Top 10 MLB Rookies of the 2000s and their cards: Part 2
#5 Joe Mauer
A Minnesotan through and through, Joe Mauer was born in St. Paul and was a star athlete in baseball, basketball, and football. In fact, he had a scholarship to play quarterback at Florida State University. He was the only athlete to be selected as USA Today Player of the Year in baseball and football in the same season.
After originally committing to FSU football, Mauer decided to go the baseball route after being selected No. 1 overall in the 2001 MLB Draft by his hometown Twins. I think anyone would agree he made the right choice, and after making his debut in 2004 he would go on to win an MVP, three Gold Gloves, five Silver Slugger awards, six All-Star appearances and two batting titles...not to mention a first ballot hall of famer, the first on this top 10 list. He would start and finish his career with the Twins, and ironically is a parent to...a set of twins!
Although Mauer has a card in the 2004 Topps flagship set, and his 2002 Draft Picks card out of the 2002 set is probably his most well known early cards of his, his most valuable is his 2002 Bowman Chrome Autograph.
#4 Clayton Kershaw
Number four and the third pitcher on this list had early comparisons to Sandy Koufax. Clayton Kershaw, the workhorse of the Los Angeles Dodgers since he made his debut in 2008. Drafted in 2006 with the seventh overall selection, the Dallas, Tex. native shot through the minors in just two years. His resume' includes three Cy Young awards, 10 All-Star appearances. He's led the league in wins and strikeouts three times and led the league in ERA five times. He has a Triple Crown award and a World Series championship.
Kershaw's rookie card comes out the 2008 Topps flagship set. It has the rookie designation, a nice clean white border and a very young Kershaw, who made his debut a day before his 20th birthday.
#3 Miguel Cabrera
Miggy makes this list at number 3. Signed by the then Florida Marlins as an international free agent out of Venezuela, Miguel Cabrera shot through the minor leagues fast. Starting out as a shortstop eventually he found a home at third base. He made his debut with the Florida Marlins at 20 years old in June of 2003. He would help the team win the 2003 World Series five months later. Cabrera would finish his career in Detroit after being traded with Dontrelle Willis in December of 2007 for a crop of six prospects.
A sure-fire first ballot hall of famer, Cabrera has two MVP Awards, 12 All-Star appearances, seven Silver Slugger awards, a Triple Crown award and led the league multiple years in batting average, home runs, and RBI.
Cabrera's earliest card is from the 2000 Topps Traded set. At a time this card was released, Topps must have been trying to decide an official rule for the rookie designation, because although it says "Rookie Card" in the upper right corner, he wouldn't make his Major League debut for another three years.
#2 Albert Pujols
The choice between No. 1 and No. 2 on this list could have gone either way, a coin flip. But in the end Albert Pujols comes in at No. 2. Pujols, it could be argued, is the best pure hitter to make his debut in the 2000s.
Pujols was born in the Dominican Republic and emigrated with his family to New York. His family eventually settled in Missouri and landed at Maple Woods Community College. Pujols' story is one parallel to Tom Brady. A lesser known prospect who's uncertainties led to him dropping all the way to the 13th round in the 1999 MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. He made his debut in April of 2001.
Pujols, again a sure-fire first ballot hall of famer, would go on to win Rookie of the Year, three MVP awards, 11 All-Star appearances, two Gold Gloves, six Silver Sluggers, a batting champion, RBI champion and a two-time home run leader. He finished his career as a Cardinal after making stops in Los Angeles with both the Angels and Dodgers.
His rookie card comes out the 2001 Topps Traded set. A damage sensitive greed bordered card with the golden "Rookie Card" emblem in the upper right corner.
#1 Ichiro Suzuki
The newest member of the Baseball Hall of Fames tops our list. Ichiro Suzuki is a star on two continets. Born and raised in Japan he was a star in the NPB before coming over in 2001. Landing in Seattle with the Mariners in 2001 what did he do? Just earn Rookie of the Year AND the MVP of that season. Eventually he would be on 10 All-Star teams, win 10 Gold Glove awards, three Silver Slugger awards, and two batting championships.
Anyone who watched him can see why he's No. 1 on this list. He had a career average of .311, had speed and arm strength. Even a novice baseball fan could see he passes the eye test. He is the second on this list to be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame, elected just this year with 99.7 percent of the vote. He joked he would like to have a drink with the lone voter holdout!
His MLB Rookie card happened to be in the same set as No. 2 Albert Pujols, the 2001 Topps Traded set. In fact, the set includes a dual card with both Ichiro and Pujols. There is also a Chrome version of Ichiro's card. If you want to look earlier, Ichiro has a NBP card, card #239 in the 1993 BBM set.
After graduating from the University of North Dakota in 2008, Cole worked as an advertising copywriter until shifting to print journalism a few years later. Managing three weekly newspapers in the Dakotas, Cole won numerous awards from the North Dakota Newspaper Association including Best of the Dakotas and, their top award, General Excellence. He returned to collecting in 2021 and has since combined his passion for writing with his love of cards. Cole also writes for the Sports Cards Nonsense newsletter and has made guest appearances on multiple sports card collecting podcasts including Sports Cards Nonsense, and the Eephus Baseball Cards Podcast. IG: coleryan411 X: @colebenz