1998 Donruss Elite

Description

1998 Donruss Elite is a 150-card set released in March, 1998.

Distribution

18 packs per box, five cards per pack (MSRP: $3.99). Hobby only.

Insertion Ratios

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Odds
Base	150	-	?
Aspirations	150	750	?
Status	150	100	?
Back to the Future	8	1400	?
Craftsmen	30	3500	?
Master Craftsmen	30	100	?
Prime Numbers	36	varies	?
Prime Numbers Die-Cut	36	varies	?
Back to the Future Autographs	7	100 or 200	?

Checklist

Base Set

• 1 Ken Griffey, Jr.
• 2 Frank Thomas
• 3 Alex Rodriguez
• 4 Mike Piazza
• 5 Greg Maddux
• 6 Cal Ripken, Jr.
• 7 Chipper Jones
• 8 Derek Jeter
• 9 Tony Gwynn
• 10 Andruw Jones
• 11 Juan Gonzalez
• 12 Jeff Bagwell
• 13 Mark McGwire
• 14 Roger Clemens
• 15 Albert Belle
• 16 Barry Bonds
• 17 Kenny Lofton
• 18 Ivan Rodriguez
• 19 Manny Ramirez
• 20 Jim Thome
• 21 Chuck Knoblauch
• 22 Paul Molitor
• 23 Barry Larkin
• 24 Andy Pettitte
• 25 John Smoltz
• 26 Randy Johnson
• 27 Bernie Williams
• 28 Larry Walker
• 29 Mo Vaughn
• 30 Bob Higginson
• 31 Edgardo Alfonzo
• 32 Justin Thompson
• 33 Jeff Suppan
• 34 Roberto Alomar
• 35 Hideo Nomo
• 36 Rusty Greer
• 37 Tim Salmon
• 38 Jim Edmonds
• 39 Gary Sheffield
• 40 Ken Caminiti
• 41 Sammy Sosa
• 42 Tony Womack
• 43 Matt Williams
• 44 Andres Galarraga
• 45 Garret Anderson
• 46 Rafael Palmeiro
• 47 Mike Mussina
• 48 Craig Biggio
• 49 Wade Boggs
• 50 Tom Glavine
• 51 Jason Giambi
• 52 Will Clark
• 53 Dave Justice
• 54 Sandy Alomar
• 55 Edgar Martinez
• 56 Brady Anderson
• 57 Eric Young
• 58 Ray Lankford
• 59 Kevin Brown
• 60 Raul Mondesi
• 61 Bobby Bonilla
• 62 Javy Lopez
• 63 Fred McGriff
• 64 Rondell White
• 65 Todd Hundley
• 66 Mark Grace
• 67 Alan Benes
• 68 Jeff Abbott
• 69 Bob Abreu
• 70 Deion Sanders
• 71 Tino Martinez
• 72 Shannon Stewart
• 73 Homer Bush
• 74 Carlos Delgado
• 75 Raul Ibanez
• 76 Hideki Irabu
• 77 Jose Cruz
• 78 Tony Clark
• 79 Wilton Guerrero
• 80 Vladimir Guerrero
• 81 Scott Rolen
• 82 Nomar Garciaparra
• 83 Darin Erstad
• 84 Chan Ho Park
• 85 Mike Cameron
• 86 Todd Walker
• 87 Todd Dunwoody
• 88 Neifi Perez
• 89 Brett Tomko
• 90 Jose Guillen
• 91 Matt Morris
• 92 Bartolo Colon
• 93 Jaret Wright
• 94 Shawn Estes
• 95 Livan Hernandez
• 96 Bobby Estalella
• 97 Ben Grieve
• 98 Paul Konerko
• 99 David Ortiz
• 100 Todd Helton
• 101 Juan Encarnacion
• 102 Bubba Trammell
• 103 Miguel Tejada
• 104 Jacob Cruz
• 105 Todd Greene
• 106 Kevin Orie
• 107 Mark Kotsay
• 108 Fernando Tatis
• 109 Jay Payton
• 110 Pokey Reese
• 111 Derrek Lee
• 112 Richard Hidalgo
• 113 Ricky Ledee
• 114 Lou Collier
• 115 Ruben Rivera
• 116 Shawn Green
• 117 Moises Alou

Generations

• 118 Ken Griffey, Jr.
• 119 Frank Thomas
• 120 Alex Rodriguez
• 121 Mike Piazza
• 122 Greg Maddux
• 123 Cal Ripken, Jr.
• 124 Chipper Jones
• 125 Derek Jeter
• 126 Tony Gwynn
• 127 Andruw Jones
• 128 Juan Gonzalez
• 129 Jeff Bagwell
• 130 Mark McGwire
• 131 Roger Clemens
• 132 Albert Belle
• 133 Barry Bonds
• 134 Kenny Lofton
• 135 Ivan Rodriguez
• 136 Manny Ramirez
• 137 Jim Thome
• 138 Chuck Knoblauch
• 139 Paul Molitor
• 140 Barry Larkin
• 141 Mo Vaughn
• 142 Hideki Irabu
• 143 Jose Cruz
• 144 Tony Clark
• 145 Vladimir Guerrero
• 146 Scott Rolen
• 147 Nomar Garciaparra

Checklists

• 148 Nomar Garciaparra
• 149 Larry Walker
• 150 Tino Martinez

Parallels

All 150 base cards are available in the following parallels.

• Aspirations (limited to 750 copies)
• Status (serial-numbered to 100 copies)

NOTE: Samples, serial-numbered "XXX/100" are known to exist. It's believed that these cards did not emerge until after Pinnacle Brands' 1998 bankruptcy.

Inserts

Back to the Future

Back to the Future is an eight-card, double-sided, set and features a top veteran and a new player. Each card is serial-numbered to 1500 copies with the first 100 autographed (see below).

• 1 Cal Ripken, Jr. / Paul Konerko
• 2 Jeff Bagwell / Todd Helton
• 3 Eddie Mathews / Chipper Jones
• 4 Juan Gonzalez / Ben Grieve
• 5 Hank Aaron / Jose Cruz, Jr.
• 6 Frank Thomas / David Ortiz
• 7 Nolan Ryan / Greg Maddux
• 8 Alex Rodriguez / Nomar Garciaparra

Craftsmen

Each Craftsmen insert is serial-numbered to 3500 copies, with a "Master Craftsmen" parallel, serial-numbered to only 100 copies, also available. The Craftsmen cards have a blue-foil background, while the Master Craftsmen are red.

NOTE: Like with the Status parallels (see above) samples, serial-numbered "XXX/100" are known to exist. It's believed that these cards did not emerge until after Pinnacle Brands' 1998 bankruptcy.

• 1 Ken Griffey, Jr.
• 2 Frank Thomas
• 3 Alex Rodriguez
• 4 Cal Ripken, Jr.
• 5 Greg Maddux
• 6 Mike Piazza
• 7 Chipper Jones
• 8 Derek Jeter
• 9 Tony Gwynn
• 10 Nomar Garciaparra
• 11 Scott Rolen
• 12 Jose Cruz, Jr.
• 13 Tony Clark
• 14 Vladimir Guerrero
• 15 Todd Helton
• 16 Ben Grieve
• 17 Andruw Jones
• 18 Jeff Bagwell
• 19 Mark McGwire
• 20 Juan Gonzalez
• 21 Roger Clemens
• 22 Albert Belle
• 23 Barry Bonds
• 24 Kenny Lofton
• 25 Ivan Rodriguez
• 26 Paul Molitor
• 27 Barry Larkin
• 28 Mo Vaughn
• 29 Larry Walker
• 30 Tino Martinez

Prime Numbers

Prime Numbers is a 36-card set featuring three cards each of 12 top players printed with three different numerical backgrounds (of which form a statistical benchmark when placed together). Each card is serial-numbered to each player's particular statistic, with a die-cut parallel also available. All three cards for each player are serial-numbered to the same statistic, which is the aggregate number of die-cut and non-die-cut cards. The production figures listed below are for the non-die-cut version.

• 1A Ken Griffey, Jr. 94
• 1B Ken Griffey, Jr. 204
• 1C Ken Griffey, Jr. 290
• 2A Frank Thomas 56
• 2B Frank Thomas 406
• 2C Frank Thomas 450
• 3A Mark McGwire 87
• 3B Mark McGwire 307
• 3C Mark McGwire 380
• 4A Cal Ripken, Jr. 17
• 4B Cal Ripken, Jr. 507
• 4C Cal Ripken, Jr. 510
• 5A Mike Piazza 76
• 5B Mike Piazza 506
• 5C Mike Piazza 570
• 6A Chipper Jones 89
• 6B Chipper Jones 409
• 6C Chipper Jones 480
• 7A Tony Gwynn 72
• 7B Tony Gwynn 302
• 7C Tony Gwynn 370
• 8A Barry Bonds 74
• 8B Barry Bonds 304
• 8C Barry Bonds 370
• 9A Jeff Bagwell 25
• 9B Jeff Bagwell 405
• 9C Jeff Bagwell 420
• 10A Juan Gonzalez 89
• 10B Juan Gonzalez 509
• 10C Juan Gonzalez 580
• 11A Alex Rodriguez 34
• 11B Alex Rodriguez 504
• 11C Alex Rodriguez 530
• 12A Kenny Lofton 54
• 12B Kenny Lofton 304
• 12C Kenny Lofton 350

Die-Cuts

For card "A" in each three-card sequence, the number of cards die-cut is equal to the value of the first digit multiplied by 100. "B" is equal to the middle-digit times ten. "C" die-cuts are equal to the value of the third digit.

• 1A Ken Griffey, Jr. 200
• 1B Ken Griffey, Jr. 90
• 1C Ken Griffey, Jr. 4
• 2A Frank Thomas 400
• 2B Frank Thomas 50
• 2C Frank Thomas 6
• 3A Mark McGwire 300
• 3B Mark McGwire 80
• 3C Mark McGwire 7
• 4A Cal Ripken, Jr. 500
• 4B Cal Ripken, Jr. 10
• 4C Cal Ripken, Jr. 7
• 5A Mike Piazza 500
• 5B Mike Piazza 70
• 5C Mike Piazza 6
• 6A Chipper Jones 400
• 6B Chipper Jones 80
• 6C Chipper Jones 9
• 7A Tony Gwynn 300
• 7B Tony Gwynn 70
• 7C Tony Gwynn 2
• 8A Barry Bonds 300
• 8B Barry Bonds 70
• 8C Barry Bonds 4
• 9A Jeff Bagwell 400
• 9B Jeff Bagwell 20
• 9C Jeff Bagwell 5
• 10A Juan Gonzalez 500
• 10B Juan Gonzalez 80
• 10C Juan Gonzalez 90
• 11A Alex Rodriguez 500
• 11B Alex Rodriguez 30
• 11C Alex Rodriguez 4
• 12A Kenny Lofton 300
• 12B Kenny Lofton 50
• 12C Kenny Lofton 4

Samples

To promote the upcoming 1998 Donruss Elite set, samples were created for all 36 Prime Numbers inserts and distributed one per dealer order form. The cards are identical to regular Prime Numbers inserts (see below) except for the large "SAMPLE" text running diagonally across the backs and lack of serial numbering. Unlike the Status and Master Craftsman samples, these were issued before the release of Donruss Elite -- like a conventional promo card.

Autographs

Back to the Future Autograph

This seven-card set is a parallel version of the the regular 1998 Donruss Elite Back to the Future insert set. The first 100 serial-numbered copies of each card were autographed by both players.

Cal Ripken, Jr. refused to sign card #1 with Paul Konerko. As a compromise, Ripken eventually signed 200 cards. One hundred special redemptions (rather bland black and white text-based cards) were issued for the Ripken card and randomly seeded into packs. In addition, lucky collectors that pulled one of the first 100 serial-numbered Back to the Future Konerko autograph cards could exchange it for a Ripken autograph AND still receive their Konerko autograph back, unmarked. The Ripken autograph is serial-numbered "XXX/200."

Card #6 does not exist in this set. Due to problems in obtaining Frank Thomas' autograph prior to the shipping deadline, the manufacturer was forced to insert into packs the first 100 serial-numbered cards of card #6 unsigned. It was then announced that any collector who pulled an unsigned 1-100 #6 could trade it for a special Frank Thomas autographed card (a basic 1998 Donruss Elite Thomas card, embossed with a special stamp and signed by Thomas on front). David Ortiz did not sign for this set.

Due to Pinnacle Brands' bankruptcy, the exchange program was abruptly halted in late 1998. Prior to this, the serial-numbered 1-100 Thomas/Ortiz cards traded for as much as $300. After this date, the premiums disappeared entirely.

• AU2 Frank Thomas (base card) 100
• 1a Paul Konerko 100
• 1b Cal Ripken, Jr. 200
• 2 Jeff Bagwell / Todd Helton 100
• 3 Eddie Mathews / Chipper Jones 100
• 4 Juan Gonzalez / Ben Grieve 100
• 5 Hank Aaron / Jose Cruz, Jr. 100
• 7 Nolan Ryan / Greg Maddux 100
• 8 Alex Rodriguez / Nomar Garciaparra 100

Donruss/Panini Elite
Pinnacle Brands Era: 1997 - 1998
Donruss-Playoff Era: 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005
Panini America Era: 2015 Panini Elite
Donruss Elite Extra Edition: 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2007 - 2008 - 2009 - 2010 - 2011
Panini Elite Extra Edition: 2012 - 2013 - 2014 - 2015 - 2016 - 2017 - 2018 - 2019 - 2020 - 2021 - 2022 - 2023