$100 Collections

One-Sheet Collections: 2000 Hits. Leaders By Position.

TheOne-SheetCollectionsideaisasimpleconceptwithinfinitepossibilities.Takeasingle nine-pocketsheetandareasonable$100budgetandbuildanine-cardcollectionwitha unifyingtheme.

Thisweek'scollectiontakesalookbackatthehitleadersateachpositionduringthe2000s, afollow-uptothe1990sversionthatwepublishedafewweeksago.

AllnineplayersarerepresentedbyaRookieCard,andwhileafewplayersonlyhadone option,othershadawidevarietytochoosefromtofilltheirslotinthiscollection.

1998 Bowman #428 Carlos Lee RC ($3)

Hits: 1,674

Aconsistentmiddle-of-the-orderpresencethroughouthiscareer,Leehad11seasonswith atleast20homeruns.Hehadfour30-homer,100-RBIcampaigns,reachingthose milestoneswiththeChicagoWhiteSox,HoustonAstrosandMilwaukeeBrewers.His durabilityhelpedhimrackuphits,andheplayedatleast150gamesin10of14seasons.

LeehassixdifferentRookieCards,themostvaluableofwhichisashort-printedcardinthe 1998LeafRookiesandStarsset.Therestcanbefoundforjustacoupledollarseach.

1993 SP #273 Johnny Damon FOIL RC ($8)

Hits: 1,745

JohnnyDamonwasanimpactfultable-setterwiththeKansasCityRoyals,Oakland Athletics,BostonRedSoxandNewYorkYankeesintheprimeofhiscareer,andhefinished with2,769hitsover18seasons.Hetalliedacareer-high214hitsinhisfinalseasonwith theRoyalsin2000beforehewastradedtoOakland.

HisonlyRookieCardisinthe1993SPset,anditispartofthe"PremierProspects"subset thatalsoincludesthemostvaluableDerekJeterrookie.

2001 Upper Deck #271 Ichiro Suzuki RC ($20)

Hits: 2,030

IchiroSuzukiledthemajorsinhitsduringthe2000sandhedidn'tevenjointheSeattle Marinersuntilthe2001season.HebeganhisMLBcareerwith10straight200-hitseasons, leadingtheAmericanLeagueinthatcategorysixtimesduringthedecade.Hetalliedthe singleseasonrecordwith262knocksduringthe2004campaign.Ichirowrappeduphis19yearcareerwith3,089hits.

Hehas49differentRookieCardsatawiderangeofdifferentpricepoints.Ichiro's2001 UpperDeckrookieremainsareasonablypricedoptionthatfitsperfectlyintothis collection.

1993 Topps #98 Derek Jeter RC ($20)

Hits: 1,940

Jeterhadeight200-hitseasonsduringhisHallofFamercareer,sixofwhichcameduring the2000swhenhetrailedonlyIchiroSuzukiinhitsforthedecade.Healsoadded116hits in93playoffgamesduringthesame,helpingtoleadtheYankeestoapairofWorldSeries titles.Jeterwrappeduphis20-yearcareerwith3,465hits.

HiseightdifferentRookieCardsareallmust-ownforcollectors.Andwhilethe1993SPand StadiumClubrookiescarryaloftypricetag,therestarerelativelyaffordable.

1996 Bowman #266 Livan Hernandez RC ($2)

Hits: 157

Witha.221careeraverage,38doublesand10homerunsin1,113plateappearances,Livan HernandezisoneofthebesthittingpitchersinMLBhistory.Theworkhorsestarterhadat least14hitsineightstraightseasonsduringthe2000s,includinga2001 campaignwhen hebatted.297with24knocksfortheSanFranciscoGiants.

HehassevenRookieCards,allofwhicharepricedatjustacouplebucks.Theexceptionis his1996FinestRCthatispartofthe"rare"portionofthechecklistwhichwerefound in1:24packs.

1998 Fleer Tradition Update #U77 Placido Polanco RC ($1)

Hits: 1,581

Oneofthemostunderratedplayersofthe2000s,PlacidoPolancobeganhisprocareerwith theSt.LouisCardinalsbeforehewastradedtothePhiladelphiaPhilliesintheScottRolen blockbusteratthe2002tradedeadline.Hewasoneofonly12playerswithatleast550hits overthefinalthreeyearsofthedecade.

HisonlytwoRookieCardsareinthe1998FleerTraditionand1998LeafRookiesandStars sets,thelatterofwhichisshort-printed.

1994 Flair #340 Alex Rodriguez RC ($15)

Hits: 1,740

AlexRodriguezspentthefirstfourseasonsofthe2000splayingshortstopwiththeSeattle MarinersandTexasRangers.HeshiftedtothirdbaseafterhewastradedtotheNewYork Yankees.Heposteda153OPS+andaveraged44homerunsand124RBIduringthe decade,whilealsohitting.304/.401/.587with174hitsperyear.

HehassixRookieCards,themostvaluablebeinghis1994SPfoilrookiewitha$60high bookvalue.HisCollector'sChoice,Flair,FleerUpdate,SportflicsandUpperDeckallrun$20 orless.

1993 Score #490 Jason Kendall RC ($1)

Hits: 1,549

JasonKendallranksfourthall-timeamongcatcherswith2,195careerhits,behindonlyIvan Rodriguez(2,844),TedSimmons(2,472)andCarltonFisk(2,356).Hewasa.288hitter over15seasons.Thethree-timeAll-Starwasararetable-setteratthecatcherposition duringtheprimeofhiscareer,stealing189basesandtallying1,030runsscored.

HehassixdifferentRookieCardsin1993productsaftergoingNo.23overallinthe1992 draft.Theycanallbefoundforadollarortwo.

1993 Topps Traded #19T Todd Helton USA RC ($30)

Hits: 1,756

TaskedwithfillingthebigshoesleftbehindbythedepartureofAndresGalarragaatfirst basefortheColoradoRockies,ToddHeltonfinishedrunner-upin1998NLRookieofthe Yearvotingandquicklyemergedasanoffensiveforce.Hehit.372/.463/.698with216hits, 56doubles,42homerunsand147RBIduringthe2000seasonwhenhemadearunata .400battingaverage,andwasa.316careerhitterover17seasons.

HisonlyRookieCardisinthe1993ToppsTradedsetfromhistimewiththeCollegiate NationalTeamduringhistimeattheUniversityofTennessee.Hewasn'tdrafteduntiltwo yearslaterwhenhewastakenNo.5overall.

Total: $100

By Joel Reauter

June 26,2023