/500 BGS 9 2001 Albert Pujols SP Game Used 1st Jersey! Pop 9 Higher Earliest RC

Description: #374/500 BGS 9/9.5/10 (9 Higher) Albert Pujols 2001 SP Game Used 1st Cardinals MLB Home White Jersey! Produced in his first month of MLB play: April 2001! Offered is one of, if not the very first MLB Rookie Year Cards of the legendary Albert Pujols. Features of this card include: - Pujols depicted wearing his first Home White MLB Cardinals jersey. We know this because his 2001 Spring Training Media Day promo pic, seen in part on the back, taken in late March, is the ONLY promo (posed vs candid) picture of Pujols wearing the Home Whites with any jersey number but #5. You can just make out on the front and back pictures the #68 he was briefly issued just before being reissued #5 in time for opening day. - The card’s time frame of production is evident in the paragraph on the back of the card, which references Albert’s .400 batting average through his first two weeks of MLB play. - This timeframe is reinforced by the presence of the word “prospect”, as it is for this very, very brief moment, uncertain Pujols will remain in the majors long enough to attain enough at-bats to qualify as having had his official Rookie Year, making him still designated as a prospect. But not for much longer. - Graded BGS 9 MINT, with both 9.5 and 10 subgrades. Only a small nudge and this card would be a GEM MINT BGS 9.5. Decent chance a regrade might do just that, as this was graded many years ago. - Only 9 cards have been graded higher than this one by Beckett. - With ZERO cards ever produced earlier than 2001 depicting Pujols as a big leaguer, and 2001 Topps produced early enough they didn’t include Pujols (and so thus the 2001 Topps Traded card did), this is very likely his very first rookie card. Please send any questions prior to bidding. Other unique and historic items may be found in my other listings.

Price: 999.99 USD

Location: Saint Louis, Missouri

End Time: 2024-09-06T06:59:37.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD