On the Hunt for the “Trifecta”
Eric Mandelkern calls it the “Trifecta.”
It’s collecting an MLB player’s 1st Bowman Superfractor auto, Topps Chrome RC Superfractor auto, and Topps Chrome Update Rookie Debut Patch Auto (RDPA)
Mandelkern is attempting to complete “The Trifecta” for Tampa Bay Rays top prospect Junior Caminero and Milwaukee Brewers young superstar Jackson Chourio. He is two-thirds of the way there for both players. He has collected the 2023 Bowman Chrome Superfractor auto and 2024 Topps Chrome Update RDPA for Caminero, as well as the 2024 Topps Chrome Superfractor auto and 2024 Topps Chrome Update RDPA.
Mandelkern enjoys collecting prospects he’s high on and goes after their top card.
“I love having the card of the player I like, knowing it’s the only one in existence and one of their best cards,” Mandelkern said. “It feels like an accomplishment to me. Part of the fun for me is the chase of getting the card you want; for me, it’s getting the best card in existence of that specific player.”
Eric Mandelkern has amassed quite a collection with the 2024 Topps Chrome Update Rookie Debut Patch Auto cards of Junior Caminero and Jackson Chourio. (Photos courtesy of Mandelkern)
Mandelkern has a large collection of high-end autographed rookie cards of some of baseball’s top players, including Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and Ronald Acuna, Jr.
Re-entering The Hobby
Mandelkern, a product of the 1980s, grew up collecting cards. He was especially into baseball and Michael Jordan cards.
The 40-year-old re-entered The Hobby a year and a half ago and was surprised by how big the industry and community had become. It was a transition moment for Mandelkern as he familiarized himself with its different aspects.
“I started getting into the Bowman because I always loved prospecting,” said Mandelkern, who owns over 25 Superfractors. “I’m a big Mets fan, so I’ve always followed their farm system very closely. I started becoming a real prospect nerd by reading about other teams’ farm systems, the draft, and all that kind of stuff. I found my niche in collecting Bowman.”
Mandelkern—a Manhattan resident and huge New York Mets fan—bought singles of players he liked at the more modest end of the price spectrum. Eventually, Mandelkern worked his way up to higher-end Bowman pieces.
Collecting Big Cards
In the past year and a half, Mandelkern has amassed an amazing collection of some of the top young players’ top cards.
They include Texas Rangers’ Wyatt Langford 2023 Bowman Draft Superfractor auto, Baltimore Orioles’ Samuel Basallo 2023 Bowman Chrome Superfractor auto, Orioles’ Adley Rutschman 2019 Bowman Draft Superfractor auto, and Mets’ Francisco Lindor 2011 Bowman Superfractor auto.
The 2011 Lindor card is Mandelkern’s favorite Superfractor because he’s a diehard Mets fan. It’s the Grail of who Mandelkern considers the best shortstop in baseball.
“He is, in my opinion, really undervalued in the hobby world; he’s a future Hall of Famer,” Mandelkern said. “He solidified the Mets for the future. It was Steve Cohen’s first big acquisition via trade in his first year of big free agents signing, and that set the tone for the Steve Cohen-era Mets.”
Prospecting MLB Talent
Mandelkern is always prospecting for new players to collect. When a new Topps product is released, he makes a list of the guys that pique his interest; it’s not always the most sought-after players in a set.
From 2024 Bowman Draft, Mandelkern has his eyes on a number of top prospects, including Houston Astros’ Cam Smith, Los Angeles Angels’ Christian Moore, and Milwaukee Brewers’ Braylon Payne and Blake Burke. Mandelkern is also high on the Mets’ top pick in last July’s draft, Carson Benge.
When 2024 Bowman Baseball came out, Mandelkern was trying to track down Aidan Miller’s Superfractor while every other collector was looking for prospects Dylan Crews and Walker Jenkins.
“I try to find these guys where the value is—I don’t want to say low, but it’s not at their peak,” Mandelkern said. “I like certain prospects, such as the Dodgers’ Josue De Paula. I have his Superfractor, and I love him as a prospect. I think Chourio is a great prospect, so I got his Topps Chrome and then his RDPA. Some Yankees, too, just because they have that Yankee hype: George Lombard Jr. and Roderick Arias.”
