1998 Select

Description

File:1998 Select.jpg

1998 Select was a 250-card fractured set based on what Pinnacle called the "Quasar System" and was similar to how 1997-1999 Flair Showcase was structured. It was intended for release in September, 1998 but the product was never officially released due to Pinnacle Brands' bankruptcy in July/August 1998. In fact, a bankruptcy judge ordered all unissued trading cards (including cards from this product) to be destroyed; yet, similar to 1998 Pinnacle Certified, Donruss Limited, and high-numbered Donruss Crusade cards, some players had base cards, parallels, or inserts surface since the bankruptcy and were likely "backdoored". The only cards from this set that were authorized for release were a 10-card promo set of the Selected insert and occurred before the bankruptcy filing.

In October of 2017, a collection of base, parallel, and insert cards from this set surfaced on the secondary market, dubbed by some as the "Pinnacle Bankruptcy Find" (PBF). This find marked the largest emergence of cards from this set from the same source, at the same time. It also marked the first time copies of certain players were confirmed to exist.

Over the years, one collector has diligently documented cards that have surfaced from this set and can be seen here:

https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-mFZz6/

Insertion Ratios

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Hobby Odds
Base	250	-	varies
One-Star	100	-	3 per pack
Two-Star	75	-	2 per pack
Three-Star	50	-	1:7
Four-Star	25	-	1:23
Jersey Number Parallel	250	varies
Five-Star Bonus	5	50	?
Diamond Dominance	10	-	1:23
Selected	10	-	1:23
Rare Form	10	-	1:99
Select Numbers	20	varies	?

Checklist

1998 Select was a 250-card base set that represented the "Quasar System", which was the slogan used to describe the set for advertising and promotion prior to its intended release.

The base set was fractured into 4 categories (1-Star to 4-Star) that differed in rarity (1-Star was most common and 4-Star was hardest to find within the base set).

To distinguish between the Quasar System levels/categories, each of the base "Star" levels (1-4) had a different card design, photo, and label on the back:

• 1-Star (1-100): rectangular design
• 2-Star (101-175): circular design
• 3-Star (176-225): triangular design
• 4-Star (226-250): diamond design

Below is the complete checklist as set forth on the product sell sheet. Since Pinnacle's bankruptcy in July/August 1998, many cards from this set have emerged on the secondary market and all were confirmed to exist after the PBF of 2017. Some have estimated that less than 20 copies of each card made their way into the open market.

1-Star

Cards 1-100 in the base set were printed on silver foil stock with a rectangular background design. These were the most commonly available cards in the base set. All 1-Star base cards are confirmed to exist and at least one copy of each player from this level has surfaced on the secondary market.

1 Jose Cruz, Jr.

2 Greg Maddux

3 Nomar Garciaparra

4 Mark McGwire

5 Juan Gonzalez

6 Barry Bonds

7 Cal Ripken, Jr.

8 Andruw Jones

9 Tony Gwynn

10 Frank Thomas

11 Scott Rolen

12 Travis Lee

13 Hideo Nomo

14 Alex Rodriguez

15 Kenny Lofton

16 Ken Griffey, Jr.

17 Jeff Bagwell

18 Vladimir Guerrero

19 Ivan Rodriguez

20 Mo Vaughn

21 Chipper Jones

22 Ben Grieve

23 Roger Clemens

24 Derek Jeter

25 Mike Piazza

26 Tony Clark

27 Larry Walker

28 Juan Encarnacion

29 Barry Larkin

30 Chuck Knoblauch

31 Albert Belle

32 Randy Johnson

33 Brad Fullmer

34 Manny Ramirez

35 Wade Boggs

36 Jim Thome

37 Todd Helton

38 Roberto Alomar

39 Paul Konerko

40 Chan Ho Park

41 Craig Biggio

42 Ken Caminiti

43 David Justice

44 Andy Pettitte

45 Bernie Williams

46 Mike Mussina

47 Darin Erstad

48 Andres Galarraga

49 Raul Mondesi

50 Pedro Martinez

51 Todd Greene

52 Matt Williams

53 Rondell White

54 Brady Anderson

55 Tim Salmon

56 Edgar Martinez

57 Jose Guillen

58 Richard Hidalgo

59 Gary Sheffield

60 Paul Molitor

61 Livan Hernandez

62 Jaret Wright

63 Fernando Tatis

64 Fred McGriff

65 Will Clark

66 John Smoltz

67 Rafael Palmeiro

68 Sammy Sosa

69 Tino Martinez

70 Jim Edmonds

71 Travis Fryman

72 Ryan Klesko

73 Magglio Ordonez

74 Bobby Bonilla

75 Todd Hundley

76 Javy Lopez

77 Vinny Castilla

78 Carl Pavano

79 Jay Buhner

80 Matt Clement

81 Kevin Orie

82 Tom Glavine

83 Mark Kotsay

84 Todd Walker

85 Bobby Higginson

86 Sean Casey

87 Frank Catalanotto

88 Neifi Perez

89 Derrek Lee

90 David Ortiz

91 Kevin Millwood

92 Moises Alou

93 Brian Rose

94 Miguel Tejada

95 Kerry Wood

96 Mark Grace

97 Bobby Estalella

98 Jason Kendall

99 Rusty Greer

100 Charles Johnson

2-Star

Cards 101-175 in the base set were printed on silver holographic foil stock with a circular background design. These were the second-hardest cards in the base set to obtain. All 2-Star base cards are confirmed to exist and at least one copy of each player from this level has surfaced on the secondary market.

101 Jose Cruz, Jr.

102 Greg Maddux

103 Nomar Garciaparra

104 Mark McGwire

105 Juan Gonzalez

106 Barry Bonds

107 Cal Ripken, Jr.

108 Andruw Jones

109 Tony Gwynn

110 Frank Thomas

111 Scott Rolen

112 Travis Lee

113 Hideo Nomo

114 Alex Rodriguez

115 Kenny Lofton

116 Ken Griffey, Jr.

117 Jeff Bagwell

118 Vladimir Guerrero

119 Ivan Rodriguez

120 Mo Vaughn

121 Chipper Jones

122 Ben Grieve

123 Roger Clemens

124 Derek Jeter

125 Mike Piazza

126 Tony Clark

127 Larry Walker

128 Juan Encarnacion

129 Barry Larkin

130 Chuck Knoblauch

131 Albert Belle

132 Randy Johnson

133 Brad Fullmer

134 Manny Ramirez

135 Wade Boggs

136 Jim Thome

137 Todd Helton

138 Roberto Alomar

139 Paul Konerko

140 Chan Ho Park

141 Craig Biggio

142 Ken Caminiti

143 David Justice

144 Andy Pettitte

145 Bernie Williams

146 Mike Mussina

147 Darin Erstad

148 Andres Galarraga

149 Raul Mondesi

150 Pedro Martinez

151 Todd Greene

152 Matt Williams

153 Rondell White

154 Brady Anderson

155 Tim Salmon

156 Edgar Martinez

157 Jose Guillen

158 Richard Hidalgo

159 Gary Sheffield

160 Paul Molitor

161 Livan Hernandez

162 Jaret Wright

163 Fernando Tatis

164 Fred McGriff

165 Will Clark

166 John Smoltz

167 Rafael Palmeiro

168 Sammy Sosa

169 Tino Martinez

170 Jim Edmonds

171 Travis Fryman

172 Ryan Klesko

173 Magglio Ordonez

174 Bobby Bonilla

175 Todd Hundley

3-Star

Cards 176-225 in the base set were printed on silver prismatic foil stock with a triangular background design. These were the third-hardest cards in the base set to obtain. Unlike the other Quasar levels, no 3-Star base cards are confirmed to exist as no copies of any player from this level have surfaced on the secondary market.

176 Jose Cruz, Jr.

177 Greg Maddux

178 Nomar Garciaparra

179 Mark McGwire

180 Juan Gonzalez

181 Barry Bonds

182 Cal Ripken, Jr.

183 Andruw Jones

184 Tony Gwynn

185 Frank Thomas

186 Scott Rolen

187 Travis Lee

188 Hideo Nomo

189 Alex Rodriguez

190 Kenny Lofton

191 Ken Griffey, Jr.

192 Jeff Bagwell

193 Vladimir Guerrero

194 Ivan Rodriguez

195 Mo Vaughn

196 Chipper Jones

197 Ben Grieve

198 Roger Clemens

199 Derek Jeter

200 Mike Piazza

201 Tony Clark

202 Larry Walker

203 Juan Encarnacion

204 Barry Larkin

205 Chuck Knoblauch

206 Albert Belle

207 Randy Johnson

208 Brad Fullmer

209 Manny Ramirez

210 Wade Boggs

211 Jim Thome

212 Todd Helton

213 Roberto Alomar

214 Paul Konerko

215 Chan Ho Park

216 Craig Biggio

217 Ken Caminiti

218 David Justice

219 Andy Pettitte

220 Bernie Williams

221 Mike Mussina

222 Darin Erstad

223 Andres Galarraga

224 Raul Mondesi

225 Pedro Martinez

4-Star

Cards 226-250 in the base set were printed on silver dot matrix hologram stock with a diamond background design. These were the hardest cards in the base set to obtain. All 4-Star base cards are confirmed to exist and at least one copy of each player from this level has surfaced on the secondary market.

226 Jose Cruz, Jr.

227 Greg Maddux

228 Nomar Garciaparra

229 Mark McGwire

230 Juan Gonzalez

231 Barry Bonds

232 Cal Ripken, Jr.

233 Andruw Jones

234 Tony Gwynn

235 Frank Thomas

236 Scott Rolen

237 Travis Lee

238 Hideo Nomo

239 Alex Rodriguez

240 Kenny Lofton

241 Ken Griffey, Jr.

242 Jeff Bagwell

243 Vladimir Guerrero

244 Ivan Rodriguez

245 Mo Vaughn

246 Chipper Jones

247 Ben Grieve

248 Roger Clemens

249 Derek Jeter

250 Mike Piazza

Parallels

Jersey Number

All 250 cards in the base set had a Jersey Number parallel that was to be numbered to the player's uniform number. For example, Ken Griffey, Jr. was featured four times in the base set as he appeared once in each of the 4 Quasar levels (1-Star, 2-Star, 3-Star, and 4-Star). Therefore, he also had four Jersey Number parallels, all of which were supposed to be numbered to 24. Thus, the number of Jersey Number parallels each player had depended on how many Quasar levels he was featured in.

For distinction, Jersey Number parallels had "Jersey Number" printed vertically along the lower left edge of the card and looked different from the base set:

• 1-Star Jersey Numbers: printed on gold foil stock
• 2-Star Jersey Numbers: printed on gold holographic foil
• 3-Star Jersey Numbers: printed on gold prismatic foil
• 4-Star Jersey Numbers: printed on gold dot matrix hologram foil

It is not known if these parallels were intended to be serially numbered but no Jersey Number parallels have surfaced with a serial number stamped to that respective player's uniform number. However, some Jersey Number parallels are stamped, "00/00" on the back, but the majority are not. Others have surfaced that have been hand-numbered on the back (e.g., __/24 for Ken Griffey Jr.) but some believe hand-numbered versions were numbered by unscrupulous owners.

Not all 250 Jersey Number parallels have been confirmed to exist. Interestingly, 3-Star Jersey Number parallels have been confirmed to exist even though no 3-Star base of any player has ever surfaced. Further, parallels of many players in the 1, 2, and 4-Star categories have also emerged.

1-Star Jersey Number

The following 1-Star Jersey Number parallels below have been confirmed to exist as at least one copy has surfaced on the secondary market:

2 Greg Maddux

4 Mark McGwire

5 Juan Gonzalez

6 Barry Bonds

7 Cal Ripken Jr.

8 Andruw Jones

9 Tony Gwynn

10 Frank Thomas

14 Alex Rodriguez

16 Ken Griffey Jr.

17 Jeff Bagwell

21 Chipper Jones

23 Roger Clemens

24 Derek Jeter

25 Mike Piazza

29 Barry Larkin

31 Albert Belle

37 Todd Helton

45 Bernie Williams

47 Darin Erstad

48 Andres Galarraga

49 Raul Mondesi

50 Pedro Martinez

52 Matt Williams

57 Jose Guillen

64 Fred McGriff

65 Will Clark

71 Travis Fryman

96 Mark Grace

2-Star Jersey Number

The following 2-Star Jersey Number parallels below have been confirmed to exist as at least one copy has surfaced on the secondary market:

102 Greg Maddux

104 Mark McGwire

105 Juan Gonzalez

106 Barry Bonds

107 Cal Ripken Jr.

108 Andruw Jones

109 Tony Gwynn

110 Frank Thomas

113 Hideo Nomo

114 Alex Rodriguez

116 Ken Griffey Jr.

117 Jeff Bagwell

121 Chipper Jones

123 Roger Clemens

124 Derek Jeter

125 Mike Piazza

129 Barry Larkin

131 Albert Belle

137 Todd Helton

145 Bernie Williams

147 Darrin Erstad

150 Pedro Martinez

164 Fred McGriff

165 Will Clark

171 Travis Fryman

173 Magglio Ordonez

3-Star Jersey Number

The following 3-Star Jersey Number parallels below have been confirmed to exist as at least one copy has surfaced on the secondary market:

176 Jose Cruz, Jr.

177 Greg Maddux

179 Mark McGwire

180 Juan Gonzalez

181 Barry Bonds

182 Cal Ripken Jr.

183 Andruw Jones

184 Tony Gwynn

185 Frank Thomas

188 Hideo Nomo

189 Alex Rodriguez

191 Ken Griffey Jr.

192 Jeff Bagwell

196 Chipper Jones

197 Ben Grieve

198 Roger Clemens

199 Derek Jeter

200 Mike Piazza

204 Barry Larkin

206 Albert Belle

212 Todd Helton

220 Bernie Williams

222 Darrin Erstad

225 Pedro Martinez

4-Star Jersey Number

The following 4-Star Jersey Number parallels below have been confirmed to exist as at least one copy has surfaced on the secondary market:

227 Greg Maddux

229 Mark McGwire

230 Juan Gonzalez

231 Barry Bonds

232 Cal Ripken Jr.

233 Andruw Jones

234 Tony Gwynn

235 Frank Thomas

238 Hideo Nomo

239 Alex Rodriguez

241 Ken Griffey Jr.

242 Jeff Bagwell

246 Chipper Jones

247 Ben Grieve

248 Roger Clemens

249 Derek Jeter

250 Mike Piazza

Inserts

Five-Star Bonus

Five-Star Bonus was a 5-card insert that was a quasi-extension of the base set. The look is similar to the base set as each card is printed on silver, dot matrix hologram stock but with a star-design background. There is no Jersey Number parallel of these inserts.

Each card is serially numbered to 50. Given that cards of different players with low, medium, and high serial numbers (e.g., 4/50, 24/50, 47/50) have all surfaced, many believe that all 50 sets of all 5 players in the set were produced and serially numbered.

Further, each of the five players in the set have multiple copies that have emerged on the secondary market since the bankruptcy in 1998 and in early 2007, a number of these cards were sold (as complete 5-card sets with matching serial-numbers) on eBay. Before then, singles from this insert set were incredibly rare.

Originally, Mike Piazza was slated to be card #5 in this set, but was replaced by Derek Jeter. The players in the set are:

1 Ken Griffey Jr.

2 Frank Thomas

3 Cal Ripken Jr.

4 Greg Maddux

5 Derek Jeter

Diamond Dominance

Diamond Dominance was a 10-card insert set featuring players that "dominated" on the field. They had a purple design with a holographic silver finish on triangular sections of the cardfront. Before the PBF of October 2017, the only cards from the set confirmed to exist were of Andruw Jones, Tony Clark, and Darin Erstad. However, all cards from this set have been confirmed to exist as at least one copy has surfaced on the secondary market.

1 Darin Erstad

2 Paul Molitor

3 Andruw Jones

4 Barry Larkin

5 Manny Ramirez

6 Mo Vaughn

7 Barry Bonds

8 Albert Belle

9 Ivan Rodriguez

10 Tony Clark

Selected

Selected was a 10-card set featuring future stars of the game that had amazing "natural talent" and was printed on silver holographic stock.

Sample versions of each card in the set were the only cards from 1998 Select that were officially released before the Pinnacle Brands bankruptcy. A pack of two cards were released to Hobby dealers along with the sell sheets. The word "SAMPLE" was printed on the back of each card.

However, non-sample cards from this set slowly emerged after the bankruptcy and after the PBF of 2017, all cards were confirmed to exist as at least one copy has surfaced on the secondary market.

1 Vladimir Guerrero

2 Nomar Garciaparra

3 Ben Grieve

4 Travis Lee

5 Jose Cruz, Jr.

6 Alex Rodriguez

7 Todd Helton

8 Derek Jeter

9 Scott Rolen

10 Jaret Wright

Rare Form

Rare Form was a 10-card insert set featuring those who "played the game with unequaled style" and had a unique dot matrix holographic finish. Prior to 2017, no cards from this insert set had ever been seen before and many believed that this set was never produced. However, the PBF of 2017 included at least two copies (some players had three copies) of every player, confirming the existence of all cards in the set.

1 Ken Griffey, Jr.

2 Roger Clemens

3 Cal Ripken, Jr.

4 Juan Gonzalez

5 Nomar Garciaparra

6 Alex Rodriguez

7 Chipper Jones

8 Mike Piazza

9 Greg Maddux

10 Frank Thomas

Select Numbers

Select Numbers was a 20-card insert set, serial numbered to a player's statistic across one of 4 categories:

• Batting Average
• On Base Percentage
• Home Runs
• Strikeouts

For example, Tony Gwynn hit .372 in 1997 and thus his Select Numbers card was to be serial numbered to 372. These were printed on a silver dot matrix hologram stock with a concentric pattern of numbers in the background and was tinted to the player's team colors.

Prior to 2017, only 12 of the 20 cards from this insert set surfaced but were not serial-numbered. However, the PBF of 2017 contained at least two copies of every player, confirming the existence of all cards in the set. However, none of the cards in this collection were serially-numbered either. The information in the parentheses indicates the statistic and number the card was supposed to be serially numbered to:

1 Mark McGwire (HRs - 58)

2 Juan Gonzalez (HRs - 42)

3 Ken Griffey, Jr. (HRs - 56)

4 Jeff Bagwell (HRs - 43)

5 Andres Galarraga (HRs - 41)

6 Frank Thomas (AVG - 347)

7 Mike Piazza (AVG - 362)

8 Tony Gwynn (AVG - 372)

9 Larry Walker (AVG - 366)

10 Kenny Lofton (AVG - 333)

11 Barry Bonds (OBP - 446)

12 Chuck Knoblauch (OBP - 390)

13 Derek Jeter (OBP - 370)

14 Nomar Garciaparra (OBP - 342)

15 Chipper Jones (OBP - 371)

16 Pedro Martinez (Ks - 305)

17 Hideo Nomo (Ks - 233)

18 Randy Johnson (Ks - 291)

19 Roger Clemens (Ks - 292)

20 Greg Maddux (Ks - 177)