Donruss Studio Baseball was back in 2004 with a 220-card set. It wasn’t quite that simple though.
Card numbers 1 through 219 and card number 221 were distributed in one series. Numbers 201 through 221 were autographed rookie cards that rounded out what was considered the base set. Card numbers 220 and cards 222 through 225 were produced, too–but only as parallels and aren’t part of the base set.
You will find cards numbered 226-275 as well… but they were actually inserted into the 2005 Donruss Baseball product and are listed as an insert set within that particular set.
Now that we have that out of the way…
The packaging of 2004 Studio showcases Colorado Rockies offensive machine Todd Helton. The box is a reddish color with a post picture of Helton and the Donruss Studio 2004 gold logo towards the top of the graphic. Below it lists a number of the randomly inserted cards including the new Fans of the Game set. The box also boasts three autographs or memorabilia cards per box followed by the dreaded words… on average.
The retail boxes artwork mirrors the hobby for the most part and the foil pack artwork falls in line with the rest of the designs.
Card designs fit right in line with the reputation Studio had built over the years. They feature a nice photo shoot image of the player with a full bleed card with the backdrop image being skylines and cityscapes of the particular city the team plays in.
The gold Studio logo is featured in upper left hand corner of the card. The bottom of the card features a box with the players name and the team logo to the right hand side. The city skyline images are pulled off really well for the most part.
The right hand side of the card back features a quick paragraph about the player featured and the bottom quarter of the card features 2003 and career stats.
A fun addition to this year’s base set is the sprinkling in of all time greats in the base set for certain teams. Collector’s opening packs at the time might be surprised to find a really nice Whitey Ford base card. Chicago Cubs fans were probably excited to find a really nice Ernie Banks card in the set and I’m sure St. Louis Cardinal fans were excited to see a base card of Stan Musial.
The rookie crop was a little light that year with no real names of note outside potentially Kazuo Matsui, a Japanese star that came overseas to play for the New York Mets at the time. Rookie cards appear basically in a subset from card number 201-221 and all of them feature a sticker auto and a serial number to 800 or less.
There are three parallel sets this particular season, including Studio Proof Gold serial numbered to 50 copies, Studio Proof Silver serial numbered to 100 copies and Studio Proof Platinum serial numbered to just 10 copies.
There are an astronomical 58 various insert sets in this product and I will do my best to cover them below.
Big League Challenge is back again as it has appeared in past seasons. The cards feature images of the players during the Big League Challenge in their National League blues and American League red uniforms. The base insert set is serial numbered to 999 copies while a die cut version exists that is numbered to 500 copies and a Big League Challenge Gold version is available with the cards numbered to 499. You will also find Big League Challenge material cards which feature jerseys pants and hats of the featured players. Last but not least, you will find Big League Challenge Material Combos which feature a combination of materials with all of the cards serial number to just 50 copies.
Diamond Cuts Combo Material is the next insert set in the lineup. These are really well done horizontal cards that feature an action shot of the player accompanied with two pieces of legitimate game worn and used materials. The card design features a backdrop of a field towards the top of the card and on the bottom the foreground shows the players name and position and the Diamond Cuts logo with the backdrop being a vintage picture of a field or stadium. The Diamond Cuts insert set is all so found with a Prime Material insert a Material Signature insert and a Material Signature Prime version.
There is a Diamond Cuts Material insert set that is a single piece of material with one set featuring bats another featuring jerseys and a third featuring prime jerseys which is a multicolored version serial number to 10 or less. These insert sets feature some of the bigger names in the sport including current and retired players. You will find Derek Jeter, Greg Maddux, Tony Gwynn, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy and others.
One of the more revolutionary and well-received insert sets of the time is the Fans of the Game which features celebrities who are avid backers of MLB teams. The card design features a portrait image of the celebrity and the Fans of the Game logo on the right hand side with a flag featuring the logo of the team. The backdrop features some pinstripes and a sketch city skyline and the bottom strip of the card features the Donruss Studio logo, the team name, the year the team was established and the amount of World Series championships the team has won.
Most notably in the base set you will find long time media personality Regis Philbin showcasing his love for the New York Yankees and comedian and actor Dennis Leary teamed up with his favorite team, the Boston Red Sox. The five card set also features limited short print autographed versions of the base cards. This is one of the cooler and more unique inserts of the time and meshed other entertainment avenues with baseball and something we are seeing more and more today with non-sport folks being featured on sports cards.
Next up is Game Day Souvenirs which is a memorabilia insert set featuring some of the games hottest stars. The card design has the pinstriping top to bottom with an action shot of the player on the left hand side. You will find superstars such as Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz, Frank Thomas and a wide range of others in this loaded and unbelievable 90 card set.
The Game Day Souvenirs offering is found in various insert forms from the basic jersey to a numbers version, which features the memorabilia die cut in the players number. Another version features the memorabilia die cut in the players position. You will also find Signature Numbers versions and Signature Position versions which feature the aforementioned die cut memorabilia piece accompanied with autographs. Many of the auto/ mem cards have a minuscule print run of five or less.
Heritage is back as an insert set again in this year’s product. Serial numbered to 999 cards, the design is a horizontal one with a sepia tone and look. This is a 10 card set that features the likes of Nolan Ryan, Cal Ripken, Jr., Roberto Clemente, Stan Musial, among others.
Going along with the theme of this product, the Heritage insert has a wide number of parallels unto itself. You can find Heritage Gold serial numbered to 499, Heritage Die Cut serial numbered to 100 copies and more. You will also find Heritage Material Bats featuring lumber of the players. Also featured are Heritage Material Jersey cards showcasing jerseys of baseball’s stars as well as Heritage Material Jersey Prime which is a multicolored premium piece of jersey and last but not least Heritage Material Signature Jersey, which showcases an autograph with the memorabilia shown. With that small of a checklist and that much star power these are some of the more important inserts in the set.
Continuing to pay homage of players past, Heroes of the Hall is a 10 card set that has similar stylings to the other insert sets in this product. Serial numbered to 999 copies, the 10 card set features Hall of Famers such as Fergie Jenkins George Brett, Rod Carew, Steve Carlton and more. There is a die cut version numbered to 500 or less and a Gold version serial numbered to 499 copies.
There is also memorabilia and signature versions of this insert set that fall in line with the others in this product, so you will find Heroes of the Hall Material bats, jerseys, Jersey Prime and Signature Jerseys. Once seen with the material and signatures in place, the design presents very well as that circle on the card is the perfect spot for the bats, jerseys and other pieces of memorabilia you’ll find.
The Masterstrokes insert set that makes another appearance in the Studio product. It features a full color action shot of the player on the left hand side with a tiny team logo in the upper left hand corner, various abstract brush strokes as the backdrop and on the right hand side you’ll find the Masterstrokes text running bottom to top with a wood panel just next to the text.
That wood panel is the perfect home for the various memorabilia versions offered in this set. You will find Masterstrokes Combo Material, Prime, Signature, Signature Prime and Jersey Prime. Do you sense a pattern yet? You also find basic game used bat and game used jersey versions. This insert set falls, as the others do, with the same levels of serial numbering and rarity.
Next up is the Players Collection Jersey insert set. The design is a somewhat abstract one that features the words ‘Players Collection 04’ in a box on the left hand side, various lines swooping from the upper right hand corner to the lower left hand side of the card and an action shot of the player on the right hand side of the card with a piece of authentic game worn jersey below. There’s a Platinum version with only 50 copies available.
The Private Signings autographs are back again. These are basically the base cards with sticker autos but, even with that being said, the imagery on the card is typically very nice. Look for parallels including platinum Gold and Silver versions.
Somehow Studio has always been able to talk professional athletes into taking questionable pictures and the Rally Caps insert set is a prime example. The card design is yet another horizontal offering with an image of a cloudy sky in the background, a posed image of the player with the Donruss Studio logo in the upper right hand corner and a Rally Caps sign that is reminiscent of something you would find on the Las Vegas strip featured on the left hand side of the card.
Some of the cards have rather normal photographs of the players featured while others have absolutely goofy, quite entertaining and all around fun images of the players wearing rally caps. Look no further than Atlanta Braves star Andruw Jones and Pittsburgh Pirates and fielder Jack Wilson for proof. This is a hilariously fun insert set with some true comedic treasures found within. There are two parallels to this insert set including die cut numbered to 500 copies and Gold versions numbered to 499 issues.
Spirit of the Game makes another appearance as well as it features a backdrop image of old school bats, balls hats and jerseys with a small image of the player in the foreground featuring the Spirit of the Game logo, a small team logo and the player’s name towards the bottom. These classy cards offer a rich mahogany feel but in truth are pulled off really well and are really aesthetically pleasing.
Aside from the insert set you itself will find a die cut parallel numbered to 500, a Gold parallel serial numbered to 499 copies as well as Material Bat and Material Jersey sets. You will also find spirit of the game featured with Jersey Prime and Signature Jersey versions available.
Last and maybe least, the credit card design rears it’s ugly head again in the Stars insert set. This time around it looks more like a driver’s license or student ID. 
You will find Gold parallels to 100 and platinum parallels numbered to just 25 copies. Not even Alex Rodriguez can make this set look good.
The last insert set listed there proves that nothing is perfect but beyond that, this is an incredibly deep product with the insert and hit era in full effect. Studio keeps its beautiful base card offering and presents collectors a seemingly unlimited amount of quality insert sets and hits.
You can check out 2004 Donruss Studio cards currently listed on eBay here.
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