2001 Donruss

Descrpition

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.

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

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 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. 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

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

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        

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 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        

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

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 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        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

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.

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        

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        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.        

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

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 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

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

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

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 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

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 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

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