1997 Flair Showcase Baseball Cards
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Product Details
1997 Flair Showcase Baseball is one of those watershed hobby releases. Every since 1991 Donruss Baseball introduced serial-numbered inserts in a mainstream product, print runs shrunk lower and lower. Although it was inevitable, 1997 Flair Showcase Baseball took it to the extreme, offering the hobby's first one-of-a-kind cards.
But that's not the only reason to pay attention to the release. It comes with a unique structure that continued for several years. And the strong foil designs that delivered lots of photos shouldn't be overlooked either.
The main 1997 Flair Showcase Baseball set is a little confusing. It has 180 cards. But within that, there are three groups of 60 cards each available at different rarities. In today's terms, there are 60 base cards, 60 short prints and 60 SSP.
But then it's taken to another level as each base card has three different versions, or Rows as they're referred to on the card backs. Row 2 cards are considered common, Row 1 are uncommon and Row 0 are rare. For those just wanting a base set, the 180 Row 2 cards are generally considered what's required. It might help to think of Row 1 and Row 0 cards as something closer to parallels, although each Row has a different design.
The checklist consists primarily of top stars from the era. The only rookies are Brian Giles and Bubba Trammell.
Official parallels do exist in the product. Legacy Collection (1:30 packs) are numbered to 100 no matter which Row.
Legacy Masterpiece are the one-of-one cards that caused a massive stir when the set was first released. These have purple foil on the front as well as a note on the back that reads, "The Only 1 of 1 Masterpiece." Although one-of-a-kind cards have become commonplace today -- and often not worth much -- the concept was new at the time. They were also legitimately tough to pull. Combine that with their historical significance and the Legacy Masterpiece cards still command a lot of attention today.
1997 Flair Showcase Baseball also has a few traditional inserts as well. Hot Gloves is the rarest, falling 1:90 packs. These have a die-cut design focusing on top defensive players. Diamond Tribute (1:20 packs) cards are also die-cut, although not with the same intricacy. Wave of the Future (1:4 packs) spotlights top prospects at the time, although few panned out. The top card is David Arias, who is known today as David Ortiz.
1997 Flair Showcase Baseball was a hobby-only product. Boxes come with 24 packs of five cards.
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Checklist
1997 Flair Showcase Baseball Checklist
Row 2 - Style Checklist
180 cards. Shop for sets on eBay.
Showtime #1-60 1.5:1 packs, Showpiece #61-120 1:1.5 packs, Showstopper #121-180 1 per pack
PARALLEL CARDS: Legacy Collection #/100, Legacy Masterpiece 1/1
2 Derek Jeter
3 Alex Rodriguez
4 Paul Molitor
5 Jeff Bagwell
6 Scott Rolen
7 Kenny Lofton
8 Cal Ripken
9 Brady Anderson
10 Chipper Jones
11 Todd Greene
12 Todd Walker
13 Billy Wagner
14 Craig Biggio
15 Kevin Orie
16 Hideo Nomo
17 Kevin Appier
18 Bubba Trammell RC
19 Juan Gonzalez
20 Randy Johnson
21 Roger Clemens
22 Johnny Damon
23 Ryne Sandberg
24 Ken Griffey Jr.
25 Barry Bonds
26 Nomar Garciaparra
27 Vladimir Guerrero
28 Ron Gant
29 Joe Carter
30 Tim Salmon
31 Mike Piazza
32 Barry Larkin
33 Manny Ramirez
34 Sammy Sosa
35 Frank Thomas
36 Melvin Nieves
37 Tony Gwynn
38 Gary Sheffield
39 Darin Erstad
40 Ken Caminiti
41 Jermaine Dye
42 Mo Vaughn
43 Raul Mondesi
44 Greg Maddux
45 Chuck Knoblauch
46 Andy Pettitte
47 Deion Sanders
48 Albert Belle
49 Jamey Wright
50 Rey Ordonez
51 Bernie Williams
52 Mark McGwire
53 Mike Mussina
54 Bob Abreu
55 Reggie Sanders
56 Brian Jordan
57 Ivan Rodriguez
58 Roberto Alomar
59 Tim Naehring
60 Edgar Renteria
61 Dean Palmer
62 Benito Santiago
63 David Cone
64 Carlos Delgado
65 Brian Giles RC
66 Alex Ochoa
67 Rondell White
68 Robin Ventura
69 Eric Karros
70 Jose Valentin
71 Rafael Palmeiro
72 Chris Snopek
73 David Justice
74 Tom Glavine
75 Rudy Pemberton
76 Larry Walker
77 Jim Thome
78 Charles Johnson
79 Dante Powell
80 Derrek Lee
81 Jason Kendall
82 Todd Hollandsworth
83 Bernard Gilkey
84 Mel Rojas
85 Dmitri Young
86 Bret Boone
87 Pat Hentgen
88 Bobby Bonilla
89 John Wetteland
90 Todd Hundley
92 Geronimo Berroa
93 Al Martin
94 Danny Tartabull
95 Brian McRae
96 Steve Finley
97 Todd Stottlemyre
98 John Smoltz
99 Matt Williams
100 Eddie Murray
101 Henry Rodriguez
102 Marty Cordova
103 Juan Guzman
104 Chili Davis
105 Eric Young
106 Jeff Abbott
107 Shannon Stewart
108 Rocky Coppinger
109 Jose Canseco
110 Dante Bichette
111 Dwight Gooden
112 Scott Brosius
113 Steve Avery
114 Andres Galarraga
115 Sandy Alomar Jr.
116 Ray Lankford
117 Jorge Posada
118 Ryan Klesko
119 Jay Buhner
120 Jose Guillen
121 Paul O'Neill
122 Jimmy Key
123 Hal Morris
124 Travis Fryman
125 Jim Edmonds
126 Jeff Cirillo
127 Fred McGriff
128 Alan Benes
129 Derek Bell
130 Tony Graffanino
131 Shawn Green
132 Denny Neagle
133 Alex Fernandez
134 Mickey Morandini
135 Royce Clayton
136 Jose Mesa
137 Edgar Martinez
138 Curt Schilling
139 Lance Johnson
140 Andy Benes
141 Charles Nagy
142 Mariano Rivera
143 Mark Wohlers
144 Ken Hill
145 Jay Bell
146 Bob Higginson
147 Mark Grudzielanek
148 Ray Durham
149 John Olerud
150 Joey Hamilton
151 Trevor Hoffman
152 Dan Wilson
153 J.T. Snow
154 Marquis Grissom
155 Yamil Benitez
156 Rusty Greer
157 Darryl Kile
158 Ismael Valdes
159 Jeff Conine
160 Darren Daulton
161 Chan Ho Park
162 Troy Percival
163 Wade Boggs
164 Dave Nilsson
165 Vinny Castilla
166 Kevin Brown
167 Dennis Eckersley
168 Wendell Magee Jr.
169 John Jaha
170 Garret Anderson
171 Jason Giambi
172 Mark Grace
173 Tony Clark
174 Moises Alou
175 Brett Butler
176 Cecil Fielder
177 Chris Widger
178 Doug Drabek
179 Ellis Burks
180 Shigetoshi Hasegawa
Row 1 - Grace Checklist
180 cards.
Showtime #1-60 1:2.5 packs, Showpiece #61-120 1:2 packs, Showstopper #121-180 1:3 packs
PARALLEL CARDS: Legacy Collection #/100, Legacy Masterpiece 1/1
2 Derek Jeter
3 Alex Rodriguez
4 Paul Molitor
5 Jeff Bagwell
6 Scott Rolen
7 Kenny Lofton
8 Cal Ripken
9 Brady Anderson
10 Chipper Jones
11 Todd Greene
12 Todd Walker
13 Billy Wagner
14 Craig Biggio
15 Kevin Orie
16 Hideo Nomo
17 Kevin Appier
18 Bubba Trammell
19 Juan Gonzalez
20 Randy Johnson
21 Roger Clemens
22 Johnny Damon
23 Ryne Sandberg
24 Ken Griffey Jr.
25 Barry Bonds
26 Nomar Garciaparra
27 Vladimir Guerrero
28 Ron Gant
29 Joe Carter
30 Tim Salmon
31 Mike Piazza
32 Barry Larkin
33 Manny Ramirez
34 Sammy Sosa
35 Frank Thomas
36 Melvin Nieves
37 Tony Gwynn
38 Gary Sheffield
39 Darin Erstad
40 Ken Caminiti
41 Jermaine Dye
42 Mo Vaughn
43 Raul Mondesi
44 Greg Maddux
45 Chuck Knoblauch
46 Andy Pettitte
47 Deion Sanders
48 Albert Belle
49 Jamey Wright
50 Rey Ordonez
51 Bernie Williams
52 Mark McGwire
53 Mike Mussina
54 Bob Abreu
55 Reggie Sanders
56 Brian Jordan
57 Ivan Rodriguez
58 Roberto Alomar
59 Tim Naehring
60 Edgar Renteria
61 Dean Palmer
62 Benito Santiago
63 David Cone
64 Carlos Delgado
65 Brian Giles RC
66 Alex Ochoa
67 Rondell White
68 Robin Ventura
69 Eric Karros
70 Jose Valentin
71 Rafael Palmeiro
72 Chris Snopek
73 David Justice
74 Tom Glavine
75 Rudy Pemberton
76 Larry Walker
77 Jim Thome
78 Charles Johnson
79 Dante Powell
80 Derrek Lee
81 Jason Kendall
82 Todd Hollandsworth
83 Bernard Gilkey
84 Mel Rojas
85 Dmitri Young
86 Bret Boone
87 Pat Hentgen
88 Bobby Bonilla
89 John Wetteland
90 Todd Hundley
92 Geronimo Berroa
93 Al Martin
94 Danny Tartabull
95 Brian McRae
96 Steve Finley
97 Todd Stottlemyre
98 John Smoltz
99 Matt Williams
100 Eddie Murray
101 Henry Rodriguez
102 Marty Cordova
103 Juan Guzman
104 Chili Davis
105 Eric Young
106 Jeff Abbott
107 Shannon Stewart
108 Rocky Coppinger
109 Jose Canseco
110 Dante Bichette
111 Dwight Gooden
112 Scott Brosius
113 Steve Avery
114 Andres Galarraga
115 Sandy Alomar Jr.
116 Ray Lankford
117 Jorge Posada
118 Ryan Klesko
119 Jay Buhner
120 Jose Guillen
121 Paul O'Neill
122 Jimmy Key
123 Hal Morris
124 Travis Fryman
125 Jim Edmonds
126 Jeff Cirillo
127 Fred McGriff
128 Alan Benes
129 Derek Bell
130 Tony Graffanino
131 Shawn Green
132 Denny Neagle
133 Alex Fernandez
134 Mickey Morandini
135 Royce Clayton
136 Jose Mesa
137 Edgar Martinez
138 Curt Schilling
139 Lance Johnson
140 Andy Benes
141 Charles Nagy
142 Mariano Rivera
143 Mark Wohlers
144 Ken Hill
145 Jay Bell
146 Bob Higginson
147 Mark Grudzielanek
148 Ray Durham
149 John Olerud
150 Joey Hamilton
151 Trevor Hoffman
152 Dan Wilson
153 J.T. Snow
154 Marquis Grissom
155 Yamil Benitez
156 Rusty Greer
157 Darryl Kile
158 Ismael Valdes
159 Jeff Conine
160 Darren Daulton
161 Chan Ho Park
162 Troy Percival
163 Wade Boggs
164 Dave Nilsson
165 Vinny Castilla
166 Kevin Brown
167 Dennis Eckersley
168 Wendell Magee Jr.
169 John Jaha
170 Garret Anderson
171 Jason Giambi
172 Mark Grace
173 Tony Clark
174 Moises Alou
175 Brett Butler
176 Cecil Fielder
177 Chris Widger
178 Doug Drabek
179 Ellis Burks
180 Shigetoshi Hasegawa
Row 0 - Showcase Checklist
180 cards.
Showtime #1-60 1:24 packs, Showpiece #61-120 1:12 packs, Showstopper #121-180 1:5 packs
PARALLEL CARDS: Legacy Collection #/100, Legacy Masterpiece 1/1
2 Derek Jeter
3 Alex Rodriguez
4 Paul Molitor
5 Jeff Bagwell
6 Scott Rolen
7 Kenny Lofton
8 Cal Ripken
9 Brady Anderson
10 Chipper Jones
11 Todd Greene
12 Todd Walker
13 Billy Wagner
14 Craig Biggio
15 Kevin Orie
16 Hideo Nomo
17 Kevin Appier
18 Bubba Trammell
19 Juan Gonzalez
20 Randy Johnson
21 Roger Clemens
22 Johnny Damon
23 Ryne Sandberg
24 Ken Griffey Jr.
25 Barry Bonds
26 Nomar Garciaparra
27 Vladimir Guerrero
28 Ron Gant
29 Joe Carter
30 Tim Salmon
31 Mike Piazza
32 Barry Larkin
33 Manny Ramirez
34 Sammy Sosa
35 Frank Thomas
36 Melvin Nieves
37 Tony Gwynn
38 Gary Sheffield
39 Darin Erstad
40 Ken Caminiti
41 Jermaine Dye
42 Mo Vaughn
43 Raul Mondesi
44 Greg Maddux
45 Chuck Knoblauch
46 Andy Pettitte
47 Deion Sanders
48 Albert Belle
49 Jamey Wright
50 Rey Ordonez
51 Bernie Williams
52 Mark McGwire
53 Mike Mussina
54 Bob Abreu
55 Reggie Sanders
56 Brian Jordan
57 Ivan Rodriguez
58 Roberto Alomar
59 Tim Naehring
60 Edgar Renteria
61 Dean Palmer
62 Benito Santiago
63 David Cone
64 Carlos Delgado
65 Brian Giles RC
66 Alex Ochoa
67 Rondell White
68 Robin Ventura
69 Eric Karros
70 Jose Valentin
71 Rafael Palmeiro
72 Chris Snopek
73 David Justice
74 Tom Glavine
75 Rudy Pemberton
76 Larry Walker
77 Jim Thome
78 Charles Johnson
79 Dante Powell
80 Derrek Lee
81 Jason Kendall
82 Todd Hollandsworth
83 Bernard Gilkey
84 Mel Rojas
85 Dmitri Young
86 Bret Boone
87 Pat Hentgen
88 Bobby Bonilla
89 John Wetteland
90 Todd Hundley
92 Geronimo Berroa
93 Al Martin
94 Danny Tartabull
95 Brian McRae
96 Steve Finley
97 Todd Stottlemyre
98 John Smoltz
99 Matt Williams
100 Eddie Murray
101 Henry Rodriguez
102 Marty Cordova
103 Juan Guzman
104 Chili Davis
105 Eric Young
106 Jeff Abbott
107 Shannon Stewart
108 Rocky Coppinger
109 Jose Canseco
110 Dante Bichette
111 Dwight Gooden
112 Scott Brosius
113 Steve Avery
114 Andres Galarraga
115 Sandy Alomar Jr.
116 Ray Lankford
117 Jorge Posada
118 Ryan Klesko
119 Jay Buhner
120 Jose Guillen
121 Paul O'Neill
122 Jimmy Key
123 Hal Morris
124 Travis Fryman
125 Jim Edmonds
126 Jeff Cirillo
127 Fred McGriff
128 Alan Benes
129 Derek Bell
130 Tony Graffanino
131 Shawn Green
132 Denny Neagle
133 Alex Fernandez
134 Mickey Morandini
135 Royce Clayton
136 Jose Mesa
137 Edgar Martinez
138 Curt Schilling
139 Lance Johnson
140 Andy Benes
141 Charles Nagy
142 Mariano Rivera
143 Mark Wohlers
144 Ken Hill
145 Jay Bell
146 Bob Higginson
147 Mark Grudzielanek
148 Ray Durham
149 John Olerud
150 Joey Hamilton
151 Trevor Hoffman
152 Dan Wilson
153 J.T. Snow
154 Marquis Grissom
155 Yamil Benitez
156 Rusty Greer
157 Darryl Kile
158 Ismael Valdes
159 Jeff Conine
160 Darren Daulton
161 Chan Ho Park
162 Troy Percival
163 Wade Boggs
164 Dave Nilsson
165 Vinny Castilla
166 Kevin Brown
167 Dennis Eckersley
168 Wendell Magee Jr.
169 John Jaha
170 Garret Anderson
171 Jason Giambi
172 Mark Grace
173 Tony Clark
174 Moises Alou
175 Brett Butler
176 Cecil Fielder
177 Chris Widger
178 Doug Drabek
179 Ellis Burks
180 Shigetoshi Hasegawa
Diamond Cuts Checklist
2 Albert Belle
3 Ken Caminiti
4 Juan Gonzalez
5 Ken Griffey Jr.
6 Tony Gwynn
7 Todd Hundley
8 Andruw Jones
9 Chipper Jones
10 Greg Maddux
12 Mike Piazza
13 Derek Jeter
14 Manny Ramirez
15 Cal Ripken Jr.
16 Alex Rodriguez
17 Frank Thomas
18 Mo Vaughn
19 Bernie Williams
20 Matt Williams
Hot Gloves Checklist
2 Barry Bonds
3 Juan Gonzalez
4 Ken Griffey Jr.
5 Marquis Grissom
6 Derek Jeter
7 Chipper Jones
8 Barry Larkin
10 Greg Maddux
11 Mike Piazza
12 Cal Ripken Jr.
13 Alex Rodriguez
14 Ivan Rodriguez
15 Frank Thomas
Wave of the Future Checklist
2 Andruw Jones
3 Randall Simon
4 Wady Almonte
5 Pat Cline
6 Jeff Abbott
7 Justin Towle
8 Richie Sexson
9 Bubba Trammell
10 Bobby Abreu
11 David Arias (Ortiz)
12 Todd Walker
13 Orlando Cabrera
14 Vladimir Guerrero
16 Jorge Posada
17 Ruben Rivera
18 Scott Spiezio
19 Scott Rolen
20 Emil Brown
21 Jose Guillen
22 T.J. Staton
23 Eli Marrero
24 Fernando Tatis
25 Ryan Jones
WF1 Hideki Irabu
WF2 Jose Cruz Jr.
