3000 K Club registry set Pedro Martinez 2 away...

digicat

Which of his "rookie cards" should be used in this registry set once he gets there?

Pedro has only 1 1991 card, which is his Upper Deck Final Update, however, it seems like his 1992 Bowman card is a little more popular.

Precedent has already been set that popularity is the key.

In the 3000 Hit set, Cal Ripken's 82 Topps Traded card is used (though he has a base card in the main 82 Topps set).
In the 500 HR set, Barry Bonds' 87 Fleer card is used (though he has cards from 86).

five7teen

With only one card in 1991, I think that card is the only one to consider for "rookie" card sets. Sure it might not be his most visually appealing or popular card, but I think it's his RC nonetheless.

shagrotn77

Disagree, Digicat. The precedent has already been set that a player's most valuable mainstream rookie card is the one that should be used in key rookie card sets. In the Post-War HOF Rookies set, Ripken's Topps issue, not his Topps Traded issue, is used, and rightfully so. And the 1984 Fleer Update releases are used as key rookie cards for both Roger Clemens (3,000 K's set) and Kirby Puckett (Post War HOF Rookies set). This whole XRC thing doesn't fly with many collectors, myself included. How could it be justified to use Clemens' 84 Fleer Update and not Pedro's '91 UDFE card in the 3,000 K's set? Pedro only had one '91 card, so this is an absolutely easy one. Is his '92 Bowman card more valuable? Sure. But it's not a rookie card. We need to stay consistent.

And as for Bonds, I, also like many other collectors, consider '86 Fleer Update to be his key rookie card. The man had 4 rookie cards in '86, so I don't see how an '87 card could be considered a rookie. Again, '87 Fleer Fleer is slightly most valuable and more popular, but it aint a rookie.

Beckett is to blame for all this XRC and RC stuff. It's just so silly.

digicat

<< <i>Disagree, Digicat. The precedent has already been set that a player's most valuable mainstream rookie card is the one that should be used in key rookie card sets. >>



Ripken's "Future Stars" base card is used in the HOF Post War Rookies set, however, his 82 Topps Traded card is used in the 3000 hit rookie set.



<< <i>How could it be justified to use Clemens' 84 Fleer Update and not Pedro's '91 UDFE card in the 3,000 K's set? >>



Apparently the same way they justified using the 1987 Fleer Bonds card for the 500 HR rookie set, as opposed to one of his 1986 cards.

five7teen

I find it somewhat frustrating that there are a number of inconsistencies in the various Registry sets - whether it's the issue highlighted in this thread, or others. In the post-war HOF Rookies set for example, the '48 Leaf Spahn is used, the '48 Bowman Musial is used, but either the '48 Leaf or Bowman for Kiner can be used. All three players have cards in both sets. It's very possible that I'm not up to speed on the vagaries of the two sets, but the lack of a consistent choice is frustrating and puzzling. For modern players, I think it's likely to be even more confusing, as some players have only one card in a certain year (Pedro Martinez is one, but Barry Larkin with the 1986 Sportflics is another if I'm not mistaken), when their cards from the following year might be considered more "popular."

sagard

The 1991 card is cool. We'll just say it was widely distributed so it doesn't have to cost and arm and leg.

digicat

<< <i>The 1991 card is cool. We'll just say it was widely distributed so it doesn't have to cost and arm and leg. >>



You can get PSA 10s for less than $12 / dlvd on Ebay.