Reds fans find rare Elly De La Cruz card in Ohio grocery store

BLUE ASH, Ohio — A family of lifelong Reds fans is now in possession of a special card for one of their favorite team's top players.

Baseball cards have been around for over 160 years, but the hobby has changed a lot. A card could have a player’s game-worn jersey or bat embedded in it, giving it more value than what kids might have expected in their cards from the '60s or '70s.

"There's a lot more into it as far as money," said Jeremy Lance, general manager of Card Stocks Blue Ash. "People almost look at it like an investment when they are buying big cards."

Packs of cards are still the most popular way to add to a collection, with millions of baseball cards printed each year and sold all over the world.

Michael and Kerri Amos collect all types of cards for fun. After a family trip to King’s Island a few weeks ago, they had quite the surprise.

WATCH: How a rare Elly De La Cruz card was found in a mystery box in Ohio

"(Kerri) has a knack for finding rare things in the packs, but we just like opening the packs to see what’s going to come out of it," said Michael Amos, a Reds fan and card collector.

"I just had this gut feeling that we need to stop. Lo and behold, it’s a good thing we did," Kerri Amos said.

The Amos family stopped at their local Meijer in Grove City and bought a box of baseball cards for $40.

"He was the one that actually opened it, and he was like, 'Oh my God,'" Kerri said. "Even me just learning the sports and all that, as soon as he was like, 'this is a one-of-one Elly (De La Cruz),' I knew. I was like, 'Wow.'"

The Reds fans are now the proud owners of an Elly De La Cruz Bowman first edition one-of-one card. It is super rare and very valuable.

"You're literally talking about thousands and thousands of boxes. You’re talking one singular card," Lance said. "It’s incredibly rare to get one anywhere of any player, but to get it of the biggest baseball player of this area and to get it in Ohio, that’s pretty crazy."

The most expensive Elly De La Cruz card sold for about $500,000 — his MLB debut patch auto card.

"They only make one of them," Lance said. "He literally had that patch on him when he made his MLB debut."

Michael and Kerri’s card probably won’t be valued at half a million dollars, but one-of-one Elly De La Cruz cards start at $1,000 and can go up much higher from there. Not a bad return on investment for a $40 box of cards.

"It was just great for us to have that thrill of finding it," Michael said.

The Amoses hope to pass on the thrill to another Reds fan by going to card shows around the area to try and sell the one-of-one Elly De La Cruz card.

They'll be at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center this Saturday, July 12, for the Dallas Card Show Cincinnati to hopefully sell their new prized possession.