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.
Reviews
Insertion Ratio Martix
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 (RC)
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 and Donruss pulled his card from production. It is unclear whose 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 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 (RC) 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 (RC)
196 Billy Sylvester
197 Juan Uribe
198 Eric Valent
199 Carlos Valderrama
200 Matt White
Fan Club
Each Fan Club subset card was seeded into packs at the rate of 1:24. Although not serial-numbered, it is believed that 5000 copies of each were produced.
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 Valderrama 137
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 Valderrama 13
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 and was exclusive to Hobby packs.
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." 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