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: 8 packs per box, nine cards per pack (MSRP: $19.99) and 12 packs per box, nine cards per pack (MSRP: $29.99)
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 | ? |
| Crusade Green | 30 | 250 | ? |
| Crusade Purple | 30 | 100 | ? |
| Crusade Red | 30 | 25 | ? |
Checklist
Base Set
1 Andy Pettitte
2 Roberto Alomar
3 Randy Johnson
4 Manny Ramirez
5 Paul Molitor
6 Mike Mussina
7 Jim Thome
8 Tino Martinez
9 Gary Sheffield
10 Chuck Knoblauch
11 Bernie Williams
12 Tim Salmon
13 Sammy Sosa
14 Wade Boggs
15 Andres Galarraga
16 Pedro Martinez
17 David Justice
18 Chan Ho Park
19 Jay Buhner
20 Ryan Klesko
21 Barry Larkin
22 Will Clark
23 Raul Mondesi
24 Rickey Henderson
25 Jim Edmonds
26 Ken Griffey Jr.
27 Frank Thomas
28 Cal Ripken
29 Alex Rodriguez
30 Mike Piazza (Mets)
31 Greg Maddux
32 Chipper Jones
33 Tony Gwynn
34 Derek Jeter
35 Jeff Bagwell
36 Juan Gonzalez
37 Nomar Garciaparra
38 Andruw Jones
39 Hideo Nomo
40 Roger Clemens
41 Mark McGwire
42 Scott Rolen
43 Vladimir Guerrero
44 Barry Bonds
45 Darin Erstad
46 Albert Belle
47 Kenny Lofton
48 Mo Vaughn
49 Ivan Rodriguez
50 Jose Cruz Jr.
51 Tony Clark
52 Larry Walker
53 Mark Grace
54 Edgar Martinez
55 Fred McGriff
56 Rafael Palmeiro
57 Matt Williams
58 Craig Biggio
59 Ken Caminiti
60 Jose Canseco
61 Brady Anderson
62 Moises Alou
63 Justin Thompson
64 John Smoltz
65 Carlos Delgado
66 J.T. Snow
67 Jason Giambi
68 Garret Anderson
69 Rondell White
70 Eric Karros
71 Javier Lopez
72 Pat Hentgen
73 Dante Bichette
74 Charles Johnson
75 Tom Glavine
76 Rusty Greer
77 Travis Fryman
78 Todd Hundley
79 Ray Lankford
80 Denny Neagle
81 Henry Rodriguez
82 Sandy Alomar Jr.
83 Robin Ventura
84 John Olerud
85 Omar Vizquel
86 Darren Dreifort
87 Kevin Brown
88 Curt Schilling
89 Francisco Cordova
90 Brad Radke
91 David Cone
92 Paul O'Neill
93 Vinny Castilla
94 Marquis Grissom
95 Brian L. Hunter
96 Kevin Appier
97 Bobby Bonilla
98 Eric Young
99 Jason Kendall
100 Shawn Green
101 Edgardo Alfonzo
102 Alan Benes
103 Bobby Higginson
104 Todd Greene
105 Jose Guillen
106 Neifi Perez
107 Edgar Renteria
108 Chris Stynes
109 Todd Walker
110 Brian Jordan
111 Joe Carter
112 Ellis Burks
113 Brett Tomko
114 Mike Cameron
115 Shannon Stewart
116 Kevin Orie
117 Brian Giles
118 Hideki Irabu
119 Delino DeShields
120 David Segui
121 Dustin Hermanson
122 Kevin Young
123 Jay Bell
124 Doug Glanville
125 John Roskos RC
126 Damon Hollins
127 Matt Stairs
128 Cliff Floyd
129 Derek Bell
130 Darryl Strawberry
131 Ken Griffey Jr. PT SP
132 Tim Salmon PT SP
133 Manny Ramirez PT SP
134 Paul Konerko PT SP
135 Frank Thomas PT SP
136 Todd Helton PT SP
137 Larry Walker PT SP
138 Mo Vaughn PT SP
139 Travis Lee PT SP
140 Ivan Rodriguez PT SP
141 Ben Grieve PT SP
142 Brad Fullmer PT SP
143 Alex Rodriguez PT SP
144 Mike Piazza PT SP
145 Greg Maddux PT SP
146 Chipper Jones PT SP
147 Kenny Lofton PT SP
148 Albert Belle PT SP
149 Barry Bonds PT SP
150 Vladimir Guerrero PT SP
151 Tony Gwynn PT SP
152 Derek Jeter PT SP
153 Jeff Bagwell PT SP
154 Juan Gonzalez PT SP
155 Nomar Garciaparra PT SP
156 Andruw Jones PT SP
157 Hideo Nomo PT SP
158 Roger Clemens PT SP
159 Mark McGwire PT SP
160 Scott Rolen PT SP
161 Travis Lee TLU SP
162 Ben Grieve TLU SP
163 Jose Guillen TLU SP
164 Mike Piazza TLU SP
165 Kevin Appier TLU SP
166 Marquis Grissom TLU SP
167 Rusty Greer TLU SP
168 Ken Caminiti TLU SP
169 Craig Biggio TLU SP
170 Ken Griffey Jr. TLU SP
171 Larry Walker TLU SP
172 Barry Larkin TLU SP
173 Andres Galarraga TLU SP
174 Wade Boggs TLU SP
175 Sammy Sosa TLU SP
176 Todd Dunwoody TLU SP
177 Jim Thome TLU SP
178 Paul Molitor TLU SP
179 Tony Clark TLU SP
180 Jose Cruz Jr. TLU SP
181 Darin Erstad TLU SP
182 Barry Bonds TLU SP
183 Vladimir Guerrero TLU SP
184 Scott Rolen TLU SP
185 Mark McGwire TLU SP
186 Nomar Garciaparra TLU SP
187 Gary Sheffield TLU SP
188 Cal Ripken TLU SP
189 Frank Thomas TLU SP
190 Andy Pettitte TLU SP
191 Paul Konerko SP
192 Todd Helton SP
193 Mark Kotsay SP
194 Brad Fullmer SP
195 Kevin Millwood SP RC
196 David Ortiz SP
197 Kerry Wood SP
198 Miguel Tejada SP
199 Fernando Tatis SP
200 Jaret Wright SP
201 Ben Grieve SP
202 Travis Lee SP
203 Wes Helms SP
204 Geoff Jenkins SP
205 Russell Branyan SP
206 Esteban Yan SP RC
207 Ben Ford SP RC
208 Rich Butler SP RC
209 Ryan Jackson SP RC
210 A.J. Hinch SP
211 Magglio Ordonez RC
212 Dave Dellucci SP RC
213 Billy McMillon SP
214 Mike Lowell SP RC
215 Todd Erdos SP RC
216 Carlos Mendoza SP RC
217 Frank Catalanotto SP RC
218 Julio Ramirez SP RC
219 John Halama SP RC
220 Wilson Delgado SP
221 Mike Judd SP RC
222 Rolando Arrojo SP RC
223 Jason LaRue SP RC
224 Manny Aybar SP RC
225 Jorge Velandia SP
226 Mike Kinkade SP RC
227 Carlos Lee SP RC
228 Bobby Hughes SP
229 Ryan Christenson SP RC
230 Masato Yoshii SP RC
231 Richard Hidalgo
232 Rafael Medina
233 Damian Jackson
234 Derek Lowe
235 Mario Valdez
236 Eli Marrero
237 Juan Encarnacion
238 Livan Hernandez
239 Bruce Chen
240 Eric Milton
241 Jason Varitek
242 Scott Elarton
243 Manuel Barrios RC
244 Mike Caruso
245 Tom Evans
246 Pat Cline
247 Matt Clement
248 Karim Garcia
249 Richie Sexson
250 Sidney Ponson
251 Randall Simon
252 Tony Saunders
253 Javier Valentin
254 Danny Clyburn
255 Michael Coleman
256 Hanley Frias RC
257 Miguel Cairo
258 Rob Stanifer RC
259 Lou Collier
260 Abraham Nunez
261 Ricky Ledee
262 Carl Pavano
263 Derrek Lee
264 Jeff Abbott
265 Bob Abreu
266 Bartolo Colon
267 Mike Drumright
268 Daryle Ward
269 Gabe Alvarez
270 Josh Booty
271 Damian Moss
272 Brian Rose
273 Jarrod Washburn
274 Bobby Estalella
275 Enrique Wilson
276 Derrick Gibson
277 Ken Cloude
278 Kevin Witt
279 Donnie Sadler
280 Sean Casey
281 Jacob Cruz
282 Ron Wright
283 Jeremi Gonzalez
284 Desi Relaford
285 Bobby Smith
286 Javier Vazquez
287 Steve Woodard
288 Greg Norton
289 Cliff Politte
290 Felix Heredia
291 Braden Looper
292 Felix Martinez
293 Brian Meadows
294 Edwin Diaz
295 Pat Watkins
296 Marc Pisciotta RC
297 Rick Gorecki
298 DaRond Stovall
299 Andy Larkin
300 Felix Rodriguez
301 Blake Stein SP
302 John Rocker SP RC
303 Justin Baughman SP RC
304 Jesus Sanchez SP RC
305 Randy Winn SP
306 Lou Merloni SP
307 Jim Parque SP RC
308 Dennis Reyes SP
309 Orlando Hernandez SP RC
310 Jason Johnson SP
311 Torii Hunter SP
312 Mike Piazza SP (Marlins)
313 Mike Frank SP RC
314 Troy Glaus SP RC
315 Jin Ho Cho SP RC
316 Ruben Mateo SP RC
317 Ryan Minor SP RC
318 Aramis Ramirez SP
319 Adrian Beltre SP
320 Matt Anderson SP RC
321 Gabe Kapler SP RC
322 Jeremy Giambi SP RC
323 Carlos Beltran SP
324 Dermal Brown SP
325 Ben Davis SP
326 Eric Chavez SP
327 Bobby Howry SP RC
328 Roy Halladay SP
329 George Lombard SP
330 Michael Barrett SP
331 Fernando Seguignol SP RC
332 J.D. Drew SP RC
333 Odalis Perez SP RC
334 Alex Cora SP RC
335 Placido Polanco SP RC
336 Armando Rios SP RC
337 Sammy Sosa HR SP
338 Mark McGwire HR SP
339 Sammy Sosa/Mark McGwire CL SP
Parallels
Each of the 339 base cards are available in the following parallels.
- True Blue (limited to 500 copies)
- Longevity (serial-numbered to 50 copies)
In addition, the very first serial-numbered copy of each Longevity card is printed with a holographic foil sheen, making it a "one-of-one."
Inserts
Rookies & Chase Insert Promos
To preview Leaf Rookies & Chase, all dealer wholesale order forms contained one sample card from four different insert sets (Freshman Orientation, Great American Heroes. Major League Hard Drives and Standing Ovations). The checklists are identical to those listed below, with the exception of the Mike Piazza Marlins and Mets cards. The promos each feature the large "SAMPLE" text printed diagonally across the card back and a blank area intended for serial numbering on back. Apparently, MLB disallowed Donruss/Leaf the rights to use the word "chase" in a product name, fearing it insinuated aspects of gambling. However, the name was officially changed after Playoff took over Pinnacle's assets.
Crosstraining
This 10-card set is serial-numbered to 1000 copies. The cards are printed on foil board with a shoe sole design.
1 Kenny Lofton
2 Ken Griffey Jr.
3 Alex Rodriguez
4 Greg Maddux
5 Barry Bonds
6 Ivan Rodriguez
7 Chipper Jones
8 Jeff Bagwell
9 Nomar Garciaparra
10 Derek Jeter
Extreme Measures
This 10-card set is printed on foil board and serial-numbered to 1000. However, a parallel version was created whereby a specific amount of each card was die cut to a featured statistic. The result, was varying print runs of the non-die cut cards. Specific print runs for each non-die-cut card are provided in our checklist after the player's name.
To calculate the production figure for the die-cut, simply subtract the figures below by 1000.
1 Ken Griffey Jr. /944
2 Frank Thomas /653
3 Tony Gwynn /628
4 Mark McGwire /942
5 Larry Walker /280
6 Mike Piazza /960
7 Roger Clemens /708
8 Greg Maddux /980
9 Jeff Bagwell /873
10 Nomar Garciaparra /989
Freshman Orientation
This 20-card set serial-numbered to 5000 copies and printed with holographic foil.
1 Todd Helton
2 Ben Grieve
3 Travis Lee
4 Paul Konerko
5 Jaret Wright
6 Livan Hernandez
7 Brad Fullmer
8 Carl Pavano
9 Richard Hidalgo
10 Miguel Tejada
11 Mark Kotsay
12 David Ortiz
13 Juan Encarnacion
14 Fernando Tatis
15 Kevin Millwood
16 Kerry Wood
17 Magglio Ordonez
18 Derrek Lee
19 Jose Cruz Jr.
20 A.J. Hinch
Great American Heroes
This 22-card set is serial-numbered to 2500 copies and stamped with holographic foil. In remembrance of his turbulent 1998 season, Mike Piazza is featured on three different versions (pictured separately as a Dodger, Marlin and Met). Each of the three Piazzas is serial-numbered to 2500.
1 Frank Thomas
2 Cal Ripken
3 Ken Griffey Jr.
4 Alex Rodriguez
5 Greg Maddux
6A Mike Piazza (Dodgers)
6B Mike Piazza (Marlins)
6C Mike Piazza (Mets)
7 Chipper Jones
8 Tony Gwynn
9 Jeff Bagwell
10 Juan Gonzalez
11 Hideo Nomo
12 Roger Clemens
13 Mark McGwire
14 Barry Bonds
15 Kenny Lofton
16 Larry Walker
17 Paul Molitor
18 Wade Boggs
19 Barry Larkin
20 Andres Galarraga
Greatest Hits
Each of the 20 cards in this set is serial-numbered to 2500 copies.
1 Ken Griffey Jr.
2 Frank Thomas
3 Cal Ripken
4 Alex Rodriguez
5 Ben Grieve
6 Mike Piazza
7 Chipper Jones
8 Tony Gwynn
9 Derek Jeter
10 Jeff Bagwell
11 Tino Martinez
12 Juan Gonzalez
13 Nomar Garciaparra
14 Mark McGwire
15 Scott Rolen
16 David Justice
17 Darin Erstad
18 Mo Vaughn
19 Ivan Rodriguez
20 Travis Lee
Home Run Derby
Each of these 20 cards are serial-numbered to 2500 copies.
1 Tino Martinez
2 Jim Thome
3 Larry Walker
4 Tony Clark
5 Jose Cruz Jr.
6 Barry Bonds
7 Scott Rolen
8 Paul Konerko
9 Travis Lee
10 Todd Helton
11 Mark McGwire
12 Andruw Jones
13 Nomar Garciaparra
14 Juan Gonzalez
15 Jeff Bagwell
16 Chipper Jones
17 Mike Piazza
18 Frank Thomas
19 Ken Griffey Jr.
20 Albert Belle
Leaf MVPs
Each of these cards are serial-numbered to 5000 copies with the first 500 die-cut.
1 Frank Thomas
2 Chuck Knoblauch
3 Cal Ripken
4 Alex Rodriguez
5 Ivan Rodriguez
6 Albert Belle
7 Ken Griffey Jr.
8 Juan Gonzalez
9 Roger Clemens
10 Mo Vaughn
11 Jeff Bagwell
12 Craig Biggio
13 Chipper Jones
14 Barry Larkin
15 Mike Piazza
16 Barry Bonds
17 Andruw Jones
18 Tony Gwynn
19 Greg Maddux
20 Mark McGwire
Major League Hard Drives
This 22-card set is printed with holographic foil stamping and serial-numbered to 2500 copies. In remembrance of his turbulent 1998 season, Mike Piazza is featured on three different versions (pictured separately as a Dodger, Marlin and Met). All three versions of the Piazza card had 2500 cards printed.
1 Jeff Bagwell
2 Juan Gonzalez
3 Nomar Garciaparra
4 Ken Griffey Jr.
5 Frank Thomas
6 Cal Ripken
7 Alex Rodriguez
8A Mike Piazza (Dodgers)
8B Mike Piazza (Marlins)
8C Mike Piazza (Mets)
9 Chipper Jones
10 Tony Gwynn
11 Derek Jeter
12 Mo Vaughn
13 Ben Grieve
14 Manny Ramirez
15 Vladimir Guerrero
16 Scott Rolen
17 Darin Erstad
18 Kenny Lofton
19 Brad Fullmer
20 David Justice
Standing Ovations
Each of these 10 cards are serial-numbered to 5000 copies.
1 Barry Bonds
2 Mark McGwire
3 Ken Griffey Jr.
4 Frank Thomas
5 Tony Gwynn
6 Cal Ripken
7 Greg Maddux
8 Roger Clemens
9 Paul Molitor
10 Ivan Rodriguez
Ticket Masters
Each of these 20 cards are serial-numbered to 2500 copies, with the first 250 cards die-cut. This double-sided set is printed on foil board and features color photos of players from the same team.
1 K. Griffey Jr./A. Rodriguez
2 F. Thomas/A. Belle
3 C. Ripken/R. Alomar
4 G. Maddux/C. Jones
5 T. Gwynn/K. Caminiti
6 D. Jeter/A. Pettitte
7 J. Bagwell/C. Biggio
8 J. Gonzalez/I. Rodriguez
9 N. Garciaparra/M. Vaughn
10 V. Guerrero/B. Fullmer
11 A. Jones/A. Galarraga
12 T. Martinez/C. Knoblauch
13 R. Mondesi/P. Konerko
14 R. Clemens/J. Cruz Jr.
15 M. McGwire/B. Jordan
16 K. Lofton/M. Ramirez
17 L. Walker/T. Helton
18 D. Erstad/T. Salmon
19 T. Lee/M. Williams
20 B. Grieve/J. Giambi