MILWAUKEE – There was quite a stir in the far corner of the Brewers’ clubhouse when the doors opened to reporters in the wake of Friday’s 3-2 win over the Mets at American Family Field, and it had nothing to do with Blake Perkins’ perfect throw from center field or William Contreras’ thrilling tag at home plate.
Veteran Rhys Hoskins decided that the stirring finish was just the occasion to rip a few of the four packs of original Pokémon cards from 1999 that he’d been sitting on. He handed one to veteran Brandon Woodruff, who’d just pitched seven quality innings for the win, and one to rookie Jacob Misiorowski, who is on the injured list with a bruised right shin but still has all the good vibes that sent him to the All-Star Game after only five Major League starts, judging by the card he pulled.
Fresh off recording his 27th save, Brewers closer Trevor Megill captured the moment on video as Misiorowski revealed his pack one by one, culminating with a holographic Charizard card. When a group of reporters asked Misiorowski on Saturday afternoon what in the world that means, he patiently explained that it was the rarest card he could have pulled from that particular pack, akin to a Honus Wagner for baseball card enthusiasts.
“That’s, like, the big card. So it was fun. It was really cool,” Misiorowski said. “It’s just crazy that we pulled it in the locker room. I didn’t expect anything. I just saw that it was red and I was like, holy [smokes], this might actually happen.”
Hoskins is considering having the card professionally graded, but it’s a keeper. What made him want to involve his teammates instead of opening the packs himself?
“I mean, ‘the power of friendship’ would be the short answer,” Hoskins said, repeating the Brewers’ latest mantra.
Besides that, the moment was prompted by Woodruff’s first outing beyond the sixth inning in nearly two years. Woodruff is newly into collecting, Hoskins said, so the time felt right to let him open a pack. Hoskins handed Misiorowski another.
“For the last couple of months, we have been visiting card shops together on the road,” Hoskins said. “I’ve been collecting pretty heavily for the last five years or so since the pandemic. Like a lot of people going through their old things back home, we found nostalgia in our closet.”
Hoskins is mostly interested in non-sports cards like Pokémon and Magic The Gathering. Others are old-fashioned baseball card collectors, including Megill, who has hundreds, maybe thousands, of cards organized in a neighboring locker. Misiorowski’s interest in collecting started when he received one of his own original Bowman cards in 2022.
A couple of weeks ago, Misiorowski ripped an even rarer first edition of his card after being invited to visit Brew Town Trading Co. in Greenfield, Wis. It was one of 25 such cards in circulation, making the odds of pulling that card in that moment infinitesimally small. Misiorowski signed the card for the shop, which plans to display it.
He’s started a collection of other baseball items now that his Major League career is off and running, including the lineup card from his July 8 matchup with Clayton Kershaw signed by the Dodgers’ ace, a jersey signed by most of both league’s All-Stars from his trip to the Midsummer Classic and a signed Ichiro jersey acquired during the Brewers’ visit to Seattle after the break. When the Brewers were in Atlanta on the last road trip, Misiorowski acquired a baseball card signed by perhaps his favorite pitcher, fellow beanpole Chris Sale.
“I’ve watched Chris Sale forever,” Misiorowski said.
Lest anyone worry that Misiorowski spends all of his time collecting cards, he also has been busy pitching. Struck in the right shin by a comebacker on July 28 against the Cubs, scratched from his next start and placed on the IL with a bruised shin, he successfully navigated a bullpen session during the Brewers’ series in Atlanta and threw three simulated innings against Milwaukee hitters on Saturday at home.
He expects to be ready to come off the injured list as soon as he’s eligible, which is Aug. 15. But the Brewers are mulling pushing his return to the next series in Chicago against the Cubs.
“We’ll be ready to go whenever [they want me],” Misiorowski said.
That means maybe Misiorowski will throw the next gem that prompts Hoskins to rip some packs. There’s some feel involved.
“When the time calls for it,” Hoskins said, “the time calls for it.”