Best set of the year: 1998

Ah, 1998, an epic year in the night owl timeline. But baseball cards didn't have anything to do with it. I was five years into my collecting hiatus. The year is legend because I became a dad. I am sure I watched some of the Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa home run race with a baby in my arms.

 

Somewhere in the summer of 1998, my wife and I were wheeling that baby in her stroller while walking through a mall, I don't remember which one. We walked into a chain book store -- I don't remember which one -- and I spotted Topps cards on one of those islands near the front of the store. They were packs of 1998 Topps. OK, sure, I'll grab a couple of packs and see what cards look like in the year 1998.

 

I recall thinking they were OK, nothing special. They certainly didn't break my hiatus, which lasted for another eight years, give or take a pack or two. I had no idea how active the hobby was at that time -- the number of sets and companies and "innovation." It was a year of transition with some card brands and companies on the way out.

 

And that's why, once again, I don't feel qualified to choose a "best set" from this year, which is the same thing I said for 1997, 1996 and 1995. But I press on because this is a continuing series!

 

I started this in 2012 with the 1981 series. The last time I updated was  with 1997 and that was in early 2024. This series has been a bear ever since it moved into the mid-1990s.

 

Per usual I'm keeping this review to sets with at least 400 cards because I have a life. Sorry, UD3, SPx Finite and very weird Circa Thunder. I am making one exception for a known brand. But Pinnacle gets shut out again because it was obsessed with teeny tiny sets. I don't care if one of them came out of a can.

 

Lunch packed? OK, let's begin:

 

 

1998 Bowman - the front

 

Plusses: After the black borders from 1997 (which I love), Bowman went with a brighter design that's a nice contrast, I suppose. ... The gold foil names are easy to read even on the black background.

 

Minuses: Not memorable enough, I constantly confuse 1998 and 1999 Bowman (not sure which set is at fault here). ... The position "button" is huge and the sideways facsimile autograph takes up a lot of space for something unnecessary. ... Floating team logo needs to be anchored.

 

 

1998 Bowman -- the back

 

Plusses: A very similar back to the one from 1997, which is great. I love this team-by-team set-up. ... Bowman dispatched the sideways name header from 1997 and placed it at the top. ... The large second photo on the back returns for a sixth straight year.

 

Minuses: Not loving the gradient color scheme.

 

1998 Bowman -- overall

 

Plusses: Bowman matches the previous year's set of 440 cards (plus one, as I'll get to in a second) after failing to reach 400 in previous years. ... Thirty-five percent of this set (150 cards) is prospects, so if you collected cards for prospects you had your set.

 

Minuses: It was a tough year for rookies. Best of the bunch is Jimmy Rollins, Troy Glaus and Magglio Ordonez. ... Bowman added Orlando Hernandez late to the first set (cards 1-220) as card #221. ... The set was overprinted, which is why you see many more of 1998 Bowman today than, say, 1996 or 1997 Bowman.

 

 

1998 Collector's Choice -- the front

 

Plusses: Another photo-centric set from Collector's Choice, though maybe not as many distinctive pictures as previous sets. Still, there's the Juan Gonzalez-at-the-wall shot. ... Special designation logos for players like All-Stars and Diamond Debut. ... Lots of fun subsets like Masked Marauders and Cover Story and inserts like Super-Action Stick-Ums.

 

Minuses: As I've mentioned with CC on previous Best Set posts, I confuse any Collector's Choice set that isn't 1994 or 1995. 1996-98 are muddled for me. ... I still don't think I know why some of the players have silver borders instead of white. Just a little too much going on with this set.

 

 

1998 Collector's Choice -- the back

 

Plusses: Full stats and a photo, what else could you want? ... Collector's Choice throws in a cartoon Did You Know, which is great. The cartoon guy was a mainstay with CC for a few years, though in 1998 they did away with "Stumpy".

 

Minuses: The '90s habit of sideways writing just got to be too much.

 

1998 Collector's Choice -- overall

 

Plusses: The "alternative to slick-and-pricey" Upper Deck works for one more year. ... A 530-card set, which is slightly larger than 1997 but way less than 1996. ... Lots of subsets as in previous years. ... This is the grand finale for Collector's Choice as Upper Deck would go in another direction the next year.

 

Minuses: Kind of a sad time for lower-priced sets as CC and Score were on their way out ... I never liked the look of the StarQuest cards nor really understood them. ... As I mentioned earlier, just a little bit too much going on with this set, makes it difficult to focus on what is a subset and what is an insert for a guy who wasn't collecting at the time.

 

 

1998 Donruss -- the front

 

Plusses: Donruss finally issues a distinctive, somewhat-pleasing design in the late 1990s. This isn't anything that will make me want to collect it, but it's way nicer than 1996 or 1997 Donruss. ... I like the team-colored look of the design. ... Full-bleed photos again for Donruss for those collectors who like that.

 

Minuses: Just not interesting enough. Donruss rarely drew my attention most years.

  

 

1998 Donruss -- the back

 

Plusses: Standard back, everything you could want in the right place. ... I like the script header and the team color accents in the stats.

 

Minuses: Nothing worth noting.

 

1998 Donruss -- overall

 

Plusses: Another brand on its way out and it's a step-up for its final hurrah. ... Set contained five subsets though none of them really stand out. ... Inserts were where it was at for Donruss at this time and the Crusade inserts especially were -- and are -- very popular. Also the Diamond Kings inserts return.

 

Minuses: The 420-card base set is the smallest Donruss issued in the 1990s. ... This is goodbye for Donruss for a few years. Pinnacle -- Donruss' parent company at the time -- filed for bankruptcy and both Donruss and Pinnacle stopped issuing cards, though Donruss would return in 2001.

 

 

1998 Fleer Tradition -- the front

 

Plusses: Fleer ditched the matte finish used for the 1996 and 1997 sets and broke out the UV coating for the first time in one of its flagship sets. It's a noticeable upgrade, even if Fleer also jumped into looking like every other set. ... As with recent sets, Fleer makes way for the photo with just a tiny bit of wording and a gold flourish for the design. ... Lots of interesting and candid photos.

 

Minuses: Fleer joined the gold rush started by brands like Pinnacle and Pacific, as every company practically came down with the affliction by 1998, leading to gold overkill. ... I'd like just a little more design to set it apart.

 

 

1998 Fleer Tradition -- the back

 

Plusses: A sharp-looking back, the whole back looks huge. ... Really like the uniform backdrop. ... Fleer should get some sort of lifetime achievement award for placing the date of the card set on the back in a prominent fashion.

Minuses: The type on a purple background looks a little difficult to read but that may be the scan.

 

1998 Fleer Tradition -- overall

 

Plusses: A nice, 600-card set that brought Fleer out of the 1995-97 dark ages for the company. ... Like with 1997, some really nice inserts, particularly Lumber Company and Zone. And the Vintage '63 inserts are fun, although they confused me at first because 126 cards for an insert is a set, not an insert.

 

Minuses: "Fleer Tradition" is basically "Fleer," just a new name for the flagship set and, boy, was this confusing in my return to collecting cards. ... Kind of wish Fleer didn't adopt the UV coating. ... Set looks a little too similar to Fleer's Ultra brand. ... There were promos for Alex Rodriguez and Mickey Mantle, which I'm sure were fun at the time, but now look gimmicky.

 

 

1998 Pacific -- the front

 

Plusses: Action-packed photos with Pacific's customary gold treatment.

 

Minuses: Looks similar to Fleer Tradition except with less interesting photos.

 

Also the vertical photos are awkward with the design.

 

 

1998 Pacific -- the back

 

Plusses: Good gosh I love a Pacific card back, I think I've said that before. ... Colorful and proud of its Spanish heritage with the language the focus of the bio with the English in smaller type below. ... The card number looks the same just about every year so you know what it looks like. ... Love the team logo.

 

Minuses: Just one year of stats 

 

 

1998 Pacific -- overall

 

Plusses: Pacific issued lots of sets in 1998 and it gets confusing but the main set (which is actually called "Pacific Crown Collection") looks like a base set and offers a nice foundation. ... Several flashy inserts including the much-adored Cramer's Choice triangular diecuts. I personally don't get the excitement over these but I'm sure I had to be there. ... The red and silver foil parallels are kind of fun.

 

Minuses: It's a smaller set, just 450 cards. ... I think it was somewhat limited in printing but at least it's not as difficult to find as some of those 1994 Pacific base cards. 

 

 

1998 Pacific Online -- the front

 

Plusses: The whole point of this set was to be interactive. Collectors could log on to the player's web page at the bigleaguers.com website by using the address printed at the top of the card. ... This is a big, big set, 800 cards and it goes deep into team rosters.

 

Minuses: Not the greatest look with that white strip at the top of every single card. 

 

 

Plusses: Well, if you have nostalgia for the late 1990s, it just kicked in right now. Every color of the rainbow there.

 

Minuses: It's nice to look at, but that's about it.

 

Pacific Online -- overall

 

Plusses: Good for a card company to embrace the growing interest in the world wide web. Card shops and other physical areas to purchase cards were disappearing as collectors moved more toward buying online. This set recognized that. ... I love that I have a Dodger card of players like Trenidad Hubbard and Darren Hall thanks to this set.

 

Minuses: This might be the most dated set of all of 1998. ... Out of all the Pacific spin-off sets in 1998 this seems like an odd choice to showcase, but it's 800 cards so I can't ignore it!

 

 

1998 Score -- the front

 

Plusses: Score continues for one more year! But it's the final year. ... Not the greatest design but it looks better than 1997 to me.

 

Minuses: More sideways printing. ... I always forget this set exists. Just not very interesting.

 

 

1998 Score -- the back

 

Plusses: Just like 1997, Score throws out a bunch of stats and then even more at you. It's not quite as number-intensive as the previous year but that's a lot to process. ... Always love a detailed Score write-up.

Minuses: Brain overload is possible looking at more than 5 of these at on sitting.

 

1998 Score -- overall

 

Plusses: 99-cent packs. ... Some nice inserts in this set. ... I squeezed the Score set into this review even though it features only 270 cards. But if you add the Rookies and Traded set to the total it gets you to 540 cards and since those R&T cards look like the rest of the Score set to me, I'm lumping them together. Come on, it's the final Score set!

 

Minuses: That said, considering some of the past Score sets, even 540 cards is skimpy and 270 cards is definitely tiny. ... Sample promos. I know it was the rage, but it makes things difficult on set collectors

 

 

1998 Stadium Club -- the front

 

Plusses: It's Stadium Club so it's sharp-looking. In general I think late '90s Stadium Club isn't as great as the sets that kicked off the decade, but I think 1998 is a step up. ... I really like the embossed baseball seams in the corners.

 

Minuses: The light blue lettering can be tough to see. ... The photos are interesting but maybe not quite as interesting as earlier SC sets.

 

 

1998 Stadium Club -- the back

 

Plusses: Lot of interesting choices here. I like "The Bottom Line" ... The large action player photo is nice though it gets covered up.

 

Minuses: Stadium Club backs tend to get busy and this is a decent example.

 

1998 Stadium Club -- overall

 

Plusses: Per usual, it's a nice-looking set and collecting Stadium Club means you'll have memorable photos in a binder for years to come.

 

Minuses: It's just 400 cards. More present-day Stadium Clubs are smaller like this one but once upon a time Stadium Club was a huge set. ... This set was issued in two series with one series odd numbers and the other even numbers. That is odd. ...  The inserts don't do it for me, but that's nothing new with Stadium Club.

 

 

1998 Topps -- the front

 

Plusses: Distinctive. I know this is 1998 Topps right away. ... There are all kinds of interesting photos in this set and it seems that Topps really focused on that with a number of "studio poses" featured (think Billy Wagner). ... I like the framing of this set, just wish the borders weren't gold.

 

Minuses: Topps officially bowed down to the golden idol and unveiled its first gold flagship set. It was probably coming since 1992. ... The player name and the team name can be difficult to read with tiny team logos in the background. You need to tilt it just right (when have you heard that from me before?)

 

 

1998 Topps -- the back

 

Plusses: Solid. Standard requirements fulfilled and the photo doesn't look squashed. ... Nice continuation of the team logo background from the front but it doesn't make the numbers and words unreadable.

 

Minuses: Card number is sideways and that's a problem.

 

1998 Topps -- overall

 

Plusses: We're still in the Topps "dead era" but this is one of the more memorable flagship sets from that time (in general I prefer 1997 and 1998 Topps from the period of 1996-2000). ... Roberto Clemente is part of the base set -- I pulled this card in one of those packs I bought in '98 and I've treasured it since. Clemente is also a part of a few insert sets. ... There are a few nifty inserts, particularly the Etch-A-Sketch one.

 

Minuses: At 503 cards, it's barely more than the small 1996 and 1997 sets, just doesn't seem like enough. ... I am just not a fan of gold as a main color emphasis and it's one of the reasons why this time period for cards doesn't appeal to me. ... Are the Diamondbacks and Marlins stamped parallel sets really necessary?

 

 

1998 Ultra -- the front

 

Plusses: The second of the "script" designs for Ultra after 1997 and I find these really appealing. ... I think the photos are even better with this set than the ones in 1997. ... I like how the writing is in the corner and at an angle.

 

Minuses: Ultra from this time can be difficult to distinguish from year-to-year, but that's a problem in general with Ultra for me so I think it's just something I need to work out.

 

 

1998 Ultra -- the back

 

Plusses: Woo, look at that full batting and fielding stats! ... After the last couple of years of Ultra stats being a little difficult to read with all the images on the back, too, this is simpler and does its job better. ... Again, notice that year-of-issue in the corner.

 

Minuses: Not much, looks cool, even though I prefer horizontal backs.

 

1998 Ultra -- overall

 

Plusses: Another classy-looking set. The thicker card stock helps. ... Also a very interesting set, which had to make it very appealing sitting on store shelves. ... Nifty inserts. I like the "Top 30"s.

 

Minuses: It's not a big set at 501 cards but card companies were still not quite over the 1994 strike and were generally issuing smaller sets. Plus with the focus on inserts and "hits," they probably had to gauge how much interest there was in base cards of everyday players. ... From what I've read, some of the cards are short-printed. 

 

 

1998 Upper Deck -- the front

 

Plusses: After the orange or bronze or whatever color you want to call it of the last two years, Upper Deck went in a new direction, using team colors with the design and I've always liked this. ... Nice framing of the large photo.

 

Minuses: Sideways writing. ... Even though I like these I still forget about this set sometimes.

 

 

1998 Upper Deck -- the back

 

Plusses: Nice continuation from the front. I like the use of black on the back. The whole set has an overall "dark" theme, which I enjoy. ... Everything is nicely segmented.

 

Minuses: Maybe a little difficult to read? .... Legalese on cards seemed to really expand in the late 1990s, I look at the lower right corner and wonder what else interesting could be put there.

 

1998 Upper Deck -- overall

 

Plusses: A really big set for the time -- 751 cards. It came in three series. ... I think this set looks classier than many of the UD sets that preceded it. ... I think Ken Griffey Jr. relics were all the rage with this set. ... Packs cost $1.99 for 12 cards, which doesn't sound terrible.

 

Minuses: Not much.

 

 

I realize this doesn't sum up the definitive 1998 baseball card scene as everyone was chasing individual cards at the time and hyped over the McGwire-Sosa home run chase. Set pursuits were on the back burner. But I started this series way back with the 1981 sets, when completing sets was about all there was to do as far as cardboard objectives. And I'm going to stick with that for as long as this series lasts.

 

It's practically killing me now though -- this post took parts of five days to do -- so let's see if I get all the way through the late 1990s. Don't expect a rundown of 1999 any time soon.

 

But before I get out of here, it's time to choose the best set of 1998 ...

 

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ULTRA!!!

 

Ultra is on a two-year winning streak.

 

Total "Best Set of the Year" ranking: Topps - 6, Upper Deck - 4, Stadium Club -3, Ultra - 2, Collector's Choice - 1, Donruss - 1, Fleer - 1, Score - 1