1998 Bowman

Description

1998 Bowman once again touted itself as "Home Of The Rookie Card". Indeed it was, out of the 441 cards in the set 115 are rookie cards. Unfortunately, quantity did not necessarily equal quality. The "best" rookie cards, if you call them that, include Magglio Ordonez, Jimmy Rollins, Carlos Lee, Troy Glaus, & Ramon Ortiz.

For the first time, players making their Bowman Debut are marked with a gold Bowman Rookie Card stamp above their name. However, in hindsight most of the players featured as a rookie card went on to have undistinguished careers or never even appeared in a major league game. (Those never to appear are noted in checklist. 35 total)

It is believed that Topps cut production of Series Two by as much as 20% over Series One. Additionally, it appears that 1998 Bowman hasn't aged well, due to the large print run and lack of big-name rookie cards. Hobby boxes of either series can be found for as little as $15.

$125 Guarantee

For the third consecutive year, Topps offered collectors the right to purchase an "option" to sell a complete set of 1998 Bowman Baseball during a five-month window in late 2001.

To receive the $125, collectors had to send a completed certificate request card (randomly inserted into packs) and a $5 check or money order to:

Bowman Guaranteed Value Certificate P.O. Box 661 Ardsley, NY 10502

Then Topps would send back a Guaranteed Value Certificate which could be sent back in, along with a completed set, for a $125 check.

The window to submit request cards and to receive a check was from August 1, 2001 to December 31, 2001.

Distribution

Hobby: 24 packs in a box, 10 cards per pack. $2.50 (MSRP)

Insertion Ratios

Series One

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Hobby Odds	Retail Odds
Base	221	-	?	?
Bowman International	221	-	one-per-pack	?
Golden Anniversary	221	50	1:237	?
1991 Japanese BBM	3	-	?	?
Scout's Choice	21	-	1:12	?
Certified Autographs Blue Foil	35	500*	1:149	?
Certified Autographs Silver Foil	35	75*	1:992	?
Certified Autographs Gold Foil	35	25*	1:2976	?

Series Two

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Hobby Odds	Retail Odds
Base	220	-	?	?
Bowman International	220	-	one-per-pack	?
Golden Anniversary	220	50	1:194	?
1999 ROY Favorites	10	-	1:12	?
Minor League MVPs	11	-	1:12	?
Certified Autographs Blue Foil	35	500*	1:122	?
Certified Autographs Silver Foil	35	75*	1:815	?
Certified Autographs Gold Foil	35	25*	1:2445	?

* Estimated production figures.

Checklist

Promos

A 20-card promo set was randomly inserted into packs of 1998 Stadium Club. The first ten cards -- all of established Major Leaguers -- were inserted into Series One, or "Odd Series" packs. The final ten are all of Prospects and seeded into Even Series packs.

Odd Series

• BP1 Nomar Garciaparra
• BP2 Scott Rolen
• BP3 Ken Griffey, Jr.
• BP4 Frank Thomas
• BP5 Larry Walker
• BP6 Mike Piazza
• BP7 Chipper Jones
• BP8 Tino Martinez
• BP9 Mark McGwire
• BP10 Barry Bonds

Even Series

• BP1 Ben Grieve
• BP2 Brad Fullmer
• BP3 Ryan Anderson
• BP4 Mark Kotsay
• BP5 Bobby Estalella
• BP6 Juan Encarnacion
• BP7 Todd Helton
• BP8 Mike Lowell
• BP9 A.J. Hinch
• BP10 Richard Hidalgo

Base Set

NOTE: RC* = A true rookie card of a player who never played in the Major Leagues.

Series One

Veterans (reds)

• 1 Nomar Garciaparra
• 2 Scott Rolen
• 3 Andy Pettitte
• 4 Ivan Rodriguez
• 5 Mark McGwire
• 6 Jason Dickson
• 7 Jose Cruz, Jr.
• 8 Jeff Kent
• 9 Mike Mussina
• 10 Jason Kendall
• 11 Brett Tomko
• 12 Jeff King
• 13 Brad Radke
• 14 Robin Ventura
• 15 Jeff Bagwell
• 16 Greg Maddux
• 17 John Jaha
• 18 Mike Piazza
• 19 Edgar Martinez
• 20 Dave Justice
• 21 Todd Hundley
• 22 Tony Gwynn
• 23 Larry Walker
• 24 Bernie Williams
• 25 Edgar Renteria
• 26 Rafael Palmeiro
• 27 Tim Salmon
• 28 Matt Morris
• 29 Shawn Estes
• 30 Vladimir Guerrero
• 31 Fernando Tatis
• 32 Justin Thompson
• 33 Ken Griffey, Jr.
• 34 Edgardo Alfonzo
• 35 Mo Vaughn
• 36 Marty Cordova
• 37 Craig Biggio
• 38 Roger Clemens
• 39 Mark Grace
• 40 Ken Caminiti
• 41 Tony Womack
• 42 Albert Belle
• 43 Tino Martinez
• 44 Sandy Alomar, Jr.
• 45 Jeff Cirillo
• 46 Jason Giambi
• 47 Darin Erstad
• 48 Livan Hernandez
• 49 Mark Grudzielanek
• 50 Sammy Sosa
• 51 Curt Schilling
• 52 Brian Hunter
• 53 Neifi Perez
• 54 Todd Walker
• 55 Jose Guillen
• 56 Jim Thome
• 57 Tom Glavine
• 58 Todd Greene
• 59 Rondell White
• 60 Roberto Alomar
• 61 Tony Clark
• 62 Vinny Castilla
• 63 Barry Larkin
• 64 Hideki Irabu
• 65 Johnny Damon
• 66 Juan Gonzalez
• 67 John Olerud
• 68 Gary Sheffield
• 69 Raul Mondesi
• 70 Chipper Jones

Prospects (blues)

• 71 David Ortiz
• 72 Warren Morris RC
• 73 Alex Gonzalez
• 74 Nick Bierbrodt
• 75 Roy Halladay
• 76 Danny Buxbaum
• 77 Adam Kennedy RC
• 78 Jared Sandberg RC
• 79 Michael Barrett RC
• 80 Gil Meche RC
• 81 Jayson Werth
• 82 Abraham Nunez
• 83 Ben Petrick
• 84 Brett Caradonna
• 85 Mike Lowell RC
• 86 Clayton Bruner
• 87 John Curtice RC*
• 88 Bobby Estalella
• 89 Juan Melo RC
• 90 Arnold Gooch
• 91 Kevin Millwood RC
• 92 Richie Sexson
• 93 Orlando Cabrera RC
• 94 Pat Cline
• 95 Anthony Sanders
• 96 Russ Johnson RC
• 97 Ben Grieve
• 98 Kevin McGlinchy
• 99 Paul Wilder
• 100 Russ Ortiz
• 101 Ryan Jackson RC
• 102 Heath Murray
• 103 Brian Rose RC
• 104 Ryan Radmanovich RC
• 105 Ricky Ledee
• 106 Jeff Wallace RC
• 107 Ryan Minor RC
• 108 Dennis Reyes
• 109 James Manias
• 110 Chris Carpenter
• 111 Daryle Ward
• 112 Vernon Wells
• 113 Chad Green
• 114 Mike Stoner RC*
• 115 Brad Fullmer
• 116 Adam Eaton
• 117 Jeff Liefer
• 118 Corey Koskie RC
• 119 Todd Helton
• 120 Jaime Jones RC*
• 121 Mel Rosario
• 122 Geoff Goetz
• 123 Adrian Beltre
• 124 Jason Dellaero
• 125 Gabe Kapler RC
• 126 Scott Schoeneweis
• 127 Ryan Brannan
• 128 Aaron Akin
• 129 Ryan Anderson RC*
• 130 Brad Penny
• 131 Bruce Chen
• 132 Eli Marrero
• 133 Eric Chavez
• 134 Troy Glaus RC
• 135 Troy Cameron
• 136 Brian Sikorski RC
• 137 Mike Kinkade RC
• 138 Braden Looper
• 139 Mark Mangum
• 140 Danny Peoples
• 141 J.J. Davis
• 142 Ben Davis
• 143 Jacque Jones
• 144 Derrick Gibson
• 145 Bronson Arroyo
• 146 Luis de los Santos RC
• 147 Jeff Abbott
• 148 Michael Cuddyer RC
• 149 Jason Romano
• 150 Shane Monahan
• 151 Ntema Ndungidi RC*
• 152 Alex Sanchez
• 153 Jack Cust RC
• 154 Brent Butler
• 155 Ramon Hernandez
• 156 Norm Hutchins
• 157 Jason Marquis
• 158 Jacob Cruz
• 159 Rob Burger RC*
• 160 Dave Coggin
• 161 Preston Wilson
• 162 Jason Fitzgerald RC*
• 163 Dan Serafini
• 164 Peter Munro
• 165 Trot Nixon
• 166 Homer Bush
• 167 Dermal Brown
• 168 Chad Hermansen
• 169 Julio Moreno RC*
• 170 John Roskos RC
• 171 Grant Roberts
• 172 Ken Cloude
• 173 Jason Brester
• 174 Jason Conti
• 175 Jon Garland
• 176 Robbie Bell
• 177 Nathan Haynes
• 178 Ramon Ortiz RC
• 179 Shannon Stewart
• 180 Pablo Ortega
• 181 Jimmy Rollins RC
• 182 Sean Casey
• 183 Ted Lilly RC
• 184 Chris Enochs RC*
• 185 Magglio Ordonez RC UER (photo in front is Mario Valdez)
• 186 Mike Drumright
• 187 Aaron Boone
• 188 Matt Clement
• 189 Todd Dunwoody
• 190 Larry Rodriguez
• 191 Todd Noel
• 192 Geoff Jenkins
• 193 George Lombard
• 194 Lance Berkman
• 195 Marcus McCain
• 196 Ryan McGuire
• 197 Jhensy Sandoval
• 198 Corey Lee
• 199 Mario Valdez
• 200 Robert Fick RC
• 201 Donnie Sadler
• 202 Marc Kroon
• 203 David Miller
• 204 Jarrod Washburn
• 205 Miguel Tejada
• 206 Raul Ibanez
• 207 John Patterson
• 208 Calvin Pickering
• 209 Felix Martinez
• 210 Mark Redman
• 211 Scott Elarton
• 212 Jose Amado RC*
• 213 Kerry Wood
• 214 Dante Powell
• 215 Aramis Ramirez
• 216 A.J. Hinch
• 217 Dustin Carr RC*
• 218 Mark Kotsay
• 219 Jason Standridge
• 220 Luis Ordaz
• 221 Orlando Hernandez RC

Series Two

Veterans (reds)

• 222 Cal Ripken, Jr.
• 223 Paul Molitor
• 224 Derek Jeter
• 225 Barry Bonds
• 226 Jim Edmonds
• 227 John Smoltz
• 228 Eric Karros
• 229 Ray Lankford
• 230 Rey Ordonez
• 231 Kenny Lofton
• 232 Alex Rodriguez
• 233 Dante Bichette
• 234 Pedro Martinez
• 235 Carlos Delgado
• 236 Rod Beck
• 237 Matt Williams
• 238 Charles Johnson
• 239 Rico Brogna
• 240 Frank Thomas
• 241 Paul O'Neill
• 242 Jaret Wright
• 243 Brant Brown
• 244 Ryan Klesko
• 245 Chuck Finley
• 246 Derek Bell
• 247 Delino DeShields
• 248 Chan Ho Park
• 249 Wade Boggs
• 250 Jay Buhner
• 251 Butch Huskey
• 252 Steve Finley
• 253 Will Clark
• 254 John Valentin
• 255 Bob Higginson
• 256 Darryl Strawberry
• 257 Randy Johnson
• 258 Al Martin
• 259 Travis Fryman
• 260 Fred McGriff
• 261 Jose Valentin
• 262 Andruw Jones
• 263 Kenny Rogers
• 264 Moises Alou
• 265 Denny Neagle
• 266 Ugueth Urbina
• 267 Derrek Lee
• 268 Ellis Burks
• 269 Mariano Rivera
• 270 Dean Palmer
• 271 Eddie Taubensee
• 272 Brady Anderson
• 273 Brian Giles
• 274 Quinton McCracken
• 275 Henry Rodriguez
• 276 Andres Galarraga
• 277 Jose Canseco
• 278 David Segui
• 279 Bret Saberhagen
• 280 Kevin Brown
• 281 Chuck Knoblauch
• 282 Jeromy Burnitz
• 283 Jay Bell
• 284 Manny Ramirez
• 285 Rick Helling
• 286 Francisco Cordova
• 287 Bob Abreu
• 288 J.T. Snow
• 289 Hideo Nomo
• 290 Brian Jordan
• 291 Javy Lopez

Prospects (blues)

• 292 Travis Lee
• 293 Russell Branyan
• 294 Paul Konerko
• 295 Masato Yoshii RC
• 296 Kris Benson
• 297 Juan Encarnacion
• 298 Eric Milton
• 299 Mike Caruso
• 300 Ricardo Aramboles RC*
• 301 Bobby Smith
• 302 Billy Koch
• 303 Richard Hidalgo
• 304 Justin Baughman RC
• 305 Chris Gissell
• 306 Donnie Bridges RC*
• 307 Nelson Lara RC*
• 308 Randy Wolf RC
• 309 Jason LaRue RC
• 310 Jason Gooding RC*
• 311 Edgard Clemente
• 312 Andrew Vessel
• 313 Chris Reitsma
• 314 Jesus Sanchez RC
• 315 Buddy Carlyle RC
• 316 Randy Winn RC
• 317 Luis Rivera RC
• 318 Marcus Thames RC
• 319 A.J. Pierzynski
• 320 Scott Randall
• 321 Damian Sapp
• 322 Ed Yarnall RC
• 323 Luke Allen RC
• 324 J.D. Smart
• 325 Willie Martinez
• 326 Alex Ramirez
• 327 Eric DuBose RC
• 328 Kevin Witt
• 329 Dan McKinley RC*
• 330 Cliff Politte RC
• 331 Vladimir Nunez
• 332 John Halama RC
• 333 Nerio Rodriguez
• 334 Desi Relaford
• 335 Robinson Checo RC
• 336 John Nicholson
• 337 Tom LaRosa RC*
• 338 Kevin Nicholson RC
• 339 Javier Vazquez
• 340 A.J. Zapp
• 341 Tom Evans
• 342 Kerry Robinson
• 343 Gabe Gonzalez
• 344 Ralph Milliard
• 345 Enrique Wilson
• 346 Elvin Hernandez
• 347 Mike Lincoln RC*
• 348 Cesar King RC*
• 349 Cristian Guzman RC
• 350 Donzell McDonald
• 351 Jim Parque
• 352 Mike Saipe RC
• 353 Carlos Febles RC
• 354 Dernell Stenson RC
• 355 Mark Osborne RC*
• 356 Odalis Perez RC
• 357 Jason Dewey RC*
• 358 Joe Fontenot RC
• 359 Jason Grilli RC
• 360 Kevin Haverbusch RC*
• 361 Jay Yennaco RC*
• 362 Brian Buchanan
• 363 John Barnes
• 364 Chris Fussell
• 365 Kevin Gibbs RC*
• 366 Joe Lawrence
• 367 Darond Stovall
• 368 Brian Fuentes RC
• 369 Jimmy Anderson
• 370 Lariel Gonzalez RC
• 371 Scott Williamson RC
• 372 Milton Bradley RC
• 373 Jason Halper RC*
• 374 Brent Billingsley RC
• 375 Joe DePastino RC
• 376 Jake Westbrook RC
• 377 Octavio Dotel
• 378 Jason Williams RC*
• 379 Julio Ramirez RC
• 380 Seth Greisinger
• 381 Mike Judd RC
• 382 Ben Ford RC
• 383 Tom Bennett RC*
• 384 Adam Butler RC
• 385 Wade Miller RC
• 386 Kyle Peterson RC
• 387 Tommy Peterman RC*
• 388 Onan Masaoka
• 389 Jason Rakers RC
• 390 Rafael Medina
• 391 Luis Lopez
• 392 Jeff Yoder
• 393 Vance Wilson RC
• 394 Fernando Seguignol RC
• 395 Ron Wright
• 396 Ruben Mateo RC
• 397 Steve Lomasney RC
• 398 Damian Jackson
• 399 Mike Jerzembeck RC
• 400 Luis Rivas RC
• 401 Kevin Burford RC*
• 402 Glenn Davis
• 403 Robert Luce RC*
• 404 Cole Liniak
• 405 Matt LeCroy RC
• 406 Jeremy Giambi RC
• 407 Shawn Chacon
• 408 Dewayne Wise RC
• 409 Steve Woodard
• 410 Francisco Cordero RC
• 411 Damon Minor
• 412 Lou Collier
• 413 Justin Towle
• 414 Juan LeBron
• 415 Michael Coleman RC
• 416 Felix Rodriguez
• 417 Paul Ah Yat RC*
• 418 Kevin Barker
• 419 Brian Meadows
• 420 Darnell McDonald RC
• 421 Matt Kinney RC
• 422 Mike Vavrek RC
• 423 Courtney Duncan RC
• 424 Kevin Millar RC
• 425 Ruben Rivera
• 426 Steve Shoemaker RC*
• 427 Dan Reichert RC
• 428 Carlos Lee RC
• 429 Rod Barajas RC
• 430 Pablo Ozuna RC
• 431 Todd Belitz RC
• 432 Sidney Ponson
• 433 Steve Carver RC*
• 434 Esteban Yan RC
• 435 Cedrick Bowers
• 436 Marlon Anderson
• 437 Carl Pavano
• 438 Jae Weong Seo
• 439 Jose Taveras RC*
• 440 Matt Anderson
• 441 Darron Ingram

Parallels

All 441 base cards are available in the following parallels.

Bowman International

On this foil-fronted parallel the background image was replaced with a map of the area of where player was born. If the player came from a non-English speaking territory the bio would be translated into that language instead.

Golden Anniversary

Produced in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Bowman's debut set, each card sports a gold-stamped facsimile autograph instead of the silver foil on the base. Each card is serial-numbered to 50.

Inserts

Scout's Choice

• SC1 Paul Konerko
• SC2 Richard Hidalgo
• SC3 Mark Kotsay
• SC4 Ben Grieve
• SC5 Chad Hermansen
• SC6 Matt Clement
• SC7 Brad Fullmer
• SC8 Eli Marrero
• SC9 Kerry Wood
• SC10 Adrian Beltre
• SC11 Ricky Ledee
• SC12 Travis Lee
• SC13 Abraham Nunez
• SC14 Brian Rose
• SC15 Dermal Brown
• SC16 Juan Encarnacion
• SC17 Aramis Ramirez
• SC18 Todd Helton
• SC19 Kris Benson
• SC20 Russell Branyan
• SC21 Mike Stoner

1991 Japanese BBM

Topps went and bought back the Japanese "rookie" cards of three prominent Japanese Major Leaguers and randomly inserted them into Series One packs. All three cards are from the 1991 BBM set, and are slightly narrower and shorter (2 3/8" X 3 5/16") than a standard American baseball card. It should also be noted that Topps did not specially mark, stamp, or emboss these cards.

277 Hideki Irabu

348 Shitegoshi Hasegawa

379 Hideo Nomo

1999 ROY Favorites

• ROY1 Adrian Beltre
• ROY2 Troy Glaus
• ROY3 Chad Hermansen
• ROY4 Matt Clement
• ROY5 Eric Chavez
• ROY6 Kris Benson
• ROY7 Richie Sexson
• ROY8 Randy Wolf
• ROY9 Ryan Minor
• ROY10 Alex Gonzalez

Minor League MVPs

• MVP1 Jeff Bagwell
• MVP2 Andres Galarraga
• MVP3 Juan Gonzalez
• MVP4 Tony Gwynn
• MVP5 Vladimir Guerrero
• MVP6 Derek Jeter
• MVP7 Andruw Jones
• MVP8 Tino Martinez
• MVP9 Manny Ramirez
• MVP10 Gary Sheffield
• MVP11 Jim Thome

Autographs

Certified Autographs

Each Certified Autograph is signed blue ink and stamped in blue foil and available in the following parallels.

• Silver Foil
• Gold Foil

NOTES

• Each card, regardless of foil color, is signed in blue ink. Only the Bowman and "Certified Autograph Issue" logos are foil stamped.
• Although these cards are NOT serial-numbered, we estimate the production of each card at around 500 (Blue Foil), 75 (Silver Foil), and 25 (Gold Foil) copies.

• 1 Adrian Beltre S2
• 2 Brad Fullmer S2
• 3 Ricky Ledee S1
• 4 David Ortiz S1
• 5 Fernando Tatis S2
• 6 Kerry Wood S2
• 7 Mel Rosario S2
• 8 Cole Liniak S2
• 9 A.J. Hinch S1
• 10 Jhensy Sandoval S1
• 11 Jose Cruz, Jr. S2
• 12 Richard Hidalgo S1
• 13 Geoff Jenkins S2
• 14 Carl Pavano S1
• 15 Richie Sexson S2
• 16 Tony Womack S1
• 17 Scott Rolen S1
• 18 Ryan Minor S1
• 19 Eli Marrero S2
• 20 Jason Marquis S1
• 21 Mike Lowell S1
• 22 Todd Helton S1
• 23 Chad Green S2
• 24 Scott Elarton S2
• 25 Russell Branyan S1
• 26 Mike Drumright S1
• 27 Ben Grieve S1
• 28 Jacque Jones S2
• 29 Jared Sandberg S2
• 30 Grant Roberts S2
• 31 Mike Stoner S1
• 32 Brian Rose S2
• 33 Randy Winn S1
• 34 Justin Towle S1
• 35 Anthony Sanders S1
• 36 Rafael Medina S2
• 37 Corey Lee S1
• 38 Mike Kinkade S1
• 39 Norm Hutchins S2
• 40 Jason Brester S2
• 41 Ben Davis S2
• 42 Nomar Garciaparra S1
• 43 Jeff Liefer S2
• 44 Eric Milton S2
• 45 Preston Wilson S1
• 46 Miguel Tejada S1
• 47 Luis Ordaz S1
• 48 Travis Lee S2
• 49 Kris Benson S2
• 50 Jacob Cruz S1
• 51 Dermal Brown S2
• 52 Marc Kroon S1
• 53 Chad Hermansen S2
• 54 Roy Halladay S1
• 55 Eric Chavez S2
• 56 Jason Conti S1
• 57 Juan Encarnacion S2
• 58 Paul Wilder S1
• 59 Aramis Ramirez S1
• 60 Cliff Politte S1
• 61 Todd Dunwoody S2
• 62 Paul Konerko S2
• 63 Shane Monahan S2
• 64 Alex Sanchez S2
• 65 Jeff Abbott S1
• 66 John Patterson S2
• 67 Peter Munro S1
• 68 Jarrod Washburn S1
• 69 Derrek Lee S2
• 70 Ramon Hernandez S2

Bowman
Classic Era: 1948 - 1949 - 1950 - 1951 - 1952 - 1953 (black & white, color) - 1954 - 1955
Junk Wax Era: 1989 - 1990 - 1991 - 1992 - 1993
Post-Strike Era: 1994 - 1995 - 1996 - 1997 - 1998 - 1999 - 2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 - 2008 - 2009
Exclusive License Era: 2010 - 2011 - 2012 - 2013 - 2014 - 2015 - 2016 - 2017 - 2018 - 2019 - 2020 - 2021 - 2022
Fanatics Era: 2023 - 2024
Bowman Update Sets
Draft Picks & Prospects: 2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 - 2008 - 2009 - 2010 - 2011 - 2012 - 2013
Draft: 2014 - 2015 - 2016 - 2017 - 2018 - 2019 - 2020 - 2021 - 2022 - 2023 - 2024
Bowman Parallel Brands
Chrome: 1997 - 1998 - 1999 - 2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 - 2008 - 2009 - 2010 - 2011 - 2012 - 2013 - 2014 - 2015 - 2016 - 2017 - 2018 - 2019 - 2020 - 2021 - 2022 - 2023 - 2024
Chrome Mini: 2013 - 2014 - 2017
Chrome Mega Box: 2017 - 2018 - 2019 - 2020 - 2021 - 2022 - 2023 - 2024
Sapphire Chrome: 2020 - 2021 - 2022 - 2023 - 2024
Other Bowman Sets:Bowman AFLAC - Bowman Under Armour