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Collectors have various reasons for obtaining rookie cards. One, no doubt, is an untarnished love of the game or adoration for a particular player, but in recent years, a major motivation has been pure speculation. Some people deliberately invest in the rookie cards of unproven players, hoping they will become stars one day and that their card will skyrocket in value. The most dramatic example of this occurred in the summer of 2010 with the escalation of prices for Washington Nationals’ pitcher Stephen Strasburg’s cards. Before Strasburg had thrown his first major-league pitch, his cards were selling on eBay for thousands of dollars.
Rookie cards tend to be a player’s most valuable baseball cards, but that isn’t always the case. For example, Mickey Mantle’s 1952 Topps card is widely considered more sought-after than his 1951 Bowman rookie card. Nor is Babe Ruth’s 1915 M101-5 Sporting News rookie card his most desired. In recent years, the historical preoccupation among collectors for rookie cards has been further eroded by the advent of specialty cards, such as game-used-jersey or game-used-bat cards, as well as autographed cards.
Some stars never had rookie cards. Lou Gehrig, for one, debuted in the big leagues in 1923 but did not have a baseball card until a 1932 U.S. Caramel card. Some collectors consider a player’s first card his rookie card—for them, that ’32 U.S. Caramel is Gehrig’s rookie card—while others believe a player’s rookie card must be released during his first season.
In 2006 there was a minor clamor to standardize what constituted a rookie card—card companies complied. Now, no player is eligible to have a rookie card until he is a member of his team’s 40-man roster (as a footnote, a player can still be in the minor leagues and on a 40-man roster at the same time). Once a player achieves this milestone, his first card is given a rookie logo on the front. As for minor league players, they get “first year cards” which mark a player’s pro debut, albeit in the minors.
Interesting baseball diorama
Joe Dimaggio and Mel Allen signed bas…
1970 Topps #123 Pete Maravich Atlanta Hawks Rookie Rc Hof Psa 9 Mint Centered 
1963 Pete Rose Rookie Card Psa 8 Nm-mt
Henry (hank) Aaron Rookie 
1963 Topps Pete Rose Rookie High Number #537 Sgc 88 Nm/mt
1963 Topps Pete Rose Rookie #537 Psa 8
1933 Sport Kings #38 Bobby Jones Golf Rookie Rc Psa 6 Ex-mt 
Derek Jeter 1993 Sp #279 Foil Rookie Card Rc Bgs 9.5 Gem Mint Yankees
1982 Topps Traded Cal Ripken Jr. Rc Rookie #98t Bgs 9.5 Gem Mint
1973 Topps #615 Mike Schmidt Rookie Card Psa 9 Mint Hof
2011 Bowman Sterling Bryce Harper Rookie Auto Card #08/10
1955 Topps #164 Roberto Clemente Pirates Rookie Rc Hof Psa 4 , Looks Much Nicer
1979-80 O-pee-chee Opc #18 Wayne Gretzky Oilers Rookie Rc Hof Bvg 8.5 Centered
1975 Topps #228 George Brett Rookie Psa 9++ Mint Brilliant Card!! Hofame Great!
1955 Topps #123 Sandy Koufax Rookie Rc Brooklyn Dodgers Hof Bvg 7 Nm Centered
1982 Topps #98t Cal Ripken Jr Orioles Hof Rookie Rc Bgs 9.5 W/ 10 2x Centered
1969 Topps Reggie Jackson Rookie #260 Psa 8 Nm/mt
1952 Topps High #311 Mickey Mantle Rookie Psa 4 Vg-ex!
1955 Topps Roberto Clemente Rc Rookie Psa 5 Hof
1954 Topps #128 Hank Aaron Rookie Card
1952 Topps #326 George Shuba Psa 5 Ex Brooklyn Dodgers Rookie High Number Rc
1948 Bowman #6 Yogi Berra Rookie Hof Yankees Psa 6 *268769
Stan Musial, 2001 Bowman Rookie Reprints Autograph!!! /100, Bgs 9, Sweet Auto
2001 Fleer Triple Crown Albert Pujols Rc Rookie /2999 Psa 10 Gem Mint
2011 Leaf Valiant Joe Panik Red Refractor Autograph Rookie # 1/1 Superfractor
1984 Donruss #248 Don Mattingly Rookie Psa 10 Gem Mint Ny Yankees
1984 Donruss Don Mattingly Rc Rookie #248 Bgs 9.5 Gem Mint
Signed 1934 Goudey #6 Dizzy Dean ~psa/dna Hof Rookie Autograph~
Sandy Koufax 1955 Topps Rookie Card ( Beckett Graded 7)
1968 Topps Nolan Ryan Rookie Rc Psa 5
1974 Topps Dave Winfield #456 Psa 9 Rookie
Psa 10 2001 Bowman Albert Pujols Rc Rookie Cardinals
2011 Bowman Chrome Auto Rookie Bryce Harper Sp Rare #bcp111 Mint & Gradeable !
1949 Bowman #110 Early Wynn Cleveland Indians Hof Rookie Rc Psa 8 Nm-mt Centered
~rare~ 1899-00 Sporting News Supplements M101-1 Honus Wagner ~bgs Hof Rookie~
1955 Topps Sandy Koufax Rookie Card #123 (exmt) Clean Surface, No Creases
1963 Topps #537 Pete Rose Cincinnati Reds Rookie Stars Rc Psa 3 Very Good!
1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr #1 Psa 10 Gem Mint * Rookie *
Bryce Harper 2011 Bowman Chrome Bcp111 Rookie Autograph
1955 Topps Roberto Clemente Original Rookie Card
1982 Topps Traded Cal Ripken #98t Psa 9 Rookie
1955 Topps #164 Roberto Clemente - Rookie - Psa 3 (mc)
1973 Topps #615 Rookie 3rd Basemen Ron Cey John Hilton Mike Schmidt Psa Nm-mt 8
Unopened Box 1978 O Pee Chee Baseball Murray Rookie, Hard To Find
Nolan Ryan Rookie Card 1968 Topps # 177 Near Perfect Condition
1962 Topps #199 Gaylord Perry San Francisco Giants Rookie Rc Hof Psa 8 Nm-mt
1987 Bellingham #15 Ken Griffey Jr Mariners Rookie Rc Psa 10 Gem Mint
1971 Topps Thurman Munson All-star Rookie #5 Psa 7
2001 Topps Traded Albert Pujols Rc Rookie #t247 Psa 10 Gem Mint
1977 Topps Complete Set In Binder Ex Mint To Nm-mt With Murphy And Dawson Rookie
2008 Bowman Chrome Michael Stanton Rookie Auto Bgs 9.5 Gem Mint
Miguel Cabrera 2000 Topps Traded Rc Rookie Auto Sp $600 On Card Autograph
1961 Fleer #41 Don Meredith Rookie Card Psa 8 Nm-mt Nq (no Qualifier's) Nr 
1965 Topps #477 Steve Carlton Cardinals Rookie Rc Hof Psa 8 Nm-mt 
1982 Topps Cal Ripken Jr. Rc Rookie #21 Bgs 9.5 Gem Mint Rare
Psa 10 2001 Upper Deck Ablert Pujols Rc Rookie Cardinals
1965 Topps #581 Tony Perez Cincinnati Reds Rookie Rc Hof Psa 8 Nm-mt
