A Manhattan man is doing what every American male has probably contemplated — suing his mommy over the loss of valuable baseball cards.
Christopher Trencher said the cards — a 1953 Topps Ralph Kiner and a 1953 Topps Satchel Paige — are worth more than $25,000, if his mom, Carol Ivanick, hasn’t damaged them.
Ivanick, now 82, allegedly bought Trencher the cards as a gift in the mid 1980s, but has refused to hand them over despite his repeated requests, he claimed in his Manhattan Supreme Court filing.
The cards are “rare and irreplaceable,” Trencher, 55, a top backgammon player, said in his litigation.
The mom was as befuddled by the legal action as a batter trying to hit a Jacob De Grom slider.
“Are you serious? He filed a case against me in Manhattan Supreme Court?” said the incredulous Ivanick, a lawyer and mom of three, when The Post asked about the allegations.
Ivanick insisted her son gave the cards to her as a gift in the mid- 1990s.
“I was a big fan of Satchel Paige. I’m in my 80s and still enjoying them,” she said of the cards, noting she keeps them in protective acrylic holders, locked in a safe and takes them out to look at them every few weeks.
“I was very pleased he was including me in his hobby, and Satchel Paige was an iconic figure for me.”
Hall of Fame pitcher Paige was the first African-American to pitch in the World Series; Kiner, a Hall of Famer slugger who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, was a beloved broadcaster for the New York Mets.
If the cards are in “gem mint” condition, they can be worth $30,000, said Chris Ivy, director of sports for Heritage Auctions.
Of nearly 3,300 Topps Satchel Paige cards from 1953 graded for auction, only eight have been found to have that level of quality, he noted.
Like countless other kid collectors, Trencher kept baseball cards at his mom’s house for years, but unlike many, “he came and got them all,” she said.
She called the legal action “very sad.”
“I want to enjoy them with whatever years I have left. I’m 82 years old, they are definitely mine, he gave them to me,” she said.
Ivanick said she hasn’t spoken to her son or his family in a couple of years after a falling-out she refused to detail.
“They banished me from the family a while back. They won’t let me see my grandchildren, won’t let me see anybody there,” she said.
“I guess he’s decided this is the way to get the money for himself,” said Ivanick, who said she’s already written the Kiner and Paige cards into her will as a bequest for Trencher’s children.
Trencher, who refused to comment, wants a judge to force his mom to hand over the cards or pay what he says they’re worth: $25,000.
