King Saladeen knew he had to be nearly perfect when Topps Project 2020 made him the first artist to recreate Derek Jeter’s famous 1993 Topps No. 98 rookie card, which depicts the former New York Yankees shortstop throwing across the diamond.
To breathe new life into one of the most famous cards featuring Jeter, elected this year to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Saladeen kept the original image of the Bronx Bombers captain but surrounded the five-time World Series champion with a concrete jungle feel as he drew skyscrapers behind Yankee Stadium.
Saladeen, who is from West Philadelphia but is known around the world for his contemporary art, also put the words Mr. November on the bottom left of the card and was creative by incorporating the Big Apple and the Bronx. The card also included images of the busy city streets with a plane flying in a blue sky with a banner reading, “1992 Draft Pick”.
“For the last five years, most of my business has been done in New York,” said King Saladeen, whose given name is Raheem Saladeen Johnson, said. “I have been to Yankee games, met players on the team and performed projects with the Yankees. I wanted to put the city feel and culture into the card. He’s the captain, so I couldn’t mess up.”
Saladeen’s Jeter was card No. 29 in the 400-card Project 2020 set in which 20 culture-defining artists provide a visual reimagination of 20 iconic Topps baseball cards of historic players ranging from Ted Williams to Mike Trout.