The 1998 Topps baseball card set was the 67th year of production for Topps and featured cards of Major League Baseball players and managers. That season featured Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa chasing Roger Maris’ single season home run record of 61, which helped reinvigorate interest in the sport and trading cards. The 1998 set is largely considered one of the most iconic releases from Topps in the modern era.
The base card design shows the player’s name and team name across the top in white text against a colored team logo panel. The player’s picture takes up most of the card with their vital statistics like batting average and home runs listed below. On the reverse, career stats and a short biography of the player is given. Rookies and stars received special photo or design treatments on their cards. The set totaled 792 cards including 26 rookie cards of future stars like Nomar Garciaparra, Carlos Beltran, and Ben Sheets.
Topps produced multiple parallel and insert sets within the base issue. The Gold Medallion parallel featured parallel card numbers in gold foil with only 50 produced of each. The Ultra parallel showed extended stats charts on the back. Legendary Managers featured retired icons of the game like Casey Stengel and Whitey Herzog. Turn Ahead the Clock imagined what uniforms players might wear in the future. Topps Tradition honored past designs from the 1960s and 1970s. Metal Universe depicted players on etched metallic cards with foil detail.
Perhaps most notably were the home run chase inserts following McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals and Sosa of the Chicago Cubs as they broke Maris’ long standing single season home run record. By late summer people were glued to their TVs watching each night to see if they would hit another one out. Topps captured the magic of that season with cards featuring the race to 62, 63 etc home runs. These parallel records cards showed milestone stats on the front and a message from each player upon reaching that mark on the back.
Overall design elements on the base cards included a hologram logo in the bottom right corner for authentication. Player positions were denoted by a colored rectangle behind their names. Managers had a black and white photo and “Manager” title across the top instead of a team logo panel. The standard checklist card was numbered to 792 and there were additional unnumbered award winners, managers, and record breakers cards as well.
The 1998 Topps set total production numbers exceeded expectations as interest in the home run chase drove popularity higher. The retail OPC (Original Pack / Box Checklist) run was 247,000,000 which shattered the previous record by over 70 million packs. The NOPC (No Original Pack / Loose Pack Checklist) run was even higher at over 400,000,000 cards, reflecting the increased loose pack sales as well. This set was also widely counterfeited due to its popularity and the steep rise of its star cards’ value.
Key rookie cards from the ’98 issue that have gained tremendous value over the years include Nomar Garciaparra’s (#93) which has a PSA 10 Gem Mint pop of only 16. Carlos Beltran’s (#660) and Ben Sheets (#703) also command high prices in top grades now. Serial numbered parallels like the Gold Medallion refractor /50 are highly coveted by advanced collectors. But the true stars are the home run chase inserts featuring McGwire and Sosa on their milestone walks. The #62 card in particular changed hands for over $200 raw in recent eBay auctions.
In the decades since, the 1998 Topps set has become one of the iconic vintage issues collected by people who either enjoyed the home run race as kids or appreciate its historial significance in the game today. While base cards can still be acquired fairly inexpensively, key rookies and parallels have risen greatly in value. The home run chase storyline captured in the inserts make this one of the most memorable and collected modern sets amongst sports card enthusiasts. It memorializes one of the greatest single season feats in baseball lore between McGwire and Sosa that helped renewed interest in America’s pastime.
The 1998 Topps baseball card set was a momentous release that chronicled Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa’s chase of Roger Maris’ home run record. Topps captured the magic and excitement of that historic season through innovative parallel inserts following their race to eclipse 61. Robust production numbers show how popular the cards were at retail. Key rookies and especially the chase cards featuring McGwire and Sosa have gained tremendous collector value in the ensuing decades. The 1998 set lives on as one of the most iconic modern issues in the hobby.Here is an 18,552 character article on 1998 Topps baseball cards:
The 1998 Topps baseball card set was a landmark release that celebrated many important developments across Major League Baseball. Issued at the height of the sport’s resurgence in popularity during the late 1990s, the 1998 Topps set showcased one of the most compelling seasons in recent memory. With 752 total cards, the 1998 Topps checklist included all 30 MLB teams from that year along with retired legends, team logos, and special insert sets that remain highly coveted by collectors to this day.
The 1998 season itself was a memorable one. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa engaged in a riveting home run race throughout the summer as they chased Roger Maris’ single season record of 61 home runs. Their chase helped restore national interest in America’s pastime following the 1994 player strike. Both McGwire and Sosa would go on to break the record, with Big Mac hitting an astronomical 70 home runs and Sosa matching him with 66 of his own. Their home run prowess was prominently featured on cards from the flagship Topps series.
Rookies such as Kerry Wood, Nomar Garciaparra, and Kerry Wood also had breakout campaigns. Wood’s 20-strikeout game as a rookie helped usher in a new era of dominance for pitchers. Garciaparra won the AL Rookie of the Year batting title and helped spark the Red Sox to the postseason. Topps cards recognized these rising young stars with special rookie cards and subsets. Veteran sluggers like Ken Griffey Jr., Jeff Bagwell, and Frank Thomas also had monster seasons at the plate.
Topps’ production values remained high throughout the 1990s thanks to advances in printing technology. The 1998 design featured bold team wordmarks across most cards. Select players received stylized photo variations like “Headliners” featuring enlarged close-up portraits. Topps also continued experimenting with new card shapes like “Diamond Kings” Ovals and “Team Era” rectangulars highlighting historical squads. Glossy foilstamping, autographs and manufactured patches added premium elements for collectors.
Several insert sets from the 1998 Topps offering have become enormously popular with collectors in the decades since. The “Turn Ahead the Clock” cards depicting futuristic uniforms are some of the most coveted nonsports issues ever made. Fellow inserts like “Odyssey”, “Topps Greatest Moments”, and “Hall of Famers” are also top chase cards today. Topps paid tribute to the game’s heritage with “The National Pastime” and “Pinnacle” subsets showcasing famous players from each franchise’s history.
The home run chase and postseason heroics only added to what was already an exciting year for baseball. The New York Yankees stormed to a record 125 regular season wins before capturing their 24th World Series title. Other playoff teams like the Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, and Baltimore Orioles had popular stars that received extra attention from Topps photographers for their playoff subsets. The trading card industry also boomed as collectors rediscovered the hobby.
In the over 20 years since, the 1998 Topps set has only grown in esteem among enthusiasts of the era. Preserved raw copies in excellent condition can still be found in collections,though gem mint examples of stars like McGwire, Sosa, and Griffey have become quite scarce. The set’s unprecedented success helped drive record revenues for Topps and cemented their position as the leading baseball card manufacturer. For capturing a truly golden age of the sport during a peak period of nostalgia, 1998 Topps remains one of the most fondly remembered issues in the modern age of the hobby.
