Revision as of 04:56, 5 April 2011

Description

2001 Donruss is a 220-card set released in May, 2001. It was the first "Donruss" branded card set since their previous owner, Pinnacle Brands went bankrupt in the Summer of 1998, and the first product released by the newly rechristened "Donruss-Playoff" since acquiring an MLB/MLBPA license in February 2001.

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.

Distribution

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.

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 label.

NOTE: Hobby dealers were limited to only one six-box case.

Retail Wax: 5 cards, plus one individually wrapped "2000" Retroactive card per pack (MSRP $1.99).

17 packs per Blaster box (MSRP $19.99).

Reviews

Insertion Ratio Matrix

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Hobby Odds	Retail Odds
Base	220	-	?	?
short-set	150	-	?	?
Rated Rookies	48	2001	1:24	1:24
Rated Rookies Redemptions	2	500	?	?
Fan Club	20	5000	1:24	1:24
Career Stat Lines	220	varies	?	?
Season Stat Lines	220	varies	?	?
"1999" Retro short-set	80	-	1:1	N/A
"1999" Retro Rookies	20	1999	1:24	N/A
"1999" Retro Career Stat Lines	100	varies	1:24	N/A
"1999" Retro Season Stat Lines	100	varies	1:24	N/A
"1999" Retro Diamond Kings	5	2500	1:24	N/A
"1999" Retro Diamond Kings Studio Series	5	250	1:144	N/A
"2000" Retro short-set	80	-	N/A	1:1
"2000" Retro Rookies	20	2000	N/A	1:24
"2000" Retro Career Stat Lines	100	varies	N/A	1:24
"2000" Retro Season Stat Lines	100	varies	N/A	1:24
"2000" Retro Diamond Kings	5	2500	N/A	1:24
"2000" Retro Diamond Kings Studio Series	5	250	N/A	1:24
All-Time Diamond Kings	10	2500	?	?
All-Time Diamond Kings Studio Series	10	250	?	?
Diamond Kings	20	2500	?	?
Diamond Kings Studio Series	20	250	?	?
Elite Series	20	2500	?	?
Elite Dominators	20	25	?	?
Longball Leaders	20	1000	?	?
Production Line	60	from 316 to 1061	?	?
Production Line Die-Cut	60	100	?	?
Diamond Kings Reprints	20	from 1982 to 1989	?	?
Rookie Reprints	40	from 1982 to 1992	?	?
Bat Kings	10	200	?	?
Bat Kings Autographed	10	50	?	?
Jersey Kings	10	250	?	?
Jersey Kings Autographed	10	50	?	?
All-Time Diamond Kings Autographed	10	50	?	?
Diamond Kings Autographed	11	50	?	?
Diamond Kings Reprints Autographed	20	from 82 to 89	?	?
Rookie Reprints Autographed	26	from 82 to 92	?	?
Recollection Collection Autographs	7	from 10 to 50	?	?
"2000" Alex Rodriguez Autographed Diamond King	1	50	N/A	?

Checklist

Base Set

Short Set

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 (RC)

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 O'Neill

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

Note: 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 and Donruss pulled his card from production. It is unclear whose 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 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

151 Brent Abernathy

152 Cory Aldridge

153 Gene Altman

154 Josh Beckett

155 Wilson Betemit

156 Albert Pujols (RC) 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 (RC)

196 Billy Sylvester

197 Juan Uribe

198 Eric Valent

199 Carlos Valderrama

200 Matt White

Fan Club

Each Fan Club subset card was seeded into packs at the rate of 1:24. Although not serial-numbered, it is believed that 5000 copies of each 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

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

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 41
2 Barry Bonds 49
3 Cal Ripken, Jr. 56
4 Chipper Jones 36
5 Derek Jeter 73
6 Troy Glaus 47
7 Frank Thomas 43
8 Greg Maddux 19
9 Ivan Rodriguez 83
10 Jeff Bagwell 47
11 Jose Canseco 49
12 Todd Helton 59
13 Ken Griffey, Jr. 40
14 Manny Ramirez 92
15 Mark McGwire 32
16 Mike Piazza 90
17 Nomar Garciaparra 96
18 Pedro Martinez 174
19 Randy Johnson 19
20 Rick Ankiel 11
21 Rickey Henderson 36
22 Roger Clemens 188
23 Sammy Sosa 50
24 Tony Gwynn 41
25 Vladimir Guerrero 44
26 Eric Davis 77
27 Roberto Alomar 40
28 Mark Mulder 19
29 Pat Burrell 27
30 Harold Baines 72
31 Carlos Delgado 41
32 J.D. Drew 73
33 Jim Edmonds 42
34 Darin Erstad 39
35 Jason Giambi 43
36 Tom Glavine 91
37 Juan Gonzalez 30
38 Mark Grace 75
39 Shawn Green 99
40 Tim Hudson 20
41 Andruw Jones 36
42 Dave Justice 41
43 Jeff Kent 33
44 Barry Larkin 71
45 Pokey Reese 29
46 Mike Mussina 11
47 Hideo Nomo 181
48 Rafael Palmeiro 39
49 Adam Piatt 5
50 Scott Rolen 89
51 Gary Sheffield 43
52 Bernie Williams 30
53 Bob Abreu 10
54 Edgardo Alfonzo 94
55 Jermaine Clark 23
56 Albert Belle 23
57 Craig Biggio 101
58 Andres Galarraga 100
59 Edgar Martinez 37
60 Fred McGriff 18
61 Magglio Ordonez 32
62 Jim Thome 33
63 Matt Williams 102
64 Kerry Wood 132
65 Moises Alou 30
66 Brady Anderson 89
67 Garret Anderson 40
68 Tony Armas 59
69 Tony Batista 32
70 Jose Cruz 32
71 Carlos Beltran 92
72 Adrian Beltre 30
73 Kris Benson 10
74 Lance Berkman 76
75 Kevin Brown 13
76 Jay Buhner 92
77 Jeromy Burnitz 31
78 Ken Caminiti 63
79 Sean Casey 151
80 Luis Castillo 180
81 Eric Chavez 139
82 Jeff Cirillo 115
83 Bartolo Colon 15
84 David Cone 120
85 Freddy Garcia 79
86 Johnny Damon 136
87 Ray Durham 121
88 Jermaine Dye 33
89 Juan Encarnacion 158
90 Terrence Long 18
91 Carl Everett 149
92 Steve Finley 151
93 Cliff Floyd 126
94 Brad Fullmer 142
95 Brian Giles 111
96 Luis Gonzalez 31
97 Rusty Greer 117
98 Jeffrey Hammonds 152
99 Mike Hampton 151
100 Orlando Hernandez 141
101 Richard Hidalgo 44
102 Geoff Jenkins 155
103 Jacque Jones 149
104 Brian Jordan 129
105 Gabe Kapler 134
106 Eric Karros 146
107 Jason Kendall 112
108 Adam Kennedy 159
109 Byung-Hyun Kim 111
110 Ryan Klesko 140
111 Chuck Knoblauch 75
112 Paul Konerko 156
113 Carlos Lee 107
114 Kenny Lofton 30
115 Javy Lopez 224
116 Tino Martinez 147
117 Ruben Mateo 7
118 Kevin Millwood 168
119 Ben Molina 133
120 Raul Mondesi 24
121 Trot Nixon 118
122 John Olerud 103
123 Paul O'Neill 160
124 Chan Ho Park 18
125 Andy Pettitte 125
126 Jorge Posada 28
127 Mark Quinn 20
128 Aramis Ramirez 65
129 Mariano Rivera 36
130 Tim Salmon 34
131 Curt Schilling 11
132 Richie Sexson 14
133 John Smoltz 156
134 J.T. Snow 152
135 Jay Payton 17
136 Shannon Stewart 21
137 B.J. Surhoff 157
138 Mike Sweeney 144
139 Fernando Tatis 18
140 Miguel Tejada 30
141 Jason Varitek 111
142 Greg Vaughn 117
143 Mo Vaughn 36
144 Robin Ventura 84
145 Jose Vidro 51
146 Omar Vizquel 176
147 Larry Walker 97
148 David Wells 166
149 Rondell White 111
150 Preston Wilson 31
151 Brent Abernathy RR 130
152 Cory Aldridge RR 100
153 Gene Altman RR 6
154 Josh Beckett RR 61
155 Wilson Betemit RR 89
156 Albert Pujols RR EXCH 17
156 Albert Pujols RR EXCH AU
157 Joe Crede RR 5
158 Jack Cust RR 131
159 Ben Sheets RR EXCH 8
159 Ben Sheets RR EXCH AU
160 Alex Escobar RR 126
161 Adrian Hernandez RR 8
162 Pedro Feliz RR 2
163 Nate Frese RR 126
164 Carlos Garcia RR 14
165 Marcus Giles RR 133
166 Alexis Gomez RR 117
167 Jason Hart RR 31
168 Eric Hinske RR 20
169 Cesar Izturis RR 95
170 Nick Johnson RR 145
171 Mike Young RR 155
172 Brian Lawrence RR 165
173 Steve Lomasney RR 8
174 Nick Maness RR 127
175 Jose Mieses RR 17
176 Greg Miller RR 10
177 Eric Munson RR 1
178 Xavier Nady RR 1
179 Blaine Neal RR 65
180 Abraham Nunez RR 51
181 Jose Ortiz RR 2
182 Jeremy Owens RR 16
183 Pablo Ozuna RR 8
184 Corey Patterson RR 2
185 Carlos Pena RR 117
186 Wily Mo Pena RR 10
187 Timo Perez RR 14
188 Adam Pettyjohn RR 68
189 Luis Rivas RR 18
190 Jackson Melian RR 73
191 Wilken Ruan RR 165
192 Duaner Sanchez RR 121
193 Alfonso Soriano RR 2
194 Rafael Soriano RR 90
195 Ichiro Suzuki RR 153
196 Billy Sylvester RR 16
197 Juan Uribe RR 22
198 Eric Valent RR 22
199 Carlos Valderrama RR 137
200 Matt White RR 126
201 Alex Rodriguez FC 132
202 Barry Bonds FC 147
203 Cal Ripken, Jr. FC 83
204 Chipper Jones FC 118
205 Derek Jeter FC 31
206 Troy Glaus FC 160
207 Frank Thomas FC 143
208 Greg Maddux FC 190
209 Ivan Rodriguez FC 27
210 Jeff Bagwell FC 132
211 Todd Helton FC 42
212 Ken Griffey, Jr. FC 141
213 Manny Ramirez FC 122
214 Mark McGwire FC 72
215 Mike Piazza FC 113
216 Pedro Martinez FC 7
217 Sammy Sosa FC 106
218 Tony Gwynn FC 12
219 Vladimir Guerrero FC 123
220 Nomar Garciaparra FC 21

Career Stat Line

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 194
2 Barry Bonds 69
3 Cal Ripken, Jr. 277
4 Chipper Jones 204
5 Derek Jeter 153
6 Troy Glaus 224
7 Frank Thomas 328
8 Greg Maddux 240
9 Ivan Rodriguez 288
10 Jeff Bagwell 167
11 Jose Canseco 198
12 Todd Helton 107
13 Ken Griffey, Jr. 33
14 Manny Ramirez 236
15 Mark McGwire 248
16 Mike Piazza 199
17 Nomar Garciaparra 117
18 Pedro Martinez 268
19 Randy Johnson 319
20 Rick Ankiel 233
21 Rickey Henderson 282
22 Roger Clemens 260
23 Sammy Sosa 231
24 Tony Gwynn 338
25 Vladimir Guerrero 322
26 Eric Davis 278
27 Roberto Alomar 304
28 Mark Mulder 88
29 Pat Burrell 260
30 Harold Baines 49
31 Carlos Delgado 214
32 J.D. Drew 224
33 Jim Edmonds 186
34 Darin Erstad 87
35 Jason Giambi 181
36 Tom Glavine 208
37 Juan Gonzalez 294
38 Mark Grace 148
39 Shawn Green 100
40 Tim Hudson 31
41 Andruw Jones 116
42 Dave Justice 246
43 Jeff Kent 274
44 Barry Larkin 300
45 Pokey Reese 229
46 Mike Mussina 353
47 Hideo Nomo 397
48 Rafael Palmeiro 36
49 Adam Piatt 299
50 Scott Rolen 50
51 Gary Sheffield 279
52 Bernie Williams 278
53 Bob Abreu 117
54 Edgardo Alfonzo 296
55 Jermaine Clark 133
56 Albert Belle 295
57 Craig Biggio 160
58 Andres Galarraga 291
59 Edgar Martinez 235
60 Fred McGriff 20
61 Magglio Ordonez 301
62 Jim Thome 233
63 Matt Williams 292
64 Kerry Wood 21
65 Moises Alou 229
66 Brady Anderson 299
67 Garret Anderson 297
68 Tony Armas 61
69 Tony Batista 279
70 Jose Cruz 47
71 Carlos Beltran 159
72 Adrian Beltre 174
73 Kris Benson 21
74 Lance Berkman 127
75 Kevin Brown 321
76 Jay Buhner 308
77 Jeromy Burnitz 156
78 Ken Caminiti 331
79 Sean Casey 312
80 Luis Castillo 251
81 Eric Chavez 241
82 Jeff Cirillo 311
83 Bartolo Colon 51
84 David Cone 184
85 Freddy Garcia 249
86 Johnny Damon 352
87 Ray Durham 371
88 Jermaine Dye 319
89 Juan Encarnacion 41
90 Terrence Long 80
91 Carl Everett 149
92 Steve Finley 254
93 Cliff Floyd 326
94 Brad Fullmer 232
95 Brian Giles 301
96 Luis Gonzalez 329
97 Rusty Greer 307
98 Jeffrey Hammonds 341
99 Mike Hampton 344
100 Orlando Hernandez 41
101 Richard Hidalgo 345
102 Geoff Jenkins 64
103 Jacque Jones 242
104 Brian Jordan 124
105 Gabe Kapler 32
106 Eric Karros 242
107 Jason Kendall 214
108 Adam Kennedy 264
109 Byung-Hyun Kim 142
110 Ryan Klesko 165
111 Chuck Knoblauch 293
112 Paul Konerko 207
113 Carlos Lee 316
114 Kenny Lofton 306
115 Javy Lopez 130
116 Tino Martinez 229
117 Ruben Mateo 271
118 Kevin Millwood 50
119 Ben Molina 15
120 Raul Mondesi 212
121 Trot Nixon 27
122 John Olerud 367
123 Paul O'Neill 260
124 Chan Ho Park 388
125 Andy Pettitte 100
126 Jorge Posada 382
127 Mark Quinn 167
128 Aramis Ramirez 12
129 Mariano Rivera 165
130 Tim Salmon 231
131 Curt Schilling 110
132 Richie Sexson 325
133 John Smoltz 157
134 J.T. Snow 151
135 Jay Payton 151
136 Shannon Stewart 216
137 B.J. Surhoff 359
138 Mike Sweeney 302
139 Fernando Tatis 258
140 Miguel Tejada 254
141 Jason Varitek 37
142 Greg Vaughn 320
143 Mo Vaughn 299
144 Robin Ventura 227
145 Jose Vidro 191
146 Omar Vizquel 260
147 Larry Walker 271
148 David Wells 161
149 Rondell White 167
150 Preston Wilson 303
151 Brent Abernathy RR 22
152 Cory Aldridge RR 33
153 Gene Altman RR 351
154 Josh Beckett RR 212
155 Wilson Betemit RR 15
156 Albert Pujols RR EXCH 154
156 Albert Pujols RR EXCH AU
157 Joe Crede RR 357
158 Jack Cust RR 66
159 Ben Sheets RR EXCH 159
159 Ben Sheets RR EXCH AU
160 Alex Escobar RR 45
161 Adrian Hernandez RR 86
162 Pedro Feliz RR 286
163 Nate Frese RR 119
164 Carlos Garcia RR 106
165 Marcus Giles RR 320
166 Alexis Gomez RR 24
167 Jason Hart RR 303
168 Eric Hinske RR 332
169 Cesar Izturis RR 60
170 Nick Johnson RR 308
171 Mike Young RR 37
172 Brian Lawrence RR 281
173 Steve Lomasney RR 229
174 Nick Maness RR 25
175 Jose Mieses RR 265
176 Greg Miller RR 328
177 Eric Munson RR 3
178 Xavier Nady RR 1
179 Blaine Neal RR 296
180 Abraham Nunez RR 38
181 Jose Ortiz RR 7
182 Jeremy Owens RR 273
183 Pablo Ozuna RR 333
184 Corey Patterson RR 11
185 Carlos Pena RR 52
186 Wily Mo Pena RR 114
187 Timo Perez RR 49
188 Adam Pettyjohn RR 20
189 Luis Rivas RR 310
190 Jackson Melian RR 26
191 Wilken Ruan RR 215
192 Duaner Sanchez RR 19
193 Alfonso Soriano RR 50
194 Rafael Soriano RR 13
195 Ichiro Suzuki RR 106
196 Billy Sylvester RR 11
197 Juan Uribe RR 157
198 Eric Valent RR 342
199 Carlos Valderrama RR 13
200 Matt White RR 31
201 Alex Rodriguez FC 189
202 Barry Bonds FC 289
203 Cal Ripken, Jr. FC 44
204 Chipper Jones FC 204
205 Derek Jeter FC 108
206 Troy Glaus FC 204
207 Frank Thomas FC 344
208 Greg Maddux FC 283
209 Ivan Rodriguez FC 304
210 Jeff Bagwell FC 310
211 Todd Helton FC 137
212 Ken Griffey, Jr. FC 173
213 Manny Ramirez FC 313
214 Mark McGwire FC 6
215 Mike Piazza FC 278
216 Pedro Martinez FC 125
217 Sammy Sosa FC 244
218 Tony Gwynn FC 84
219 Vladimir Guerrero FC 124
220 Nomar Garciaparra FC 333

Inserts

Expired Set Redemption 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 and was exclusive to Hobby packs.

Retroactive

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

Overall odds of finding a "1999" Retroactive short set card, Rated Rookie, Stat Line, or "1999" Diamond King: one-per hobby pack.

Short Set

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

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

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 273

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 305

18 Derek Jeter 308

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 179

27 Raul Mondesi

28 Todd Helton

29 Magglio Ordonez

30 Sean Casey

31 Jeromy Burnitz

32 Jeff Kent

33 Jim Edmonds

34 Jim Thome 163

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 384

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

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. 163

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 159

61 Troy Glaus

62 Jose Canseco

63 Wade Boggs

64 Tom Glavine

65 Gabe Kapler

66 Juan Gonzalez

67 Rafael Palmeiro 121

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

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

Overall odds of finding a "2000" Retroactive short set card, Rated Rookie, Stat Line, or "2000" Diamond King: one-per retail pack.

Short Set

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

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 fulfilled with Sheets, and Sheets' original card (#95) was fulfilled by Suzuki. Confused yet? Well both the Sheets and Suzuki exchange cards -- the ones mailed back to collectors -- were numbered as "95." 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

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. 320

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 283

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 194

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 300

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

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 183

25 Javy Lopez

26 Ray Durham

27 Todd Helton

28 Magglio Ordonez

29 Sean Casey

30 Darin Erstad

31 Barry Larkin 75

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 44

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

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

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

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 designated with an asterisk (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

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

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

Set features the twenty top homerun hitters from the 2000 season. Each is numbered to 1000 copies, with a die-cut Season Production parallel numbered to the home runs hit (listed below in parenthesis) in the 2000 season.

LL1 Vladimir Guerrero (44)

LL2 Alex Rodriguez (41)

LL3 Barry Bonds (49)

LL4 Troy Glaus (47)

LL5 Frank Thomas (43)

LL6 Jeff Bagwell (47)

LL7 Todd Helton (42)

LL8 Ken Griffey Jr. (40)

LL9 Manny Ramirez (38)

LL10 Mike Piazza (38)

LL11 Sammy Sosa (50)

LL12 Carlos Delgado (41)

LL13 Jim Edmonds (42)

LL14 Jason Giambi (43)

LL15 David Justice (41)

LL16 Rafael Palmeiro (39)

LL17 Gary Sheffield (43)

LL18 Jim Thome (37)

LL19 Tony Batista (41)

LL20 Richard Hidalgo (44)

Production Line

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

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

Autographed "2000" Retroactive Studio Series Diamond Kings

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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