1997 Score

Description

1997 Score is a 551-card set released in two series; with cards 1-330 distributed in Series One packs and cards 331-551 in Series Two packs. The ten-card Series One packs and the twelve-card Series Two packs carried a suggested retail price of $0.99 each and were distributed exclusively to retail outlets.

The Hobby received a different version of the Score product called either "Premium Stock" (Series One) or "Hobby Reserve" (Series Two). The base set is exactly the same 551 cards as the retail product, only Premium Stock/Hobby Reserve is printed on a thicker gauge of cardstock and foil stamped. Premium Stock/Hobby Reserve also had exclusive inserts.

Card #551 was short-printed (about twice as tough to pull as a basic card), and is available in English (retail packs and factory sets) or Japanese (Hobby Reserve).

Please note that card number 514 was not issued as both Gary Sheffield and Jim Thome were sequentially-numbered 515.

The only notable Rookie Cards is of Brian Giles.

Regional Team

Sold exclusively at retail stores, these boxes contain 5 cards per pack, 32 packs per box. Each box contained cards of players from the team printed on the outside of the box, i.e. Braves, Dodgers, etc... More information including insertion ratios and a checklist can be found on the 1997 Score Regional Team page.

Distribution

Series One retail: 36 packs per box, 10 cards per pack (MSRP: $0.99)

Series One Jumbos: 36 packs per box, 20 cards per pack (MSRP: $1.99)

Series One Premium Stock: 10 packs per box, 30 cards per pack (MSRP: $2.99; Hobby only)

Series One Blister Packs: 27 cards per pack (MSRP: $2.99)

Series Two: 36 packs per box, 12 cards per pack (MSRP: $0.99)

Series Two Hobby Reserve: 20 packs per box, 15 cards per pack (MSRP: $1.49; Hobby only)

Factory Sets: 551 cards inside a red collectors tin

Insertion Ratios

Series One

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Retail Odds	Premium Stock Odds	Jumbo Odds	Blister Odds
Base	330	-	?	?	?	27:1
Showcase Series	330	-	1:7	1:2	1:4	1:3
Artist's Proof	330	-	?	1:7	1:7	1:13
White Bordered Artist's Proof	330	-	1:35	N/A	?	?
Pitcher Perfect	15	-	1:23	1:15	1:11	1:9
Titanic Taters	18	-	1:35	N/A	N/A	1:13
Highlight Zone	18	-	N/A	1:9	N/A	N/A
Stellar Season	18	-	N/A	N/A	1:35	N/A
Franchise	9	-	1:72	1:17	1:35	1:27
Glowing Franchise	9	-	1:240	1:79	1:120	1:89

Series Two

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Retail Odds	Hobby Reserve Odds	Blister Odds
Base	221	-	?	?	?
Showcase Series	221	-	1:7	1:5	?
Artist's Proof	221	-	1:35	1:23	?
Reserve Collection	221	-	N/A	1:11	N/A
Heart of the Order (1-18)	18	-	1:23	N/A	?
Heart of the Order (19-36)	18	-	N/A	1:15	N/A
Blast Masters	18	-	1:35	1:23	?
Stand & Deliver	24	-	1:71	1:41	?

Checklist

Base Set

Series One

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Rookies

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Checklists

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Series Two

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Rookies

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Goin' Yard

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Rock and Fire

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True Grit

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Checklists

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Hideki Irabu Bonus Cards

There are two versions of this card. The card with English text was only in Series Two retail packs and factory sets while the Japanese text card was exclusive to Series Two Hobby Reserve packs.

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Parallels

Premium Stock/Hobby Reserve

Distributed exclusive to The Hobby, Premium Stock is an upgraded version of the Series One base set. The cards parallel the regular Score set except for a gray border, a card stock twice as thick as Score, and a prominent gold foil "Premium Stock" logo on front. The Series Two edition was dubbed "Hobby Reserve." Hobby Reserve was printed on a thinner card stock than the Premium Stock cards (but still thicker than regular Score), and had white borders. Each Hobby Reserve card was foil-stamped, differentiating them from the regular Score set.

Showcase Series

This foil-fronted parallel is available for all 551 cards, across all pack types.

NOTE: Showcase Series card #551 is only available in English.

Artist's Proofs

The Artist Proofs come in two varieties: One featuring a holographic "wave" pattern, and another with a plain gold-foil stamp.

NOTE: Artist's Proof card #551 is only available in English.

White-Bordered Artist's Proofs

Artist's Proofs White Border cards were randomly inserted exclusively into Score Series One retail packs. The cards share the similar "Artist's Proof" logo as seen on the more commonly traded Showcase Series Artist's Proofs. Unlike the silver-foiled Showcase Series Artist's Proofs, however, the White Border cards have plain white stock card fronts - making them easy to misidentify with a basic issue Score card. Please note that Series Two Artist's Proofs do not exist.

Reserve Collection

This "frosted" foil set parallels the 221-card Series Two set and exclusive to Series Two Hobby Reserve packs.

NOTE: Reserve Collection card #551 is only available in Japanese.

Inserts

Pitcher Perfect

Pinnacle Brands commissioned Seattle Mariners pitcher Randy Johnson to snap photos for this 15-card set, inserted into all Series One packs. All cards are of American Leaguers, with the last card a self portrait.

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Titanic Taters

This set is exclusive to Series One retail packs.

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Highlight Zone

This 18-card set honors those mega-stars who have the incredible ability to consistently make the highlight films. The set is printed on thicker card stock with special foil stamping and a dot matrix holographic background. This set is exclusive to Series One Premium Stock packs.

It should be noted that the word "HIGHLIGHT" is misspelled "HIGHTLIGHT" on the front of each card.

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The Franchise

This nine-card set honors superstar players for their irreplaceable contribution to their team. The fronts display sepia player portraits on a white baseball replica background. A "glowing" parallel with unique glow-in-the-dark ink was also produced. Both sets were inserted into all Series One packs.

A promo version of the non-glowing set was also produced and distributed to Hobby dealers. These cards have "SAMPLE" on both sides.

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All-Star FanFest

For the 1997 All-Star Game in Cleveland, Pinnacle produced a special run of 1997 Score Series One packs, inside of which was an exclusive 20-card FanFest insert. This set is not to be confused with the 1997 Pinnacle FanFest set, which was distributed directly to attendees and features a similar design. The stated odds of finding an All-Star FanFest insert in one of these special packs was 1:29.

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Stellar Season

This set is exclusive to Series One retail jumbo packs.

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Heart of the Order

This 36-card set features color photos of players on six teams with a panorama of the stadium in the background. Each team's three cards form one collectible unit. The first eighteen cards are found in Series Two retail packs, and the last eighteen in Series Two Hobby Reserve packs.

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Blast Masters

This set was randomly inserted into all Series Two packs.

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Stand & Deliver

This 24-card set is broken into six separate four-card groupings and randomly inserted into all Series Two packs as part of a contest. Groups contain players from the following teams: Braves (Cards #1-#4), Mariners (#5-#8), Yankees (#9-#12), Dodgers (#13-#16), Indians (#17-#20) and Wild Card (#21-#24). The four players featured within the Wild Card group are from "lesser" teams whom Pinnacle Brands thought had no shot at winning the 1997 World Series.

Collectors who held all four cards of the eventual 1997 World Series Champion (or the four Wild Cards if one of the five selected teams did not win) could mail them to Pinnacle and receive one of 250 framed Gold parallels of the set (see below). Since the Florida Marlins won the World Series that year, the four Wild Cards wound up being the winning cards.

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Gold

Stand & Deliver Gold was a parallel limited to 250 sets and came encased in a glass frame -- with each frame (but not the cards) serial-numbered. Because of the unusual distribution, Stand and Deliver Gold singles are difficult to find, and when they are found, tough to find in mint condition. The Gold cards came in two different flavors: with the words "STAND & DELIVER" in either silver or red letters. It is believed that the first 25 framed sets had the red letters, with the remaining 225 sets were silver lettered.

Jumbos

These nine over-sized cards were issued as box-toppers in specially marked Blaster boxes. Each jumbo card measures 5" X 7" and is sequentially-numbered "X of 9" on the back.

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Andruw Jones Blister Card

This card of Andruw Jones was always inserted on the top of pre-priced 1997 Score Series Two blister packs. The backs carry a "Thank you for buying Score Baseball Series II" sentence with a list and description of insert sets found. The rules for the Stand and Deliver Promotion rounded out the backs.

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Score
1988 - 1989 - 1990 - 1991 - 1992 - 1993 - 1994 - 1995 - 1996 - 1997 - 1998
Rookie/Traded: 1988 - 1989 - 1990 - 1991 - 1992 - 1994 - 1998
Hottest 100 Sets: 1989 - 1990 - 1991 - 1992
Young Superstars: 1988 - 1989 - 1990
Other Score Sets: 1989 Scoremasters - 1990 Score McDonald's - 1997 Score Regional Team - 1998 Score Team Sets