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Contents 1 Description 2 Distribution 3 Reviews 4 Insertion Ratios 5 Checklist 5.1 Promos 5.2 Base Set 5.3 Parallels 5.3.1 Aspirations 5.3.2 Status 5.4 Inserts 5.4.1 Back to the Future 5.4.2 Craftsmen 5.4.3 Prime Numbers 5.4.3.1 Prime Numbers Die-Cut 5.5 Autographs & Game-Used 5.5.1 Back to the Future Autograph

Description

1998 Donruss Elite is a 150-card set released in March, 1998.

Distribution

18 packs per box, five cards per pack (MSRP: $3.99). Hobby only.

Reviews

Insertion Ratios

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Odds
Base	150	-	?
Aspirations	150	750	?
Status	150	100	?
Back to the Future	8	1400	?
Craftsmen	30	3500	?
Master Craftsmen	30	100	?
Prime Numbers	36	varies	?
Prime Numbers Die-Cut	36	varies	?
Back to the Future Autographs	7	100 or 200	?

Checklist

Promos

To promote the upcoming 1998 Donruss Elite set, samples were created for all 36 Prime Numbers inserts and distributed one per dealer order form. The cards are identical to regular Prime Numbers inserts (see below) except for the large "SAMPLE" text running diagonally across the backs and lack of serial numbering.

Base Set

1 Ken Griffey, Jr.

2 Frank Thomas

3 Alex Rodriguez

4 Mike Piazza

5 Greg Maddux

6 Cal Ripken, Jr.

7 Chipper Jones

8 Derek Jeter

9 Tony Gwynn

10 Andruw Jones

11 Juan Gonzalez

12 Jeff Bagwell

13 Mark McGwire

14 Roger Clemens

15 Albert Belle

16 Barry Bonds

17 Kenny Lofton

18 Ivan Rodriguez

19 Manny Ramirez

20 Jim Thome

21 Chuck Knoblauch

22 Paul Molitor

23 Barry Larkin

24 Andy Pettitte

25 John Smoltz

26 Randy Johnson

27 Bernie Williams

28 Larry Walker

29 Mo Vaughn

30 Bob Higginson

31 Edgardo Alfonzo

32 Justin Thompson

33 Jeff Suppan

34 Roberto Alomar

35 Hideo Nomo

36 Rusty Greer

37 Tim Salmon

38 Jim Edmonds

39 Gary Sheffield

40 Ken Caminiti

41 Sammy Sosa

42 Tony Womack

43 Matt Williams

44 Andres Galarraga

45 Garret Anderson

46 Rafael Palmeiro

47 Mike Mussina

48 Craig Biggio

49 Wade Boggs

50 Tom Glavine

51 Jason Giambi

52 Will Clark

53 Dave Justice

54 Sandy Alomar

55 Edgar Martinez

56 Brady Anderson

57 Eric Young

58 Ray Lankford

59 Kevin Brown

60 Raul Mondesi

61 Bobby Bonilla

62 Javy Lopez

63 Fred McGriff

64 Rondell White

65 Todd Hundley

66 Mark Grace

67 Alan Benes

68 Jeff Abbott

69 Bob Abreu

70 Deion Sanders

71 Tino Martinez

72 Shannon Stewart

73 Homer Bush

74 Carlos Delgado

75 Raul Ibanez

76 Hideki Irabu

77 Jose Cruz

78 Tony Clark

79 Wilton Guerrero

80 Vladimir Guerrero

81 Scott Rolen

82 Nomar Garciaparra

83 Darin Erstad

84 Chan Ho Park

85 Mike Cameron

86 Todd Walker

87 Todd Dunwoody

88 Neifi Perez

89 Brett Tomko

90 Jose Guillen

91 Matt Morris

92 Bartolo Colon

93 Jaret Wright

94 Shawn Estes

95 Livan Hernandez

96 Bobby Estalella

97 Ben Grieve

98 Paul Konerko

99 David Ortiz

100 Todd Helton

101 Juan Encarnacion

102 Bubba Trammell

103 Miguel Tejada

104 Jacob Cruz

105 Todd Greene

106 Kevin Orie

107 Mark Kotsay

108 Fernando Tatis

109 Jay Payton

110 Pokey Reese

111 Derrek Lee

112 Richard Hidalgo

113 Ricky Ledee

114 Lou Collier

115 Ruben Rivera

116 Shawn Green

117 Moises Alou

118 Ken Griffey, Jr. GEN

119 Frank Thomas GEN

120 Alex Rodriguez GEN

121 Mike Piazza GEN

122 Greg Maddux GEN

123 Cal Ripken, Jr. GEN

124 Chipper Jones GEN

125 Derek Jeter GEN

126 Tony Gwynn GEN

127 Andruw Jones GEN

128 Juan Gonzalez GEN

129 Jeff Bagwell GEN

130 Mark McGwire GEN

131 Roger Clemens GEN

132 Albert Belle GEN

133 Barry Bonds GEN

134 Kenny Lofton GEN

135 Ivan Rodriguez GEN

136 Manny Ramirez GEN

137 Jim Thome GEN

138 Chuck Knoblauch GEN

139 Paul Molitor GEN

140 Barry Larkin GEN

141 Mo Vaughn GEN

142 Hideki Irabu GEN

143 Jose Cruz GEN

144 Tony Clark GEN

145 Vladimir Guerrero GEN

146 Scott Rolen GEN

147 Nomar Garciaparra GEN

148 Nomar Garciaparra CL

149 Larry Walker CL

150 Tino Martinez CL

Parallels

Aspirations

Aspirations is a die-cut parallel of the base set. Each card is limited (but not serial-numbered) to 750 copies.

Status

Status is a die-cut parallel of the base set. Each card is serial-numbered to 100 copies.

Inserts

Back to the Future

Back to the Future is an eight-card, double-sided, set and features a top veteran and a new player. Each card is serial-numbered to 1500 copies with the first 100 autographed (see below).

1 Cal Ripken, Jr. / Paul Konerko

2 Jeff Bagwell / Todd Helton

3 Eddie Mathews / Chipper Jones

4 Juan Gonzalez / Ben Grieve

5 Hank Aaron / Jose Cruz, Jr.

6 Frank Thomas / David Ortiz

7 Nolan Ryan / Greg Maddux

8 Alex Rodriguez / Nomar Garciaparra

Craftsmen

Each Craftsmen insert is serial-numbered to 3500 copies, with a "Master Craftsmen" parallel, serial-numbered to only 100 copies, also available. The Craftsmen cards have a blue-foil background, while the Master Craftsmen are red.

1 Ken Griffey, Jr.

2 Frank Thomas

3 Alex Rodriguez

4 Cal Ripken, Jr.

5 Greg Maddux

6 Mike Piazza

7 Chipper Jones

8 Derek Jeter

9 Tony Gwynn

10 Nomar Garciaparra

11 Scott Rolen

12 Jose Cruz, Jr.

13 Tony Clark

14 Vladimir Guerrero

15 Todd Helton

16 Ben Grieve

17 Andruw Jones

18 Jeff Bagwell

19 Mark McGwire

20 Juan Gonzalez

21 Roger Clemens

22 Albert Belle

23 Barry Bonds

24 Kenny Lofton

25 Ivan Rodriguez

26 Paul Molitor

27 Barry Larkin

28 Mo Vaughn

29 Larry Walker

30 Tino Martinez

Prime Numbers

Prime Numbers is a 36-card set featuring three cards each of 12 top players in the league printed with three different numerical backgrounds (of which form a statistical benchmark when placed together). Each card is serial-numbered to each player's particular statistic, with a die-cut parallel also available.

1A Ken Griffey, Jr. 94

1B Ken Griffey, Jr. 204

1C Ken Griffey, Jr. 290

2A Frank Thomas 56

2B Frank Thomas 406

2C Frank Thomas 450

3A Mark McGwire 87

3B Mark McGwire 307

3C Mark McGwire 380

4A Cal Ripken, Jr. 17

4B Cal Ripken, Jr. 507

4C Cal Ripken, Jr. 510

5A Mike Piazza 76

5B Mike Piazza 506

5C Mike Piazza 570

6A Chipper Jones 89

6B Chipper Jones 409

6C Chipper Jones 480

7A Tony Gwynn 72

7B Tony Gwynn 302

7C Tony Gwynn 370

8A Barry Bonds 74

8B Barry Bonds 304

8C Barry Bonds 370

9A Jeff Bagwell 25

9B Jeff Bagwell 405

9C Jeff Bagwell 420

10A Juan Gonzalez 89

10B Juan Gonzalez 509

10C Juan Gonzalez 580

11A Alex Rodriguez 34

11B Alex Rodriguez 504

11C Alex Rodriguez 530

12A Kenny Lofton 54

12B Kenny Lofton 304

12C Kenny Lofton 350

Prime Numbers Die-Cut

The number of die-cuts depends on the card. For card "A" in each three-card sequence, the number of cards die-cut is equal to the value of the first digit multiplied by 100. "B" is equal to the middle-digit times ten. "C" die-cuts are equal to the value of the third digit.

1A Ken Griffey, Jr. 200

1B Ken Griffey, Jr. 90

1C Ken Griffey, Jr. 4

2A Frank Thomas 400

2B Frank Thomas 50

2C Frank Thomas 6

3A Mark McGwire 300

3B Mark McGwire 80

3C Mark McGwire 7

4A Cal Ripken, Jr. 500

4B Cal Ripken, Jr. 10

4C Cal Ripken, Jr. 7

5A Mike Piazza 500

5B Mike Piazza 70

5C Mike Piazza 6

6A Chipper Jones 400

6B Chipper Jones 80

6C Chipper Jones 9

7A Tony Gwynn 300

7B Tony Gwynn 70

7C Tony Gwynn 2

8A Barry Bonds 300

8B Barry Bonds 70

8C Barry Bonds 4

9A Jeff Bagwell 400

9B Jeff Bagwell 20

9C Jeff Bagwell 5

10A Juan Gonzalez 500

10B Juan Gonzalez 80

10C Juan Gonzalez 90

11A Alex Rodriguez 500

11B Alex Rodriguez 30

11C Alex Rodriguez 4

12A Kenny Lofton 300

12B Kenny Lofton 50

12C Kenny Lofton 4

Autographs & Game-Used

Back to the Future Autograph

This seven-card set is a parallel version of the the regular 1998 Donruss Elite Back to the Future insert set. The first 100 serial-numbered copies of each card were autographed by both players.

Cal Ripken, Jr. refused to sign card #1 with Paul Konerko. As a compromise, Ripken eventually signed 200 cards. One hundred special redemptions (rather bland black and white text-based cards) were issued for the Ripken card and randomly seeded into packs. In addition, lucky collectors that pulled one of the first 100 serial-numbered Back to the Future Konerko autograph cards could exchange it for a Ripken autograph AND still receive their Konerko autograph back, unmarked. The Ripken autograph is serial-numbered "XXX/200."

Card #6 does not exist in this set. Due to problems in obtaining Frank Thomas' autograph prior to the shipping deadline, the manufacturer was forced to insert into packs the first 100 serial-numbered cards of card #6 unsigned. It was then announced that any collector who pulled an unsigned 1-100 #6 could trade it for a special Frank Thomas autographed card (a basic 1998 Donruss Elite Thomas card, embossed with a special stamp and signed by Thomas on front). David Ortiz did not sign for this set.

Due to Pinnacle Brands' bankruptcy, the exchange program was abruptly halted in late 1998. Prior to this, the serial-numbered 1-100 Thomas/Ortiz cards traded for as much as $300. After this date, the premiums disappeared entirely.

AU2 Frank Thomas (base card) 100

1a Paul Konerko 100

1b Cal Ripken, Jr. 200

2 Jeff Bagwell / Todd Helton 100

3 Eddie Mathews / Chipper Jones 100

4 Juan Gonzalez / Ben Grieve 100

5 Hank Aaron / Jose Cruz, Jr. 100

7 Nolan Ryan / Greg Maddux 100

8 Alex Rodriguez / Nomar Garciaparra 100