The Changing Face of Rookie Cards

I wrote he following article last October to help explain the new rookie baseball card guidelines and their affect on the hobby.

Lost in the uproar surrounding the demise of Fleer and Donruss losing its baseball card license is the changing face of rookie baseball cards. On a decree handed down by the Major League Baseball Player’s Association, players not on a 25-man roster will not be allowed to appear in base sets. Any rookie called to the majors after August 31 will not be available for use in current sets.

The new ruling, which will take affect with 2006 releases, is a tremendous blow to minor league aficionados and baseball card prospectors -- collectors who discovered Felix Hernandez’s mastery and Jeff Francoeur’s game long before July 2005.

Under the grandfather clause that gave Topps exclusive rights to sign non 40-man roster players to be included in mainstream sets, the manufacturer issued a ‘04 Topps Traded rookie card of Hernandez (#T144, selling for $6, Gold versions getting $21) and a ‘02 Bowman Draft card of Francoeur (#BDP23, selling for $12.50, chrome versions getting $53).

Hernandez and Francoeur have been spectacular since debuting in July, making their early rookie cards the most coveted of the season. If the new ruling had already taken affect, rookie cards of Hernandez and Francoeur would not have been released until this season. Would the demand be as great? Unlikely. Would the thrill of landing the top rookie cards be as exhilarating? No way. The hobby is in grave danger of alienating minor league prospectors, some of the hobby’s most active participators.

The MLBPA believes that the new rookie ruling will even the playing field between Topps and Upper Deck, the two manufacturers left standing after a summer of hobby discourse. The intent is to allow both manufacturers to reap the benefits of top rookies called to the majors during the season and to make rookie card collecting less confusing, but the playing field is not quite level and the confusion is mounting.

The MLBPA will allow Topps to issue non 40-man prospects in Bowman brand insert sets with no special provisions for Upper Deck. Bowman inserts will not have the official MLBPA rookie logo, but will they have a similar design as the “official” rookie cards? Will collectors, dealers, and price card editors consider these cards “inserts” or “rookies”?

With many questions still to be answered, expect more changes in the way we collect baseball cards next year or until the MLBPA realizes that the hobby’s participants determine the difference between “rookie” and “insert” cards.