Probably controversial, but here goes.
I don't know why anyone cares anymore.
Back when it was mostly just kids collecting, yes. A new player wouldn't have a following, and may not have gotten solidly into the lineup until a couple years after starting. Many kids only collected for 3-5 years some even less.
And when the cards got tossed or given away later on if any cards were saved, it would have been big stars and favorite players. So yes rookie cards were a bit harder to find.
But that hasn't been true for decades, at least since the earlier part of the mid 1980's. And many of the most talented players are "ready" almost right away.
So their rookie cards will get saved as a collectible in much higher proportions that in the past.
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