My Notable Rookie Cards

[nyyfan]

Some rookie cards I have worth mentioning are 2005 Upper Deck Justin Verlander, 2006 Fleer Tradition Francisco Lirano, 2006 Fleer Tradition Jonathan Papelbon, 2006 Upper Deck Prince Fielder, 2006 Bowman Heritage Mini Prince Fielder, 2003 Upper Deck Brandon Webb,1992 Upper Deck Jason Giambi Draft Pick, 1992 Upper Deck Johnny Damon Draft Pick, 1996 Pinniacle Derek Jeter Draft Pick. What are some of your notable rookies?

[ddominator08]

justin verlander, ryan howard, craig biggio, randy johnson, miguel tejada, alfonso soriano, jamie moyer, vald guerreo, brian roberts, robinson cano, jon papelbon, joel zumaya, fransico liriano, brandon webb. those are just a couple guys i know off the top of my head ill give yo ua full list in the near future

[nyyfan]

I forgot to add 07 Topps Dice-K

[Dalkowski110]

"2006 Fleer Tradition Francisco Lirano, 2006 Fleer Tradition Jonathan Papelbon, 2006 Upper Deck Prince Fielder, 2006 Bowman Heritage Mini Prince Fielder"

I hate to say it, but those I just mentioned aren't technically rookie cards. I know, "but it says Rookie Card right on it!" Still not a rookie card. Confused? Okay, I'll explain. The MLBPA (Players' Union) came to an agreement with the card companies in 2003 that no all-prospect sets would be produced. This turned three Upper Deck sets called Future Gems from rookie cards into XRC's ("Extended Rookie Cards"). But Topps and Upper Deck managed to get around this by mixing prospects in with update sets in the case of Upper Deck and in with both Bowman and Topps Traded sets in the case of Topps. That satisfied everyone in the hobby. But not in the MLBPA. In 2005, they said Topps and Bowman could no longer call its prospects "rookies" because they didn't have sufficient Major League time. Topps countered by calling the cards "first year cards." But the MLBPA was determined to extinguish early rookie cards. So in 2006, they A) blocked everything that wasn't an insert set from containing a guy who hadn't had sufficient playing time and B) demanded that all 2005 and 2006 rookies, even if they had prior rookie cards, have the new logo on them. There are some true rookie cards...Mike Pelfrey, Mike Napoli, Pat Neshek, Henry Owens, Emiliano Fruto, Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Kei Igawa...to name a few...that did have true rookie cards in 2006-2007. But Francisco Liriano's rookie card is from 2002. And Prince Fielder's is from 2005.

To muddy the waters even further, Topps made its Bowman prospect sets...you guessed it..."inserts." This time, with the label "First Bowman Card." Almost all, with the notable exceptions of 2006 Kendry Morales and 2007 Tyler Clippard, are considered rookie cards. Even Hunter Pence and Yovani Gallardo, who had Upper Deck Minors issues, are widely considered rookie cards due to the player wearing a Major League uniform. Only time will tell if the Bowman rookies are considered XRC's.

[nyyfan]

Thanks for the info Dalkowski. I did not know that. I actually learned something today.

[Dalkowski110]

Here's one example of the MLBPA-induced absurdity...

I'm sure all of my fellow Mets fans remember Bobby Keppel, unless they merely tried and succeeded to forget him (pitching prospect who seemingly went nowhere). On the right is his 2001 Topps Chrome Traded rookie card...

28056

But what's that on the left? Yep, another rookie card. But with a difference. This one was printed in early 2007 as part of the 2006 Topps '52 Rookies set. Because Bobby Keppel had qualified for rookie status as a journeyman innings eater with the Kansas City Royals, and Topps was trying to get EVERY rookie, they included Keppel in the set (thus giving him a five-year rookie card differential, though J.R. House of the Orioles has a SIX-year rookie card differential). So, does the second Bobby Keppel card have a special designation, since it's marked "Rookie Card?" Strangely, yes. A player's first card that is also his rookie card is abbreviated as RC. But one of these MLBPA Rookie Cards that isn't also a regular rookie card is abbreviated as (RC) and often called "Parenth-RC."

To confuse you even more, Bowman/Bowman Chrome/Bowman Heritage/Bowman Originals/Bowman Sterling prospect cards aren't considered anything. Not XRC's, not RC's, not (RC)'s. Thus, when Alex Gordon, Alejandro de Aza, Joe Smith, Asdrubal Cabrera, and others debuted this year in both the Majors and non-insert card sets, their cards were given the definition of a true rookie card, despite the presence of Bowman-series prospect cards in 2006! However, the Bowman-type cards are treated as the player's rookie cards; the technicalities do NOT matter in this case. It would basically impossible to sell a 2007 Bowman Alex Gordon RC for more money than a 2006 Bowman Prospects Alex Gordon First Year Prospect Card. Welcome to the wonderful world of rookie cards! ;)

[Rockhound]

Some of my rookies include: Jose Offerman, Mike Mussina, J. Papelbon, Barry Larkin, Fernando Valensuela, Craig Biggio, and I'm sure there's more ,but I'm drawing a blank.

[Dalkowski110]

Ten Best Rookies (All Hall of Famers except Pete Rose):
-1951 Bowman Willie Mays
-1955 Topps Harmon Killebrew
-1968 Topps Johnny Bench
-1967 Topps Tom Seaver
-1968 Topps Nolan Ryan
-1963 Topps Pete Rose
-1964 Topps Phil Niekro
-1965 Topps Steve Carlton
-1966 Topps Ferguson Jenkins (Best condition HoF rookie I have...I bet it would be around 9.6-9.7 if I sent it to be graded)
-1948 Cleveland Indians Team Issue Satchel Paige (Even though worth comparatively little due to card size, being common, and not very desirable, it WAS the first card of Satchel Paige.)

[closer28]

i have a john smoltz rookie, a-rod, derrek lee, david wright, barry bonds, and many others