Rookie Cards of Baseball Hall of Famers

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by dougscats

If Pedro didn't pitch in the major leagues until 1992, then that is his rookie card, no?

My original post stated 1991; sorry.

No, rookie card is first appearance in licensed major league set such as Topps, Upper Deck, Fleer, etc. Many guys have RCs long before their major league debut. The rules about appearing in a set may have changed but back then you could picture a kid long before he played. Pedro's RC is 1991 Upper Deck Final Edition.

[glchen]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

No, rookie card is first appearance in licensed major league set such as Topps, Upper Deck, Fleer, etc. Many guys have RCs long before their major league debut. The rules about appearing in a set may have changed but back then you could picture a kid long before he played. Pedro's RC is 1991 Upper Deck Final Edition.

Is that the rule? I thought the rookie card rule was that the card listed the player on a Major League team? (as opposed to a minor team team or international team)

Edit: I guess these definitions are basically the same except Peter's stricter definition would exclude non-licensed sets like Panini from having "official" rookie cards.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by glchen

Is that the rule? I thought the rookie card rule was that the card listed the player on a Major League team? (as opposed to a minor team team or international team)

Edit: I guess these definitions are basically the same except Peter's stricter definition would exclude non-licensed sets like Panini from having "official" rookie cards.

I didn't even know Panini made baseball cards so I wasn't really speaking to that issue.

I can't even follow the really new stuff, I see for example 2008 cards saying Strasburg rookie from major manufacturers but then others from 2010 say rookie also.