One-Sheet Collections: Rookie Cards of the 2001 World Series Champion Arizona Diamondbacks
For many, nostalgia remains the driving force behind baseball card collecting, and that’s how we arrived at the idea of One-Sheet Collections.
It’s a simple concept with infinite possibilities.
Take a single nine-pocket sheet and a reasonable $100 budget, and build a nine-card collection with a unifying theme.
This time around we turn our attention to the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks team that upended the New York Yankees dynasty in just their fourth year as a franchise. It was a pieced-together roster of established veterans that all clicked for a magical October run.
Ahead you’ll find the Rookie Card of each member of the team’s go-to lineup during its postseason run to make up this week’s One-Sheet Collection.
Enjoy!
Pocket 1: 1991 Stadium Club #576 Luis Gonzalez RC ($1.50)
The D-backs acquired Luis Gonzalez from the Detroit Tigers prior to the 1999 season in a one-for-one swap for outfielder Karim Garcia. By the time the 2001 season rolled around, he was a bona fide NL MVP candidate, hitting .325/.429/.688 with 57 home runs and 142 RBI.
Selected in the fourth round of the 1988 draft out of South Alabama, he has eight different Rookie Cards in 1991 products.
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Pocket 2: 1989 Donruss Rookies #47 Steve Finley RC ($0.75)
Also acquired during the 1998-99 offseason, Steve Finley signed a four-year, $21.5 million contract with the D-backs after playing for the NL pennant-winning San Diego Padres the previous season. He won a pair of Gold Glove Awards and tallied 13.1 WAR over the life of that four-year contract.
Originally drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 13th round of the 1987 draft, he made his MLB debut in 1989 and was subsequently included in the Donruss Rookies, Fleer Update and Score Rookie/Traded sets, as well as the High Series of the 1989 Upper Deck set and the 1989 Bowman base set.
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Pocket 3: 1991 Bowman #537 Reggie Sanders RC ($1.50)
One of the most underrated players of the 1990s, Reggie Sanders was 33-years old when he joined the D-backs on a one-year, $1.5 million deal prior to the 2001 season. That proved to be one of the best bargains in franchise history, as he posted a 117 OPS+ with 33 home runs and 90 RBI In a 3.3-WAR season.
After hitting .285/.370/.457 with 21 doubles, 17 home runs and 40 steals at Single-A in 1990, his Rookie Cards were included in the 1991 Bowman and Upper Deck base sets.
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Pocket 4: 1997 Topps Stars #96 Tony Womack RC ($0.50)
An All-Star for the Pittsburgh Pirates as a rookie in 1997 when he led the NL with 60 steals, Tony Womack joined the D-backs prior to the 1999 season in a trade that sent reliever Jason Boyd the other way. He had a career-high 72 steals in his first year in Arizona, and he set the table throughout the 2001 postseason run.
He went 10-for-30 in a 17-game audition with the Pirates in 1996, and that was enough for him to be featured in a wide variety of 1997 products. All told, he has 10 different Rookie Cards, though Bowman, Topps and Upper Deck all missed the boat.
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Pocket 5: 1989 Upper Deck #25 Randy Johnson RC ($12)
The five-year, $68.4 million deal that Randy Johnson signed prior to the 1999 season completely transformed the Diamondbacks organization in their second year of existence. He won four straight NL Cy Young Awards to kick off that contract and turned in some of the most dominant single-season performances in recent history, culminating in 2001 World Series co-MVP honors with Curt Schilling.
The Hall of Famer has Rookie Cards in 1989 Donruss, Fleer, O-Pee-Chee, Score, Topps and Upper Deck after he went 3-0 with a 2.42 ERA in four starts as a September call-up in 1988.
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Pocket 6: 1988 Fleer #101 Matt Williams RC ($1.50)
The D-backs acquired veteran Travis Fryman in a trade with the Detroit Tigers on the day of the 1997 Expansion Draft, and a month later they flipped him to Cleveland in exchange for another established veteran in Matt Williams. The 35-year-old hit .275/.314/.466 with 16 home runs and 65 RBI in 106 games in 2001.
The No. 3 overall pick in the 1986 draft, he debuted on April 11, 1987. He has a trio of XRC cards in 1987 update sets before his true Rookie Cards were included in the 1988 Fleer, Donruss and Topps sets.
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Pocket 7: 1996 Bowman #194 Craig Counsell RC ($1.50)
Signed by Arizona ahead of the 2000 season after he was released by the Los Angeles Dodgers, Craig Counsell split his time evenly between second base, shortstop and third base in 2001 before settling in as the primary second baseman in October. He went 8-for-21 with three doubles in the 2001 NLCS to win MVP honors.
An 11th-round pick in 1992, he finally appeared on his first card in the 1996 Bowman set after a three-game cup of coffee as a September call-up with the Colorado Rockies in 1995. He didn’t appear in the majors again until 1997.
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Pocket 8: 2000 Topps #326 Damian Miller RC ($0.40)
Plucked from the Minnesota Twins in the 1997 Expansion Draft, catcher Damian Miller split time with Kelly Stinnett behind the plate during his first few seasons in Arizona before taking over as the primary catcher. He hit .271/.337/.424 with 13 home runs and 47 RBI in 2001.
A 20th-round pick in 1990, his Rookie Card did not surface until 10 years later, despite the fact that he played a combined 168 games in the majors during the three-year stretch from 1997 to 1999.
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Pocket 9: 1988 Donruss #40 Mark Grace RC ($2)
After 13 seasons with the Chicago Cubs, during which time he was the hits leader of the 1990s, Mark Grace signed a two-year, $6 million deal with the D-backs prior to the 2001 season. He hit .298/.386/.466 with 31 doubles, 15 home runs and 78 RBI in his first year in Arizona at the age of 37.
He has Rookie Cards in 1988 Donruss, Fleer and Leaf products, as well as XRCs in 1988 Score Rookie/Traded and Topps Traded. He played in 134 games and finished runner-up in NL Rookie of the Year voting during the ‘88 season.
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Total: $21.65
Where’s Shilling??
Ohhhh… you’re a sheep.
Are you referring to Curt Schilling? The piece runs through the lineup with nine cards to fill up a hypothetical page. That means one player per position. Randy Johnson was the number one starter for the team hence why he’s there. That’s it.
Jay Bell!