1998 Flair Showcase

Description

1998 Flair Showcase is a 480-card multi-tiered, multi-fractured set released by Fleer in July of that year that was similar in structure to the previous year's product. Each of the 120 players in the set were featured in four different levels/"Rows", which each Row featuring a unique front design:

• Row 3: "Flair" design
• Row 2: "Style" design
• Row 1: "Grace" design
• Row 0: "Showcase" design

The Row 3 cards were easiest to find, while the Row 0 cards were the toughest.

Each "Row" was then sub-divided into four, 30-card sub-sections featuring a different cardback design and banner:

• Showtime: Team-colored headshot design, light-blue banner text
• Showstopper: Torso picture design, golden-yellow banner text
• Showdown: Torso picture and nameplate design, red banner text
• Showpiece: Glowing, full-body picture design, white banner text

Each of the 120 players in the set had one card in each of the four rows, with a specifically assigned cardback design per Row, meaning each player had 4 base cards total. The "Seat" number on back represented the card number in the set.

Distribution

24 packs per box, five cards plus one Diamond Ink point card per pack (MSRP: $4.99)

Reviews

Old School Breaks: 1998 Flair Showcase Baseball

Insertion Ratios

Cards	Showtime	Showstopper	Showdown	Showpiece
Flair (Row 3)	1-30 (1:0.9)	31-60 (1:1.1)	61-90 (1:1.5)	91-120 (1:2)
Style (Row 2)	31-60 (1:2.5)	1-30 (1:2)	91-120 (1:3.5)	61-90 (1:4)
Grace (Row 1)	61-90 (1:6)	91-120 (1:10)	1-30 (1:16)	31-60 (1:24)
Showcase (Row 0)	91-120 (serial-numbered to 2000)	61-90 (serial-numbered to 1000)	31-60 (serial-numbered to 500)	1-30 (serial-numbered to 250)

Although the odds are not listed on the box, a typical 24-pack Hobby box should yield two Showcase Showtime cards, one Showcase Showstopper and either a Showcase Showdown or Showcase Showpiece card.

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Odds
Legacy Collection	480	100	?
Masterpiece	480	one-of-one	?
Wave of the Future	12	-	1:20
Perfect 10	10	10	?
Diamond Ink	10	-	one-per-pack

Checklist

Promos

Fleer distributed a four-card strip to dealers and The Hobby media a few months prior to the release of 1998 Flair Showcase. The strip contained the four Cal Ripken, Jr base cards later issued in packs and featured "PROMOTIONAL SAMPLE" text diagonally across the front and back.

P8 Cal Ripken, Jr.

Base Set (Section 2)

• Row 3 (Flair front; Showtime back)

• Row 2 (Style front; Showpiece back)

• Row 1 (Grace front; Showdown back)

• Row 0 (Showcase front; Showstopper back)

For brevity's sake, only one "Row" is listed below as the checklist for all four Rows is identical. Also note that only Row 3 cards are considered "true" rookie cards for those players. All base cards are labeled "Section 2" on the back, distinguishing them from the parallel sets, which were labeled either "Section 0" (Masterpieces) or "Section 1" (Legacy) on the back.

• 1 Ken Griffey, Jr.
• 2 Travis Lee
• 3 Frank Thomas
• 4 Ben Grieve
• 5 Nomar Garciaparra
• 6 Jose Cruz, Jr.
• 7 Alex Rodriguez
• 8 Cal Ripken, Jr.
• 9 Mark McGwire
• 10 Chipper Jones
• 11 Paul Konerko
• 12 Todd Helton
• 13 Greg Maddux
• 14 Derek Jeter
• 15 Jaret Wright
• 16 Livan Hernandez
• 17 Mike Piazza
• 18 Juan Encarnacion
• 19 Tony Gwynn
• 20 Scott Rolen
• 21 Roger Clemens
• 22 Tony Clark
• 23 Albert Belle
• 24 Mo Vaughn
• 25 Andruw Jones
• 26 Jason Dickson
• 27 Fernando Tatis
• 28 Ivan Rodriguez
• 29 Ricky Ledee
• 30 Darin Erstad
• 31 Brian Rose
• 32 Magglio Ordonez RC
• 33 Larry Walker
• 34 Bob Higginson
• 35 Chili Davis
• 36 Barry Bonds
• 37 Vladimir Guerrero
• 38 Jeff Bagwell
• 39 Kenny Lofton
• 40 Ryan Klesko
• 41 Mike Cameron
• 42 Charles Johnson
• 43 Andy Pettitte
• 44 Juan Gonzalez
• 45 Tim Salmon
• 46 Hideki Irabu
• 47 Paul Molitor
• 48 Edgar Renteria
• 49 Manny Ramirez
• 50 Jim Edmonds
• 51 Bernie Williams
• 52 Roberto Alomar
• 53 Dave Justice
• 54 Rey Ordonez
• 55 Ken Caminiti
• 56 Jose Guillen
• 57 Randy Johnson
• 58 Brady Anderson
• 59 Hideo Nomo
• 60 Tino Martinez
• 61 John Smoltz
• 62 Joe Carter
• 63 Matt Williams
• 64 Robin Ventura
• 65 Barry Larkin
• 66 Dante Bichette
• 67 Travis Fryman
• 68 Gary Sheffield
• 69 Eric Karros
• 70 Matt Stairs
• 71 Al Martin
• 72 Jay Buhner
• 73 Ray Lankford
• 74 Carlos Delgado
• 75 Edgardo Alfonzo
• 76 Rondell White
• 77 Chuck Knoblauch
• 78 Raul Mondesi
• 79 Johnny Damon
• 80 Matt Morris
• 81 Tom Glavine
• 82 Kevin Brown
• 83 Garret Anderson
• 84 Mike Mussina
• 85 Pedro Martinez
• 86 Craig Biggio
• 87 Darryl Kile
• 88 Rafael Palmeiro
• 89 Jim Thome
• 90 Andres Galarraga
• 91 Sammy Sosa
• 92 Willie Greene
• 93 Vinny Castilla
• 94 Justin Thompson
• 95 Jeff King
• 96 Jeff Cirillo
• 97 Mark Grudzielanek
• 98 Brad Radke
• 99 John Olerud
• 100 Curt Schilling
• 101 Steve Finley
• 102 J.T. Snow
• 103 Edgar Martinez
• 104 Wilson Alvarez
• 105 Rusty Greer
• 106 Pat Hentgen
• 107 David Cone
• 108 Fred McGriff
• 109 Jason Giambi
• 110 Tony Womack
• 111 Bernard Gilkey
• 112 Alan Benes
• 113 Mark Grace
• 114 Reggie Sanders
• 115 Moises Alou
• 116 John Jaha
• 117 Henry Rodriguez
• 118 Dean Palmer
• 119 Mike Lieberthal
• 120 Shawn Estes

Parallels

All 480 base cards (120 players from all four "Rows") are available in a Legacy and Masterpiece parallel. These parallels are distinctive from the base cards as both feature a black and white background and are either labeled "Section 1" (Legacy) or "Section 0" (Masterpiece) on the reverse, differing from base cards which are labeled "Section 2". However, a number of "Section 0" Legacy Collections exist and are legitimate as they were erroneously printed by Fleer's subcontractor.

Legacy Collection (Section 1)

Legacy Collection parallels are recognizable for the use of a distinctive and reflective-blue foil on the player's nameplate (front and back of card), Flair Showcase logo (front), "Legacy Collection" logo (front), and serial-number stamp (back). However, the player photos, Row design, and holographic finish were the same as the base versions. All Legacy Collections were serial-numbered to 100 copies and were labeled "Section 1" on the back.

Masterpiece (Section 0)

Masterpiece parallels are recognizable for the use of a distinctive and reflective-purple foil on the player's nameplate (front and back of card), Flair Showcase logo (front), "Legacy Collection" logo (front), and unique stamp text (back). However, the player photos, Row design, and holographic finish were the same as the base versions. All Masterpieces were stamped: "The Only 1 of 1 Masterpiece" on the back and were labeled "Section 0" on the back.

Proofs & Counterfeits

A number of incomplete prints of Legacy Collections and Masterpieces have emerged on the secondary market over the years.

In 1999, Fleer/Skybox had cards from 1998 Flair Showcase Baseball and Football stolen from one of their vendors - some of the cards stolen included the Legacy Collection parallels. Cards that were stolen have 3 major distinctions:

• The front of the cards are not laminated
• The back of the cards do not feature the foil player nameplate
• The back of the cards are improperly stamped on the long edge (3 1/2" dimension) of the card, rather than the short edge (2 1/2" dimension)

While the exact list of players and Rows with unfinished Legacy or Masterpiece cards is unknown, Row 0 Legacy Collections and Row 3 Masterpieces have been the most common that have surfaced. Of those that have surfaced, there are multiple versions that are either legitimate or altered/counterfeited - see this Griffey Row 0 Legacy for reference:

• Pack-issued: Legitimate. Blue-foil nameplate and vertical blue-foil serial number stamp in correct location (2 1/2" dimension of cardback)
• Proof: Legitimate. Missing blue-foil nameplate and blue-foil serial-number stamp:
• Unstamped Proof: Legitimate. Blue-foil nameplate but incomplete serial-number stamp in correct location:
• Counterfeit: Missing blue-foil nameplate, serial-number stamp is incorrectly located on 3 1/2" dimension of card, and different font stamp:

Identifying Counterfeits

Unscrupulous fraudsters have counterfeited the Proof versions of Legacy Collections (either obtained from the theft referenced above in 1998-99 or after Fleer's bankruptcy in 2005) by adding a fake serial-number to the cards. Row 0 Legacy Collections are known to have counterfeit stamps; however, there are no known counterfeit-stamped Row 1, Row 2, or Row 3 Legacy Collections as of 2019.

Tips for identifying a counterfeit:

• Look at serial number location: real, pack-issued Legacies featured the serial-number stamped vertically down the bottom-left corner of the cardback (2 1/2" dimension of card). If you see a Row 0 Legacy with serial-number stamp that is horizontal across the center-right of the cardback (3 1/2" dimension of card), it is a counterfeit.
• Look at serial number font: real, pack-issued Legacies utilize a font that clearly distinguishes between the letter "O" and the number "0". However, if you see a Row 0 Legacy with a serial-number stamp that uses the number "0" as the "O" in "OF", it is a counterfeit.
• Real:
• Fake:
• For the Griffey Row 0 Legacy, the following serial numbers have a confirmed counterfeit double: 023, 031, 032, 033, 040, 043, 054, 064, 067, 068, 076, 079, 092, 094

Inserts

Wave of the Future

This 12-card insert featured thick plastic cards filled with vegetable oil and glitter in an attempt to mimic an ocean wave. 1998 was the last year that this future stars-themed insert was featured in the 90's decade.

• 1 WF Travis Lee
• 2 WF Todd Helton
• 3 WF Ben Grieve
• 4 WF Juan Encarnacion
• 5 WF Brad Fullmer
• 6 WF Ruben Rivera
• 7 WF Paul Konerko
• 8 WF Derrek Lee
• 9 WF Mike Lowell
• 10 WF Magglio Ordonez
• 11 WF Rich Butler
• 12 WF Eli Marrero

Perfect 10

This ten-card insert featured color player photography using silk-screen technology. Only ten hand-numbered copies of each card were produced, making it one of the scarcest, non-parallel inserts of the era.

• 1 Ken Griffey, Jr.
• 2 Cal Ripken, Jr.
• 3 Frank Thomas
• 4 Mike Piazza
• 5 Greg Maddux
• 6 Nomar Garciaparra
• 7 Mark McGwire
• 8 Scott Rolen
• 9 Alex Rodriguez
• 10 Roger Clemens

Autographs

See 1998 Fleer Diamond Ink.

Flair
1993 - 1994 - 1995 - 1996 - 1997 Flair Showcase - 1998 Flair Showcase - 1999 Flair Showcase - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - 2006 Flair Showcase
Other Flair sets: 2003 Flair Greats

Fleer Showcase
2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005
Other Showcase Sets: 1997 Flair Showcase - 1998 Flair Showcase - 1999 Flair Showcase - 2003 Fleer Avant - 2004 Fleer Sweet Sigs