2001 Donruss
Overview
In 1998 Pinnacle Brands, the owner of the Donruss and Leaf brand names, filed for bankruptcy protection and went out of business. It appeared that after an eighteen year run Donruss' flagship baseball set would come to an end. But then an unlikely savior appeared in the form of football card manufacturer Playoff, who purchased what was left of Pinnacle through a bankruptcy court.
Almost as soon as they bought Pinnacle, speculation immediately began as to Playoff's baseball card intentions. Although Playoff was given a temporary license in 1998 -- so that the 1998 Donruss Signature set could be released -- it appeared that Playoff's efforts to get into the baseball card business would never bear fruit.
Shortly after Pacific had its MLB Player's Association license revoked in November 2000 (partially due to the Manny Ramirez corked bat card incident) rumors of Playoff finally getting the licenses it had long coveted began to fly again. Those rumors came to fruition in February 2001 it was announced that Playoff -- now renamed "Donruss-Playoff" -- had at last received permission to produce Major League Baseball cards. They quickly announced that their first baseball card set (2001 Donruss) would be released that April.
With nearly three years of pent-up demand -- not the mention the novelty of it being the first completely original baseball card product from Playoff -- loyal Donruss collectors immediately began to place pre-sell orders with their local hobby dealers. (Many of those same dealers were disappointed to find out that they would be limited to only one six-box hobby case.) In April 2001 Donruss Baseball went live. The result: a big "thud."
In their haste to produce their first real baseball card product, Donruss-Playoff (D-P) essentially recycled the same formula that had successfully worked for them in football cards. In fact, the parallels between the 2001 Donruss Baseball and 2000 Donruss Football sets are uncanny to say the least. Both sets have roughly the same number of cards (220 in baseball versus 250 in football), and both had an MSRP of $1.99/pack. However, both products relied heavily on a gimmick that was becoming commonplace in football cards, but had never, ever, before appeared in a base level baseball brand.
2001 Donruss was the first entry level baseball trading card product to feature short-printed and serial-numbered rookie cards. While short-printing may have appealed to the football card audience, unfortunately, by limiting the production of each "Rated Rookie" to only 2001 copies (not including the Albert Pujols and Ben Sheets exchange cards -- each limited to 500), D-P made the decision, whether they knew it or not (and they probably didn't) to abandon the one segment of the market that traditionally purchases base level baseball card products. The segment that had been the cornerstone of the Donruss brand since 1981: Set builders.
In retrospect, D-P screwed up the comeback edition of Donruss baseball royally. As a result, many long-time Donruss baseball collectors, simply gave up after the fiasco that was 2001 Donruss Baseball. What D-P failed to realize, and never really quite understood, was that football card collectors and baseball card collectors are two completely different breeds of hobbyist. What works in football, may not (and usually does not) necessarily work in baseball.
Pack and Box Structure
Hobby Wax: 5 cards, plus one individually wrapped "1999" Retroactive card per pack (MSRP $1.99).
24 packs plus a "Anniversary Originals" chiptopper per box.
Retail Wax: 5 cards, plus one individually wrapped "2000" Retroactive card per pack (MSRP $1.99).
17 packs per blaster box (MSRP $19.99).
The Anniversary Originals are prominent rookie cards from Donruss' past, that were bought back, submitted to BGS for grading, and seeded into each hobby wax box. Each card was given a "20th Anniversary Originals" notation on the slab's flip.
Checklist Base Set Short Set (150 cards)
1 Alex Rodriguez 2 Barry Bonds 3 Cal Ripken Jr. 4 Chipper Jones 5 Derek Jeter 6 Troy Glaus 7 Frank Thomas 8 Greg Maddux 9 Ivan Rodriguez 10 Jeff Bagwell 11 Jose Canseco 12 Todd Helton 13 Ken Griffey Jr. 14 Manny Ramirez 15 Mark McGwire 16 Mike Piazza 17 Nomar Garciaparra 18 Pedro Martinez 19 Randy Johnson 20 Rick Ankiel 21 Ricky Henderson 22 Roger Clemens 23 Sammy Sosa 24 Tony Gwynn 25 Vladimir Guerrero 26 Eric Davis 27 Roberto Alomar 28 Mark Mulder 29 Pat Burrell 30 Harold Baines 31 Carlos Delgado 32 J.D. Drew 33 Jim Edmonds 34 Darin Erstad 35 Jason Giambi 36 Tom Glavine 37 Juan Gonzalez 38 Mark Grace 39 Shawn Green 40 Tim Hudson 41 Andruw Jones 42 David Justice 43 Jeff Kent 44 Barry Larkin 45 Pokey Reese 46 Mike Mussina 47 Hideo Nomo 48 Rafael Palmeiro 49 Adam Piatt 50 Scott Rolen 51 Gary Sheffield 52 Bernie Williams 53 Bob Abreu 54 Edgardo Alfonso 55 Jermaine Clark 56 Albert Belle 57 Craig Biggio 58 Andres Galarraga 59 Edgar Martinez 60 Fred McGriff 61 Magglio Ordonez 62 Jim Thome 63 Matt Williams 64 Kerry Wood 65 Moises Alou 66 Brady Anderson 67 Garret Anderson 68 Tony Armas Jr. 69 Tony Batista 70 Jose Cruz Jr. 71 Carlos Beltran 72 Adrian Beltre 73 Kris Benson 74 Lance Berkman 75 Kevin Brown 76 Jay Buhner 77 Jeromy Burnitz 78 Ken Caminiti 79 Sean Casey 80 Luis Castillo 81 Eric Chavez 82 Jeff Cirillo 83 Bartolo Colon 84 David Cone 85 Freddy Garcia 86 Johnny Damon 87 Ray Durham 88 Jermaine Dye 89 Juan Encarnacion 90 Terrence Long 91 Carl Everett 92 Steve Finley 93 Cliff Floyd 94 Brad Fullmer 95 Brian Giles 96 Luis Gonzalez 97 Rusty Greer 98 Jeffrey Hammonds 99 Mike Hampton 100 Orlando Hernandez 101 Richard Hildalgo 102 Geoff Jenkins 103 Jacque Jones 104 Brian Jordan 105 Gabe Kaplar 106 Eric Karros 107 Jason Kendall 108 Adam Kennedy 109 Byung-Hung Kim 110 Ryan Klesko 111 Chuck Knoblauch 112 Paul Konerko 113 Carlos Lee 114 Kenny Lofton 115 Javy Lopez 116 Tino Martinez 117 Ruben Mateo 118 Kevin Millwood 119 Ben Molina 120 Raul Mondesi 121 Trot Nixon 122 John Olerud 123 Paul ONeill 124 Chan Ho Park 125 Andy Pettitte 126 Jorge Posada 127 Mark Quinn 128 Aramis Ramirez 129 Mariano Rivera 130 Tim Salmon 131 Curt Schilling 132 Richie Sexson 133 John Smoltz 134 J.T. Snow 135 Jay Payton 136 Shannon Stewart 137 B.J. Surhoff 138 Mike Sweeney 139 Fernando Tatis 140 Miguel Tejada 141 Jason Varitek 142 Greg Vaughn 143 Mo Vaughn 144 Robin Ventura 145 Jose Vidro 146 Omar Vizquel 147 Larry Walker 148 David Wells 149 Rondell White 150 Preston Wilson
Rated Rookies (50 cards)
All cards are serial numbered to 2001 copies, except cards #156 and #159. Card #156 was scheduled to be Brian Cole, but in early 2001 he was tragically killed in an automobile crash. It is unclear who card #159 was supposed to be (probably C.C. Sabathia), but whoever he was, he was also pulled. Both Cole and mystery player #159 were were pulled and replaced with exchange cards for Albert Pujols and Ben Sheets.
Although 500 copies of each redemption card were inserted into packs, and each Pujols and Sheets exchange card is serial numbered to 500, it is believed that only about half the Pujols cards were actually fulfilled. http://www.stalegum.com/2006/06/just-how-many-donruss-albert-pujols.html
Although an insertion ratio was not specifically stated, it is believed that the Rated Rookies were inserted at the rate of 1:24 packs, or one-per-box.
151 Brent Abernathy 152 Cory Aldridge 153 Gene Altman 154 Josh Beckett 155 Wilson Betemit 156 Albert Pujols EXCH 500 157 Joe Crede 158 Jack Cust 159 Ben Sheets EXCH 500 160 Alex Escobar 161 Adrian Hernandez 162 Pedro Feliz 163 Nate Frese 164 Carlos Garcia 165 Marcus Giles 166 Alexis Gomez 167 Jason Hart 168 Eric Hinske 169 Cesar Izturis 170 Nick Johnson 171 Mike Young 172 Brian Lawrence 173 Steve Lomasney 174 Nick Maness 175 Jose Mieses 176 Greg Miller 177 Eric Munson 178 Xavier Nady 179 Blaine Neal 180 Abraham Nunez 181 Jose Ortiz 182 Jeremy Owens 183 Pablo Ozuna 184 Corey Patterson 185 Carlos Pena 186 Wily Mo Pena 187 Timo Perez 188 Adam Pettyjohn 189 Luis Rivas 190 Jackson Melian 191 Wilken Ruan 192 Duaner Sanchez 193 Alfonso Soriano 194 Rafael Soriano 195 Ichiro Suzuki 196 Billy Sylvester 197 Juan Uribe 198 Eric Valent 199 Carlos Valderrama 200 Matt White
Fan Club (20 cards)
Hobby/Retail: 1:24/packs
Although these cards are not serial numbered, it is believed that only 5000 copies of each Fan Club card were produced.
201 Alex Rodriguez 202 Barry Bonds 203 Cal Ripken, Jr. 204 Chipper Jones 205 Derek Jeter 206 Troy Glaus 207 Frank Thomas 208 Greg Maddux 209 Ivan Rodriguez 210 Jeff Bagwell 211 Todd Helton 212 Ken Griffey, Jr. 213 Manny Ramirez 214 Mark McGwire 215 Mike Piazza 216 Pedro Martinez 217 Sammy Sosa 218 Tony Gwynn 219 Vladimir Guerrero 220 Nomar Garciaparra
Parallels Baseball's Best Factory Set (330 cards)
Similar to the Topps Tiffany sets of the 80s and 90s, Baseball's Best is a "high-end" factory set of the entire 220-card 2001 Donruss base set. In addition, the set also included the 105-card Donruss The Rookies set, and all five Rookie Diamond Kings.
Originally, the Baseball's Best set was only available through a redemption program that worked like this: Seeded into packs of 2001 Donruss baseball (at the rate of 1:720), were coupons that enabled the lucky collector to purchase one of 1000 Baseball's Best factory sets for $104.99. Unfortunately, Donruss printed more than the 1000 sets stated on the redemption card. Towards the end of 2001, Donruss solicited dealers to purchase the set without the redemption coupon. As a result, Donruss would up making 1597 sets (597 more than originally stated).
What's more, unbeknownst to collectors, Donruss made three different versions of the Baseball's Best set: Bronze (limited to 999 sets), Silver (499 sets), and Gold (99 sets). Because of this, some have deduced that those who purchased the set via the redemption card received a Bronze set, and dealers who bought direct got either a Silver or Gold. However, this conspiracy theory has never been proven.
All Baseball's Best cards are identical to their base set counterparts, with the addition of either a gold, silver, or bronze "Baseball's Best" stamp on each card's obverse. Season Stat Line (220 cards)
Each card in this parallel is serial numbered to a specific season statistic.
Just like in the base set, the SSL's of cards #156 and #159 packed out as redemptions. Shortly after the product went live, Donruss publicly announced that only 17 copies of #156 and eight copies of #159 were to be produced. Unfortunately, Donruss wound up inserting more exchange cards than there were Season Stat Lines to go around.
To make it up to exchange card holders, Donruss printed up a special batch of SSL's and contracted with the two athletes in question to autograph these cards. The cards were Donruss' first to feature the now infamous "[Sticker Autograph]." Also, these autographed SSLs were not serial numbered.
1 Alex Rodriguez 2 Barry Bonds 3 Cal Ripken Jr. 4 Chipper Jones 5 Derek Jeter 6 Troy Glaus 7 Frank Thomas 8 Greg Maddux 9 Ivan Rodriguez 10 Jeff Bagwell 11 Jose Canseco 12 Todd Helton 13 Ken Griffey Jr. 14 Manny Ramirez 15 Mark McGwire 16 Mike Piazza 17 Nomar Garciaparra 18 Pedro Martinez 19 Randy Johnson 20 Rick Ankiel 21 Ricky Henderson 22 Roger Clemens 23 Sammy Sosa 24 Tony Gwynn 25 Vladimir Guerrero 26 Eric Davis 27 Roberto Alomar 28 Mark Mulder 29 Pat Burrell 30 Harold Baines 31 Carlos Delgado 32 J.D. Drew 33 Jim Edmonds 34 Darin Erstad 35 Jason Giambi 36 Tom Glavine 37 Juan Gonzalez 38 Mark Grace 39 Shawn Green 99 40 Tim Hudson 41 Andruw Jones 42 David Justice 43 Jeff Kent 44 Barry Larkin 45 Pokey Reese 46 Mike Mussina 47 Hideo Nomo 48 Rafael Palmeiro 49 Adam Piatt 50 Scott Rolen 51 Gary Sheffield 52 Bernie Williams 53 Bob Abreu 54 Edgardo Alfonso 55 Jermaine Clark 56 Albert Belle 57 Craig Biggio 58 Andres Galarraga 59 Edgar Martinez 60 Fred McGriff 61 Magglio Ordonez 62 Jim Thome 63 Matt Williams 102 64 Kerry Wood 65 Moises Alou 66 Brady Anderson 67 Garret Anderson 68 Tony Armas Jr. 69 Tony Batista 70 Jose Cruz Jr. 71 Carlos Beltran 72 Adrian Beltre 73 Kris Benson 74 Lance Berkman 75 Kevin Brown 76 Jay Buhner 77 Jeromy Burnitz 78 Ken Caminiti 79 Sean Casey 80 Luis Castillo 81 Eric Chavez 82 Jeff Cirillo 83 Bartolo Colon 84 David Cone 85 Freddy Garcia 86 Johnny Damon 87 Ray Durham 88 Jermaine Dye 89 Juan Encarnacion 90 Terrence Long 91 Carl Everett 92 Steve Finley 93 Cliff Floyd 94 Brad Fullmer 95 Brian Giles 96 Luis Gonzalez 97 Rusty Greer 98 Jeffrey Hammonds 99 Mike Hampton 100 Orlando Hernandez 101 Richard Hildalgo 102 Geoff Jenkins 103 Jacque Jones 104 Brian Jordan 105 Gabe Kaplar 106 Eric Karros 107 Jason Kendall 108 Adam Kennedy 109 Byung-Hung Kim 110 Ryan Klesko 111 Chuck Knoblauch 112 Paul Konerko 113 Carlos Lee 114 Kenny Lofton 115 Javy Lopez 116 Tino Martinez 117 Ruben Mateo 118 Kevin Millwood 119 Ben Molina 120 Raul Mondesi 121 Trot Nixon 122 John Olerud 123 Paul ONeill 124 Chan Ho Park 125 Andy Pettitte 126 Jorge Posada 127 Mark Quinn 128 Aramis Ramirez 129 Mariano Rivera 130 Tim Salmon 131 Curt Schilling 132 Richie Sexson 133 John Smoltz 134 J.T. Snow 135 Jay Payton 136 Shannon Stewart 137 B.J. Surhoff 138 Mike Sweeney 139 Fernando Tatis 140 Miguel Tejada 141 Jason Varitek 142 Greg Vaughn 143 Mo Vaughn 144 Robin Ventura 145 Jose Vidro 146 Omar Vizquel 147 Larry Walker 148 David Wells 149 Rondell White 150 Preston Wilson 151 Brent Abernathy 130 152 Cory Aldridge 100 153 Gene Altman 6 154 Josh Beckett 61 155 Wilson Betemit 89 156 Albert Pujols 17 157 Joe Crede 5 158 Jack Cust 131 159 Ben Sheets 8 160 Alex Escobar 126 161 Adrian Hernandez 8 162 Pedro Feliz 2 163 Nate Frese 126 164 Carlos Garcia 14 165 Marcus Giles 133 166 Alexis Gomez 117 167 Jason Hart 31 168 Eric Hinske 20 169 Cesar Izturis 95 170 Nick Johnson 145 171 Mike Young 155 172 Brian Lawrence 165 173 Steve Lomasney 8 174 Nick Maness 127 175 Jose Mieses 17 176 Greg Miller 10 177 Eric Munson 1 178 Xavier Nady 1 179 Blaine Neal 65 180 Abraham Nunez 51 181 Jose Ortiz 2 182 Jeremy Owens 16 183 Pablo Ozuna 8 184 Corey Patterson 2 185 Carlos Pena 117 186 Wily Mo Pena 10 187 Timo Perez 14 188 Adam Pettyjohn 68 189 Luis Rivas 18 190 Jackson Melian 73 191 Wilken Ruan 165 192 Duaner Sanchez 121 193 Alfonso Soriano 2 194 Rafael Soriano 90 195 Ichiro Suzuki 153 196 Billy Sylvester 16 197 Juan Uribe 22 198 Eric Valent 22 199 Carlos Valderrama137 200 Matt White 126 201 Alex Rodriguez 202 Barry Bonds 203 Cal Ripken, Jr. 204 Chipper Jones 205 Derek Jeter 206 Troy Glaus 207 Frank Thomas 208 Greg Maddux 209 Ivan Rodriguez 210 Jeff Bagwell 211 Todd Helton 212 Ken Griffey, Jr. 213 Manny Ramirez 214 Mark McGwire 215 Mike Piazza 216 Pedro Martinez 217 Sammy Sosa 218 Tony Gwynn 219 Vladimir Guerrero 220 Nomar Garciaparra
Career Stat Line (220 cards)
Similar to the Season Stat Lines, this time each is serial numbered to a specific career statistic. In most (but not all) instances, there are more copies of a player's Career Stat Line(CSL) than his Season Stat Line (SSL).
Again, the CSL's of cards #156 and #159 packed out as redemptions, with Donruss stating that only 154 copies of #156 and 159 copies of #159 were to be produced. But just like the SSL's, Donruss made more exchange cards than there were cards with the excess card holders getting an un-numbered CSL with a sticker autograph in exchange.
1 Alex Rodriguez 2 Barry Bonds 3 Cal Ripken Jr. 4 Chipper Jones 5 Derek Jeter 6 Troy Glaus 7 Frank Thomas 8 Greg Maddux 9 Ivan Rodriguez 10 Jeff Bagwell 11 Jose Canseco 12 Todd Helton 13 Ken Griffey Jr. 14 Manny Ramirez 15 Mark McGwire 16 Mike Piazza 17 Nomar Garciaparra 18 Pedro Martinez 19 Randy Johnson 20 Rick Ankiel 21 Ricky Henderson 22 Roger Clemens 23 Sammy Sosa 24 Tony Gwynn 25 Vladimir Guerrero 26 Eric Davis 27 Roberto Alomar 28 Mark Mulder 29 Pat Burrell 30 Harold Baines 31 Carlos Delgado 32 J.D. Drew 33 Jim Edmonds 34 Darin Erstad 35 Jason Giambi 36 Tom Glavine 37 Juan Gonzalez 38 Mark Grace 39 Shawn Green 40 Tim Hudson 41 Andruw Jones 42 David Justice 246 43 Jeff Kent 44 Barry Larkin 45 Pokey Reese 46 Mike Mussina 47 Hideo Nomo 48 Rafael Palmeiro 49 Adam Piatt 50 Scott Rolen 51 Gary Sheffield 52 Bernie Williams 53 Bob Abreu 54 Edgardo Alfonso 55 Jermaine Clark 56 Albert Belle 57 Craig Biggio 58 Andres Galarraga 59 Edgar Martinez 60 Fred McGriff 61 Magglio Ordonez 62 Jim Thome 63 Matt Williams 64 Kerry Wood 65 Moises Alou 66 Brady Anderson 67 Garret Anderson 68 Tony Armas Jr. 69 Tony Batista 70 Jose Cruz Jr. 71 Carlos Beltran 72 Adrian Beltre 73 Kris Benson 74 Lance Berkman 75 Kevin Brown 76 Jay Buhner 77 Jeromy Burnitz 78 Ken Caminiti 79 Sean Casey 80 Luis Castillo 81 Eric Chavez 82 Jeff Cirillo 83 Bartolo Colon 84 David Cone 85 Freddy Garcia 86 Johnny Damon 87 Ray Durham 88 Jermaine Dye 89 Juan Encarnacion 90 Terrence Long 91 Carl Everett 92 Steve Finley 93 Cliff Floyd 94 Brad Fullmer 95 Brian Giles 96 Luis Gonzalez 97 Rusty Greer 98 Jeffrey Hammonds 99 Mike Hampton 100 Orlando Hernandez 101 Richard Hildalgo 102 Geoff Jenkins 103 Jacque Jones 104 Brian Jordan 105 Gabe Kaplar 106 Eric Karros 107 Jason Kendall 108 Adam Kennedy 109 Byung-Hung Kim 110 Ryan Klesko 111 Chuck Knoblauch 112 Paul Konerko 113 Carlos Lee 114 Kenny Lofton 115 Javy Lopez 116 Tino Martinez 117 Ruben Mateo 118 Kevin Millwood 119 Ben Molina 120 Raul Mondesi 121 Trot Nixon 122 John Olerud 123 Paul ONeill 124 Chan Ho Park 125 Andy Pettitte 126 Jorge Posada 127 Mark Quinn 128 Aramis Ramirez 129 Mariano Rivera 130 Tim Salmon 131 Curt Schilling 132 Richie Sexson 133 John Smoltz 134 J.T. Snow 135 Jay Payton 136 Shannon Stewart 137 B.J. Surhoff 138 Mike Sweeney 139 Fernando Tatis 140 Miguel Tejada 141 Jason Varitek 142 Greg Vaughn 143 Mo Vaughn 144 Robin Ventura 145 Jose Vidro 146 Omar Vizquel 147 Larry Walker 271 148 David Wells 149 Rondell White 150 Preston Wilson 151 Brent Abernathy 22 152 Cory Aldridge 33 153 Gene Altman 351 154 Josh Beckett 212 155 Wilson Betemit 15 156 Albert Pujols 154 157 Joe Crede 357 158 Jack Cust 66 159 Ben Sheets 159 160 Alex Escobar 45 161 Adrian Hernandez 86 162 Pedro Feliz 286 163 Nate Frese 119 164 Carlos Garcia 106 165 Marcus Giles 320 166 Alexis Gomez 34 167 Jason Hart 303 168 Eric Hinske 332 169 Cesar Izturis 60 170 Nick Johnson 308 171 Mike Young 37 172 Brian Lawrence 281 173 Steve Lomasney 229 174 Nick Maness 25 175 Jose Mieses 265 176 Greg Miller 328 177 Eric Munson 3 178 Xavier Nady 1 179 Blaine Neal 296 180 Abraham Nunez 38 181 Jose Ortiz 7 182 Jeremy Owens 273 183 Pablo Ozuna 333 184 Corey Patterson 11 185 Carlos Pena 52 186 Wily Mo Pena 114 187 Timo Perez 49 188 Adam Pettyjohn 20 189 Luis Rivas 310 190 Jackson Melian 26 191 Wilken Ruan 215 192 Duaner Sanchez 19 193 Alfonso Soriano 50 194 Rafael Soriano 13 195 Ichiro Suzuki 106 196 Billy Sylvester 11 197 Juan Uribe 157 198 Eric Valent 342 199 Carlos Valderrama13 200 Matt White 31 201 Alex Rodriguez 202 Barry Bonds 289 203 Cal Ripken, Jr. 204 Chipper Jones 205 Derek Jeter 206 Troy Glaus 207 Frank Thomas 208 Greg Maddux 209 Ivan Rodriguez 210 Jeff Bagwell 211 Todd Helton 212 Ken Griffey, Jr. 213 Manny Ramirez 313 214 Mark McGwire 215 Mike Piazza 216 Pedro Martinez 217 Sammy Sosa 218 Tony Gwynn 219 Vladimir Guerrero 220 Nomar Garciaparra
Inserts Expired Set Redemption Cards (2 cards)
Donruss inserted into packs two cards that allowed collectors the right to purchase one of two special factory sets. One card enabled the collector to purchase the 2001 Donruss The Rookies Baseball factory set for $24.99. The other card allowed the holder to buy of one 1000 "Baseball's Best" factory sets for $104.99. As previously mentioned, Donruss proceeded to print more than 1000 Baseball's Best sets.
The stated odds of finding the Donruss The Rookies redemption card was 1:72/packs, while the odds of pulling the Baseball's Best card: 1:720. "1999" & "2000" Retroactive (100 cards each)
These two sets were designed to simulate what a 1999 and 2000 Donruss set would have looked like, if they had been released. The design is based on the respective year's Donruss Football set, and the player's are shown in the uniforms of the team the played for in that particular year..
The "1999" Retroactives were inserted into hobby packs and the "2000s" in retail. Both sets are 100 cards with eighty veterans and 20 serial-numbered "Rated Rookies." In addition, there are a slew of Stat Line parallels, and five additional Diamond King Inserts. Unfortunately, rather than simply including it with the other 2001 cards, the Retroactive card was wrapped separately in it's own one-card "pack." These single-card packs were extremely difficult to open, and as a result, many of the Retroactives were damaged coming out of the pack. "1999" Retroactive (100 cards)
Overall odds of finding a "1999" Retroactive short set card, Rated Rookie, Stat Line, or "1999" Diamond King: one-per hobby pack. Short Set (80 cards)
1 Ken Griffey Jr. 2 Nomar Garciaparra 3 Alex Rodriguez 4 Mark McGwire 5 Sammy Sosa 6 Chipper Jones 7 Mike Piazza 8 Barry Larkin 9 Andruw Jones 10 Albert Belle 11 Jeff Bagwell 12 Tony Gwynn 13 Manny Ramirez 14 Mo Vaughn 15 Barry Bonds 16 Frank Thomas 17 Vladimir Guerrero 18 Derek Jeter 19 Randy Johnson 20 Greg Maddux 21 Pedro Martinez 22 Cal Ripken Jr. 23 Ivan Rodriguez 24 Matt Williams 25 Javy Lopez 26 Tim Salmon 27 Raul Mondesi 28 Todd Helton 29 Magglio Ordonez 30 Sean Casey 31 Jeromy Burnitz 32 Jeff Kent 33 Jim Edmonds 34 Jim Thome 35 Dante Bichette 36 Larry Walker 37 Will Clark 38 Omar Vizquel 39 Mike Mussina 40 Eric Karros 41 Kenny Lofton 42 David Justice 43 Craig Biggio 44 J.D. Drew 45 Rickey Henderson 46 Bernie Williams 47 Brian Giles 48 Paul O'Neill 49 Orlando Hernandez 50 Jason Giambi 51 Curt Schilling 52 Scott Rolen 53 Mark Grace 54 Moises Alou 55 Jason Kendall 56 Ray Lankford 57 Kerry Wood 58 Gary Sheffield 59 Ruben Mateo 60 Darin Erstad 61 Troy Glaus 62 Jose Canseco 63 Wade Boggs 64 Tom Glavine 65 Gabe Kapler 66 Juan Gonzalez 67 Rafael Palmeiro 68 Richie Sexson 69 Carl Everett 70 David Wells 71 Carlos Delgado 72 Eric Davis 73 Shawn Green 74 Andres Galarraga 75 Edgar Martinez 76 Roberto Alomar 77 John Olerud 78 Luis Gonzalez 79 Kevin Brown 80 Roger Clemens
Rated Rookies (20 cards)
Cards 81-100 make up a "Rated Rookies" subset and are numbered to 1999 copies. Although the exact insertion ratio was not listed, it is believed that the Rated Rookies were inserted at the rate of 1:24/hobby packs.
81 Josh Beckett 82 Alfonso Soriano 83 Alex Escobar 84 Pat Burrell 85 Eric Chavez 86 Erubiel Durazo 87 Abraham Nunez 88 Carlos Pena 89 Nick Johnson 90 Eric Munson 91 Corey Patterson 92 Wily Mo Pena 93 Rafael Furcal 94 Eric Valent 95 Mark Mulder 96 Chad Hutchinson 97 Freddy Garcia 98 Tim Hudson 99 Rick Ankiel 100 Kip Wells
"1999" Retroactive Career Stat Lines (100 cards)
The concept is similar to the Career Stat Line and Season Stat Line cards in the base set. It is believed that the odds of finding either a "1999" CSL or SSL was one in 1:24/hobby packs.
1 Ken Griffey Jr. 2 Nomar Garciaparra 3 Alex Rodriguez 4 Mark McGwire 5 Sammy Sosa 6 Chipper Jones 7 Mike Piazza 8 Barry Larkin 9 Andruw Jones 10 Albert Belle 11 Jeff Bagwell 12 Tony Gwynn 13 Manny Ramirez 14 Mo Vaughn 15 Barry Bonds 16 Frank Thomas 17 Vladimir Guerrero 18 Derek Jeter 19 Randy Johnson 20 Greg Maddux 21 Pedro Martinez 22 Cal Ripken Jr. 23 Ivan Rodriguez 24 Matt Williams 25 Javy Lopez 26 Tim Salmon 27 Raul Mondesi 28 Todd Helton 29 Magglio Ordonez 30 Sean Casey 31 Jeromy Burnitz 32 Jeff Kent 33 Jim Edmonds 34 Jim Thome 35 Dante Bichette 36 Larry Walker 37 Will Clark 38 Omar Vizquel 39 Mike Mussina 40 Eric Karros 41 Kenny Lofton 42 David Justice 43 Craig Biggio 44 J.D. Drew 45 Rickey Henderson 46 Bernie Williams 47 Brian Giles 48 Paul ONeill 49 Orlando Hernandez 50 Jason Giambi 51 Curt Schilling 52 Scott Rolen 53 Mark Grace 54 Moises Alou 55 Jason Kendall 56 Ray Lankford 57 Kerry Wood 58 Gary Sheffield 59 Ruben Mateo 60 Darin Erstad 61 Troy Glaus 62 Jose Canseco 63 Wade Boggs 64 Tom Glavine 65 Gabe Kapler 66 Juan Gonzalez 67 Rafael Palmeiro 68 Richie Sexson 69 Carl Everett 70 David Wells 71 Carlos Delgado 72 Eric Davis 73 Shawn Green 74 Andres Galarraga 75 Edgar Martinez 76 Roberto Alomar 77 John Olerud 78 Luis Gonzalez 79 Kevin Brown 80 Roger Clemens 81 Josh Beckett 13 82 Alfonso Soriano 113 83 Alex Escobar 181 84 Pat Burrell 303 85 Eric Chavez 314 86 Erubiel Durazo 147 87 Abraham Nunez 106 88 Carlos Pena 46 89 Nick Johnson 259 90 Eric Munson 392 91 Corey Patterson 117 92 Wily Mo Pena 347 93 Rafael Furcal 137 94 Eric Valent 53 95 Mark Mulder 340 96 Chad Hutchinson 2 97 Freddy Garcia 397 98 Tim Hudson 17 99 Rick Ankiel 222 100 Kip Wells 371
"1999" Retroactive Season Stat Lines (100 cards)
1 Ken Griffey Jr. 2 Nomar Garciaparra 3 Alex Rodriguez 4 Mark McGwire 5 Sammy Sosa 6 Chipper Jones 7 Mike Piazza 8 Barry Larkin 9 Andruw Jones 10 Albert Belle 11 Jeff Bagwell 12 Tony Gwynn 13 Manny Ramirez 14 Mo Vaughn 15 Barry Bonds 16 Frank Thomas 17 Vladimir Guerrero 18 Derek Jeter 19 Randy Johnson 20 Greg Maddux 21 Pedro Martinez 22 Cal Ripken Jr. 23 Ivan Rodriguez 24 Matt Williams 25 Javy Lopez 26 Tim Salmon 27 Raul Mondesi 28 Todd Helton 29 Magglio Ordonez 30 Sean Casey 31 Jeromy Burnitz 32 Jeff Kent 33 Jim Edmonds 34 Jim Thome 35 Dante Bichette 36 Larry Walker 37 Will Clark 38 Omar Vizquel 39 Mike Mussina 40 Eric Karros 41 Kenny Lofton 42 David Justice 43 Craig Biggio 44 J.D. Drew 45 Rickey Henderson 46 Bernie Williams 47 Brian Giles 48 Paul O'Neill 49 Orlando Hernandez 50 Jason Giambi 51 Curt Schilling 52 Scott Rolen 53 Mark Grace 54 Moises Alou 55 Jason Kendall 56 Ray Lankford 57 Kerry Wood 58 Gary Sheffield 59 Ruben Mateo 60 Darin Erstad 61 Troy Glaus 62 Jose Canseco 63 Wade Boggs 64 Tom Glavine 65 Gabe Kapler 66 Juan Gonzalez 67 Rafael Palmeiro 68 Richie Sexson 69 Carl Everett 70 David Wells 71 Carlos Delgado 72 Eric Davis 73 Shawn Green 74 Andres Galarraga 75 Edgar Martinez 76 Roberto Alomar 77 John Olerud 78 Luis Gonzalez 79 Kevin Brown 80 Roger Clemens 81 Josh Beckett 178 82 Alfonso Soriano 7 83 Alex Escobar 27 84 Pat Burrell 7 85 Eric Chavez 33 86 Erubiel Durazo 19 87 Abraham Nunez 95 88 Carlos Pena 319 89 Nick Johnson 17 90 Eric Munson 16 91 Corey Patterson 22 92 Wily Mo Pena 7 93 Rafael Furcal 88 94 Eric Valent 13 95 Mark Mulder 113 96 Chad Hutchinson 51 97 Freddy Garcia 10 98 Tim Hudson 152 99 Rick Ankiel 12 100 Kip Wells 135
"1999" Retroactive Diamond Kings (5 cards)
This five-card set features Diamond King cards that Donruss would have produced had they been around 1999. The design is based on the "Gridiron Kings" insert from 1999 Donruss Football. Each card is serial numbered to 2500 copies, with a "Studio Series" version (complete with faux canvas fronts) numbered to 250.
The insertion ratio was not listed, but on average every fifth hobby box (1:120/hobby packs)yielded a DK.
1 Scott Rolen 2 Sammy Sosa 3 Juan Gonzalez 4 Ken Griffey, Jr. 5 Derek Jeter
"2000" Retroactive (100 cards)
Overall odds of finding a "2000" Retroactive short set card, Rated Rookie, Stat Line, or "2000" Diamond King: one-per retail pack. Short Set (80 cards)
1 Vladimir Guerrero 2 Alex Rodriguez 3 Ken Griffey Jr. 4 Nomar Garciaparra 5 Mike Piazza 6 Mark McGwire 7 Sammy Sosa 8 Chipper Jones 9 Jim Edmonds 10 Tony Gwynn 11 Andruw Jones 12 Albert Belle 13 Jeff Bagwell 14 Manny Ramierez 15 Mo Vaughn 16 Barry Bonds 17 Frank Thomas 18 Ivan Rodriguez 19 Derek Jeter 20 Randy Johnson 21 Greg Maddux 22 Pedro Martinez 23 Cal Ripken Jr. 24 Mark Grace 25 Javy Lopez 26 Ray Durham 27 Todd Helton 28 Magglio Ordonez 29 Sean Casey 30 Darin Erstad 31 Barry Larkin 32 Will Clark 33 Jim Thome 34 Dante Bichette 35 Larry Walker 36 Ken Caminiti 37 Omar Vizquel 38 Miguel Tejada 39 Eric Karros 40 Gary Sheffield 41 Jeff Cirillo 42 Rondell White 43 Rickey Henderson 44 Bernie Williams 45 Brian Giles 46 Paul O'Neill 47 Orlando Hernandez 48 Ben Grieve 49 Jason Giambi 50 Curt Schilling 51 Scott Rolen 52 Bobby Abreu 53 Jason Kendall 54 Fernando Tatis 55 Jeff Kent 56 Mike Mussina 57 Troy Glaus 58 Jose Canseco 59 Wade Boggs 60 Fred McGriff 61 Juan Gonzalez 62 Rafael Palmeiro 63 Rusty Greer 64 Carl Everett 65 David Wells 66 Carlos Delgado 67 Shawn Green 68 David Justice 69 Edgar Martinez 70 Andres Galarraga 71 Roberto Alomar 72 Jermaine Dye 73 John Olerud 74 Luis Gonzalez 75 Craig Biggio 76 Kevin Millwood 77 Kevin Brown 78 John Smoltz 79 Roger Clemens 80 Mike Hampton
Rated Rookies (20 Cards)
Cards 81-100 make up a "Rated Rookies" subset and are numbered to 2000 copies. Although the exact insertion ratio was not listed, it is believed that the Rated Rookies were inserted at the rate of 1:24/retail packs.
Cards #82 and #95 -- originally scheduled to be Brian Cole and Ben Sheets -- packed out as redemptions. Cole was pulled from the set due to his untimely death during the 2000-2001 off-season, and Sheets was yanked as he had been dropped from the Brewers' 40-man roster. Originally Cole was to be replaced by C.C. Sabathia, and Sheets with Ichiro Suzuki. Sabathia had to be pulled for the same reason Sheets was: he was moved off of Cleveland's 40-man roster. The choice of replacing Sheets with Ichiro was curious to say the least, as he had played the 2000 season in Japan.
By the time the product went live, Sheets was put back on the 40-man roster and allowed to be included. So the redemption for card #82 (originally Cole, then Sabathia) was fufilled with Sheets, and Sheets' original card (#95) was fufilled by Suzuki. Confused yet? Well both the Sheets and Suzuki exchange cards -- the ones mailed back to collectors -- were numbered as "95" and as such, card #82 was not issued. It is unknown exactly how many Ichiro and Sheets exchange cards were actually fulfilled.
In 2007, The Cardboard Junkie (http://cardjunk.blogspot.com/2007/11/2007-cy-young-award-winners.html) scanned a "2000" Retroactive Rated Rookie of C.C. Sabathia to his popular baseball card blog. When inquired about it, he claims that he received it from Donruss-Playoff as a bonus after sending an unrelated redemption card. Although the Junkie's "2000" Sabathia is serial numbered "247/500," it is unclear just how many Sabathia's are on the market.
81 Tomas De La Rosa 82 C.C. Sabathia EXCH 500 83 Ryan Christenson 84 Pedro Feliz 85 Jose Ortiz 86 Xavier Nady 87 Julio Zuleta 88 Jason Hart 89 Keith Ginter 90 Brent Abernathy 91 Timo Perez 92 Juan Pierre 93 Tike Redman 94 Mike Lamb 95a Ben Sheets EXCH 95b Ichiro Suzuki EXCH 96 Kazuhiro Sasaki 97 Barry Zito 98 Adam Bernero 99 Chad Durbin 100 Matt Ginter
"2000" Retroactive Career Stat Lines (100 cards)
It is believed that the odds of finding either a "2000" CSL or SSL was one in 1:24/retail packs. Again, cards #82 and #95 packed out as redemptions. But for some strange reason, C.C. Sabathia (who was pulled from the regular "2000" Retroactive set) was included in both the CSLs and SSLs as card #82 -- even though he should have been pulled. Card #95 was fulfilled with Ichiro Suzuki. Ben Sheets, who was one of the two card #95s in the base set, is not included in either the CSL or SSL parallel sets.
1 Vladimir Guerrero 2 Alex Rodriguez 3 Ken Griffey Jr. 4 Nomar Garciaparra 5 Mike Piazza 6 Mark McGwire 7 Sammy Sosa 8 Chipper Jones 9 Jim Edmonds 10 Tony Gwynn 11 Andruw Jones 12 Albert Belle 13 Jeff Bagwell 14 Manny Ramierez 15 Mo Vaughn 16 Barry Bonds 17 Frank Thomas 18 Ivan Rodriguez 19 Derek Jeter 20 Randy Johnson 21 Greg Maddux 22 Pedro Martinez 23 Cal Ripken Jr. 24 Mark Grace 25 Javy Lopez 26 Ray Durham 27 Todd Helton 28 Magglio Ordonez 29 Sean Casey 30 Darin Erstad 31 Barry Larkin 32 Will Clark 33 Jim Thome 34 Dante Bichette 35 Larry Walker 36 Ken Caminiti 37 Omar Vizquel 38 Miguel Tejada 39 Eric Karros 40 Gary Sheffield 41 Jeff Cirillo 42 Rondell White 43 Rickey Henderson 44 Bernie Williams 45 Brian Giles 46 Paul O'Neill 47 Orlando Hernandez 48 Ben Grieve 49 Jason Giambi 50 Curt Schilling 51 Scott Rolen 52 Bobby Abreu 53 Jason Kendall 54 Fernando Tatis 55 Jeff Kent 56 Mike Mussina 57 Troy Glaus 58 Jose Canseco 59 Wade Boggs 60 Fred McGriff 61 Juan Gonzalez 62 Rafael Palmeiro 63 Rusty Greer 64 Carl Everett 65 David Wells 66 Carlos Delgado 67 Shawn Green 68 David Justice 69 Edgar Martinez 70 Andres Galarraga 71 Roberto Alomar 72 Jermaine Dye 73 John Olerud 74 Luis Gonzalez 75 Craig Biggio 76 Kevin Millwood 77 Kevin Brown 78 John Smoltz 79 Roger Clemens 80 Mike Hampton 81 Tomas De La Rosa 76 82 C.C. Sabathia EXCH 6 83 Ryan Christenson 9 84 Pedro Feliz 45 85 Jose Ortiz 90 86 Xavier Nady 175 87 Julio Zuleta 295 88 Jason Hart 19 89 Keith Ginter 188 90 Brent Abernathy 254 91 Timo Perez 5 92 Juan Pierre 104 93 Tike Redman 151 94 Mike Lamb 240 95 Ichiro Suzuki EXCH 159 96 Kazuhiro Sasaki 229 97 Barry Zito 6 98 Adam Bernero 254 99 Chad Durbin 3 100 Matt Ginter 300
"2000" Retroactive Season Stat Lines (100 cards)
1 Vladimir Guerrero 2 Alex Rodriguez 3 Ken Griffey Jr. 4 Nomar Garciaparra 5 Mike Piazza 6 Mark McGwire 7 Sammy Sosa 8 Chipper Jones 9 Jim Edmonds 10 Tony Gwynn 11 Andruw Jones 12 Albert Belle 13 Jeff Bagwell 14 Manny Ramierez 15 Mo Vaughn 16 Barry Bonds 17 Frank Thomas 18 Ivan Rodriguez 19 Derek Jeter 20 Randy Johnson 21 Greg Maddux 22 Pedro Martinez 23 Cal Ripken Jr. 24 Mark Grace 25 Javy Lopez 26 Ray Durham 27 Todd Helton 28 Magglio Ordonez 29 Sean Casey 30 Darin Erstad 31 Barry Larkin 32 Will Clark 33 Jim Thome 34 Dante Bichette 35 Larry Walker 36 Ken Caminiti 37 Omar Vizquel 38 Miguel Tejada 39 Eric Karros 40 Gary Sheffield 41 Jeff Cirillo 42 Rondell White 43 Rickey Henderson 44 Bernie Williams 45 Brian Giles 46 Paul O'Neill 47 Orlando Hernandez 48 Ben Grieve 49 Jason Giambi 50 Curt Schilling 51 Scott Rolen 52 Bobby Abreu 53 Jason Kendall 54 Fernando Tatis 55 Jeff Kent 56 Mike Mussina 57 Troy Glaus 58 Jose Canseco 59 Wade Boggs 60 Fred McGriff 61 Juan Gonzalez 62 Rafael Palmeiro 63 Rusty Greer 64 Carl Everett 65 David Wells 66 Carlos Delgado 67 Shawn Green 68 David Justice 69 Edgar Martinez 70 Andres Galarraga 71 Roberto Alomar 72 Jermaine Dye 73 John Olerud 74 Luis Gonzalez 75 Craig Biggio 76 Kevin Millwood 77 Kevin Brown 78 John Smoltz 79 Roger Clemens 80 Mike Hampton 81 Tomas De La Rosa 122 82 C.C. Sabathia EXCH 76 83 Ryan Christenson 56 84 Pedro Feliz 13 85 Jose Ortiz 107 86 Xavier Nady 23 87 Julio Zuleta 21 88 Jason Hart 168 89 Keith Ginter 13 90 Brent Abernathy 168 91 Timo Perez 4 92 Juan Pierre 187 93 Tike Redman 143 94 Mike Lamb 177 95 Ichiro Suzuki EXCH 8 96 Kazuhiro Sasaki 34 97 Barry Zito 97 98 Adam Bernero 80 99 Chad Durbin 3 100 Matt Ginter 66
"2000" Retroactive Diamond Kings (5 cards)
This five-card set features Diamond King cards that Donruss would have produced had they been around in 2000. The design is based on the "Gridiron Kings" from 2000 Donruss Football. Each card is serial numbered to 2500 copies, with a "Studio Series" version (complete with faux canvas fronts) numbered to 250. The insertion ratio was not listed, but on average every seventh retail blaster box (1:119/retail packs)yielded a DK.
DK1 Frank Thomas DK2 Greg Maddux DK3 Alex Rodriguez DK4 Jeff Bagwell DK5 Manny Ramirez
All-Time Diamond Kings (10 cards)
A Diamond Kings set featuring ten Hall of Famers. What's not to like? Each card is serial numbered to 2500 copies, with a Studio Series parallel version numbered to 250, with the first fifty copies autographed.
Both Willie Mays and Hank Aaron's cards packed out as redemptions. On the provisional checklist, Mays was scheduled to be card #ATDK9. However the exchange card was numbered as ATDK1. Therefore, this set is skip-numbered.
ATDK1a Frank Robinson ATDK1b Willie Mays EXCH ATDK2 Harmon Killebrew ATDK3 Mike Schmidt ATDK4 Reggie Jackson ATDK5 Nolan Ryan ATDK6 George Brett ATDK7 Tom Seaver ATDK8 Hank Aaron EXCH ATDK9 NOT ISSUED ATDK10 Stan Musial
Diamond Kings (20 cards)
The first new Diamond Kings in three years. All cards in this twenty-card set are numbered to 2500, with a Studio Series parallel numbered to 250. Donruss got some players to autograph the first fifty copies of their Studio Series DK, but not all. Therefore, there are some SSDK's that are limited to 200 copies, and other to 250. Those players who did not sign are desginated with an asterix (See Below).
DK1 Alex Rodriguez DK2 Cal Ripken, Jr. DK3 Mark McGwire* DK4 Ken Griffey, Jr.* DK5 Derek Jeter* DK6 Nomar Garciaparra* DK7 Mike Piazza* DK8 Roger Clemens DK9 Greg Maddux DK10 Chipper Jones DK11 Tony Gwynn DK12 Barry Bonds DK13 Sammy Sosa* DK14 Vladimir Guerrero DK15 Frank Thomas* DK16 Troy Glaus DK17 Todd Helton DK18 Ivan Rodriguez DK19 Pedro Martinez* DK20 Carlos Delgado*
Diamond King Reprints (20 cards)
This set reprints twenty Diamond Kings from previous Donruss sets. Each is serial numbered to the year in which the original Diamond King was produced.
In addition, all of the players -- except Griffey, Jr. -- signed for set. The Autographed Diamond King Reprints are discussed in the "Autograph and Game Used" section.
Griffey, Jr's. card is an uncorrected error. Since Griffey, Jr's. card is a reprint of his 1990 Donruss Diamond King, it should have been serial numbered to 1990 copies instead of 1989.
DKR1 Rod Carew 1982 DKR2 Nolan Ryan 1982 DKR3 Tom Seaver 1982 DKR4 Carlton Fisk 1982 DKR5 Reggie Jackson 1983 DKR6 Steve Carlton 1983 DKR7 Johnny Bench 1983 DKR8 Joe Morgan 1983 DKR9 Mike Schmidt 1984 DKR10 Wade Boggs 1984 DKR11 Cal Ripken, Jr. 1985 DKR12 Tony Gwynn 1985 DKR13 Andre Dawson 1986 DKR14 Ozzie Smith 1987 DKR15 George Brett 1987 DKR16 Dave Winfield 1987 DKR17 Paul Molitor 1988 DKR18 Will Clark 1988 DKR19 Robin Yount 1989 DKR20 Ken Griffey, Jr. 1989
Elite Series (20 cards)
The twenty most "l33t" players in the game. All the usual suspects are included. Each is numbered to 2500, with an Elite Dominators parallel numbered to 25.
ES1 Vladimir Guerrero ES2 Cal Ripken, Jr. ES3 Greg Maddux ES4 Alex Rodriguez ES5 Barry Bonds ES6 Chipper Jones ES7 Derek Jeter ES8 Ivan Rodriguez ES9 Ken Griffey, Jr. ES10 Mark McGwire ES11 Mike Piazza ES12 Nomar Garciaparra ES13 Pedro Martinez ES14 Randy Johnson ES15 Roger Clemens ES16 Sammy Sosa ES17 Tony Gwynn ES18 Darin Erstad ES19 Andruw Jones ES20 Bernie Williams
Longball Leaders (20 cards)
Set features the twenty top homerun hitters from the 2000 season. Each is numbered to 1000 copies, with a die-cut Season Production parallel serial numbered to the number of home runs the player hit in the 2000 season.
LL1 Vladimir Guerrero LL2 Alex Rodriguez LL3 Barry Bonds LL4 Troy Glaus LL5 Frank Thomas LL6 Jeff Bagwell LL7 Todd Helton LL8 Ken Griffey Jr. LL9 Manny Ramirez LL10 Mike Piazza LL11 Sammy Sosa LL12 Carlos Delgado LL13 Jim Edmonds LL14 Jason Giambi LL15 David Justice LL16 Rafael Palmeiro LL17 Gary Sheffield LL18 Jim Thome LL19 Tony Batista LL20 Richard Hidalgo
Production Line (60 cards)
This massive sixty-card set features 2000's league leaders in three offensive statistics. Cards 1-20 are the leaders in on-base percentage, 21-40 in slugging percentage, and 41-60 in the power index -- a stat more commonly referred to as "on-base plus slugging," and even more commonly referred to as simply "OPS." Each card is serial numbered to the player's respective 2000 stat in that category multiplied by 1000.
For example, Todd Helton's on-base percentage in 2000 was .463; therefore, his Production Line insert (card #PL3) is numbered to 463 copies. In addition, the first 100 copies of each card are die-cut. So, using the Helton example, there are 100 die-cuts and the remaining 363 are not.
PL1 Jason Giambi 476 PL2 Carlos Delgado 470 PL3 Todd Helton 463 PL4 Manny Ramirez 457 PL5 Barry Bonds 440 PL6 Gary Sheffield 438 PL7 Frank Thomas 436 PL8 Nomar Garciaparra 434 PL9 Brian Giles 432 PL10 Edgardo Alfonzo 425 PL11 Jeff Kent 424 PL12 Jeff Bagwell 424 PL13 Edgar Martinez 423 PL14 Alex Rodriguez 420 PL15 Luis Castillo 418 PL16 Will Clark 418 PL17 Jorge Posada 417 PL18 Derek Jeter 416 PL19 Bob Abreu 416 PL20 Moises Alou 416 PL21 Todd Helton 698 PL22 Manny Ramirez 697 PL23 Barry Bonds 688 PL24 Carlos Delgado 664 PL25 Vladimir Guerrero 664 PL26 Jason Giambi 647 PL27 Gary Sheffield 643 PL28 Richard Hidalgo 636 PL29 Sammy Sosa 634 PL30 Frank Thomas 625 PL31 Moises Alou 623 PL32 Jeff Bagwell 615 PL33 Mike Piazza 614 PL34 Alex Rodriguez 606 PL35 Troy Glaus 604 PL36 Nomar Garciaparra 599 PL37 Jeff Kent 596 PL38 Brian Giles 594 PL39 Geoff Jenkins 588 PL40 Carl Everett 587 PL41 Todd Helton 1161 PL42 Manny Ramirez 1154 PL43 Carlos Delgado 1134 PL44 Barry Bonds 1128 PL45 Jason Giambi 1123 PL46 Gary Sheffield 1081 PL47 Vladimir Guerrero 1074 PL48 Frank Thomas 1061 PL49 Sammy Sosa 1040 PL50 Moises Alou 1039 PL51 Jeff Bagwell 1039 PL52 Nomar Garciaparra 1033 PL53 Richard Hidalgo 1027 PL54 Alex Rodriguez 1026 PL55 Brian Giles 1026 PL56 Jeff Kent 1020 PL57 Mike Piazza 1012 PL58 Troy Glaus 1008 PL59 Edgar Martinez 1002 PL60 Jim Edmonds 994
Rookie Reprints (40 cards)
Similar in concept to the Diamond King Reprints, just subsitute "Rookie Cards" for "Diamond Kings" and you get the idea here. Please note as there are two cards numbered RR39, as Jeff Kent -- who is on the checklist as card #RR40 -- was erroneously printed as card #RR39.
RR1 Cal Ripken, Jr. 1982 RR2 Wade Boggs 1983 RR3 Tony Gwynn 1983 RR4 Ryne Sandberg 1983 RR5 Don Mattingly 1984 RR6 Joe Carter 1984 RR7 Roger Clemens 1985 RR8 Kirby Puckett 1985 RR9 Orel Hershiser 1985 RR10 Andres Galarraga 1986 RR11 Jose Canseco 1986 RR12 Fred McGriff 1986 RR13 Paul O'Neill 1986 RR14 Mark McGwire 1987 RR15 Barry Bonds 1987 RR16 Kevin Brown 1987 RR17 David Cone 1987 RR18 Rafael Palmeiro 1987 RR19 Barry Larkin 1987 RR20 Bo Jackson 1987 RR21 Greg Maddux 1987 RR22 Roberto Alomar 1988 RR23 Mark Grace 1988 RR24 David Wells 1988 RR25 Tom Glavine 1988 RR26 Matt Williams 1988 RR27 Ken Griffey, Jr. 1989 RR28 Randy Johnson 1989 RR29 Gary Sheffield 1989 RR30 Craig Biggio 1989 RR31 Curt Schilling 1989 RR32 Larry Walker 1990 RR33 Bernie Williams 1990 RR34 Sammy Sosa 1990 RR35 Juan Gonzalez 1990 RR36 Dave Justice 1990 RR37 Ivan Rodriguez 1991 RR38 Jeff Bagwell 1991 RR39a Manny Ramirez 1991 RR39b Jeff Kent 1992
Autographs and Game Used "2000" Retroactive Studio Series Diamond Kings Autographed (1 autographed card)
Alex Rodriguez signed the first fifty copies of his "2000" SSDK for random insertion into 2001 Donruss retail packs. Autographed Studio Series All-Time Diamond Kings (10 autographed cards)
This is an autographed parallel of the Studio Series All-Time Diamond Kings, which itself is a parallel of the All-Time Diamond Kings. Each SSATDK was numbered to 250 copies, with the first 50 signed by the player. In other words, SSATDK's numbered 1 through 50 are autographed, 51 through 250 are not.
Cards numbered ATDK5, 8, and 9 packed out as redemptions. And just like in the regular ATDK set, Willie Mays' exchange card (originally #ATDK9) was numbered as #ATDK1.
ATDK1a Frank Robinson ATDK1b Willie Mays EXCH ATDK2 Harmon Killebrew ATDK3 Mike Schmidt ATDK4 Reggie Jackson ATDK5 Nolan Ryan EXCH ATDK6 George Brett ATDK7 Tom Seaver ATDK8 Hank Aaron EXCH ATDK9 NOT ISSUED ATDK10 Stan Musial
Autographed Anniversary Originals (13 pre-graded autographed cards)
Each hobby box of 2001 Donruss came with a classic Donruss card that was re-purchased by Playoff and graded by BGS. In addition, twelve players agreed to autograph some of their cards before submission. Unfortunately, only three cards were available for packout, which led Donruss to include slabbed redemption cards for the other nine players. I'm not making that up. Donruss actually had BGS slab frickin' redemption cards!
1982 Cal Ripken, Jr. EXCH 23 1983 Ryne Sandberg EXCH 24 1983 Cal Ripken, Jr. EXCH 2 1983 Wade Boggs EXCH 25 1983 Tony Gwynn EXCH 24 1984 Don Mattingly EXCH 25 1987 Greg Maddux EXCH 25 1987 Rafael Palmeiro 250 1987 Barry Bonds EXCH 25 1988 Roberto Alomar 250 1988 Tom Glavine 250 1989 Randy Johnson EXCH 25 1990 David Justice EXCH 24
Bat Kings/Autographed Bat Kings (10 bat and 9 autographed bat cards)
This set features five players from the regular Diamond Kings and five from the All-Time Diamond Kings. The cards have a reprint of their Diamond King next to an oval shaped splinter of one of their game-used bats. Each is serial numbered to 250 copies.
The first fifty copies of each were due to have an autograph; however, four players did not submit their Autographed Bat Kings in time, and Donruss was forced to replace them with redemption cards. Three of the four players (I. Rodriguez, T. Helton, and T. Glaus) eventually did send in their autographs, but Donruss was unable to get Barry Bonds to send his in. To make it up to collectors, each Barry Bonds Autographed Bat King redemption was fulfilled with an un-autographed Bat King card and an autographed Barry Bonds Recollection Collection autograph (see below).
BK1 Ivan Rodriguez AU EXCH BK2 Tony Gwynn BK3 Barry Bonds NO AU BK4 Todd Helton AU EXCH BK5 Troy Glaus AU EXCH BK6 Mike Schmidt BK7 Reggie Jackson BK8 Harmon Killebrew BK9 Frank Robinson BK10 Hank Aaron
Autographed Studio Series Diamond Kings (11 autographed cards)
Same deal as the Autographed Studio Series All-Time Diamond Kings, except that only 11 of the 20 players agreed to sign. for all 20 players, each SSDK was numbered to 250 copies. For the eleven players who signed, the first fifty copies of each SSDK are autographed and the remaining 200 are un-signed. Nine of the twelve cards packed out as redemptions.
DK1 Alex Rodriguez EXCH DK2 Cal Ripken, Jr. DK8 Roger Clemens EXCH DK9 Greg Maddux DK10 Chipper Jones EXCH DK11 Tony Gwynn DK12 Barry Bonds EXCH DK14 Vladimir Guerrero EXCH DK16 Troy Glaus EXCH DK17 Todd Helton EXCH DK18 Ivan Rodriguez EXCH
Autographed Diamond Kings Reprints (19 autographed cards plus 1 un-autographed card)
This set is an autographed parallel of the Diamond Kings Reprints. Each card is serial numbered to the year the card made its appearance in the Donruss set, minus 1900. Eleven of the nineteen autographees packed out as redemptions.
Since Ken Griffey, Jr. was under an exclusive autograph contract to Upper Deck, Donruss was unable to have him autograph any of his DKR cards. Since he was the only player unable to sign, Donruss simply made a special un-autographed parallel numbered to only 89 copies, to round out the set. As mentioned in the listing for the regular DKR's, the Griffey, Jr. is an un-corrected error, as the card reprinted was in the 1990 Donruss set, not the '89 one.
DKR1 Rod Carew EXCH 82 DKR2 Nolan Ryan EXCH 82 DKR3 Tom Seaver 82 DKR4 Carlton Fisk EXCH 82 DKR5 Reggie Jackson 83 DKR6 Steve Carlton EXCH 83 DKR7 Johnny Bench 83 DLR8 Joe Morgan 83 DKR9 Mike Schmidt 84 DKR10 Wade Boggs EXCH 84 DKR11 Cal Ripken, Jr. EXCH 85 DKR12 Tony Gwynn 85 DLR13 Andre Dawson EXCH 86 DLR14 Ozzie Smith EXCH 87 DLR15 George Brett 87 DLR16 Dave Winfield EXCH 87 DLR17 Paul Molitor 88 DKR18 Will Clark EXCH 88 DKR19 Robin Yount EXCH 89 DKR20 Ken Griffey, Jr.NO AU 89
Jersey Kings/Autographed Jersey Kings (10 jersey and 10 autographed jersey cards)
Same concept as the Bat Kings, only with different players and a different piece of game used material. Each card is numbered to 250 copies, with the first 50 autographed.
Cards #JK4 and JK10 were listed on the checklist as "To Be Determined." Therefore all 250 copies (50 autographed and 200 unautographed) packed out as redemptions. Only later, months after 2001 Donruss went live, did Donruss reveal who those players were (Chipper Jones and Ozzie Smith respectively). In addition, the autographed cards of four players did not arrive in time for inclusion in the product, so Donruss went the redemption route.
JK1 Vladimir Guerrero AU EXCH JK2 Cal Ripken, Jr. AU EXCH JK3 Greg Maddux JK4 Chipper Jones ALL EXCH JK5 Roger Clemens AU EXCH JK6 George Brett JK7 Tom Seaver JK8 Nolan Ryan AU EXCH JK9 Stan Musial JK10 Ozzie Smith ALL EXCH
Recollection Collection (7 autographed cards)!!!
Both Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds each signed 100 cards for random inclusion in the 2001 Donruss set. All of A-Rod's cards packed out as exchange cards, which makes sense since 70 of the 100 cards he signed were 2001 Donruss cards. (For the record, he signed 30 "2000" Retroactive inserts and 40 '01 base cards). 50 of the 100 cards Barry Bonds signed were sent to collectors who pulled a redemption card for an autographed Bat King. Since there were only 50 redemption cards, it is unclear what happened to the other 50 cards Donruss said Bonds signed.
'88 Barry Bonds 25 '89 Barry Bonds 25 '90 Barry Bonds 50 '97 Alex Rodriguez 10 '98 Alex Rodriguez 20 '00Ret Alex Rodriguez 30 '01 Alex Rodriguez 40
Autographed Rookie Reprints (26 autographed cards)
Much like the Autographed Diamond King Reprints, this 26-card set partially parallels the Rookie Reprint set. All cards are serial numbered to the year of the player's rookie card, minus 1900.
21 of the 26 cards packed out as redemptions, one of which was redeemable for an autograph of a player not represented in the Rookie Reprint set. Donruss was unable to get David Wells to sign, so redemption card #RR24 was fulfilled with an autographed reprint of Luis Gonzalez's 1991 Donruss card (numbered to 91 copies). Since there were only 88 redemption cards, it is unclear what happened to the three extra cards Gonzalez signed -- if he signed them at all.
RR1 Cal Ripken, Jr. 82 RR2 Wade Boggs EXCH 83 RR3 Tony Gwynn 83 RR4 Ryne Sandberg 83 RR5 Don Mattingly EXCH 84 RR6 Joe Carter 84 RR7 Roger Clemens EXCH 85 RR8 Kirby Puckett EXCH 85 RR9 Orel Hershiser EXCH 85 RR10 Andres Galarraga EXCH 86 RR15 Barry Bonds EXCH 87 RR16 Kevin Brown EXCH 87 RR17 David Cone EXCH 87 RR18 Rafael Palmeiro EXCH 87 RR20 Bo Jackson EXCH 87 RR21 Greg Maddux 87 RR22 Roberto Alomar EXCH 88 RR24 Luis Gonzalez EXCH 91 RR25 Tom Glavine EXCH 88 RR28 Randy Johnson EXCH 89 RR29 Gary Sheffield EXCH 89 RR31 Curt Schilling EXCH 89 RR35 Juan Gonzalez EXCH 90 RR36 Dave Justice 90 RR37 Ivan Rodriguez EXCH 91 RR39 Manny Ramirez EXCH 92
