Baseball Rookie Cards
This article explains the various definitions of baseball rookie card and the benefits of collecting baseball rookie cards.
Baseball rookie card is a status given to the first time appearance of an athlete on the front side of a baseball trading card. The card itself is a “rookie” and not normally the athlete who’s appearance happens on the card.
Another definition of a rookie baseball card is based on the athlete’s own rookie status and a baseball for that athlete would normally have been issued prior to or during his rookie year. A rookie year typically is the first professional season of a player. Another classification of a baseball rookie card uses the status of the manufacturer who issues the baseball trading card. This would mean that a top notch licensed trading card issuer has for the first time printed a card of an athlete under their banner. This could mean that the same athlete can theoretically have a rookie baseball card from other issuers and there can be 3 or more cards when there are multiple manufacturers issuing them.
Manufacturers identify their rookie cards by embossing their logos on the front of the card. Baseball card collection can become a very interesting and remunerative hobby as at some point in time each of these rookie cards could become rare because either the athlete is no longer playing or because they have changed leagues or because there are no more manufacturers printing further editions of those cards. A rookie baseball card like this will sell and trade on sites like eBay and can rake in many dollars for their owners. The rarer the card is, the greater is the price it will fetch.
Normally, hobby collectors keep establishing their net worth by checking out the indicative prices on eBay. They may also place bids to increase their own collection. So what was meant to be a simple trading card for fun and at best as a memorabilia, has become a great financial instrument. Card issuers like Upper Deck and Topps have started encouraging hobbyists to register their cards. This is their way of providing unique identification and branding to the baseball card. There are standards and rules for holding and organizing their collection and with the availability of an online channel like internet sites, there are now rules being created for trading, selling, transferring as well. The baseball rookie card is a mini industry now with regulations even being designed around when a player is actually eligible for a rookie baseball card issuance. This is one of most unique cases of a hobby becoming an organized trade in itself.
The baseball game is an interesting game both on and off the field and rookie baseball card trading is just another way of maintaining and monetizing that interest.
