1998 Topps Set (Baseball)

Set Notes

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Excerpt

This 508-card set was distributed in two separate series: 282 cards in first series and and 221 cards in second series. 11-card packs carried a suggested retail price of $1.29. Cards were also distributed in Home Team Advantage jumbo packs, and hobby, retail and Christmas factory sets. Card fronts feature color action player photos printed on 16 pt. stock with player information and career statistics on the back. Card number 7 was permanently retired in1996 to honor the memory of Mickey Mantle.

More set notes

The 2006 Topps Baseball Factory Complete Set features 659 cards. Rookie cards of Francisco Liriano, Ryan Zimmerman, Hanley Ramirez, Dan Uggla, Joel Zumaya, Brian Anderson, and Justin Verlander are among the cards contained in this factory set, along with the usual assortment of superstars. There is one missing card, #297 Alex Gordon, who turned out not to meet the new gold standard for having a rookie card.

The cards in this 787-card set measure 2 1/2" by 3 1/2". The 1972 Topps set contained the most cards ever for a Topps set to that point in time. Features appearing for the first time were 'Boyhood Photos' (341-348, 491-498), Awards and Trophy cards (621-626), 'In Action' (distributed throughout the set), and 'Traded Cards' (751-757). Other subsets included League Leaders (85-96), Playoff cards (221-222), and World Series cards (223-230). The curved lines of the color picture are a departure from the rectangular designs of other years.

The cards in this 660-card set measure 2 1/2" by 3 1/2". The 1973 Topps set marked the last year in which Topps marketed baseball cards in consecutive series. The last series (529-660), is more difficult to obtain. In some parts of the country, however, all five series were distributed together. Beginning in 1974, all Topps cards were printed at the same time, thus eliminating the 'high number' factor. The set features team leader cards with small individual pictures of the coaching staff members and a larger picture of the manager.

The cards in this 598-card set measure 2 1/2" by 3 1/2". The 1968 Topps set includes Sporting News All-Star Selections as card numbers 361 to 380. Other subsets in this set include League Leaders (1-12) and World Series cards (151-158). The front of each checklist card features a picture of a popular player inside a circle. Higher numbers 458 to 598 are slightly more difficult to obtain. The first series looks different from the other series, as it has a lighter, wider mesh background on the card front. The later series all had a much darker, finer mesh pattern.

The cards in this 340-card set measure approximately 2 5/8" by 3 3/4". Following up with another horizontally oriented card in 1956, Topps improved the format by layering the color 'head' shot onto an actual action sequence involving the player. Cards 1 to 180 come with either white or gray backs: in the 1 to 100 sequence, gray backs are less common (worth about 10 percent more) and in the 101 to 180 sequence, white backs are less common (worth 30 percent more).

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