ONeil Cruz Rookie Card Guide & Gallery

With every new MLB call-up, there is a unique excitement that stretches from the immediate fanbase to collectors or flippers in general. Especially if that young player comes up and immediately performs, the excitement turns into a frenzy, and even if it only lasts for a day or two, can be a fun or frustrating period for those looking to add cards to their stashes.

The most recent entry is Oneil Cruz, who many thought was a virtual lock to crack the Pirates Opening Day roster and never look back. But even as he continued to perform in the minors, it’s not until today, June 20, 2022 where Cruz will make his 2022 campaign debut.

And thus, with that, now is a perfect time to run down the different options available for any anyone trying to get their hands on his rookie cards.

2016 Bowman Chrome

And of course, it wouldn’t be a rookie card conversation if we didn’t kick things off with some weirdness. For Oneil Cruz, that comes in the form of his first name being spelled wrong on one of his most coveted cards. That’s right, this 2016 Bowman Chrome spells Cruz’s name “Oneal.” So, not only do collectors have to stomach the fact that his 1st Bowman features Cruz in a Dodgers uniform, but also the fact that is name is misspelled.

Read More: What is a Superfractor Card?

Does this hurt the card’s value? It’s hard to say in the case of the name, but there is chatter around the fact that having a player’s 1st Bowman in a uniform other than that player’s current team could make the card less desirable. Of course, that desirability is probably only impacted to a certain extent when compared to the player’s performance, and if he turns out to be a superstar, I don’t think uniform would matter too much.

2022 Topps Heritage (and SP Image Variation)

Now, to get the suspense out of the way, Cruz does in fact have a flagship rookie card. I’m only putting Heritage next because Heritage came months ahead of the flagship release, and thus, is stuck in my brain as a card to chase.

Now, is the base version of the card a beauty? Not in my opinion. While I do love the 1973 design, part of what made that design work was the action baseball shot that went along with it. So, whole Cruz has a great smile, the card doesn’t get my hobby blood pumping at all.

The good news, though, is that there is an short print image variation, which is pictured above! (What’s a short print?) And while it still doesn’t feature much action, it at least features him on the field (albeit outside of the lines on his way back to the dugout).

Info to know:

• Base RC is #157
• There is also a hot box chrome purple refractor
• The image variation will clearly state “image” on the back of the card near the card number

2022 Topps Series 2 (and SP & SSP Image Variations)

Simply, if you’re looking for any RC, from Jeremy Pena rookies to other young stars, you’re going to want to consider their flagship Topps RC, which is known as their true rookie.

For Cruz, his RC can be found in the series 2 checklist, so while Wander carries S1, and the excitement of Bobby Witt Jr., Spencer Torkelson, and Julio Rodriguez SPs generated a lot of buzz for S2, the inclusion of a true base rookie of Oneil Cruz is exciting as well.

Plus, we also get an SP and an SSP variation to chase as well. (Friendly reminder, Beckett does a great job when it comes to variation info and photos to reference.) Below you’ll see what one of those two short prints look like, with the SP featuring Cruz sitting on a bucket (the SSP resembling the Heritage rookie with a close-up smile). Check out Beckett.com for their SP galleries.

2022 Topps Chrome

2022 Topps Update

All of that said, there are plenty of other cards to choose from! Here is a list of all of Oneil Cruz’s rookie cards from 2022, thanks to Break Ninja.