General Forum

So there I was... checking my Orioles collection, year-by-year, against what I have marked in my collection in the database. I'm in the middle of 2007 and come across a Bowman - Prospects card of David Haehnel. My first thought was other than this card, I haven't seen much of him in my collection or in my memory of past Orioles players.

https://www.tcdb.com/ViewCard.cfm/sid/22077/cid/2640269/2007-Bowman---Prospects-BP30-David-Haehnel

I looked him up on Baseball Reference:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=haehne001dav

No major league record. Out of curiosity, I looked up how many cards he had here in the database. 51 cards. Going down the rabbit hole, I see if he has a rookie card. I'm thinking he shouldn't he was never in the majors, but was surprised when I saw he had two. Two 2004 SP Prospects cards.

https://www.tcdb.com/ViewCard.cfm/sid/1725/cid/352447/2004-SP-Prospects-228-David-Haehnel

https://www.tcdb.com/ViewCard.cfm/sid/15894/cid/2171043/2004-Donruss-Elite-Extra-Edition-282-David-Haehnel

Now, I'm really confused. So, I search the forums using "Rookie Card Criteria" in the search bar. A bunch of forum posts come up. Some with the same rookie card question. Others arguing the topic out. One said, "Check the FAQ" with a link:

https://www.tcdb.com/FAQ.cfm?ITEM=RC

The FAQ states: "Conversely, a card in the database may be denoted with an RC even though the player may have been in the league a few years and it's not actually their rookie season. In this case, it may be the player's first major release card, so it's considered their rookie card (RC)."

Now, it all makes sense. Did I mention this site is awesome?

The rules were changed in 2006 where a player could only appear in a major release after they had appeared in the majors (and you may have heard of the 2006 Topps Alex Gordon debacle because of it). There are lots of examples in hockey too.

Got it. So, under the rules of 2006, David Haehnel would not have a rookie card because he never appeared in the majors. But, since his two 2004 SP cards were produced in 2004, they can retain the RC designator. Correct?

https://www.tcdb.com/ViewCard.cfm/sid/1725/cid/352447/2004-SP-Prospects-228-David-Haehnel

https://www.tcdb.com/ViewCard.cfm/sid/15894/cid/2171043/2004-Donruss-Elite-Extra-Edition-282-David-Haehnel

On the other hand, I went to the 1990-91 David Robinson card you mentioned and that is also in the FAQ as an example and it doesn't have the RC designator. So, does Haehnel's two cards fall into the same situation as the Robinson and "RC" should not appear on his two SP card entries?

Thank you for the clarification.

Under the old rules, the RC designation is accurate for Haehnel's cards and does not change. It's cases like this were MLB changed the rules of when cards could be issued as BigEd laid out.

As for Robinson, his RC was 89/90 so 90/91 cards wouldn't get a RC designator. They aren't quite comparable cases because of when the cards were issued, nature of the sport (especially BK at that time), etc. 

Got it. Wanted to make sure I was on the right track with my original post. I try not to ask questions on here until I've dug into previous forum posts and read the FAQ. Thank you for your help.

BigEd76,

Duh, I'm sorry. You never mentioned the 1990-91 David Robinson card in your post. You mentioned the 2006 Topps Alex Gordon. I think I need more coffee. 

And another bright moment for me. It just occurred to me it's the card with the several variations:

https://www.tcdb.com/ViewCard.cfm/sid/1930/cid/207428/2006-Topps-297-Alex-Gordon

https://www.tcdb.com/ViewCard.cfm/sid/1930/cid/207429/2006-Topps-297-Alex-Gordon

https://www.tcdb.com/ViewCard.cfm/sid/1930/cid/207430/2006-Topps-297-Alex-Gordon

https://www.tcdb.com/ViewCard.cfm/sid/1930/cid/207431/2006-Topps-297-Alex-Gordon

Got it! Now I know the story behind that card. Yeah, more coffee.... Thank you!

Never enough coffee...

About to head to Dunkin Donuts to refuel.

New poll, Dunkin or Starbucks lol

and to keep on track. Remember the XRC debate everyone had during the 80’s, fun times. Now it’s the prospects vs rookie card era.

Dunkin.  Starbucks tastes burnt.