1998 Donruss Signature Series
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Contents |
Description
1998 Donruss Signature Series is a 140-card set released under a temporary license by Playoff, Inc., in January 1999. Like in previous years, each pack contained one on-card autograph.
This product was originally intended for release in October, 1998, but was delayed due to the bankruptcy of Pinnacle Brands. As part of Pinnacle's agreement with the Players Association, those players who signed for this product would NOT be paid for their signatures until AFTER the set's release. To ensure that their members would get paid for their services, MLB and the MLBPA granted Playoff (who had bought the rights to Pinnacle's name and inventory in bankruptcy) a temporary license that allowed them to release Signature Series and 1998 Leaf Rookies and Stars.
Distribution
Four cards plus one autograph per pack (MSRP: $14.99)
Reviews
Insertion Ratios
| Cards | Total Cards | Numbered To | Hobby Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base | 140 | - | ? |
| Proof | 140 | 150 | ? |
| Autographs | 98 | varies | 1:1 |
| Significant Signatures | 23 | 2000 | ? |
| Signing Bonus | 32 | varies | ? |
Checklist
Base Set
1 David Justice
2 Derek Jeter
3 Nomar Garciaparra
4 Ryan Klesko
5 Jeff Bagwell
6 Dante Bichette
7 Ivan Rodriguez
8 Albert Belle
9 Cal Ripken, Jr.
10 Craig Biggio
11 Barry Larkin
12 Jose Guillen
13 Will Clark
14 J.T. Snow
15 Chuck Knoblauch
16 Todd Walker
17 Scott Rolen
18 Rickey Henderson
19 Juan Gonzalez
20 Justin Thompson
21 Roger Clemens
22 Ray Lankford
23 Jose Cruz, Jr.
24 Ken Griffey, Jr.
25 Andruw Jones
26 Darin Erstad
27 Jim Thome
28 Wade Boggs
29 Ken Caminiti
30 Todd Hundley
31 Mike Piazza
32 Sammy Sosa
33 Larry Walker
34 Matt Williams
35 Frank Thomas
36 Gary Sheffield
37 Alex Rodriguez
38 Hideo Nomo
39 Kenny Lofton
40 John Smoltz
41 Mo Vaughn
42 Edgar Martinez
43 Paul Molitor
44 Rafael Palmeiro
45 Barry Bonds
46 Vladimir Guerrero
47 Carlos Delgado
48 Bobby Higginson
49 Greg Maddux
50 Jim Edmonds
51 Randy Johnson
52 Mark McGwire
53 Rondell White
54 Raul Mondesi
55 Manny Ramirez
56 Pedro Martinez
57 Tim Salmon
58 Moises Alou
59 Fred McGriff
60 Garret Anderson
61 Sandy Alomar Jr.
62 Chan Ho Park
63 Mark Kotsay
64 Mike Mussina
65 Tom Glavine
66 Tony Clark
67 Mark Grace
68 Tony Gwynn
69 Tino Martinez
70 Kevin Brown
71 Todd Greene
72 Andy Pettitte
73 Livan Hernandez
74 Curt Schilling
75 Andres Galarraga
76 Rusty Greer
77 Jay Buhner
78 Bobby Bonilla
79 Chipper Jones
80 Eric Young
81 Jason Giambi
82 Javy Lopez
83 Roberto Alomar
84 Bernie Williams
85 A.J. Hinch
86 Kerry Wood
87 Juan Encarnacion
88 Brad Fullmer
89 Ben Grieve
90 Magglio Ordonez RC
91 Todd Helton
92 Richard Hidalgo
93 Paul Konerko
94 Aramis Ramirez
95 Ricky Ledee
96 Derrek Lee
97 Travis Lee
98 Matt Anderson RC
99 Jaret Wright
100 David Ortiz
101 Carl Pavano
102 Orlando Hernandez RC
103 Fernando Tatis
104 Miguel Tejada
105 Rolando Arrojo RC
106 Kevin Millwood RC
107 Ken Griffey, Jr. CL
108 Frank Thomas CL
109 Cal Ripken, Jr. CL
110 Greg Maddux CL
111 John Olerud
112 David Cone
113 Vinny Castilla
114 Jason Kendall
115 Brian Jordan
116 Hideki Irabu
117 Bartolo Colon
118 Greg Vaughn
119 David Segui
120 Bruce Chen
121 Julio Ramirez RC
122 Troy Glaus RC
123 Jeremy Giambi RC
124 Ryan Minor RC
125 Richie Sexson
126 Dermal Brown
127 Adrian Beltre
128 Eric Chavez
129 J.D. Drew RC
130 Gabe Kapler RC
131 Masato Yoshii RC
132 Mike Lowell RC
133 Jim Parque RC
134 Roy Halladay
135 Carlos Lee RC
136 Jin Ho Cho RC
137 Michael Barrett
138 Fernando Seguignol RC
139 Odalis Perez RC
140 Mark McGwire CL
Parallels
All 140 base cards are also available as a "Proof" parallel. Proofs are limited (but not serial-numbered) to 150 copies.
Autographs & Game-Used
Autographs
Inserted one per pack, this 122-card set features the player's autograph in the lower portion of the card. The numbers following the player's name in our checklist indicate how many cards that player signed.
The first 100 cards signed by each player have a blue and are designated as "Century Marks." The next 1000 signed have a green background and designated as "Millennium Marks." It should be noted that for those players who signed less than 1100 cards, no Red "base" autograph exists.
Significant Signatures
This 18-card set features autographs of some of baseball's all-time great players. Only 2000 sets were produced and each card is serial-numbered.
Sandy Koufax was on the original checklist but his cards were not returned in time for the pack out. Thus, officials at Donruss made the Billy Williams card an exchange card. Each collector that pulled a Billy Williams card could send it in to Donruss for a Koufax card. In addition, the signed Williams card was sent back too.
Special exchange cards were created for Nolan Ryan and Ozzie Smith. The cards were randomly seeded into packs and then redeemed to Donruss for the real autograph cards. The exchange deadline for cards R1-R3 was December 31st, 1999. All three "R-Series" exchange cards (Ryan, Koufax and Smith) feature refractive, shiny fronts whereas the other cards seeded in packs are printed on basic foilboard.
At some point in time after the product's release, non-refractive versions of the Koufax (#'d of 2000), Ozzie (#'[d of 2000) and Ryan (#'d of 1000) cards made their way into the secondary market. Each card features a different card front image than the Refractor versions (most notably with Koufax wearing a Brooklyn cap). Representatives at Donruss-Playoff were unable to provide us with information on this matter given that the company was technically owned by Pinnacle in 1998 and then purchased out of bankruptcy in 2001 by the new Donruss-Playoff Corporation.
The Catfish Hunter card was signed in either blue or blank ink. Only 1,000 serial #'d copies of Phil Rizzuto's card were produced.
1 Ernie Banks 2000
2 Yogi Berra 2000
3 George Brett 2000
4 Catfish Hunter 2000
5 Al Kaline 2000
6 Harmon Killebrew 2000
7 Ralph Kiner 2000
9 Eddie Mathews 2000
10 Don Mattingly 2000
11 Willie McCovey 2000
12 Stan Musial 2000
13 Phil Rizzuto 1000
14 Nolan Ryan No AU 2000
15 Ozzie Smith No AU 2000
16 Duke Snider 2000
17 Don Sutton 2000
18 Billy Williams 2000
18a Billy Williams No AU 2000
SP Nolan Ryan 1000
NNO Sandy Koufax (Brooklyn) 2000
NNO Ozzie Smith 2000
R1 Nolan Ryan 2000
R2 Ozzie Smith 2000
R3 Sandy Koufax (L.A.) 2000
Signing Bonus
This 32-card set features redemption cards that could be redeemed for an autographed baseball signed by player. The baseballs were laser burned with a Donruss stamp to ensure authenticity. Every ball, except for Ben Grieve's, is serial numbered. The blank-backed exchange cards are serial numbered in gold foil on front, but are unnumbered within the context of a complete set and therefore checklisted in alphabetical order. These exchange cards carried an expiration date of December 31st, 1999.
