The 2000 Fleer Focus baseball card set was released at the beginning of the new millennium and marked a change in direction for Fleer baseball cards. After Fleer lost the NFL and NBA licenses, they shifted their baseball card focus to innovative inserts and rookie cards to try and stay competitive against Topps and Donruss. The 2000 Fleer Focus set contained 330 total cards and had a distinctive look with zoomed in action photos on a white borderless design. It proved to be one of the more popular and collectible Fleer products of the late 90s/early 2000s era before Fleer lost the baseball license as well.
Some of the top rookies featured in the 2000 Fleer Focus set included Bobby Crosby, Nick Swisher, Bobby Jenks, Aaron Harang, and Gary Matthews Jr. Crosby had one of the more productive careers of this rookie class as a three-time All-Star shortstop for the Oakland A’s. His rookie card remained a popular and valuable piece for collectors. Nick Swisher also had a long MLB career hitting at least 20 home runs in 7 different seasons for the A’s, White Sox, Yankees and others. Gary Matthews Jr. had a decent 13 year career largely with the Angels but never lived up to the hype of his pedigree as the son of a former major leaguer. Still, his rare rookie parallels and autos attracted collectors.
In terms of veteran stars, the 2000 Fleer Focus set highlighted sluggers like Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey Jr., Mark McGwire, Alex Rodriguez, and Barry Bonds on their cards. This was the height of the steroid era in baseball and these powerful hitters dominated the stats. Their cards were hot sellers at the time but the value of stars tied to PED use has diminished over time for collectors. The cards did capture these superstar players at their physical peak though. Other top veterans included Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Rafael Palmeiro, Jeff Bagwell and MVP winners Derek Jeter and Jason Giambi.
In addition to the base cards, Fleer Focus 2000 had a variety of popular insert sets that added to the excitement of the product. Some of the notable inserts included:
Fantastic Finishes – Highlighted amazing plays and great defensive efforts with a blue border. Names like Omar Vizquel and Andruw Jones appeared.
Team Leaders – Green bordered cards that featured the top performers in various statistical categories on each MLB franchise.
Silver Signings – Rarest inserts at 1 per box, these parallel inserts had a silver foil signature of the player authentically oncard. Some of the signatures pulled included Gary Sheffield, Mike Piazza and Pedro Martinez. Very valuable for autograph collectors.
Award Winners – Orange parallels that commemorated MVPs, Cy Youngs, Rookies of the Year and batting/ERA title winners. Chipper Jones, Pedro Martinez cards were highlights.
Big Numbers – Purple paralled parallels of players that achieved milestones or statistical feats in 1999 like 3,000 hits, 500 home runs, 300 wins etc. Cards for Tony Gwynn, Nolan Ryan, Steve Carlton stood out.
In terms of valuable rookie cards from 2000 Fleer Focus, aside from Crosby and Swisher mentioned the top 5 would have to include:
Bobby Jenks RC – As one of the premier closers in MLB for several seasons with the White Sox, Jenks cards have held value well despite a short career.
Ryan Zimmerman RC – Even after many injuries, Zimmerman had an excellent run as a consistent All-Star third baseman for the Nationals. His RC is quite pricey.
Prince Fielder RC – Had one of the best power strokes of his generation with multiple 30+ HR seasons. His size and power made him a fan favorite.
Aaron Harang RC – As a 16 year MLB starter compiling 216 wins, Harang way overperformed versus expectations coming out of the 2000 draft. Sleeper pick.
Gavin Floyd RC – Lasted 11 seasons in the majors between starter and reliever roles. Was an important part of the 2005 World Series White Sox team. Solid career.
Besides these top rookie cards, the 2000 Fleer Focus set also had fairly short printed parallels that added to the challenge of completion for collectors. There were Gold Foil Signatures that matched the rarity of the Silver Signings. Also rare were the Red Frame parallels limited to one per every three boxes sold. The black bordered Gold Medallion parallel cards dotted throughout packs further spiced up the set.
Despite losing their MLB license not long after, the 2000 Fleer Focus baseball set proved a largely successful last hurrah. Unique inserts and an excellent rookie class headlined by Crosby, Swisher, and Zimmerman kept Focus collectors engaged. Two decades later, many of the cards remain affordable collector pieces today but the best rookies have increased nicely in value. For a Fleer product of that transitional late 90s/early 2000s period, 2000 Focus holds up as one of their stronger offerings that has stayed popular with vintage baseball card fans.
