1998 Leaf Rookies & Stars
Description
1998 Leaf Rookies & Stars is a 339 card set released in December, 1998 by Playoff, Inc. This product was originally intended for release by Donruss in August, 1998 under the name "Leaf Rookies & Chase," but was delayed by the bankruptcy of Donruss' parent company Pinnacle Brands. At the time of Pinnacle's bankruptcy, most of Leaf Rookies & Stars had already been printed.
Football card manufacturer Playoff purchased what was left of Pinnacle Brands and negotiated with MLB Properties a temporary license that allowed the firm to distribute 1998 Leaf Signature Series and 1998 Leaf Rookies & Stars.
Because of the especially strong selection of Rookie Cards (most of them short-prints), this set endured to become one of the more popular and notable base brand issues of the late 1990's. This late release allowed Playoff to tack-on 39 additional cards at the end of the set, including several rookies added to the 40 man roster at the end of the 1998 season.
The set contains the topical subsets: Power Tools (131-160), Team Line-Up (161-190), and Rookies (191-300). Cards 131-230 were short-printed, being seeded at a rate of 1:2 packs. The 39 cards tacked on to the end of the set (301-339) were seeded at noticeably shorter rates (approximately 1:8 packs) than other subsets. Several key Rookie Cards, including J.D. Drew, Troy Glaus, Gabe Kapler and Ruben Mateo appear within this run of "high series" cards. Though not confirmed by the manufacturer, it is believed that card number 317 Ryan Minor was printed in a lesser amount than the other cards in the high series.
It has been estimated that there are about 4500 copies of each "low number" short-print, 5500 copies of each "high number" SP, and about 2000 of the Ryan Minor card.
Distribution
Hobby: 24 packs per box, nine cards per pack (MSRP: $2.99)
Blasters: Eight packs per box, nine cards per pack (MSRP: $19.99)
Reviews
Insertion Ratios
| Cards | Total Cards | Numbered To | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base | 339 | - | ? |
| short set | 200 | - | ? |
| "Low Number" SPs | 100 | - | 1:2 |
| "High Number" SPs | 39 | - | 1:8 |
| True Blue | 339 | 500 | 1:8 |
| Longevity | 339 | 49 | ? |
| Longevity Holographic | 339 | one-of-one | ? |
| Crosstraining | 10 | 1000 | ? |
| Extreme Measures | 10 | varies | ? |
| Extreme Measures Die-Cut | 10 | varies | ? |
| Freshman Orientation | 20 | 5000 | ? |
| Great American Heroes | 22 | 2500 | ? |
| Greatest Hits | 20 | 2500 | ? |
| Home Run Derby | 20 | 2500 | ? |
| Leaf MVPs | 20 | 4500 | ? |
| Leaf MVPs Pennant Edition | 20 | 500 | ? |
| Major League Hard Drives | 22 | 2500 | ? |
| Standing Ovations | 10 | 5000 | ? |
| Ticket Masters | 20 | 2250 | ? |
| Ticket Masters Die-Cut | 20 | 250 | ? |