1998 Donruss Signature Series

Description

1998 Donruss Signature Series is a 140-card set released under a temporary license by Playoff, Inc., in January 1999. Like in previous years, each pack contained one on-card autograph.

This product was originally intended for release in October, 1998, but was delayed due to the bankruptcy of Pinnacle Brands. As part of Pinnacle's agreement with the Players Association, those players who signed for this product would NOT be paid for their signatures until AFTER the set's release. To ensure that their members would get paid for their services, MLB and the MLBPA granted Playoff (who had bought the rights to Pinnacle's name and inventory in bankruptcy) a temporary license that allowed them to release Signature Series and 1998 Leaf Rookies & Stars.

Distribution

Four cards plus one autograph per pack (MSRP: $14.99)

Reviews

Significant Signatures Autograph Set Review: http://sanjosefuji.blogspot.com/2015/06/very-significant-set-completion.html

Insertion Ratios

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Hobby Odds
Base	140	-	?
Proof	140	150	?
Autographs	98	varies	AU
Significant Signatures	23	2000	AU
Signing Bonus	32	varies	AU

AU: One autograph per pack.

Checklist

Promos

See 1998 Donruss Signature Series Previews.

Base Set

• 1 Dave Justice
• 2 Derek Jeter
• 3 Nomar Garciaparra
• 4 Ryan Klesko
• 5 Jeff Bagwell
• 6 Dante Bichette
• 7 Ivan Rodriguez
• 8 Albert Belle
• 9 Cal Ripken, Jr.
• 10 Craig Biggio
• 11 Barry Larkin
• 12 Jose Guillen
• 13 Will Clark
• 14 J.T. Snow
• 15 Chuck Knoblauch
• 16 Todd Walker
• 17 Scott Rolen
• 18 Rickey Henderson
• 19 Juan Gonzalez
• 20 Justin Thompson
• 21 Roger Clemens
• 22 Ray Lankford
• 23 Jose Cruz, Jr.
• 24 Ken Griffey, Jr.
• 25 Andruw Jones
• 26 Darin Erstad
• 27 Jim Thome
• 28 Wade Boggs
• 29 Ken Caminiti
• 30 Todd Hundley
• 31 Mike Piazza
• 32 Sammy Sosa
• 33 Larry Walker
• 34 Matt Williams
• 35 Frank Thomas
• 36 Gary Sheffield
• 37 Alex Rodriguez
• 38 Hideo Nomo
• 39 Kenny Lofton
• 40 John Smoltz
• 41 Mo Vaughn
• 42 Edgar Martinez
• 43 Paul Molitor
• 44 Rafael Palmeiro
• 45 Barry Bonds
• 46 Vladimir Guerrero
• 47 Carlos Delgado
• 48 Bob Higginson
• 49 Greg Maddux
• 50 Jim Edmonds
• 51 Randy Johnson
• 52 Mark McGwire
• 53 Rondell White
• 54 Raul Mondesi
• 55 Manny Ramirez
• 56 Pedro Martinez
• 57 Tim Salmon
• 58 Moises Alou
• 59 Fred McGriff
• 60 Garret Anderson
• 61 Sandy Alomar, Jr.
• 62 Chan Ho Park
• 63 Mark Kotsay
• 64 Mike Mussina
• 65 Tom Glavine
• 66 Tony Clark
• 67 Mark Grace
• 68 Tony Gwynn
• 69 Tino Martinez
• 70 Kevin Brown
• 71 Todd Greene
• 72 Andy Pettitte
• 73 Livan Hernandez
• 74 Curt Schilling
• 75 Andres Galarraga
• 76 Rusty Greer
• 77 Jay Buhner
• 78 Bobby Bonilla
• 79 Chipper Jones
• 80 Eric Young
• 81 Jason Giambi
• 82 Javy Lopez
• 83 Roberto Alomar
• 84 Bernie Williams
• 85 A.J. Hinch
• 86 Kerry Wood
• 87 Juan Encarnacion
• 88 Brad Fullmer
• 89 Ben Grieve
• 90 Magglio Ordonez RC
• 91 Todd Helton
• 92 Richard Hidalgo
• 93 Paul Konerko
• 94 Aramis Ramirez
• 95 Ricky Ledee
• 96 Derrek Lee
• 97 Travis Lee
• 98 Matt Anderson RC
• 99 Jaret Wright
• 100 David Ortiz
• 101 Carl Pavano
• 102 Orlando Hernandez RC
• 103 Fernando Tatis
• 104 Miguel Tejada
• 105 Rolando Arrojo RC
• 106 Kevin Millwood RC
• 107 Ken Griffey, Jr. CL
• 108 Frank Thomas CL
• 109 Cal Ripken, Jr. CL
• 110 Greg Maddux CL
• 111 John Olerud
• 112 David Cone
• 113 Vinny Castilla
• 114 Jason Kendall
• 115 Brian Jordan
• 116 Hideki Irabu
• 117 Bartolo Colon
• 118 Greg Vaughn
• 119 David Segui
• 120 Bruce Chen
• 121 Julio Ramirez RC
• 122 Troy Glaus RC
• 123 Jeremy Giambi RC
• 124 Ryan Minor RC
• 125 Richie Sexson
• 126 Dermal Brown
• 127 Adrian Beltre
• 128 Eric Chavez
• 129 J.D. Drew RC
• 130 Gabe Kapler RC
• 131 Masato Yoshii RC
• 132 Mike Lowell RC
• 133 Jim Parque RC
• 134 Roy Halladay
• 135 Carlos Lee RC
• 136 Jin Ho Cho RC
• 137 Michael Barrett
• 138 Fernando Seguignol RC
• 139 Odalis Perez RC
• 140 Mark McGwire CL

Parallels

Signature Proofs

All 140 base cards are also available as a Signature Proof parallel. Proofs are limited (but not serial-numbered) to 150 copies.

Convention Parallels

Special parallels of the 1998 Donruss Signature Series set were produced for numerous card shows and fan conventions held in the United States from 1999-2001. It's unclear why Playoff chose an old baseball product for this promotion, as for most of these shows they had neither an MLB Properties nor an MLBPA license at the time. (Playoff, now renamed "Donruss-Playoff" received their MLB/MLBPA licenses in March 2001 and released 2001 Donruss that May.)

Unlike similar card show parallels Donruss-Playoff would produce in the early 2000s, these cards were not serial-numbered. It is unclear if parallels exist for all 140 players in the set or if parallels were produced just for specific players. However, it is known that at least one 1998 Donruss Signature Series Ken Griffey, Jr. convention parallel exists for each of the eleven card shows listed below.

• Sportsfest 1999 (June 17-20, Philadelphia, PA)
• Sportsfest 1999 (August 19-22, Chicago, IL)
• Superbowl XXXIV (January 26-30, Atlanta, GA)
• 1999 San Diego Comic Con (July 15-18, San Diego, CA)
• The 21st National Sports Collectors Convention (July 27-30, Anaheim, CA)
• 2000 GenCon (August 6-9, Milwaukee, WI)
• Sportsfest 2000 (August 18-20, Chicago, IL)
• 2000 Wizard World Convention (August 27-30, Chicago, IL)
• 2001 MLB All-Star FanFest (July 5-10, Seattle, WA)
• 2001 Comic Con (July 19-22, San Diego, CA)
• 2001 Wizard World Convention (August 17-19, Chicago, IL)

Autographs

Signature Series Autographs

122 players signed for 1998 Donruss Signature Series. Not all players signed an equal number of cards, and for most players there were three cards produced.

• Century Marks (First 100 cards, serial-numbered; blue background)
• Millenium Marks (Next 1000 cards, serial-numbered; green background)
• Base Autograph (All other cards; red background)

For example, for a player who signed 5000 cards, the first 100 were designated as "Century Marks" and serial-numbered 1 through 100. The next 1000 were "Millennium Marks" and numbered 101-1100. The other 3900 cards were base autographs and not serial-numbered.

For those players who signed less than 1100 cards, no base autograph exists -- only Century and Millennium Marks.

A Travis Lee card featuring a facsimile signature was distributed as a promo card.

Base Autographs

NOTE: The production figures listed below are for the base autograph only. None of the base autographs are serial-numbered.

• Roberto Alomar 150
• Sandy Alomar, Jr. 700
• Moises Alou 900
• Gabe Alvarez 2900
• Wilson Alvarez 1600
• Jay Bell 1500
• Adrian Beltre 1900
• Andy Benes 2600
• Aaron Boone 3400
• Russell Branyan 1650
• Orlando Cabrera 3100
• Mike Cameron 1150
• Joe Carter 400
• Sean Casey 2275
• Bruce Chen 150
• Tony Clark 2275
• Will Clark 1400
• Matt Clement 1400
• Pat Cline 1400
• Ken Cloude 3400
• Michael Coleman 2800
• David Cone 25
• Jeff Conine 1400
• Jacob Cruz 3200
• Russ Davis 3500
• Jason Dickson 1400
• Todd Dunwoody 3500
• Juan Encarnacion 3400
• Darin Erstad 700
• Bobby Estalella 3400
• Jeff Fassero 3400
• John Franco 1800
• Brad Fullmer 3100
• Jason Giambi 3100
• Derrick Gibson 1200
• Todd Greene 1400
• Ben Grieve 1400
• Mark Grudzielanek 3200
• Vladimir Guerrero 2100
• Wilton Guerrero 1900
• Jose Guillen 2400
• Todd Helton 1300
• Richard Hidalgo 3400
• A.J. Hinch 2900
• Butch Huskey 1900
• Raul Ibanez 3300
• Damian Jackson 900
• Geoff Jenkins 3100
• Eric Karros 650
• Ryan Klesko 400
• Mark Kotsay 3600
• Ricky Ledee 2200
• Derrek Lee 3100
• Travis Lee 150
• Javy Lopez 650
• Mike Lowell 3500
• Greg Maddux 12
• Eli Marrero 3400
• Al Martin 1300
• Rafael Medina 1400
• Scott Morgan 900
• Abraham Nunez 3500
• Paul O'Neill 1000
• Luis Ordaz 2700
• Magglio Ordonez 3200
• Kevin Orie 1350
• David Ortiz 3400
• Rafael Palmeiro 1000
• Carl Pavano 2600
• Neifi Perez 3300
• Dante Powell 3050
• Aramis Ramirez 2800
• Mariano Rivera 900
• Felix Rodriguez 1400
• Henry Rodriguez 3400
• Scott Rolen 1900
• Brian Rose 1400
• Curt Schilling 900
• Richie Sexson 3500
• Randall Simon 3500
• J.T. Snow 400
• Jeff Suppan 1400
• Fernando Tatis 3900
• Miguel Tejada 3800
• Brett Tomko 3400
• Bubba Trammell 3900
• Ismael Valdes 1900
• Robin Ventura 1400
• Billy Wagner 3900
• Todd Walker 1900
• Daryle Ward 400
• Rondell White 3400
• Antone Williamson 3350
• Dan Wilson 2400
• Enrique Wilson 3400
• Preston Wilson 2100
• Tony Womack 3500
• Kerry Wood 3400

Millennium/Century Marks

Listed below is the checklist for the Millennium Marks autographs and the number of each produced. As you can see, not all players signed their full allotment of 1000 Millennium Marks.

The checklist for the Century Marks is identical to that of the Millennium's, and for brevity's sake we are not repeating the full checklist. Suffice to say, most players signed their full allotment of 100 Century Marks.

Juan Encarnancion, Dante Powell, and Brett Tomko did not sign any Century Marks.

• Roberto Alomar 1000
• Sandy Alomar, Jr. 1000
• Moises Alou 1000
• Gabe Alvarez 1000
• Wilson Alvarez 1000
• Brady Anderson 800
• Jay Bell 1000
• Albert Belle 400
• Adrian Beltre 1000
• Andy Benes 1000
• Wade Boggs 900
• Barry Bonds 400
• Aaron Boone 1000
• Russell Branyan 1000
• Jay Buhner 400
• Ellis Burks 900
• Orlando Cabrera 1000
• Mike Cameron 1000
• Ken Caminiti 900
• Joe Carter 1000
• Sean Casey 1000
• Bruce Chen 1000
• Tony Clark 1000
• Will Clark 1000
• Roger Clemens 400
• Matt Clement 900
• Pat Cline 1000
• Ken Cloude 1000
• Michael Coleman 1000
• David Cone 1000
• Jeff Conine 1000
• Jacob Cruz 1000
• Jose Cruz, Jr. 850
• Russ Davis 950
• Jason Dickson 950
• Todd Dunwoody 1000
• Scott Elarton 900
• Juan Encarnacion 1000
• Darin Erstad 1000
• Bobby Estalella 1000
• Jeff Fassero 1000
• John Franco 950
• Brad Fullmer 1000
• Andres Galarraga 900
• Nomar Garciaparra 400
• Jason Giambi 1000
• Derrick Gibson 1000
• Tom Glavine 700
• Juan Gonzalez 1000
• Todd Greene 1000
• Ben Grieve 1000
• Mark Grudzielanek 1000
• Vladimir Guerrero 1000
• Wilton Guerrero 1000
• Jose Guillen 1000
• Tony Gwynn 900
• Todd Helton 1000
• Richard Hidalgo 1000
• A.J. Hinch 1000
• Butch Huskey 1000
• Raul Ibanez 1000
• Damian Jackson 1000
• Geoff Jenkins 1000
• Derek Jeter 400
• Randy Johnson 800
• Chipper Jones 900
• Eric Karros 1000
• Ryan Klesko 1000
• Chuck Knoblauch 900
• Mark Kotsay 1000
• Ricky Ledee 1000
• Derrek Lee 1000
• Travis Lee 1000
• Javy Lopez 800
• Mike Lowell 1000
• Greg Maddux 400
• Eli Marrero 1000
• Al Martin 950
• Rafael Medina 850
• Paul Molitor 900
• Scott Morgan 1000
• Mike Mussina 900
• Abraham Nunez 1000
• Paul O'Neill 900
• Luis Ordaz 1000
• Magglio Ordonez 1000
• Kevin Orie 1000
• David Ortiz 1000
• Rafael Palmeiro 900
• Carl Pavano 1000
• Neifi Perez 1000
• Andy Pettitte 900
• Dante Powell 950
• Aramis Ramirez 1000
• Cal Ripken, Jr. 375
• Mariano Rivera 1000
• Alex Rodriguez 350
• Felix Rodriguez 1000
• Henry Rodriguez 1000
• Ivan Rodriguez 1000
• Scott Rolen 1000
• Brian Rose 1000
• Curt Schilling 1000
• Richie Sexson 1000
• Randall Simon 1000
• J.T. Snow 1000
• Darryl Strawberry 900
• Jeff Suppan 1000
• Fernando Tatis 1000
• Miguel Tejada 1000
• Brett Tomko 1000
• Bubba Trammell 1000
• Ismael Valdes 1000
• Robin Ventura 1000
• Billy Wagner 900
• Todd Walker 1000
• Daryle Ward 1000
• Rondell White 1000
• Matt Williams 820
• Antone Williamson 1000
• Dan Wilson 1000
• Enrique Wilson 1000
• Preston Wilson 400
• Tony Womack 1000
• Kerry Wood 1000

Significant Signatures

This 18-card set features autographs of some of baseball's all-time great players. Only 2000 sets were produced and each card is serial-numbered.

NOTES

• The Catfish Hunter card was signed in either blue or black ink.
• Only 1000 serial #'d copies of Phil Rizzuto's card were produced.
• Nolan Ryan and Ozzie Smith packed out as exchange cards as they were unable to return their cards to Playoff in time. Both of the exchange cards were reprints of what the autographed versions would eventually look like and were sequentially-numbered (#14 and 15) as part of the set. Cards 14 and 15 were good for cards R1 and R2.

Sandy Koufax was on the original checklist issued by the pre-bankruptcy Donruss, but he did not return his cards in time for the pack out. In the time between Donruss' acquisition by Playoff and the release of Signature Series, it was uncertain if Playoff could come to terms with Koufax. Therefore, unlike Ryan and Smith, a Koufax exchange card was not issued in packs. Eventually, officials at Playoff were able to come to terms with Koufax and made the Billy Williams card an exchange card. Each collector that pulled Billy Williams's Significant Signature card could send it in to Donruss for the Koufax (#R3) card. In addition, the signed Williams card was sent back too, but marked with the word "REDEEMED" on the back so that it could not be used again.

The exchange deadline for cards R1-R3 was December 31st, 1999. All three "R-Series" exchange cards (Ryan, Koufax and Smith) feature refractive, shiny fronts whereas the other cards seeded in packs are printed on basic foilboard.

• At some point in time after the product's release, non-refractive versions of the Ryan, Smith, and Koufax cards made their way into the secondary market. Each card features a different card image than the Refractor versions (most notably with Koufax wearing a Brooklyn cap). The Koufax and Smith cards were serial-numbered to 2000 copies, while the Nolan Ryan was numbered to 1000.

• 1 Ernie Banks 2000
• 2 Yogi Berra 2000
• 3 George Brett 2000
• 4 Catfish Hunter 2000
• 5 Al Kaline 2000
• 6 Harmon Killebrew 2000
• 7 Ralph Kiner 2000
• 9 Eddie Mathews 2000
• 10 Don Mattingly 2000
• 11 Willie McCovey 2000
• 12 Stan Musial 2000
• 13 Phil Rizzuto 1000
• 14 Nolan Ryan EXCH 2000
• 15 Ozzie Smith EXCH 2000
• 16 Duke Snider 2000
• 17 Don Sutton 2000
• 18 Billy Williams 2000
• 18a Billy Williams Redeemed 2000
• SP Nolan Ryan 1000
• NNO Sandy Koufax (Brooklyn) 2000
• NNO Ozzie Smith 2000
• R1 Nolan Ryan 2000
• R2 Ozzie Smith 2000
• R3 Sandy Koufax (L.A.) 2000

Signing Bonus

This 32-card set features redemption cards that could be redeemed for an autographed baseball signed by player. Each baseball was laser burned with a Donruss logo as a security measure. In addition, every ball, except for Ben Grieve's, is serial-numbered.

The blank-backed exchange cards are serial-numbered in gold foil on front, but are unnumbered within the context of a complete set and therefore checklisted in alphabetical order. These exchange cards carried an expiration date of December 31st, 1999.

• Roberto Alomar 60
• Sandy Alomar, Jr. 60
• Ernie Banks 12
• Ken Caminiti 60
• Tony Clark 60
• Jacob Cruz 12
• Russ Davis 60
• Juan Encarnacion 60
• Bobby Estalella 60
• Jeff Fassero 60
• Ben Grieve 30
• Mark Grudzielanek 60
• Jose Guillen 120
• Tony Gwynn 60
• Al Kaline 12
• Paul Konerko 100
• Travis Lee 100
• Mike Lowell 60
• Eli Marrero 60
• Eddie Mathews 12
• Paul Molitor 60
• Stan Musial 12
• Abraham Nunez 12
• Luis Ordaz 12
• Magglio Ordonez 12
• Scott Rolen 60
• Bubba Trammell 24
• Robin Ventura 60
• Billy Wagner 60
• Rondell White 60
• Antone Williamson 12
• Tony Womack 60

Executive Proofs

In May 2018, a group of never before seen executive proofs from the autograph set emerged on the secondary market. These proofs were not autographed. The Millennium Marks and Century Marks proofs featured a 'XXXX' designation where the serial number would be while the Base red proofs did not have the 'XXXX' because these were not serial-numbered in the autograph set. A proof of each autograph parallel (Base red, Millennium green, and Century blue) surfaced for nearly every player in the set.

Further, among the cards that emerged, were players who did not sign for the Signature Series product. One such player was Mike Piazza. This is notable because he was not included on the original autograph set checklist and thus there was no reason to expect that cards of his from these sets even existed, until now. Executive proofs in general are very rare, but in the case of Piazza and other players that were not in the original autograph checklist, they are especially noteworthy because it is the first time these cards have ever surfaced. These were probably players that Donruss expected to sign/to be included in the autograph sets but were not for unknown reasons.

Below is the list of the 182 players with a confirmed executive proof. Executive proofs for John Franco, Andres Galarraga, Nomar Garciaparra, Eli Marrero, Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte, Ivan Rodriguez, Matt Williams, and Dan Wilson, (all players with autographs in the 3 sets) have not been confirmed. Players in bold with an asterisk(*) have an executive proof but do not have an autographed base, Millennium, or Century Marks that were issued in packs (67 players in total):

Edgardo Alfonzo*

Roberto Alomar

Sandy Alomar, Jr.

Moises Alou

Gabe Alvarez

Wilson Alvarez

Brady Anderson

Garret Anderson*

Kevin Appier*

Jeff Bagwell*

Jay Bell

Albert Belle

Adrian Beltre

Andy Benes

Kris Benson*

Geronimo Berroa*

Craig Biggio*

Wade Boggs

Barry Bonds

Bobby Bonilla*

Aaron Boone

Russell Branyan

Jay Buhner

Ellis Burks

Orlando Cabrera

Mike Cameron

Ken Caminiti

Joe Carter

Sean Casey

Eric Chavez*

Bruce Chen

Tony Clark

Will Clark

Roger Clemens

Matt Clement

Pat Cline

Ken Cloude

Michael Coleman

David Cone

Jeff Conine

Jacob Cruz

Jose Cruz, Jr.

Russ Davis

Carlos Delgado*

Jason Dickson

Mike Drumright*

Todd Dunwoody

Lenny Dykstra*

Jim Edmonds*

Scott Elarton

Juan Encarnacion

Darin Erstad

Bobby Estalella

Shawn Estes*

Jeff Fassero

Cecil Fielder*

Brad Fullmer

Travis Fryman*

Karim Garcia*

Jason Giambi

Derrick Gibson

Tom Glavine

Juan Gonzalez

Alex Gonzalez*

Dwight Gooden*

Todd Greene

Rusty Greer*

Ben Grieve

Marquis Grissom*

Mark Grudzielanek

Vladimir Guerrero

Wilton Guerrero

Jose Guillen

Tony Gwynn

Jeffery Hammonds*

Todd Helton

Chad Hermansen*

Livan Hernandez*

Orel Hershiser*

Richard Hidalgo

A.J. Hinch

Todd Hundley*

Butch Huskey

Raul Ibanez

Damian Jackson

Geoff Jenkins

Derek Jeter

Charles Johnson*

Randy Johnson

Chipper Jones

David Justice*

Eric Karros

Jason Kendall*

Jimmy Key*

Ryan Klesko

Chuck Knoblauch

Paul Konerko*

Mark Kotsay

Mike Lansing*

Barry Larkin*

Ricky Ledee

Derrek Lee

Travis Lee

Esteban Loaiza*

Kenny Lofton*

Javier Lopez

Mike Lowell

Greg Maddux

Al Martin

Edgar Martinez*

Pedro Martinez*

Ramon Martinez*

Jesus Martinez*

Ben McDonald*

Fred McGriff*

Mark McGwire*

Rafael Medina

Paul Molitor

Kevin Millwood*

Raul Mondesi*

Scott Morgan

Matt Morris*

Charles Nagy*

Hideo Nomo*

Abraham Nunez

Paul O'Neill

Luis Ordaz

Magglio Ordonez

Kevin Orie

David Ortiz

Rafael Palmeiro

Chan Ho Park*

Carl Pavano

Jay Payton*

Neifi Perez

Mike Piazza*

Dante Powell

Aramis Ramirez

Manny Ramirez*

Cal Ripken, Jr.

Mariano Rivera

Ruben Rivera*

Alex Rodriguez

Felix Rodriguez

Henry Rodriguez

Scott Rolen

Brian Rose

Tim Salmon*

Curt Schilling

Richie Sexson

Gary Sheffield*

Randall Simon

John Smoltz*

J.T. Snow

Sammy Sosa*

Scott Spiezio*

Shannon Stewart*

Darryl Strawberry

Jeff Suppan

Fernando Tatis

Miguel Tejada

Justin Thompson*

Brett Tomko

Bubba Trammell

Ismael Valdez

Mario Valdez*

Mo Vaughn*

Robin Ventura

Omar Vizquel*

Billy Wagner

Todd Walker

Larry Walker*

Daryle Ward

Rondell White

Antone Williamson

Preston Wilson

Enrique Wilson

Tony Womack

Kerry Wood

Steve Woodward*

Jaret Wright*

Ron Wright*

Todd Zeile*

Donruss Signature
1996 Leaf Signature Series - 1997 - 1998 - 2001 - 2003 - 2005 - 2012 Panini Signature