1997 Finest
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Contents |
Description
1997 Finest (produced by Topps) is a 350-card fractured set, issued in two series of 175 cards each. Series One is divided into five distinct themes: Finest Hurlers (top pitchers), Finest Blue Chips (up-and-coming future stars), Finest Power (long-ball hitters), Finest Warriors (superstar players), and Finest Masters (hottest players). Series Two is also divided into five distinct themes: Finest Power (power hitters and pitchers), Finest Masters (top players), Finest Blue Chips (top new players), Finest Competitors (hottest players), and Finest Acquisitions (latest trades and new signings). All five themes of each series have common cards (1-100 and 176-275) designated with bronze trim, uncommon (101-150 and 276-325) with silver trim and an insertion rate of one in four for both series, and rare (151-175 and 326-350) with gold trim and an insertion rate of one in 24 for both series. These cards are denoted below with either a "B" "S" or "G." Notable Rookie Cards include Brian Giles.
Distribution
24 packs per box, six cards per pack (MSRP: $5.00)
Reviews
Insertion Ratios
| Cards | Total Cards | Numbered To | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base | 350 | - | ? |
| Common (Bronze) | 200 | - | 6:1 |
| Uncommon (Silver) | 100 | - | 1:4 |
| Rare (Gold) | 50 | - | 1:24 |
| Bronze Refractor | 200 | - | 1:12 |
| Silver Refractor | 100 | - | 1:48 |
| Gold Refractor | 50 | - | 1:288 |
| Silver Embossed | 100 | - | 1:16 |
| Gold Embossed Die-Cut | 50 | - | 1:96 |
| Silver Embossed Refractor | 100 | - | 1:192 |
| Gold Embossed Die-Cut Refractor | 50 | - | 1:1,152 |
Checklist
Base Set
Promos
This five-card set features one promo card for each of the five themes found in the 1997 Finest Series One set. The fronts, backs, and card numbers are identical to the regular set with the exception of the words, "Promotional Sample Not for Resale" printed in red across the back. The cards are checklisted below according to their numbers in the regular set.
1 Barry Bonds
15 Derek Jeter
30 Mark McGwire
143 Hideo Nomo
159 Jeff Bagwell
Series One
1 Barry Bonds
2 Ryne Sandberg
3 Brian Jordan
4 Rocky Coppinger
5 Dante Bichette
6 Al Martin
7 Charles Nagy
8 Otis Nixon
9 Mark Johnson
10 Jeff Bagwell
11 Ken Hill
12 Willie Adams
13 Raul Mondesi
14 Reggie Sanders
15 Derek Jeter
16 Jermaine Dye
17 Edgar Renteria
18 Travis Fryman
19 Roberto Hernandez
20 Sammy Sosa
21 Garret Anderson
22 Rey Ordonez
23 Glenallen Hill
24 Dave Nilsson
25 Kevin Brown
26 Brian McRae
27 Joey Hamilton
28 Jamey Wright
29 Frank Thomas
30 Mark McGwire
31 Ramon Martinez
32 Jaime Bluma
33 Frank Rodriguez
34 Andy Benes
35 Jay Buhner
36 Justin Thompson
37 Darin Erstad
38 Gregg Jefferies
39 Jeff D'Amico
40 Pedro Martinez
41 Nomar Garciaparra
42 Jose Valentin
43 Pat Hentgen
44 Will Clark
45 Bernie Williams
46 Luis Castillo
47 B.J. Surhoff
48 Greg Gagne
49 Pete Schourek
50 Mike Piazza
51 Dwight Gooden
52 Javy Lopez
53 Chuck Finley
54 James Baldwin
55 Jack McDowell
56 Royce Clayton
57 Carlos Delgado
58 Neifi Perez
59 Eddie Taubensee
60 Rafael Palmeiro
61 Marty Cordova
62 Wade Boggs
63 Rickey Henderson
64 Mike Hampton
65 Troy Percival
66 Barry Larkin
67 Jermaine Allensworth
68 Mark Clark
69 Mike Lansing
70 Mark Grudzielanek
71 Todd Stottlemyre
72 Juan Guzman
73 John Burkett
74 Wilson Alvarez
75 Ellis Burks
76 Bob Higginson
77 Ricky Bottalico
78 Omar Vizquel
79 Paul Sorrento
80 Denny Neagle
81 Roger Pavlik
82 Mike Lieberthal
83 Devon White
84 John Olerud
85 Kevin Appier
86 Joe Girardi
87 Paul O'Neill
88 Mike Sweeney
89 John Smiley
90 Ivan Rodriguez
91 Randy Myers
92 Bip Roberts
93 Jose Mesa
94 Paul Wilson
95 Mike Mussina
96 Ben McDonald
97 John Mabry
98 Tom Goodwin
99 Edgar Martinez
100 Andruw Jones
101 Jose Canseco
102 Billy Wagner
103 Dante Bichette
104 Curt Schilling
105 Dean Palmer
106 Larry Walker
107 Bernie Williams
108 Chipper Jones
109 Gary Sheffield
110 Randy Johnson
111 Roberto Alomar
112 Todd Walker
113 Sandy Alomar
114 John Jaha
115 Ken Caminiti
116 Ryan Klesko
117 Mariano Rivera
118 Jason Giambi
119 Lance Johnson
120 Robin Ventura
121 Todd Hollandsworth
122 Johnny Damon
123 William VanLandingham
124 Jason Kendall
125 Vinny Castilla
126 Harold Baines
127 Joe Carter
128 Craig Biggio
129 Tony Clark
130 Ron Gant
131 David Segui
132 Steve Trachsel
133 Scott Rolen
134 Mike Stanley
135 Cal Ripken, Jr.
136 John Smoltz
137 Bobby Jones
138 Manny Ramirez
139 Ken Griffey, Jr.
140 Chuck Knoblauch
141 Mark Grace
142 Chris Snopek
143 Hideo Nomo
144 Tim Salmon
145 David Cone
146 Eric Young
147 Jeff Brantley
148 Jim Thome
149 Trevor Hoffman
150 Juan Gonzalez
151 Mike Piazza
152 Ivan Rodriguez
153 Mo Vaughn
154 Brady Anderson
155 Mark McGwire
156 Rafael Palmeiro
157 Barry Larkin
158 Greg Maddux
159 Jeff Bagwell
160 Frank Thomas
161 Ken Caminiti
162 Andruw Jones
163 Dennis Eckersley
164 Jeff Conine
165 Jim Edmonds
166 Derek Jeter
167 Vladimir Guerrero
168 Sammy Sosa
169 Tony Gwynn
170 Andres Galarraga
171 Todd Hundley
172 Jay Buhner
173 Paul Molitor
174 Kenny Lofton
175 Barry Bonds
Series Two
176 Gary Sheffield
177 Dmitri Young
178 Jay Bell
179 David Wells
180 Walt Weiss
181 Paul Molitor
182 Jose Guillen
183 Al Leiter
184 Mike Fetters
185 Mark Langston
186 Fred McGriff
187 Darrin Fletcher
188 Brant Brown
189 Geronimo Berroa
190 Jim Thome
191 Jose Vizcaino
192 Andy Ashby
193 Rusty Greer
194 Brian Hunter
195 Chris Hoiles
196 Orlando Merced
197 Brett Butler
198 Derek Bell
199 Bobby Bonilla
200 Alex Ochoa
201 Wally Joyner
202 Mo Vaughn
203 Doug Drabek
204 Tino Martinez
205 Roberto Alomar
206 Brian Giles
207 Todd Worrell
208 Alan Benes
209 Jim Leyritz
210 Darryl Hamilton
211 Jimmy Key
212 Juan Gonzalez
213 Vinny Castilla
214 Chuck Knoblauch
215 Tony Phillips
216 Jeff Cirillo
217 Carlos Garcia
218 Brooks Kieschnick
219 Marquis Grissom
220 Dan Wilson
221 Greg Vaughn
222 John Wetteland
223 Andres Galarraga
224 Ozzie Guillen
225 Kevin Elster
226 Bernard Gilkey
227 Mike Macfarlane
228 Heathcliff Slocumb
229 Wendell Magee
230 Carlos Baerga
231 Kevin Seitzer
232 Henry Rodriguez
233 Roger Clemens
234 Mark Wohlers
235 Eddie Murray
236 Todd Zeile
237 J.T. Snow
238 Ken Griffey, Jr.
239 Sterling Hitchcock
240 Albert Belle
241 Terry Steinbach
242 Robb Nen
243 Mark McLemore
244 Jeff King
245 Tony Clark
246 Tim Salmon
247 Benito Santiago
248 Robin Ventura
249 Bubba Trammell
250 Chili Davis
251 John Valentin
252 Cal Ripken, Jr.
253 Matt Williams
254 Jeff Kent
255 Eric Karros
256 Ray Lankford
257 Ed Sprague
258 Shane Reynolds
259 Jaime Navarro
260 Eric Davis
261 Orel Hershiser
262 Mark Grace
263 Rod Beck
264 Ismael Valdes
265 Manny Ramirez
266 Ken Caminiti
267 Tim Naehring
268 Jose Rosado
269 Greg Colbrunn
270 Dean Palmer
271 Dave Justice
272 Scott Spiezio
273 Chipper Jones
274 Mel Rojas
275 Bartolo Colon
276 Darin Erstad
277 Sammy Sosa
278 Rafael Palmeiro
279 Frank Thomas
280 Ruben Rivera
281 Hal Morris
282 Jay Buhner
283 Kenny Lofton
284 Jose Canseco
285 Alex Fernandez
286 Todd Helton
287 Andy Pettitte
288 John Franco
289 Ivan Rodriguez
290 Ellis Burks
291 Julio Franco
292 Mike Piazza
293 Brian Jordan
294 Greg Maddux
295 Bob Abreu
296 Rondell White
297 Moises Alou
298 Tony Gwynn
299 Deion Sanders
300 Jeff Montgomery
301 Ray Durham
302 John Wasdin
303 Ryne Sandberg
304 Delino DeShields
305 Mark McGwire
306 Andruw Jones
307 Kevin Orie
308 Matt Williams
309 Karim Garcia
310 Derek Jeter
311 Mo Vaughn
312 Brady Anderson
313 Barry Bonds
314 Steve Finley
315 Vladimir Guerrero
316 Matt Morris
317 Tom Glavine
318 Jeff Bagwell
319 Albert Belle
320 Hideki Irabu
321 Andres Galarraga
322 Cecil Fielder
323 Barry Larkin
324 Todd Hundley
325 Fred McGriff
326 Gary Sheffield
327 Craig Biggio
328 Raul Mondesi
329 Edgar Martinez
330 Chipper Jones
331 Bernie Williams
332 Juan Gonzalez
333 Ron Gant
334 Cal Ripken, Jr.
335 Larry Walker
336 Matt Williams
337 Jose Cruz
338 Joe Carter
339 Wilton Guerrero
340 Cecil Fielder
341 Todd Walker
342 Ken Griffey, Jr.
343 Ryan Klesko
344 Roger Clemens
345 Hideo Nomo
346 Dante Bichette
347 Albert Belle
348 Randy Johnson
349 Manny Ramirez
350 John Smoltz
Parallels
Refractors
Each of the 350 1997 Finest base cards is available in a Refractor parallel. Just like in the base set, the Bronze Refractors are the easiest to pull (1:12/packs), Silver tough (1:48), and Gold toughest (1:288). Unlike the previous year, Topps made no statement in regards to the production of Gold Refractors
Embossed
Embossed is a 150-card partial parallel of the Silver and Gold fracture levels. Each card features the player's raised image. In addition the Gold Embossed cards have a die-cut "deckled" edge.
Each Embossed card is also available as a Refractor parallel.
