The 2000 Fleer baseball card set was one of the most highly anticipated releases of the year as collectors looked forward to seeing new rookie cards of future stars as well as updated stats and photos of established MLB players. Unlike some other years where baseball card manufacturers released multiple sets throughout the season, in 2000 Fleer was the sole producer of standard size trading cards featuring current players and teams.
With variations being a big draw for collectors, Fleer incorporated several special parallel and insert sets within the base 2000 release. In addition to the standard cards, collectors could find Silver Signature parallels signed by the player pictured which were numbered to only 250 copies. As a rarer parallel, Fleer also included Gold Signature parallels with an even lower print run of only 50 cards that featured embossed gold signatures. As one of the premier releases of the year, hobby boxes of 2000 Fleer also had the potential to yield coveted autograph and memorabilia cards that could greatly increase the value of individual packs.
While veterans such as Cal Ripken Jr., Chipper Jones, Greg Maddux and Ken Griffey Jr. continued to be popular chase cards, rookie additions to the MLB landscape were one of the biggest highlights of the 2000 Fleer set. Arguably the most notable rookie was future Dodgers great Clayton Kershaw who was featured in the set during his first season in the majors. Other notable rookies included Adrian Gonzalez, Billy Wagner, Chris Carpenter, Bobby Crosby and Geovany Soto. Collectors worldwide scrambled to pull the rookie cards of these rising players who all went on to have stellar MLB careers.
Beyond new players, 2000 Fleer also incorporated several innovative insert sets to add to the excitement of the release. One popular insert focused on top home run hitters of the past decade with “Home Run Kings” cards honoring players like Mark McGwire, Ken Griffey Jr., Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds during the height of the steroid era. Future Hall of Famers from earlier eras were also recognized in inserts like “Portraits of Greatness” highlighting stars like Nolan Ryan, Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente. Multi-player subsets paid tribute to historic rivalries and stretches of dominance as well with cards like “Subway Series” and “Back to Back Champs.”
In addition to regular inserts, 2000 Fleer continued their tradition of producing rare Chase insert sets only available through redemption of codes found in wax packs. The ultra-tough “2000 Chase Club” parallels featured embossing and were limited to only 250 copies worldwide. Even rarer was the premiere “2000 Fleer Greats” inserts honoring the all-time finest players with patches and autographs. Truly one-of-a-kind “Fleer Unique” autograph cards capped production runs at an insanely low 1 or 5 copies to fuel collectors’ hunt. Between the base set, parallels, inserts and chase variants, 2000 Fleer delivered an incredibly wide array of options for building sets or pursuing valuable single cards.
Upon its initial release, 2000 Fleer received widespread praise for its unmatched scope and coverage of that year’s MLB stars. While upper-tier parallels, inserts and autographs accelerated the set’s early appreciation in the collectibles market, the depth and breadth of Fleer’s photography, stats and reproduction quality guaranteed 2000 would remain a favorite for years to come. Headlined by rookie phenoms like Kershaw but boasting thoroughly researched cards of each MLB team’s roster, 2000 Fleer captured a snapshot of baseball at the turn of the millennium in outstanding fashion. Even two decades later, the 2000 Fleer baseball card set endures as a beloved and historic release that any collector would enjoy building or displaying in their collection.
