User:EhrenS/dbb
Donruss produced several sets of cards each year, both under its own brand and starting in 1990 under the resurrected Leaf name.
Base set
[edit]Donruss produced one base set per year from 1981 to 2005, excepting the bankruptcy period of 1999 and 2000. From 1991 to 1994 the base set was split into two series; the first series would be released in the November preceding the year of issue, and the second series would ship by the start of the following baseball season.
The Donruss base sets routinely included several subsets. The most notable are:
- Diamond Kings (1982-1991): These 26 "art cards" depicted one outstanding player from each Major League team
- Rated Rookies (1984-2002?): This subset consisted up to 20 players making their first appearance on a Donruss card that were considered real prospects. Notable players with the Rated Rookie label include Mark McGwire, José Canseco and Roberto Alomar.
- All-Stars (1990-1992): The starting lineup of the preceding year's MLB All-Star Game as voted by fans, as well as the starting pitcher for each league, had a special card featuring an action shot from the game as well as statistics from the game on the reverse.
From 1985 to 1988, Donruss released a shorter companion set in Canada under the Leaf Gum brand, identical cosmetically to the corresponding Donruss set save for the Leaf logo that replaced the Donruss one. All information on the backs of these cards were printed in both English and French.
The Rookies
[edit]Starting in 1986, Donruss released an update set to compete with Topps' Traded and Fleer's Update sets. Unlike the competitor updates, which featured midseason call-ups and traded players, The Rookies concentrated solely on first-year players. The sets were usually cosmetically identical to the main set with the exception of a different color on the border of the card.
Studio
[edit]Studio was the super-premium set Donruss launced to compete with Topps' Stadium Club and Fleer's Ultra. The sets featured posed portraits of players, often out of uniform, and the backs were devoid of stats, instead filled with personal trivia about the player.