1997 Finest

Description

1997 Topps Finest is a 350-card fractured set, issued in two series of 175 cards each:

Series One is divided into five distinct themes:

• Finest Blue Chips (up-and-coming future stars)
• Finest Hurlers (top pitchers)
• Finest Warriors (superstar players)
• Finest Power (formidable hitters and pitchers)
• Finest Masters (top players)

Series Two is also divided into five distinct themes:

• Finest Blue Chips (up-and-coming future stars)
• Finest Acquisitions (latest trades and new signings)
• Finest Competitors (hottest players)
• Finest Power (formidable hitters and pitchers)
• Finest Masters (top players)

All five themes of each series have one of three distinctions:

• Common (1-100 and 176-275) with bronze trim
• Uncommon (101-150 and 276-325) with silver trim and an insertion rate of one in four for both series (designated with a "S" in the list below)
• Rare (151-175 and 326-350) with gold trim and an insertion rate of one in 24 for both series (designated with a "G" in the list below)

Thus, there are not Bronze, Silver, and Gold versions of every card in the set; rather, each card in the set had a designated theme and distinction. For example, card #342 features Ken Griffey, Jr. with the 'Power' theme and 'Rare/Gold' distinction. There are no 'Common/Bronze' or 'Uncommon/Silver' versions of card #342.

The only notable rookie card in this set was Brian Giles.

Distribution

24 packs per box, six cards per pack (MSRP: $5.00)

Insertion Ratios

Series One

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Odds
Base	175	-	?
Common (Bronze)	100	-	6:1
Uncommon (Silver)	500	-	1:4
Rare (Gold)	25	-	1:24
Bronze Refractor	100	-	1:12
Silver Refractor	50	-	1:48
Gold Refractor	25	-	1:288
Silver Embossed	50	-	1:16
Gold Embossed Die-Cut	25	-	1:96
Silver Embossed Refractor	50	-	1:192
Gold Embossed Die-Cut Refractor	25	-	1:1152

Series Two

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Odds
Base	175	-	?
Common (Bronze)	100	-	6:1
Uncommon (Silver)	500	-	1:4
Rare (Gold)	25	-	1:24
Bronze Refractor	100	-	1:12
Silver Refractor	50	-	1:48
Gold Refractor	25	-	1:288
Silver Embossed	50	-	1:16
Gold Embossed Die-Cut	25	-	1:96
Silver Embossed Refractor	50	-	1:192
Gold Embossed Die-Cut Refractor	25	-	1:1152

Checklist

Promos

This five-card set features one promo card for each of the five themes found in the 1997 Finest Series One set. The fronts, backs, and card numbers are identical to the regular set with the exception of the words, "Promotional Sample Not for Resale" printed in red across the back. The cards are checklisted below according to their numbers in the regular set.

• 1 Barry Bonds
• 15 Derek Jeter
• 30 Mark McGwire
• 143 Hideo Nomo S
• 159 Jeff Bagwell G

Base Set

Series One

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• 1 Barry Bonds
• 2 Ryne Sandberg
• 3 Brian Jordan
• 4 Rocky Coppinger
• 5 Dante Bichette
• 6 Al Martin
• 7 Charles Nagy
• 8 Otis Nixon
• 9 Mark Johnson
• 10 Jeff Bagwell
• 11 Ken Hill
• 12 Willie Adams
• 13 Raul Mondesi
• 14 Reggie Sanders
• 15 Derek Jeter
• 16 Jermaine Dye
• 17 Edgar Renteria
• 18 Travis Fryman
• 19 Roberto Hernandez
• 20 Sammy Sosa
• 21 Garret Anderson
• 22 Rey Ordonez
• 23 Glenallen Hill
• 24 Dave Nilsson
• 25 Kevin Brown
• 26 Brian McRae
• 27 Joey Hamilton
• 28 Jamey Wright
• 29 Frank Thomas
• 30 Mark McGwire
• 31 Ramon Martinez
• 32 Jaime Bluma
• 33 Frank Rodriguez
• 34 Andy Benes
• 35 Jay Buhner
• 36 Justin Thompson
• 37 Darin Erstad
• 38 Gregg Jefferies
• 39 Jeff D'Amico
• 40 Pedro Martinez
• 41 Nomar Garciaparra
• 42 Jose Valentin
• 43 Pat Hentgen
• 44 Will Clark
• 45 Bernie Williams
• 46 Luis Castillo
• 47 B.J. Surhoff
• 48 Greg Gagne
• 49 Pete Schourek
• 50 Mike Piazza
• 51 Dwight Gooden
• 52 Javy Lopez
• 53 Chuck Finley
• 54 James Baldwin
• 55 Jack McDowell
• 56 Royce Clayton
• 57 Carlos Delgado
• 58 Neifi Perez
• 59 Eddie Taubensee
• 60 Rafael Palmeiro
• 61 Marty Cordova
• 62 Wade Boggs
• 63 Rickey Henderson
• 64 Mike Hampton
• 65 Troy Percival
• 66 Barry Larkin
• 67 Jermaine Allensworth
• 68 Mark Clark
• 69 Mike Lansing
• 70 Mark Grudzielanek
• 71 Todd Stottlemyre
• 72 Juan Guzman
• 73 John Burkett
• 74 Wilson Alvarez
• 75 Ellis Burks
• 76 Bob Higginson
• 77 Ricky Bottalico
• 78 Omar Vizquel
• 79 Paul Sorrento
• 80 Denny Neagle
• 81 Roger Pavlik
• 82 Mike Lieberthal
• 83 Devon White
• 84 John Olerud
• 85 Kevin Appier
• 86 Joe Girardi
• 87 Paul O'Neill
• 88 Mike Sweeney
• 89 John Smiley
• 90 Ivan Rodriguez
• 91 Randy Myers
• 92 Bip Roberts
• 93 Jose Mesa
• 94 Paul Wilson
• 95 Mike Mussina
• 96 Ben McDonald
• 97 John Mabry
• 98 Tom Goodwin
• 99 Edgar Martinez
• 100 Andruw Jones

Silver

• 101 Jose Canseco
• 102 Billy Wagner
• 103 Dante Bichette
• 104 Curt Schilling
• 105 Dean Palmer
• 106 Larry Walker
• 107 Bernie Williams
• 108 Chipper Jones
• 109 Gary Sheffield
• 110 Randy Johnson
• 111 Roberto Alomar
• 112 Todd Walker
• 113 Sandy Alomar
• 114 John Jaha
• 115 Ken Caminiti
• 116 Ryan Klesko
• 117 Mariano Rivera
• 118 Jason Giambi
• 119 Lance Johnson
• 120 Robin Ventura
• 121 Todd Hollandsworth
• 122 Johnny Damon
• 123 William VanLandingham
• 124 Jason Kendall
• 125 Vinny Castilla
• 126 Harold Baines
• 127 Joe Carter
• 128 Craig Biggio
• 129 Tony Clark
• 130 Ron Gant
• 131 David Segui
• 132 Steve Trachsel
• 133 Scott Rolen
• 134 Mike Stanley
• 135 Cal Ripken, Jr.
• 136 John Smoltz
• 137 Bobby Jones
• 138 Manny Ramirez
• 139 Ken Griffey, Jr.
• 140 Chuck Knoblauch
• 141 Mark Grace
• 142 Chris Snopek
• 143 Hideo Nomo
• 144 Tim Salmon
• 145 David Cone
• 146 Eric Young
• 147 Jeff Brantley
• 148 Jim Thome
• 149 Trevor Hoffman
• 150 Juan Gonzalez

Gold

• 151 Mike Piazza
• 152 Ivan Rodriguez
• 153 Mo Vaughn
• 154 Brady Anderson
• 155 Mark McGwire
• 156 Rafael Palmeiro
• 157 Barry Larkin
• 158 Greg Maddux
• 159 Jeff Bagwell
• 160 Frank Thomas
• 161 Ken Caminiti
• 162 Andruw Jones
• 163 Dennis Eckersley
• 164 Jeff Conine
• 165 Jim Edmonds
• 166 Derek Jeter
• 167 Vladimir Guerrero
• 168 Sammy Sosa
• 169 Tony Gwynn
• 170 Andres Galarraga
• 171 Todd Hundley
• 172 Jay Buhner
• 173 Paul Molitor
• 174 Kenny Lofton
• 175 Barry Bonds

Series Two

• 176 Gary Sheffield
• 177 Dmitri Young
• 178 Jay Bell
• 179 David Wells
• 180 Walt Weiss
• 181 Paul Molitor
• 182 Jose Guillen
• 183 Al Leiter
• 184 Mike Fetters
• 185 Mark Langston
• 186 Fred McGriff
• 187 Darrin Fletcher
• 188 Brant Brown
• 189 Geronimo Berroa
• 190 Jim Thome
• 191 Jose Vizcaino
• 192 Andy Ashby
• 193 Rusty Greer
• 194 Brian Hunter
• 195 Chris Hoiles
• 196 Orlando Merced
• 197 Brett Butler
• 198 Derek Bell
• 199 Bobby Bonilla
• 200 Alex Ochoa
• 201 Wally Joyner
• 202 Mo Vaughn
• 203 Doug Drabek
• 204 Tino Martinez
• 205 Roberto Alomar
• 206 Brian Giles
• 207 Todd Worrell
• 208 Alan Benes
• 209 Jim Leyritz
• 210 Darryl Hamilton
• 211 Jimmy Key
• 212 Juan Gonzalez
• 213 Vinny Castilla
• 214 Chuck Knoblauch
• 215 Tony Phillips
• 216 Jeff Cirillo
• 217 Carlos Garcia
• 218 Brooks Kieschnick
• 219 Marquis Grissom
• 220 Dan Wilson
• 221 Greg Vaughn
• 222 John Wetteland
• 223 Andres Galarraga
• 224 Ozzie Guillen
• 225 Kevin Elster
• 226 Bernard Gilkey
• 227 Mike Macfarlane
• 228 Heathcliff Slocumb
• 229 Wendell Magee, Jr.
• 230 Carlos Baerga
• 231 Kevin Seitzer
• 232 Henry Rodriguez
• 233 Roger Clemens
• 234 Mark Wohlers
• 235 Eddie Murray
• 236 Todd Zeile
• 237 J.T. Snow
• 238 Ken Griffey, Jr.
• 239 Sterling Hitchcock
• 240 Albert Belle
• 241 Terry Steinbach
• 242 Robb Nen
• 243 Mark McLemore
• 244 Jeff King
• 245 Tony Clark
• 246 Tim Salmon
• 247 Benito Santiago
• 248 Robin Ventura
• 249 Bubba Trammell
• 250 Chili Davis
• 251 John Valentin
• 252 Cal Ripken, Jr.
• 253 Matt Williams
• 254 Jeff Kent
• 255 Eric Karros
• 256 Ray Lankford
• 257 Ed Sprague
• 258 Shane Reynolds
• 259 Jaime Navarro
• 260 Eric Davis
• 261 Orel Hershiser
• 262 Mark Grace
• 263 Rod Beck
• 264 Ismael Valdes
• 265 Manny Ramirez
• 266 Ken Caminiti
• 267 Tim Naehring
• 268 Jose Rosado
• 269 Greg Colbrunn
• 270 Dean Palmer
• 271 Dave Justice
• 272 Scott Spiezio
• 273 Chipper Jones
• 274 Mel Rojas
• 275 Bartolo Colon
• 276 Darin Erstad S
• 277 Sammy Sosa S
• 278 Rafael Palmeiro S
• 279 Frank Thomas S
• 280 Ruben Rivera S
• 281 Hal Morris S
• 282 Jay Buhner S
• 283 Kenny Lofton S
• 284 Jose Canseco S
• 285 Alex Fernandez S
• 286 Todd Helton S
• 287 Andy Pettitte S
• 288 John Franco S
• 289 Ivan Rodriguez S
• 290 Ellis Burks S
• 291 Julio Franco S
• 292 Mike Piazza S
• 293 Brian Jordan S
• 294 Greg Maddux S
• 295 Bob Abreu S
• 296 Rondell White S
• 297 Moises Alou S
• 298 Tony Gwynn S
• 299 Deion Sanders S
• 300 Jeff Montgomery S
• 301 Ray Durham S
• 302 John Wasdin S
• 303 Ryne Sandberg S
• 304 Delino DeShields S
• 305 Mark McGwire S
• 306 Andruw Jones S
• 307 Kevin Orie S
• 308 Matt Williams S
• 309 Karim Garcia S
• 310 Derek Jeter S
• 311 Mo Vaughn S
• 312 Brady Anderson S
• 313 Barry Bonds S
• 314 Steve Finley S
• 315 Vladimir Guerrero S
• 316 Matt Morris S
• 317 Tom Glavine S
• 318 Jeff Bagwell S
• 319 Albert Belle S
• 320 Hideki Irabu S
• 321 Andres Galarraga S
• 322 Cecil Fielder S
• 323 Barry Larkin S
• 324 Todd Hundley S
• 325 Fred McGriff S
• 326 Gary Sheffield G
• 327 Craig Biggio G
• 328 Raul Mondesi G
• 329 Edgar Martinez G
• 330 Chipper Jones G
• 331 Bernie Williams G
• 332 Juan Gonzalez G
• 333 Ron Gant G
• 334 Cal Ripken, Jr. G
• 335 Larry Walker G
• 336 Matt Williams G
• 337 Jose Cruz, Jr. G
• 338 Joe Carter G
• 339 Wilton Guerrero G
• 340 Cecil Fielder G
• 341 Todd Walker G
• 342 Ken Griffey, Jr. G
• 343 Ryan Klesko G
• 344 Roger Clemens G
• 345 Hideo Nomo G
• 346 Dante Bichette G
• 347 Albert Belle G
• 348 Randy Johnson G
• 349 Manny Ramirez G
• 350 John Smoltz G

Parallels

Refractors

Each of the 350 base cards were available in a Refractor parallel. Just like in the base set, the Bronze Refractors are the easiest to pull (1:12/packs), Silver Refractors were tough (1:48), and Gold Refractors were the toughest (1:288). Unlike the 1996 Finest set, Topps made no statement about the print runs of Gold Refractors

Embossed

This was a partial-parallel as only the 150 Uncommon/Silver and Rare/Gold base cards had an embossed parallel. Each Embossed parallel is imprinted to create a raised image of the player on the front. The Gold Embossed versions had a die-cut, "deckled" edge on all four sides to further distinguish from the base set.

Embossed Refractors

• Silver

• Gold

Another partial-parallel that only applied to cards with an Uncommon/Silver or Rare/Gold distinction, these were the hardest to pull and featured an embossed front with a refractor finish. The Silver Embossed Refractors featured a refractor pattern similar to the 1996 Bowman's Best Atomic Refractors. The Gold Embossed Refractors featured a refractor pattern similar to the 1997 Bowman's Best Atomic Refractors and a "deckled" edge.

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