp counselor, Allie Tarantino. Allie accepted the gift and playfully asked Mark to sign it like a real baseball player. Mark enthusiastically agreed, and now, 30 years later, the card has finally surfaced. This piece is truly one-of-a-kind in a world filled with high-value sports cards!”

The owner of the card, the aforementioned Allie Tarantino, explained that it was time to sell off the treasured item:

“I’ve been telling this story for quite a while about how I knew Mark as a camper, and it always astonishes people to see that this card actually exists. But I feel that my part of the story is over, so due to Mark’s prominence in the tech world, and the fact that he’s one of the most famous people on the planet, I figure now is a good time to sell this card and put it on the market.”

What do you get with the Mark Zuckerberg Little League NFT?

The sale of this card will include documentation from multiple parties, including SGC, that authenticates the card’s manufacturing history, Mark Zuckerberg’s signature, and his attendance at Camp Elmwood. 

Amazingly, the counselor kept it in good shape to this day. We are sure she is glad to have done so.

A singular NFT backs the physical card. The card is encased in an SGC slab. However, it is not graded. Instead, the card is merely authenticated.

How much is the Mark Zuckerberg Little League baseball card selling for?

A starting price has not yet been announced for the Mark Zuckerberg Little League baseball card, although one can speculate it will attract a lot of attention from sports card collectors as well as the general public.

When is the Mark Zuckerberg Little League baseball card with NFT going on sale?

The official ComicConnect website only says that information will be announced “soon.” Those interested can sign-up to receive details when they are announced.

Are you telling me Mark Zuckerberg played baseball?

Yes. I am. And apparently, he was pretty good at it.

As part of the Metaverse promotion, we learned some interesting facts about the young Mark’s baseball connections. First, the 8-year-old kid had a .980 batting average at the time, about three times as high as Honus Wagner! Should have stayed with what you are good at, Mark.

Why is the Mark Zuckerberg Little League NFT being sold now?

Besides Zuckerberg’s childhood camp counselor deciding it might be time to cash in on the baseball card and NFT craze, there may be other reasons for the timing from Facebook’s perspective.

Facebook, er sorry Meta, has been having a rough go lately. Earlier this year, they stopped poring funds in attempts to challenge Zoom with their videoconferencing technology. Their hopes to leverage the mass use of Facebook into a new sphere ran into serious challenges.

The problems did not stop there. In May, Meta instilled a hiring freeze on various levels of employment. Persistent rumors point to a series of severe layoffs shortly.

The trouble is that Facebook reported its first consecutive stretch of quarterly declines in revenue in over a decade. The profit for the first quarter of 2022 was still considerable, at $7.5 billion. However, that represented a 21% decrease from the equivalent quarter in 2021.

 Meanwhile, their second most significant holding, Instagram, is also having issues. Their attempts to integrate elements from Chinese rival Tik Tok have run into resistance. Most notably, Kim Kardashian recently criticized them for losing its platform identity.

The main difficulty Meta faces right now is the transition to the Metaverse. The technology just isn’t there yet, making it a risky proposition. Nonetheless, Zuckerberg is convinced that he is on the right path. He said, “We remain confident in the long-term opportunities and growth that our product road map will unlock.”

What is the Mark Zuckerberg baseball card NFT promoting?

Zuckerberg is heavily focused on integrating his holdings into the Metaverse. NFTs are seen as a primary building block in that world. Therefore, Meta has been experimenting with bringing them into that world since May.

They started doing so on Instagram, with 3D augmented reality NFTs designed to be compatible with stories on that platform.

At the time, Zuckerberg explained, “We’re starting building for NFTs not just in our metaverse and Reality Labs work, but also across our family of apps. We’re going to bring similar functionality to Facebook soon.”

The Meta NFT plan

The NFT craze has appeared to die down. In the last few months, sales figures have been relatively flat. Nonetheless, Zuckerberg is betting on their future popularity and utility for his platforms.

One of the first steps he is taking is to allow collectors to use their NFT and blockchain collectibles as part of their interaction with that world. Facebook users can now create custom NFT-based posts.

They can use a ‘Digital Collectible’ tag on this post. Facebook profiles now will also have, while profiles will also have an NFT section to show off their collections.

The new service will allow you to connect your crypto wallet service, like MetaMask. You can then easily display your NFTs to followers on Meta services like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

Which third-party wallets will work with the Meta platforms? Here are the ones compatible with it in the early stages:

  • MetaMask
  • Rainbow
  • TrustWallet

It will support NFTS based on the following cryptocurrencies:

  • Ethereum
  • Polygon
  • Solana
  • Flow (at a later date)

That is why Zuckerberg is releasing the card. As he explained on Instagram:

“In honor of expanding digital collectible NFTs to 100 more countries on Instagram and launching new integrations with Coinbase and Dapper, I’m sharing my soon-to-be NFT old little league baseball card, which someone recently found and sent to me… ? @mcomicconnect has the backstory on my baseball card.”

But of course, the true story is that Mark is trying to promote his new platform.

Bottomline on the Mark Zuckerberg Little League NFT

Meta is betting on the Metaverse, and NFTs play a significant role in its creation. He has used this baseball card as a promotional ploy for the new NFT display feature. To some, the move towards blockchain on Meta is risky when NFTs appear to be in a downturn.

However, to me, it seems like a winner. NFT purchases are down because we are in a time of deep economic uncertainty. But their overall utility in an increasingly digital marketplace is assured.

Moreover, NFTs are status linked, and the ability to effortless display them will be heavily rewarded in the long term. Meanwhile, the Zuckerberg card is just the sort of unexpected gimmick that can successfully attract attention to the cause.

Shaiel Ben-Ephraim

Shaiel Ben-Ephraim

Shaiel Ben-Ephraim is the emeritus editor of Cardlines. He continues to write for several hobby outlets, including this one and Cardbase. He collects primarily vintage baseball and soccer and has a weird obsession with 1971 Topps.

In his spare time, Shaiel is sobbing into his bourbon when the Mets lose and playing Dungeons and Dragons. In a past life, Dr. Ben-Ephraim was a political science professor, journalist, and diplomat. But cards are more fun.
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