The Topps 2000 Opening Day baseball card set was released by Topps at the beginning of the 2000 MLB season to commemorate the start of a new year of baseball. This 320 card set featured current players from all 30 Major League Baseball teams. Some key things to note about the Topps 2000 Opening Day set include:
Design – The card design featured a simple white border around a photo of the player along with their team logo and player information printed below the image. What made this set unique was that each card depicted the player holding a baseball with the words “Opening Day 2000” printed on the ball. This subtle design element nicely tied the cards to the beginning of the new baseball season. Photos generally depicted the players in action shots from the previous season or spring training.
Rookies – Several notable rookies who made their MLB debuts in 2000 were included in the base set such as Josh Beckett, Vernon Wells, Brett Myers, and Francisco Cordero. Collectors enjoyed finding and pull rookie cards from packs in this type of set at the start of each new season.
Short Prints – Topps included several short printed cards in the set with lower print runs to increase chase and add uniqueness to each pack/box. Some examples included Derek Jeter, Sammy Sosa, Cal Ripken Jr., Alex Rodriguez, and Ken Griffey Jr. These were tougher pulls that held more trade and collector value.
Parallels – In addition to the base cards, Topps released parallels of the 2000 Opening Day set. This included Silver Signatures parallel cards serialized to 99 copies each focusing on star players. Gold parallel cards were limited to 50 copies and included Hall of Famers.
Pack/Box Configuration – The 2000 Opening Day cards could be found in wax packs containing 8-10 cards as well as sealed starter boxes holding 18 packs for a total of between 144-180 cards per box. Packs retailed for around $1 each while boxes averaged $20-25 depending on the retailer.
Secondary Market – Given the high number of notable rookies and star players included, the 2000 Topps Opening Day set became a popular and widely collected release over the years. On the secondary market today, a sealed wax box in near mint to mint condition could fetch over $100 due to its vintage status and inclusion of stars from that era still actively playing in the 2000s like Jeter, Griffey, and A-Rod. Key rookie cards like Josh Beckett also hold ongoing value as fun pieces from the turn of the century.
The set paid homage to baseball’s Opening Day traditions through its design which incorporated the baseball with “Opening Day 2000” printed on it found in each player’s photo. This provided collectors a nice tangible link between the cards and start of the new baseball year. The prospect of possibly pulling valuable short prints of big stars or rookie cards of future talents added substantial chase and excitement to opening fresh packs from the set. The Topps 2000 Opening Day baseball card release commemorated the beginning of a new season while delivering collectibles that gained widespread popularity and appreciation over the ensuing decades. It remains as both an enjoyable representation of that era of MLB players and a well-designed, iconic release from the annual Opening Day issues produced by Topps each spring.
