WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Washington Nationals prospect Brady House wakes up every morning and grabs his phone off his bedside table. In that way, he is no different from any 20-year-old whose screen time is way too high. While some 20-somethings scroll aimlessly on social media, though, House knows exactly what he wants to find online.
Live streams of people opening packs of sports cards.
“I’m telling you,” House said. “I spend at least a couple hours a day … like going to bed and waking up watching these live streams.”
House is a frequent user of two apps that host live streams for “breaking” or “ripping” — which, in card collecting lingo, just means opening packs. Backyard Breaks, a company dedicated to opening card packs that has more than 706,000 followers on TikTok, hosts streams that House tunes into in the morning and before he goes to bed. Viewers can buy cards, too, though there’s other avenues for buying, including sites such as eBay and at in-person events.
“I don’t even get nervous in baseball. I don’t get nervous in practice,” said House, the Nationals’ 2021 first-round pick. “But whenever I’m breaking a card and I’m waiting for my card to get ripped, I’m just nervous … That’s how much I love it.”
House, who was drafted as a shortstop but has since made the shift to third base, hasn’t looked nervous in his first big league camp after jumping from low Class A Fredericksburg to Class AA Harrisburg last season. But he only played in 88 games in 2023 as the organization managed his workload following a back injury that limited him to just 45 games in his first full season the year before. His presence in big league camp is a positive sign for the Nationals, but he probably needs more time to develop in the minors before he’s major league ready.
At Nationals spring training, House isn’t alone in his obsession. On Friday, starter Patrick Corbin and relievers Jordan Weems and Hunter Harvey were among those watching live streams on the clubhouse couches. The next day, a clubhouse attendant wheeled in a cart of between 50 to 100 packs. Chaos ensued as players opened packs and held up their cards.
“I think it’s more so the thrill of opening the packs again for a lot of [players],” said catcher Drew Millas, who has an online card store he runs with two Tampa Bay Rays pitchers. “It’s fun. Brings us all together.”
As players showed off the latest additions to their collections earlier in spring training, House walked into the clubhouse, saw a few cards from a distance and yelled, “CJ Strouddddd,” with a grin as he hustled toward the melee.
House’s card collecting obsession started in 2022 as he searched for ways to fill his free time during his first full professional season. The second card he bought was a Trea Turner first Bowman rookie card, which is made by Topps after a player makes his major league debut. He realized the card, which was cardboard and not Bowman Chrome, wasn’t as valuable as he thought when his passion blossomed. “That was definitely the first mistake,” he said.
House is still learning about his hobby, and he enjoys that, too. Andrew Nacario, his agent at CAA Sports, is also a collector who searches for cards from the 1940s and ’50s. The two will text about card breaks or notable sales. House’s agency helped set him up with his own live card break this past July, in which he opened packs and signed memorabilia for fans.
“He’s always had such a passion for baseball,” Nacario said. “Collecting cards is an extension of that.”
House estimates he has more than 1,000 cards, but said only about 100 are valuable to him. His favorite card is a rare Jalen Hurts rookie patch auto, which has the highest grade for its condition. Translation: It’s a rookie card with a patch — likely a piece of a Hurts jersey. “Auto” is short for autograph.
House enjoys collecting football and basketball cards more than he enjoys collecting those from his own sport because it gives him the chance to learn. He showed off his latest Joe Burrow card around the clubhouse on Tuesday and is the proud new owner of a a Jordan Love card, too.
“He’s gonna be a MVP one day. He’s gonna win a Super Bowl,” House said about the Green Bay Packers quarterback.
And if Love does, that card will grow in value. Markets for cards fluctuate based on player performance, trades and milestones. Outfielder Juan Soto’s market, for example, will likely skyrocket now that he plays for the New York Yankees.
House, like many other baseball fans, also likes chasing after first Bowman baseball cards — typically the first official card of a player after they’re drafted.
House doesn’t collect any of his own cards, but there are a handful of prospects that intrigue him. They also happen to share a clubhouse. He has been in contact with the owner of a Robert Hassell III card and the owner of a Trey Lipscomb. Both cards are one-of-a-kind. And there’s one other card that he absolutely has to get.
“Whenever Jacob Young gets his out, I’m going crazy on those,” House said. “I’ve got to get my favorite player.”
As House talked about his cards in the clubhouse last week, Darren Baker walked by and shook his head. A Darren Baker card, though? It’s on House’s watch list, along with the future cards of some other Nationals prospects.
“I look at Hassell and James Wood’s Bowman first autos — I have to get one,” House said. “I don’t know. I just — I want every single card.”
