The year 1998 saw many exciting changes and developments in the world of baseball cards. Iconic players like Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were chasing the single season home run record, stoking new interest in the hobby. Card companies capitalized on this excitement by releasing some of their most elaborate and collectible card sets of all time.
Upper Deck led the way with their flagship “Upper Deck SP” set. Released in the spring of 1998, SP featured cards with spectacular photography and cutting edge hologram technology. The holograms added a dazzling 3D effect that really made the players “pop” off the surface of the card. This innovative design helped SP become one of the hottest selling sets of the year. The chase was on to find cards of McGwire, Sosa and other top stars with their shiny holograms.
Also that year, Upper Deck released “SP Authentic”. This set took card collecting to a new level by including swatches of game worn jerseys and memorabilia embedded right into the surface of each card. Fans went crazy trying to pull 1/1 relic cards containing an entire piece of a jersey. Prices soared for relics of the home run leaders as collectors rushed to own tangible pieces of baseball history. The memorabilia cards in SP Authentic set a new standard that other companies quickly tried to emulate.
Topps also had a monster year with their flagship “Bowman” and “Finest” sets leading the way. Bowman featured sharp photography and parallel “Chrome” refractors that shimmered in the light. Finest took card design to new heights with intricate foil stamping, embossing, and autographs on nearly every card. The chase parallel in Finest was the ultra-rare “Gold Medallion” parallel, limited to a single copy. Both sets became immediate classics in the hobby.
In addition, Topps released a special “Home Run Kings” insert set paying tribute to McGwire and Sosa’s chase for Maris’ record. The insert cards featured oversized photos with statistical checklists on the back, chronicling their progress throughout the summer. These popular inserts added to the frenzy surrounding the home run chase and increased demand for the flagship Topps sets overall.
Donruss also had a very memorable year. Their “Diamond Kings” set took an artistic approach, featuring expressionistic paintings of the players. The hand-painted style was a big change from the typical photography-based designs of the time. Donruss also released “Granted”, a set featuring rookie cards of future Hall of Famers with samples of their actual autographs embedded on the cards. These innovative signings foreshadowed the boom in memorabilia cards to come.
Perhaps most notably, in 1998 the legendary rookie card of Sammy Sosa from Leaf’s “Premium” set skyrocketed in value as Sosa emerged as the biggest star in baseball. His rookie card, which had been a bargain for years, was suddenly one of the most sought after vintage cards on the market. Prices soared into the thousands of dollars for high-grade copies as Sosa mania took hold.
Upper Deck also released two special parallel sets to their flagship “SP” brand that year which were hugely popular. “SPx” featured extended stat checklists and parallel photo variations on the regular SP cards. And “SP Authentic Gold” took the concept of memorabilia cards to an ultra-high-end level, containing 1/1 game used bat and ball relic cards of the game’s biggest stars. Both sets drove collectors into a frenzy trying to pull the extremely rare parallels and memorabilia cards within.
The excitement around the home run chase of 1998 truly supercharged the entire modern baseball card industry. Card companies took full advantage with their most extravagant and innovative sets yet. Prices soared across the board for rookie cards of McGwire, Sosa and other stars of that magical summer. The unprecedented popularity of 1998 cards established new collecting trends like memorabilia cards and parallels that still influence set designs today. Most importantly, it brought a whole new generation of young fans into the hobby at the peak of the sport’s popularity. The legendary home run battle of 1998 is still considered one of the most memorable seasons in baseball history, and its impact on the baseball card industry cannot be overstated.
