2004 Baseball Cards for Sale – An Overview of the Sets from that Year
The 2004 baseball card season featured some exciting new rookies and star players changing teams. It was an eventful year in Major League Baseball that was captured on cardboard in sets from the major card manufacturers. Whether you’re looking to build your collection from that season or find cards of particular players, here is an in-depth overview of the 2004 baseball cards available for sale.
Topps Baseball Cards – 2004
Topps released seven standard baseball card sets in 2004, led by their flagship Topps base set. The 2004 Topps base set featured 432 cards and included stars like Barry Bonds, Ichiro Suzuki, and Alex Rodriguez on the cover. Bonus inserts in the base set included Topps Heritage parallels and Topps Traded parallels for players that were traded mid-season. Topps Chrome, as always, was one of the most popular and sought-after parallel sets from the year. It featured a refracted chrome finish on the same base card designs.
Some notable rookies found in the 2004 Topps sets included Dontrelle Willis, Bobby Crosby, Freddy Sanchez, and Jason Bay. Topps Finest was one of the high-end inserts sets, featuring on-card autographs and memorabilia cards mixed in with the base card designs. Topps Gallery was a unique subset highlighting iconic photographs from baseball’s past, printed on thicker card stock. Topps Total was a value set perfect for collectors on a budget, while Topps T206 paid homage to the classic tobacco era design.
Upper Deck Baseball Cards – 2004
Upper Deck released five baseball card products in 2004, headlined by their flagship base set. The 2004 Upper Deck base set contained a total of 396 cards and featured Miguel Cabrera on the very first card as one of the top rookies from that season. Other notable rookies included Phil Hughes, Jon Lester, and Jered Weaver.
The base set also included parallel and insert sets like Upper Deck Sweet Spot Signatures for autographed cards. Upper Deck SP Authentic was their high-end release, containing patches, autographs and rare memorabilia cards of the game’s biggest stars. Upper Deck SPx focused on short prints, parallels, and autographs as well. Upper Deck Vintage invoked the classic look of the 1951 Bowman set. And Upper Deck Classics was a value option containing base cards and inserts.
Fleer Baseball Cards – 2004
Fleer entered the 2004 season as the third major baseball card manufacturer. Their flagship Fleer Greats of the Game set contained 330 cards and was headlined by stars like Barry Bonds, Nomar Garciaparra, and Sammy Sosa. Notable rookies included A.J. Burnett, B.J. Upton, and Rickie Weeks.
Fleer Tradition paid homage to the design styles of the 1950s and 1960s. Fleer Authentics inserted game-used memorabilia cards randomly throughout the base set. And Fleer Impact focused on short prints, parallels and inserts. All Fleer sets that year contained the “Fleer Fan Favorites” insert set highlighting some of the most popular players.
Other Notable 2004 Baseball Card Releases
Donruss Optic featured refractors and parallels of the base cards.
Playoff Prestige highlighted postseason performers with inserts.
Bowman Chrome Draft Picks & Prospects focused on the future of the game.
Leaf produced value sets under the brands of Classic, Limited and Premium.
Score produced a base set and inserted “Best of Score” parallels.
Whether you collect players, teams, designs or specific manufacturers, 2004 was a great year for baseball cards. Stars like A-Rod, Bonds, Pujols and Ichiro remained popular, while new future Hall of Famers like Dontrelle Willis and Jason Bay entered the scene. The parallels, inserts, memorabilia and autograph cards from the flagship releases also provide plenty of collecting and investment options from this season. Browse current listings for 2004 baseball cards available for sale online to build your collection or find singles of your PC guys.
