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

R1 Adam Dunn

R2 Ryan Dreese 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 RC

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

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 Duichscherer 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 UPD

R97 Albert Pujols UPD

R98 Josh Beckett UPD

R99 C.C. Sabathia UPD

R100 Alfonso Soriano UPD

R101 Ben Sheets UPD

R102 Rafael Soriano UPD

R103 Wilson Betemit UPD

R104 Ichiro Suzuki UPD

R105 Jose Ortiz UPD

Inserts

Rookie Diamond Kings

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.

RDK1 C.C. Sabathia

RDK2 Tsuyoshi Shinjo

RDK3 Albert Pujols

RDK4 Roy Oswalt

RDK5 Ichiro Suzuki