A 13-year-old Seattle Mariners fan turned a free ballpark giveaway into a five-figure payday after a rare rookie card featuring the city’s viral raccoon sensation sold for a whopping $21,100.
The one-of-one gold “Jimothy” rookie card sold on eBay Sunday night after drawing 100 bids, transforming a quirky Mariners promotion into an unexpected $21,100 payday for the young fan.
The bidding started at just 99 cents before skyrocketing past $21,000 in a matter of days.
The card belonged to 13-year-old Mariners fan Abby, who landed the coveted gold version after the team capitalized on the sudden fame of Jimothy, an unusually shaped raccoon whose appearances around Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood have turned him into an unlikely local celebrity.
The Mariners confirmed to Fox News Digital that Abby’s golden ticket or, in this case, golden card was tucked among thousands handed out during the team’s Aug. 5 promotion.
“Talk about a one-of-a-kind pull,” T-Mobile Park wrote in a social media post announcing Abby’s find alongside photos of the teenager holding up the rare card.
The Mariners announced July 29 that “Jimothy is taking over” T-Mobile Park as part of a special promotion scheduled for Aug. 5.
The first 20,000 fans through the gates were set to receive a Jimothy rookie card, the team said, with several rarer “chase cards” mixed into the giveaway.
“Among the 20,000 cards, we had collection of ‘chase cards’ which were headlined by the 1-of-1 gold card that Abby took home,” the Mariners told Fox News Digital.
Fans could also purchase a special ticket package that included a Jimothy T-shirt, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Ballard Food Bank.
But among the thousands of cards handed out was the ultimate prize: the pristine, one-of-one gold Jimothy rookie card that eventually ended up with Abby.
The teenager later put the card up for auction on eBay, where collectors quickly drove up the price.
After opening at $0.99, the auction steadily climbed into the thousands before ultimately closing at $21,100 Sunday following 100 bids.
Several Jimothy and Seattle Mariner’s fan pages claimed the proceeds from the sale are expected to go toward Abby’s college fund.
The frenzy is the latest chapter in the unlikely rise of Jimothy, a raccoon believed to have a rare condition known as Short Spine Syndrome that gives him his distinctive compact appearance.
Jimothy became an internet sensation in July after videos showed the small, round raccoon wandering through Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood.
Videos of the critter quickly racked up millions of views as residents documented him scurrying across streets, appearing in backyards and roaming the neighborhood.
Despite his unusual appearance, Jimothy appeared healthy and active, Fox 13 Seattle previously reported.
Dmitriy Ishimskiy, a Ballard resident who captured footage of the raccoon and said Jimothy regularly visited his property, told Storyful in July that the animal had quickly become a neighborhood star.
“Over the past week, Jimothy has become a local celebrity, and I feel lucky to have captured this moment on video,” Ishimskiy said.
The Mariners soon joined the Jimothy craze, bringing the viral raccoon from the streets of Ballard to the ballpark with Jimothy-themed events in August.
