Blake Snell’s relationship with sports cards goes back to around 2012, when he first got into collecting with his older brother. What started as a hobby eventually turned into something bigger, and now the two-time Cy Young Award winner is helping run his own breaking company, Zilla Breaks.
Snell said his long run in the hobby didn’t mean he understood all of it right away. That part came later, after he found Whatnot a little over a year ago and got pulled into the world of card breaking.
"I started learning the hobby and what people were chasing, and then I started getting into breaks. From there, it was a wrap," he explained.
As a player, Snell said he does have some sense for spotting young talent, but he also admitted he hadn’t spent much time prospecting until more recently. Before that, he was more likely to keep cards of young players he pulled and hope they turned into something special than to dig deep into which prospects were worth chasing.
One topic that stood out for him was the hobby’s pricing gap between pitchers and hitters. Snell said the difference doesn’t fully make sense to him, even if he understands that everyday position players naturally get more visibility. At the same time, he likes being able to pick up his own one-of-ones at a lower price - unless sellers try to push the number too far.
"When people oversell it, I’ll never buy that card. Someone else can have it," he said.
Snell said part of the appeal of starting Zilla Breaks was the chance to build something that felt personal, not just transactional. He noted that he hadn’t seen many professional athletes running their own breaks, and he liked the idea of having a place where he could open cards, talk with fans, and spend time with viewers. For him, it was about enjoying the process, not just launching another business.
Co-founder Daveed Cohen said Snell’s background made that idea work. He pointed to Snell’s years of streaming on Twitch and his real involvement in the hobby as major reasons the company fit him so well. Cohen also said Snell is comfortable handling full streams by himself, sometimes for six or even twelve hours at a time while chatting with viewers and opening cards.
Cohen added that Zilla Breaks has people with experience in sports, business, and finance, and he believes that mix has helped the company move quickly over its first six months. He also said Snell had already built other businesses under the Zilla name before Zilla Breaks came together.
"Between Blake's involvement in the hobby and the experience we have on the business side, I think that's really what sets us apart from other breaking companies," Cohen explained.
The company has also shown a willingness to change with the audience. Cohen said Zilla Breaks has pivoted to memorabilia through Fanatics Under Wraps when traditional card breaks weren’t filling as quickly, a move that helped keep the business moving while giving viewers something different.
Snell said more changes are coming soon, with a few things they hope to roll out around December or January. He said the goal is to make the streams feel more like a show people would want to tune into, whether they’re in the break or just watching.
Snell also said that if he could change anything about the breaking industry, it would be the way people are treated as collectors. He stressed the importance of giving back to the hobby and making sure fans feel comfortable with what they’re spending. His goal for Zilla Breaks is to create a place where people can learn, enjoy themselves, and make informed decisions without feeling pushed into spending.
At the end of the conversation, Snell and Cohen kept the message simple: come check out a stream and see what they’re building.
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