The 1993 Donruss baseball card set was released at the height of the baseball card boom of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Produced by the Donruss company, the 1993 set featured cards of players from both the American and National Leagues. Some key things to know about the 1993 Donruss baseball card set include:
Set Details: The 1993 Donruss set contained 792 total cards and was broken down into several subsets. The base set contained 660 cards numbered 1-660. There was also an 82-card “Diamond Kings” insert set that featured current star players. A 50-card “Turn Back The Clock” subset showcased retired players in action shots from earlier in their careers.
Design: The design of the 1993 Donruss cards was similar to previous Donruss sets from the early 1990s. The front of the base cards featured a vertical action photo of the player along with their name, team, and stats. The back provided more stats and a brief career summary. The Diamond Kings cards had a diamond-shaped photo and blue borders while the Turn Back The Clock cards had a retro-style design.
Rookies: Notable rookie cards in the 1993 Donruss set included Jason Kendall, Mo Vaughn, Jeff Bagwell, and Derek Jeter. Jeter’s rookie is one of the most iconic and valuable from the 1990s baseball card boom. Other future Hall of Famers like Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine also had cards in this set early in their careers.
Short Prints: Like many 1990s sets, the 1993 Donruss had several short printed chase cards collectors sought. The most notable were #660 Sammy Sosa and #1 Ken Griffey Jr, which were printed in far lower numbers than the base cards. These short prints command high values today.
Chase Autographs: Donruss inserted autograph cards randomly in 1993 packs. The biggest chase autos were Ken Griffey Jr, Frank Thomas, and Cal Ripken Jr. Finding one of these autographed cards in a pack was a huge hit back in the day. Other star rookies like Jeter had autographed cards as well.
Values: With the baseball card market boom still going strong in 1993, this Donruss set initially sold for high prices. The Jeter and Griffey Jr. rookies each fetched over $100 in mint condition shortly after release. Today, key cards from this set have increased substantially in value. PSA 10 Jeter and Griffey rookies can sell for over $10,000. Even common stars can sell for $20-50 in graded gem mint condition.
Popularity: Thanks to the collector frenzy of the early 1990s, the 1993 Donruss set was one of the best-selling and most popular releases that year. It was a mainstay in hobby shops and seen as a “flagship” set alongside the flagship Topps set. The release maintained Donruss as one of the premier brands for baseball cards during the boom.
In Summary: The 1993 Donruss baseball card set perfectly encapsulated the speculative bubble period for sports cards in the early 1990s. Loaded with stars, short prints, autographs and especially iconic rookies like Jeter, it became a highly collectible release that remains popular today among vintage collectors. While the frenzy has died down, key cards from this 792-card Donruss offering still attract strong prices due to their historical significance from the peak of the modern trading card era.
