The 1998 Omega baseball card set was released at the height of the collector card craze of the late 1990s. Produced by Omega Sports Cards, the 1998 set was notable for featuring a record number of inserts and parallels that appealed strongly to collectors at the time. With mega-stars like Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa chasing the single-season home run record that summer, interest in baseball cards was enormous. Omega capitalized on that enthusiasm by packing their 1998 set with chase cards and hit-focused parallels to entice collectors.
The base 1998 Omega set featured over 700 cards and included all major leaguers as well as notable minor leaguers. Rated rookie cards were included of future stars like Nomar Garciaparra, Chase Utley, and Albert Pujols. The cards featured colorful action photography on a grey card stock. The design was clean and uncluttered, allowing the images to take center stage. Checklists, managers, umpires and team cards rounded out the set. The most coveted base cards featured McGwire, Sosa, Ken Griffey Jr. and Cal Ripken Jr., who were the biggest stars in the sport at the time. Lightly played examples of these cards today sell for $10-20 each.
In addition to the base cards, the 1998 Omega set is most notable for its insert sets and parallels. Chief among these were the “All-Fan Favorites” insert set, which highlighted the most popular players as voted on by collectors. This 60-card insert set featured parallels that included “Fan Favorite Silver” (/199), “Fan Favorite Gold” (/50) and the extremely rare “Fan Favorite Diamond” parallel (/10). Low-numbered versions of McGwire and Griffey cards from this insert today sell for hundreds of dollars.
Another highly-sought after insert was the “Chasing History” set, which paid homage to McGwire and Sosa’s epic home run race. This 20-card set featured action photographs of historic home run blasts by the two sluggers. Parallel versions included “Chasing History Silver” (/199), “Chasing History Gold” (/50) and the ultra-rare “Chasing History Black Diamond” (/5). An unworn Sosa Black Diamond card recently sold at auction for over $1,200.
Omega also produced inserts focused on awards, All-Star selections, rookie milestones and career achievements. Some of the more collectible included the “All-Star MVP” (/99), “Rookie of the Year” (/150), “3,000 Hit Club” (/75) and “500 Home Run Club” (/50) inserts. Low-number parallels of stars like Cal Ripken Jr. from these sets have sold in recent years for $200-300.
When it came to parallels of the base cards, Omega really went overboard to excite collectors. In addition to silver (/199) and gold (/50) versions, they introduced platinum (/10), onyx (/5) and ever-elusive black diamond (/1) parallels across the entire set. While most of these ultra-rare parallel base cards hold little monetary value today given their high print runs, the handful of verified black diamond cards that have surfaced over the years have sold for thousands.
Omega also produced factory-sealed and uncut sheets featuring several base cards as “factory sets” to appeal to collectors seeking investment-grade cards. Though supply far exceeded demand, sealed sheets from 1998 graded gem mint 10 today can sell for $150-250 depending on the included players.
While overproduced even by late 90s standards, the 1998 Omega set captured lightning in a bottle by chronicling one of the biggest single seasons in baseball history. Though mass-produced and not as valuable as some contemporary offerings, the cards remain a historical time capsule of Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and the summer home run chase that captivated the nation. For collectors from that era, the 1998 Omega cards remain a nostalgic connection to their childhood hobby during one of its most exuberant periods.
