The 2000 season was one of transition in Major League Baseball as old stars faded and new stars began to emerge. As the sports memorabilia industry continued its rapid growth, Upper Deck captured this changing of the guard with their 2000 Upper Deck Sportflics baseball card set.
Released in late 1999/early 2000, the Sportflics set contained 264 total cards including 258 base cards and a lineup of exciting inserts and parallel cards. The design featured bold colors and graphics with player photos heavily integrated with statistical graphics. Some criticized the unconventional layout but collectors appreciated Upper Deck’s effort to break from traditional card designs and create a fresh creative take on the standard baseball card set each year.
As was typical of Sportflcis sets in the late 1990s/early 2000s, the base cards focused heavily on statistics alongside photos of the players in action. Batting and pitching stats from 1999 were prominently displayed along the right side of the card next to breakdowns of key stats like home runs, RBI and ERA. Franchise stalwarts and longtime stars like Ken Griffey Jr., Greg Maddux, Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn continued to lead the charge although it was clear many were entering the later stages of their careers.
Meanwhile, emerging young talents began to make names for themselves and some had true breakthrough campaigns in 1999 that translated to strong cardboard. Chipper Jones further entrenched himself as a superstar, Mike Piazza put up huge power numbers for the Mets, Derek Jeter solidified his status as the face of the Yankees and Vladimir Guerrero announced his arrival with a spectacular season for the Expos. Their impressive ‘99 stats made for some of the most desirable rookie and star cards in the set.
Though produced before the turn of the century, the Sportflics set in many ways foreshadowed some of the major events still to come in MLB over the next few years. Just months after the set’s release, the Reds’ Ken Griffey Jr. would be traded to the Cincinnati Reds to reunite with his father. The Cardinals’ Mark McGwire and Cubs’ Sammy Sosa would take the national spotlight with their record-breaking home run race. Curt Schilling would solidify himself as one of the game’s most dominant postseason pitchers. And players like Ivan Rodriguez, Todd Helton, Nomar Garciaparra, Kerry Wood and Ramirez would explode onto the scene.
While stars of the era like Griffey, Maddux, Ripken and Bonds led the base cards, the inserts and parallels in the 2000 Sportflics added excitement and chase cards for collectors. A 36-card Golden Moments insert set highlighted some of the most iconic performances and milestones from 1999 like McGwire’s record-setting 70th home run and Pedro Martinez’s scintillating ERA title season. For autograph hunters, a 15-card Autograph Parallels premium parallel offered the chance to pull a on-card auto of stars or prospects.
Perhaps the most coveted insert for collectors was the dazzling 9-card Diamond Anniversary parallels marking special 30-year anniversary seasons for franchise legends. Honorees like Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken Jr., Wade Boggs and Nolan Ryan commanded huge premiums. Other popular inserts included a 21-card Diamond Club parallel highlighting the league’s top hitters and hurlers, a 15-card Stars of the Millennium forecasting future Hall of Famers and a variety of parallels drawing from the base set.
In the years since, the 2000 Sportflics set has become both an interesting historical snapshot of the game at the turn of the century but also a collecting benchmark. It boasted a plethora of young future stars, aging veterans and big playmakers from 1999 in an attractive design ahead of its time. Staples of the set like the Jeter, Rivera and Rodriguez rookie cards, Jones and Guerrero star rookies and the Ripken parallel remain some of the most desirable modern vintage investments today. Upper Deck truly captured the ever-changing landscape of MLB right as a new era was about to kick off. Whether collecting for investment, nostalgia or the excellent photography and statistical eye candy, 2000 Sportflics endures as one of the premier vintage sets from the hobby’s golden age.
