Let's talk about rookie cards
Sports card collectors can't seem to agree on rookie card definitions. What do you consider a rookie card?
Sports card collectors can't seem to agree on rookie card definitions. What do you consider a rookie card?
1996 Score #240
1996 Score #240
Derek Jeter has a unique rookie card scenario. Jeter qualified as a rookie in both 1995 and 1996, with Jeter winning Rookie of the Year in 1996. However, the hobby views his 1993 cards as his rookie cards. Given that rookie cards can't span multiple seasons, either his 1993 cards qualify or his 1995 cards. His 1996 cards are not eligible to be rookie cards under any conditions, even though he was the 1996 ROY.
1993 Upper Deck SP Foil #279
1993 Upper Deck SP Foil #279
Derek Jeter's 1993 rookie cards have very little debate surrounding them. They predate the rookie logo and prospect card rule from 2006. Card collectors view these pre-rookie year cards as his rookie cards, even though his MLB debut was in 1995, with many other prospects from that era receiving the same treatment. Jeter has a handful of 1993 cards, but Upper Deck SP foil rookie card is his most desirable.
1986 Topps Traded #11T
1986 Topps Traded #11T
Barry Bonds has an uncommon scenario with his rookie cards. His 1986 cards are included in Update/Traded sets though he played over 100 games during his 1986 rookie year. These sets are complete boxed sets that some collectors do not consider eligible to be true rookie cards. Beckett made the designation "XRC" for these cards, which it later abandoned (though cards with this designation were grandfathered into keeping it). A core tenant of "rookie cards" is that they can't span multiple years, so the 1986 traded/update card eligibility will dictate if the 1987 base set cards are eligible.
2021 Bowman's Best #49
2021 Bowman's Best #49
Like Wander Franco, Rodriguez has a 2021 Bowman's Best card that should have been labeled "prospect." Unlike Franco, Rodriguez had not yet begun his rookie year in 2021. Rodriguez has numerous 2022 cards with the rookie logo meeting all of the standard criteria to be a rookie card. If either the logo rule is enforced, or the card must be printed during the player's rookie year, the Bowman's Best card is not a rookie card.
