Description

2001 Donruss The Rookies is a 105-card factory set that was distributed via a unique redemption program. Randomly inserted into packs of 2001 Donruss Baseball -- at the rate of 1:72/packs -- was a coupon that allowed the bearer to purchase the 2001 Donruss The Rookies (DTR) set directly from Donruss-Playoff for $24.99. It is believed that 10,000 such coupons were inserted into packs of '01 Donruss, but neither the coupon, nor the set are serial numbered.

The July 2006 edition of Beckett Baseball Card Monthly estimates that 46,000 sets were produced; however some in The Hobby have disputed this figure, and claim that the actual figure is much lower. http://blog.stalegum.com/2006/06/9200-pujols-rookie-diamond-kings-i.html

Each factory set included one of five Rookie Diamond King "inserts." The entire 105-card set, along with all five Rookie Diamond Kings, were also thrown into the Baseball's Best factory set.

The key rookie cards are of Mark Prior and Mark Teixeira. Both of these cards are notable as the Prior is one of only two non-short-printed rookie cards of the Cubs pitcher (the other is in Fleer Platinum XRC), and the Teixeira is his only non-SPed RC.

In addition to Prior, Teixeira, and just about every AA-level reliever and backup catcher you could possibly imagine, there are also big money cards of Ichiro Suzuki and Albert Pujols. Since both Ichiro and Pujols were included in the regular Donruss set, neither are considered True rookie cards.

Checklist

Base Set

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R1 Adam Dunn
R2 Ryan Drese RC
R3 Bud Smith RC
R4 Tsuyoshi Shinjo RC
R5 Roy Oswalt
R6 Wilmy Caceres RC*
R7 Willie Harris RC
R8 Andres Torres RC
R9 Brandon Knight RC
R10 Horacio Ramirez RC
R11 Benito Baez RC
R12 Jeremy Affeldt RC
R13 Ryan Jensen RC
R14 Casey Fossum RC
R15 Ramon Vazquez RC
R16 Dustan Mohr RC
R17 Saul Rivera RC
R18 Zach Day RC
R19 Erik Hiljus RC
R20 Cesar Crespo RC
R21 Wilson Guzman RC*
R22 Travis Hafner RC
R23 Grant Balfour RC
R24 Johnny Estrada RC
R25 Morgan Ensberg RC
R26 Jack Wilson RC
R27 Aubrey Huff
R28 Endy Chavez RC
R29 Delvin James RC
R30 Michael Cuddyer
R31 Jason Michaels RC
R32 Martin Vargas RC*
R33 Donaldo Mendez RC
R34 Jorge Julio RC
R35 Tim Spooneybarger RC
R36 Kurt Ainsworth
R37 Josh Fogg RC
R38 Brian Reith RC
R39 Rick Bauer RC
R40 Tim Redding
R41 Erick Almonte RC
R42 Juan A. Pena RC*
R43 Ken Harvey
R44 David Brous RC*
R45 Kevin Olsen RC
R46 Henry Mateo RC
R47 Nick Neugebauer RC
R48 Mike Penney RC*
R49 Jay Gibbons RC
R50 Tim Christman RC
R51 Brandon Duckworth RC
R52 Brett Jodie RC
R53 Christian Parker RC
R54 Carlos Hernandez
R55 Brandon Larson RC
R56 Nick Punto RC
R57 Elpidio Guzman RC*
R58 Joe Beimel RC
R59 Junior Spivey RC
R60 Will Ohman RC
R61 Brandon Lyon RC
R62 Stubby Clapp RC
R63 Justin Duchscherer RC
R64 Jimmy Rollins
R65 David Williams RC
R66 Craig Monroe RC
R67 Jose Acevedo RC
R68 Jason Jennings
R69 Josh Phelps
R70 Brian Roberts RC
R71 Claudio Vargas RC
R72 Adam Johnson
R73 Bart Miadich RC
R74 Juan Rivera
R75 Brad Voyles RC
R76 Nate Cornejo
R77 Juan Moreno RC
R78 Brian Rogers RC*
R79 Ricardo Rodriguez RC
R80 Geronimo Gil RC
R81 Joe Kennedy RC
R82 Kevin Joseph RC
R83 Josue Perez RC*
R84 Victor Zambrano RC
R85 Josh Towers RC
R86 Mike Rivera RC
R87 Mark Prior RC
R88 Juan Cruz RC
R89 Dewon Brazelton RC
R90 Angel Berroa RC
R91 Mark Teixeira RC
R92 Cody Ransom RC
R93 Angel Santos RC
R94 Corky Miller RC
R95 Brandon Berger RC
R96 Corey Patterson
R97 Albert Pujols
R98 Josh Beckett
R99 C.C. Sabathia
R100 Alfonso Soriano
R101 Ben Sheets
R102 Rafael Soriano
R103 Wilson Betemit RC
R104 Ichiro Suzuki
R105 Jose Ortiz

Inserts

Rookie Diamond Kings

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One of these five Rookie Diamond Kings was inserted into each factory set. The design is identical to the 2001 Donruss Diamond Kings, however these cards are not serial numbered.

The same issue of Beckett that estimates the production run of '01 DTR at 46,000 factory sets, also estimates that 9200 copies of each "RDK" were printed. Again, the figures quoted by Beckett have been disputed.

RDK-1 Diamond King - C.C. Sabathia
RDK-2 Tsuyoshi Shinjo DK
RDK-3 Albert Pujols DK
RDK-4 Diamond King - Roy Oswalt
RDK-5 Ichiro Suzuki