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Collector Stories | Rachel Orapello

Orapello Rips with Her Kids, Husband

Date: Feb 3, 2025
Author: Greg Bates, Senior Writer
Topics: Cards and Culture, Collector Stories, Greg Bates, Rachel Orapello
Length: 719 Words
Reading Time: ~4 Minutes

Rachel Orapello and her three young kids go card hunting daily.

Living about an hour and a half outside Oklahoma City, the Orapello gang sometimes drives a couple of hours to find product. Then, every few days in the evening, it becomes a family rip night.

“We sit at the table, and we’ll just start opening packs together,” Rachel Orapello said. “The kids will get excited. My two-year-old asks for sleeves. She’ll be like, ‘I need a sleeve and top loader.’ She knows what all the stuff is called. It’s cute to see your two- and five-year-old asking for sleeves and top loaders to put their shiny cards in them.”

Addelynn, the Orapellos’ six-year-old, also enjoys the family tradition with her siblings, Ciaden, five, and Hadley, two. It’s become a fun bonding experience for these young collectors and their parents.

“It’s a memory that we will cherish because I know later on in life they’re going to remember this when they get older,” Orapello said. “When you look back at your childhood playing family games and having fun as a kid — it’s something they’ll never forget.”

Rachel Orapello, her husband, and three kids love to rip product together. (Photos courtesy of Rachel Orapello)

Breaking into The Hobby

Orapello broke into The Hobby right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Her dad had owned a card shop when he was younger.

“I was going through some of my father’s old stuff, and I decided to look into The Hobby,” Orapello said.

Orapello’s interest was piqued by her dad’s 1986-87 Fleer Basketball set, which featured Michael Jordan’s rookie card. She sold the set for her dad, which in turn started her collecting.

About a year ago, Orapello’s husband pulled a Reggie Jackson numbered and autographed card; from then on, he was hooked on The Hobby.

Orapello, 33, started collecting football cards but slowly moved to baseball when her son, Ciaden, began playing T-ball. That sparked his interest in collecting cards, so Orapello also got into baseball.

Ciaden became a huge fan of Kansas City Royals superstar Bobby Witt Jr. The Orapellos think it’s awesome that Witt is a fellow collector.

“It’s cool to see that he’s big into The Hobby,” Orapello said. “I’ve actually seen videos of him collecting. It’s cool because when my son buys cards and it’s a base card or whatnot, he gets excited when he sees the Bobby Witt cards.

“We plan to go to a Royals game, and hopefully, he can meet Bobby Witt,” Orapello said. “I know it could be difficult, but it’s something we’ll probably try and do here in the next year.”

Connecting with a Player

While collecting 2023 Bowman Baseball, Orapello noticed that Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Jase Bowen had added special inscriptions on his 1st Bowman cards. Orapello thought that was cool, and she decided to complete a Bowen rainbow set.

Orapellcompletedte the rainbow, thanks to driving to Kansas to buy Bowen’s Superfractor. Finishing the color run was a neat accomplishment.

“It was really cool,” Orapello said. “I got to share it with him.”

Orapello and Bowen are still in touch on Instagram. Bowen has sent Orapello some of his personally inscribed 1st Bowman Chrome cards.

The Orapello family has been chasing 2024 Topps Chrome Update boxes lately. While still waiting for a rare, highly coveted Rookie Debut Patch Auto card to surface, the family has pulled some nice cards from the product. The highlights have been image variations of Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes and Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Jackson Chourio.

With a fourth kid on the way, Orapello is a busy mom. However, she’s never too busy to miss a rip.

“I’ve noticed in Facebook groups that a lot of the men that collect have wives who have issues with them collecting. When I see those posts of, ‘My wife wants me to sell everything—she’s angry,’ I laugh. I’m the wife that has that problem of collecting,” Orapello joked. “Luckily, my husband doesn’t get mad at me for it.”


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