What is a Rookie Card?
Rookie Cards are typically the first base or regular issue card of a player from major licensed brands issued in the first year the player appears on cards. For example, John Doe appears on major league baseball card for the first time in 1998 in a major licensed brand from a major manufacturer. However, he also had a minor league card released in 1996. Since the minor league issue is not considered a major licensed brand nor major manufacturer, John Doe’s regular issue 1998 card would be considered his RC Just because a card may say something like “Rookie Prospect”, “Rated Rookie”, or “Star Rookie” across the card, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a rookie card. Conversely, if a card does not say “Rookie” on it somewhere, it may still be his rookie card. An example of a card not stating “rookie” and still being a rookie card is the Mike Piazza rookie card below. If you really want to know if a card is a rookie card or not, you’ll need to ask someone who is familiar with the hobby or look
