Pirates offering season tickets and more for a one-of-a-kind Paul Skenes baseball card

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Turns out baseballs aren't the only thing Paul Skenes can get to move fast.

A Topps trading card featuring a patch from the Pittsburgh Pirates rookie pitcher's jersey and his autograph is so hot the Pirates are making a splashy offer in hopes of landing it in trade.

The team has put together a package that includes season tickets behind home plate at PNC Park for 30 years, a softball game on the field, and a meet and greet with Skenes for whoever lands the one-of-a-kind item and gives it to the team.

Skenes' girlfriend, LSU gymnast and influencer Livvy Dunne, also got in on the act, saying whoever produces the card and swaps it with the club can take in a Pirates game alongside her in a luxury suite.

The card could hold pretty high value in the open market considering the potentially bright future ahead for the 22-year-old Skenes, whose fastball hits triple digits with regularity. The first overall pick in the 2023 draft made his major league debut in May and put together one of the most impressive rookie seasons in recent memory. Skenes was named the starting pitcher for the National League in the All-Star Game after just 11 starts and finished the season 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 games for the Pirates.

Skenes was named a finalist for the NL Cy Young and NL Rookie of the Year on Monday. The honors will be given out next week.

A spokesperson for Fanatics, which owns Topps, said the collectibles company was surprised itself when the Pirates put out an all-call for the card. The company hadn’t experienced any treasure hunts such as this since the jersey-patched rookie cards were rolled out in 2023, public relations manager Ryan Stolz said.

Elly De La Cruz, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Colton Cowser and Jackson Holliday cards are all still floating out there somewhere in addition to Skenes, he said.

Pittsburgh's offer generated significant buzz when it was announced Friday, not unlike the golden tickets in the classic children's book “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.”

Steelers defensive lineman Cam Heyward wondered where he could buy the card and one Pittsburgh television station bought several packs of cards and considered opening them on-air.

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FILE - Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

McDonald's is investing $100 million to bring customers back to stores after an outbreak of E. coli food poisoning tied to onions on the fast-food giant's Quarter Pounder hamburgers.

The investments include $65 million that will go directly to the hardest-hit franchises, the company said.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that slivered onions on the Quarter Pounders were the likely source of the E. coli. Taylor Farms in California recalled onions potentially linked to the outbreak.

Colorado reported at least 30 cases; Montana reported 19; Nebraska, 13; and New Mexico, 10. The illnesses were reported between Sept. 12 and Oct. 21. At least 104 people got sick and 34 were hospitalized, according to federal health officials. One person died in Colorado and four people developed a potentially life-threatening kidney disease complication.

The Food and Drug Administration has said that “there does not appear to be a continued food safety concern related to this outbreak at McDonald’s restaurants.”

But the outbreak hurt the company's sales.

Quarter Pounders were removed from menus in several states in the early days of the outbreak. McDonald’s identified an alternate supplier for the 900 restaurants that temporarily stopped serving the burgers with onions. Over the past week, McDonald's resumed selling Quarter Pounders with slivered onions nationwide.

FILE - A sign at a McDonald's restaurant is displayed on April 29, 2024, in Albany, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

FILE- In this March 6, 2018, file photo, a McDonald's Quarter Pounder, left, and Double Quarter Pound burger is shown in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)