1996 Select Certified

Description

1996 Select Certified was a 144-card hobby-only set released by Pinnacle Brands in the summer of 1996. This set contained a staggering (for the time) six levels of parallels and was one of the first sets that allowed individual player collectors to "chase the rainbow".

'96 Select Certified also redefined the standard for rarity for subsequent baseball card sets - up to the time this set was released, only a handful of inserts/parallels had either announced print runs or serial-numbering, which ranged from the high hundreds to high thousands. However, '96 Select Certified pushed the envelope by limiting the number of boxes distributed and drastically limiting the availability of all parallels, especially its Mirror parallels, which successfully contributed to establishment of the brand as a super-premium one, as intended a year prior. As a result, this set could be viewed as the impetus for the low serial numbering/print run craze that soon followed and harmoniously coincided with the "Insert Mania" wave of the mid-to-late 1990s that gave rise to cards numbered to ten, five, or one (e.g., Flair Masterpieces).

Distribution

20 packs per box, six cards per pack (MSRP: $4.99).

Based on the insertion odds for the Mirror parallels, there were a total of 64,800 boxes distributed.

Insertion Ratios

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Odds
Base	144	50,991*	6:1
Certified Red	144	1,800*	1:5
Certified Blue	144	180*	1:50
Artist's Proof	144	500*	1:18
Mirror Red	144	90	1:100
Mirror Blue	144	45	1:200
Mirror Gold	144	30	1:300
Select Few	18	1,200*	1:60
Inter-League Preview	25	1,234*	1:42

* Calculated production figures.

Checklist

Base Set

• 1 Frank Thomas
• 2 Tino Martinez
• 3 Gary Sheffield
• 4 Kenny Lofton
• 5 Joe Carter
• 6 Alex Rodriguez
• 7 Chipper Jones
• 8 Roger Clemens
• 9 Jay Bell
• 10 Eddie Murray
• 11 Will Clark
• 12 Mike Mussina
• 13 Hideo Nomo
• 14 Andres Galarraga
• 15 Marc Newfield
• 16 Jason Isringhausen
• 17 Randy Johnson
• 18 Chuck Knoblauch
• 19 J.T. Snow
• 20 Mark McGwire
• 21 Tony Gwynn
• 22 Albert Belle
• 23 Gregg Jefferies
• 24 Reggie Sanders
• 25 Bernie Williams
• 26 Ray Lankford
• 27 Johnny Damon
• 28 Ryne Sandberg
• 29 Rondell White
• 30 Mike Piazza
• 31 Barry Bonds
• 32 Greg Maddux
• 33 Craig Biggio
• 34 John Valentin
• 35 Ivan Rodriguez
• 36 Rico Brogna
• 37 Tim Salmon
• 38 Sterling Hitchcock
• 39 Charles Johnson
• 40 Travis Fryman
• 41 Barry Larkin
• 42 Tom Glavine
• 43 Marty Cordova
• 44 Shawn Green
• 45 Ben McDonald
• 46 Robin Ventura
• 47 Ken Griffey, Jr.
• 48 Orlando Merced
• 49 Paul O'Neill
• 50 Ozzie Smith
• 51 Manny Ramirez
• 52 Ismael Valdes
• 53 Cal Ripken, Jr.
• 54 Jeff Bagwell
• 55 Greg Vaughn
• 56 Juan Gonzalez
• 57 Raul Mondesi
• 58 Carlos Baerga
• 59 Sammy Sosa
• 60 Mike Kelly
• 61 Edgar Martinez
• 62 Kirby Puckett
• 63 Cecil Fielder
• 64 David Cone
• 65 Moises Alou
• 66 Fred McGriff
• 67 Mo Vaughn
• 68 Edgardo Alfonzo
• 69 Jim Thome
• 70 Rickey Henderson
• 71 Dante Bichette
• 72 Lenny Dykstra
• 73 Benji Gil
• 74 Wade Boggs
• 75 Jim Edmonds
• 76 Michael Tucker
• 77 Carlos Delgado
• 78 Butch Huskey
• 79 Billy Ashley
• 80 Dean Palmer
• 81 Paul Molitor
• 82 Ryan Klesko
• 83 Brian L. Hunter
• 84 Jay Buhner
• 85 Larry Walker
• 86 Mike Bordick
• 87 Matt Williams
• 88 Jack McDowell
• 89 Hal Morris
• 90 Brian Jordan
• 91 Andy Pettitte
• 92 Melvin Nieves
• 93 Pedro Martinez
• 94 Mark Grace
• 95 Garret Anderson
• 96 Andre Dawson
• 97 Ray Durham
• 98 Jose Canseco
• 99 Roberto Alomar

'96 Rookies

• 100 Derek Jeter
• 101 Alan Benes
• 102 Karim Garcia
• 103 Robin Jennings
• 104 Bob Abreu
• 105 Sal Fasano ERR (Livan Hernandez' Name on Front)
• 105 Sal Fasano COR
• 106 Steve Gibralter
• 107 Jermaine Dye
• 108 Jason Kendall
• 109 Mike Grace RC
• 110 Jason Schmidt
• 111 Paul Wilson
• 112 Rey Ordonez
• 113 Wilton Guerrero RC
• 114 Brooks Kieschnick
• 115 George Arias
• 116 Osvaldo Fernandez RC
• 117 Todd Hollandsworth
• 118 John Wasdin
• 119 Eric Owens
• 120 Chan Ho Park
• 121 Mark Loretta
• 122 Richard Hidalgo
• 123 Jeff Suppan
• 124 Jim Pittsley
• 125 LaTroy Hawkins
• 126 Chris Snopek
• 127 Justin Thompson
• 128 Jay Powell
• 129 Alex Ochoa
• 130 Felipe Crespo
• 131 Matt Lawton RC
• 132 Jimmy Haynes
• 133 Terrell Wade
• 134 Ruben Rivera

Pastime Power

• 135 Frank Thomas
• 136 Ken Griffey, Jr.
• 137 Greg Maddux
• 138 Mike Piazza
• 139 Cal Ripken, Jr.
• 140 Albert Belle
• 141 Mo Vaughn
• 142 Chipper Jones
• 143 Hideo Nomo
• 144 Ryan Klesko

Parallels

All 144 base cards are available in the following parallels:

• Certified Red (limited to 1800 copies)
• Artist's Proof (limited to 500 copies)
• Certified Blue (limited to 180 copies)
• Mirror Red (limited to 90 copies)
• Mirror Blue (limited to 45 copies)
• Mirror Gold (limited to 30 copies)

NOTE: Although the cards are not serial-numbered, many collectors believe that the announced production figures are accurate.

Inserts

Select Few

This 18-card set honored superstar athletes with unmatched playing field talents. Utilizing Dot Matrix hologram technology, the fronts featured full-color, action player cutouts. Several of the cards were erroneously printed without player's name on the front.

• 1 Sammy Sosa
• 2 Derek Jeter
• 3 Ken Griffey, Jr.
• 4 Albert Belle
• 5 Cal Ripken, Jr.
• 6 Greg Maddux
• 7 Frank Thomas
• 8 Mo Vaughn
• 9 Chipper Jones
• 10 Mike Piazza
• 11 Ryan Klesko
• 12 Hideo Nomo
• 13 Alan Benes
• 14 Manny Ramirez
• 15 Gary Sheffield
• 16 Barry Bonds
• 17 Matt Williams
• 18 Johnny Damon

Inter-League Preview

This 25-card set featured hypothetical match-ups fans could look forward to when Inter-League Play began in 1997. Additional copies of cards #7 and #8 were distributed as promos with the word "SAMPLE" printed on them.

• 1 Ken Griffey, Jr. / Hideo Nomo
• 2 Greg Maddux / Mo Vaughn
• 3 Sammy Sosa / Frank Thomas
• 4 Mike Piazza / Jim Edmonds
• 5 Roger Clemens / Ryan Klesko
• 6 Derek Jeter / Rey Ordonez
• 7 Johnny Damon / Ray Lankford
• 8 Manny Ramirez / Reggie Sanders
• 9 Barry Bonds / Jay Buhner
• 10 Jason Isringhausen / Wade Boggs
• 11 Chipper Jones / David Cone
• 12 Jeff Bagwell / Will Clark
• 13 Tony Gwynn / Randy Johnson
• 14 Cal Ripken, Jr. / Tom Glavine
• 15 Kirby Puckett / Andy Benes
• 16 Gary Sheffield / Mike Mussina
• 17 Raul Mondesi / Tim Salmon
• 18 Rondell White / Carlos Delgado
• 19 Ryne Sandberg / Cecil Fielder
• 20 Kenny Lofton / Brian Hunter
• 21 Preston Wilson / Paul O'Neill
• 22 Ismael Valdes / Edgar Martinez
• 23 Mark McGwire / Matt Williams
• 24 Albert Belle / Barry Larkin
• 25 Brian Anderson / Marquis Grissom

Select
Pinnacle Brands Era: 1993 - 1994 - 1995 - 1996 - 1997 - 1998
Panini America Era: 2013 - 2020 - 2021 - 2022 - 2023
Rookie/Traded: 1993
Other Select Brands 1995 Select Certified - 1996 Select Certified - 2002 Select Rookies & Prospects