Posted By:
Robgenerally speaking, i take "rookie" to mean the first season a ball player plays in the big leagues.
so if a "card" is issued BEFORE the player's first big-league appearance, then i'd say no its not his rookie. however, if the "card" is issued at the time of (or after) the player's first big-league appearance, then yes its their rookie (even if they are wearing a non-big league jersey).
For example, I think some of the 1989 Topps "#1 Draft Picks" had players depicted in their college jerseys (like robin ventura, steve avery, etc), but they played major-league ball in 1989 (same year the card was issued) so i'd say its their rookie card.
like has been mentioned, whether the "card" was nationally distributed doesn't matter much nowadays cuz of the internet. but of course the definition of "card" is another topic.
Rob
