Description

2002 SP Authentic is a 230 card set was released in two separate series. The basic SP Authentic product (containing the first 170 cards) was issued in September, 2002. The final 60 cards (#171-#230) were distributed within packs of 2002 Upper Deck Rookie Update in mid-December, 2002. The product is notable for containing the first ever, certified autographed trading cards of Mark McGwire.

Cards #1-#90 featured veterans while cards #91-#170 were part of the Future Watch subset. Future Watch cards #91-#135 are serial-numbered to 1999 copies; while cards #136-#170 were signed by the player. Most of the autographed Future Watch cards were serial-numbered to 999 copies; while cards #146, #152 and #157 were printed to only 249 serial-numbered sets.

A typical 24-pack SP Authentic box should yield two Future Watch cards, one autographed Future Watch card, one USA Future Watch insert and a game jersey card.

There only notable rookies in the SP Authentic set are of Reed Johnson and Aaron Cook.

Rookie Update cards #201-#230 continued the Future Watch subset (focusing on rookies and prospects) and each card was serial-numbered to 1999.

Among the notable rookies in the Rookie Update series include Cliff Lee and Freddy Sanchez.

Distribution

SP Authentic Series: 24 packs per box, five cards per pack (MSRP: $4.99). Hobby only.

Rookie Update Series: 15 packs per box, four cards per pack. Hobby only.

Reviews

Old School Breaks

Insertion Ratios

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Odds
Base	230	-	?
short set	90	-	5:1
Future Watch	45	1999	1:12
Autographed Future Watch	35	249 or 999	1:24
Rookie Update Series short set	30	-	1:1
Rookie Update Series Future Watch	30	1999	1:7
Limited	170	125	?
Limited Gold	170	50	?
USA Future Watch	22	1999	?
Game Jersey	38	-	1:24
Game Jersey Gold	38	varies	?
Prospects Signatures	12	-	1:36
Chirography	27	-	1:72
Chirography Gold	25	varies	?
Big Mac Missing Link	5	25	?
Signed Big Mac	10	varies	?
Excellence	1	25	?
Sings of Greatness	1	one-of-one	?
Autographed Joe DiMaggio Poster Redemption	1	-	?

Checklist

Base Set

SP Authentic Series

1 Troy Glaus
2 Darin Erstad
3 Barry Zito
4 Eric Chavez
5 Tim Hudson
6 Miguel Tejada
7 Carlos Delgado
8 Shannon Stewart
9 Ben Grieve
10 Jim Thome
11 C.C. Sabathia
12 Ichiro
13 Freddy Garcia
14 Edgar Martinez
15 Bret Boone
16 Jeff Conine
17 Alex Rodriguez
18 Juan Gonzalez
19 Ivan Rodriguez
20 Rafael Palmeiro
21 Hank Blalock
22 Pedro Martinez
23 Manny Ramirez
24 Nomar Garciaparra
25 Carlos Beltran
26 Mike Sweeney
27 Randall Simon
28 Dmitri Young
29 Bob Higginson
30 Corey Koskie
31 Eric Milton
32 Torii Hunter
33 Joe Mays
34 Frank Thomas
35 Mark Buehrle
36 Magglio Ordonez
37 Kenny Lofton
38 Roger Clemens
39 Derek Jeter
40 Jason Giambi
41 Bernie Williams
42 Alfonso Soriano
43 Lance Berkman
44 Roy Oswalt
45 Jeff Bagwell
46 Craig Biggio
47 Chipper Jones
48 Greg Maddux
49 Gary Sheffield
50 Andruw Jones
51 Ben Sheets
52 Richie Sexson
53 Albert Pujols
54 Matt Morris
55 J.D. Drew
56 Sammy Sosa
57 Kerry Wood
58 Corey Patterson
59 Mark Prior
60 Randy Johnson
61 Luis Gonzalez
62 Curt Schilling
63 Shawn Green
64 Kevin Brown
65 Hideo Nomo
66 Vladimir Guerrero
67 Jose Vidro
68 Barry Bonds
69 Jeff Kent
70 Rich Aurilia
71 Preston Wilson
72 Josh Beckett
73 Mike Lowell
74 Roberto Alomar
75 Mo Vaughn
76 Jeromy Burnitz
77 Mike Piazza
78 Sean Burroughs
79 Phil Nevin
80 Bob Abreu
81 Pat Burrell
82 Scott Rolen
83 Jason Kendall
84 Brian Giles
85 Ken Griffey, Jr.
86 Adam Dunn
87 Sean Casey
88 Todd Helton
89 Larry Walker
90 Mike Hampton
91 Brandon Puffer FW RC 1999
92 Tom Shearn FW RC 1999
93 Chris Baker FW RC* 1999
94 Gustavo Chacin FW RC 1999
95 Joe Orloski FW RC* 1999
96 Mike A. Smith FW RC 1999
97 John Ennis FW RC 1999
98 John Foster FW RC 1999
99 Kevin Gryboski FW RC 1999
100 Brian Mallette FW RC 1999
101 Takahito Nomura FW RC 1999
102 So Taguchi FW RC 1999
103 Jeremy Lambert FW RC* 1999
104 Jason Simontacchi FW RC 1999
105 Jorge Sosa FW RC 1999
106 Brandon Backe FW RC 1999
107 P.J. Bevis FW RC* 1999
108 Jeremy Ward FW RC* 1999
109 Doug Devore FW RC 1999
110 Ron Chiavacci FW 1999
111 Ron Calloway FW RC 1999
112 Nelson Castro FW RC* 1999
113 Deivis Santos FW 1999
114 Earl Snyder FW RC 1999
115 Julio Mateo FW RC 1999
116 J.J. Putz FW RC 1999
117 Allan Simpson FW RC 1999
118 Satoru Komiyama FW RC 1999
119 Adam Walker FW RC* 1999
120 Oliver Perez FW RC 1999
121 Cliff Bartosh FW RC 1999
122 Todd Donovan FW RC* 1999
123 Elio Serrano FW RC* 1999
124 Pete Zamora FW RC* 1999
125 Mike Gonzalez FW RC 1999
126 Travis Hughes FW RC 1999
127 Jorge De La Rosa FW RC 1999
128 Anastacio Martinez FW RC 1999
129 Colin Young FW RC* 1999
130 Nate Field FW RC 1999
131 Tim Kalita FW RC* 1999
132 Julius Matos FW RC 1999
133 Terry Pearson FW RC 1999
134 Kyle Kane FW RC* 1999
135 Mitch Wylie FW RC* 1999
136 Rodrigo Rosario FW AU RC 999
137 Franklyn German FW AU RC 999
138 Reed Johnson FW AU RC 999
139 Luis Martinez FW AU RC 999
140 Michael Crudale FW AU RC 999
141 Francis Beltran FW AU RC 999
142 Steve Kent FW AU RC 999
143 Felix Escalona FW AU RC 999
144 Jose Valverde FW AU RC 999
145 Victor Alvarez FW AU RC 999
146 Kazuhisa Ishii FW AU RC 249
147 Jorge Nunez FW AU RC* 999
148 Eric Good FW AU RC* 999
149 Luis Ugueto FW AU RC 999
150 Matt Thornton FW AU RC 999
151 Wilson Valdez FW AU RC 999
153 Jaime Cerda FW AU RC 999
154 Mark Corey FW AU RC 999
155 Tyler Yates FW AU RC 999
156 Steve Bechler FW AU RC 999
157 Ben Howard FW AU RC 249
158 Anderson Machado FW AU RC 999
159 Jorge Padilla FW AU RC 999
160 Eric Junge FW AU RC 999
161 Adrian Burnside FW AU RC* 999
162 Josh Hancock FW AU RC 999
163 Chris Booker FW AU RC 999
164 Cam Esslinger FW AU RC* 999
165 Rene Reyes FW AU RC 999
166 Aaron Cook FW AU RC 999
167 Juan Brito FW AU RC 999
168 Miguel Ascencio FW AU RC 999
169 Kevin Frederick FW AU RC 999
170 Edwin Almonte FW AU RC 999
152 Hansel Izquierdo FW AU RC 249

Rookie Update Series

171 Erubiel Durazo
172 Junior Spivey
173 Geronimo Gil
174 Cliff Floyd
175 Brandon Larson
176 Aaron Boone
177 Shawn Estes
178 Austin Kearns
179 Joe Borchard
180 Russell Branyan
181 Jay Payton
182 Andres Torres
183 Andy Van Hekken
184 Alex Sanchez
185 Endy Chavez
186 Bartolo Colon
187 Raul Mondesi
188 Robin Ventura
189 Mike Mussina
190 Jorge Posada
191 Ted Lilly
192 Ray Durham
193 Brett Myers
194 Marlon Byrd
195 Vicente Padilla
196 Josh Fogg
197 Kenny Lofton
198 Scott Rolen
199 Jason Lane
200 Josh Phelps
201 Travis Driskill FW RC 1999
202 Howie Clark FW RC 1999
203 Mike Mahoney FW 1999
204 Brian Tallet FW RC 1999
205 Kirk Saarloos FW RC 1999
206 Barry Wesson FW RC 1999
207 Aaron Guiel FW RC 1999
208 Shawn Sedlacek FW RC 1999
209 Jose Diaz FW RC 1999
210 Jorge Nunez FW 1999
211 Danny Mota FW RC 1999
212 David Ross FW RC 1999
213 Jayson Durocher FW RC 1999
214 Shane Nance FW RC 1999
215 Wil Nieves FW RC 1999
216 Freddy Sanchez FW RC 1999
217 Alex Pelaez FW RC 1999
218 Jamey Carroll FW RC 1999
219 J.J. Trujillo FW RC 1999
220 Kevin Pickford FW RC 1999
221 Clay Condrey FW RC 1999
222 Chris Snelling FW RC 1999
223 Cliff Lee FW RC 1999
224 Jeremy Hill FW RC 1999
225 Jose Rodriguez FW RC 1999
226 Lance Carter FW RC 1999
227 Ken Huckaby FW RC 1999
228 Scott Wiggins FW RC 1999
229 Corey Thurman FW RC 1999
230 Kevin Cash FW RC 1999

Parallels

Each of the 170 SP Authentic Series cards (including the Future Watch and autographs) are available in the following parallels.

Limited (serial-numbered to 125 copies)

Limited Gold (serial-numbered to 50 copies)

Inserts

USA Future Watch

This 22-card set features members of the 2002 USA National Team. The design is similar to that of the base set Future Watch cards, but none are to be considered "true" rookies. Each card is serial-numbered to 1999 copies.

Autographs & Game-Used

NOTE: All autograph and game-used cards listed below were inserted into SP Authentic packs.

Game Jersey

Each of the 38 Game Jersey's is available in a Gold parallel. The Gold cards are serial-numbered to the player's uniform number and is listed below.

J-AJ Andruw Jones 25
J-AP Andy Pettitte 46
J-AR Alex Rodriguez 3
J-BW Bernie Williams 51
J-BZ Barry Zito 75
J-CC C.C. Sabathia 52
J-CD Carlos Delgado 25
J-CJ Chipper Jones 10
J-CS Curt Schilling 38
J-DE Darin Erstad 17
J-GM Greg Maddux 31
J-GS Gary Sheffield 11
J-IR Ivan Rodriguez 7
J-IS Ichiro Suzuki 51
J-JBA Jeff Bagwell 5
J-JBU Jeromy Burnitz 20
J-JE Jim Edmonds 15
J-JGO Juan Gonzalez 19
J-JGR Jason Giambi 25
J-JK Jason Kendall 18
J-JT Jim Thome 25
J-KG Ken Griffey, Jr. 30
J-KI Kazuhisa Ishii 17
J-MM Mark McGwire 25
J-MO Magglio Ordonez 30
J-MP Mike Piazza 31
J-MR Manny Ramirez 24
J-OV Omar Vizquel 13
J-PW Preston Wilson 44
J-RA Roberto Alomar 12
J-RC Roger Clemens 22
J-RJ Randy Johnson 51
J-RV Robin Ventura 19
J-SG Shawn Green 15
J-SR Scott Rolen 17
J-SS Sammy Sosa 21
J-TH Todd Helton 17
J-TS Tsuyoshi Shinjo 5

Chirography

Each of the 27 players (except Bret Boone and Tony Gwynn) is available in a Gold parallel. The Gold cards are serial-numbered to the player's uniform number and listed below.

Four players: Bret Boone, Tony Gywnn, Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa, packed out as exchange cards which expired September 10, 2005.

AD Adam Dunn 44
AG Alex Graman 76
AR Alex Rodriguez EXCH 3
BB Barry Bonds 25
BZ Barry Zito 75
CF Cliff Floyd 30
CS C.C. Sabathia 52
DE Darin Erstad 17
DM Doug Mientkiewicz 16
FG Freddy Garcia 34
HB Hank Blalock 12
IS Ichiro 51
JB John Buck 67
JG Jason Giambi 25
JL Jon Lieber 32
JM Joe Mays 25
KG Ken Griffey, Jr. 30
MBR Milton Bradley 24
MBU Mark Buehrle 56
MM Mark McGwire 25
MS Mike Sweeney 29
RS Richie Sexson 11
SB Sean Burroughs 21
SS Sammy Sosa EXCH 21
TG Tom Glavine 47

Prospects Signatures

P-AG Alex Graman
P-BH Bill Hall
P-DM Dustan Mohr
P-DW Danny Wright
P-JC Jose Cueto
P-JDE Jeff Deardorff
P-JDI Jose Diaz
P-KH Ken Huckaby
P-MG Matt Guerrier (pictured as a White Sox)
P-MS Marco Scutaro (pictured as a Brewer)
P-ST Steve Torrealba
P-XN Xavier Nady

Big Mac Missing Link

These autographed Mark McGwire cards are all in the style of SP/SP Authentic Chirography sets from 1998-2002. McGwire had never signed for a trading card company before coming to terms with Upper Deck in 2002. Each card is hand-numbered to 25 copies.

MMC Mark McGwire 1998 25
MM Mark McGwire 1999 25
MAM Mark McGwire 2000 25
SP-MM Mark McGwire 2001 25
MAMC Mark McGwire 2002 25

Signed Big Mac

This set features 10 Mark McGwire autographed cards. Each card is serial-numbered to the production figures listed.

MM1 Mark McGwire 1
MM2 Mark McGwire 25
MM3 Mark McGwire 5
MM4 Mark McGwire 4
MM5 Mark McGwire 12
MM6 Mark McGwire 70
MM7 Mark McGwire 4
MM8 Mark McGwire 7
MM9 Mark McGwire 5
MM10 Mark McGwire 16

Excellence

Randomly inserted into packs was an exchange card good for a card featuring six on-card autographs of Upper Deck spokemen. Only 25 exchange cards were produced and expired September 10, 2005.

AE Ken Griffey, Jr. / Sammy Sosa / Cal Ripken, Jr. / Jason Giambi / Mark McGwire / Ichiro EXCH 25

Signs of Greatness

Randomly inserted into packs, this "book" card features six autographs and only one copy was produced. An exchange card with a redemption deadline of September 10th, 2005 was placed into packs whereby the lucky collector received the card directly from Upper Deck via mail. The three dead players are all cuts; the three living players are on-card autographs.

SOG Babe Ruth / Joe DiMaggio / Mickey Mantle / Ken Griffey, Jr. / Sammy Sosa / Mark McGwire EXCH 1

Joe DiMaggio Autographed Poster

Randomly inserted into packs was an exchange card good for an autographed Joe DiMaggio poster. The exchange card expired August 8, 2005.