1997 Flair Showcase Baseball Cards

1997 Flair Showcase is historically significant in that it’s the first set to produce a pack-issued 1/1. This innovation was met with some criticism as it meant player collectors could no longer expect to own every card of their player. As with other innovations, however, it got grossly overused in the proceeding years.

Set Information:

Important Date(s)
August 1, 1998	Exchange Deadline

Set	Total Cards	Print Run(s)	Odds
Row 2	181	–	1-60 (Showtime): 5:1 61-120 (Showpiece): 1:1.5 121-180 (Showstopper): 1:1
Row 1	180	–	1-60 (Showstopper): 1:2.5 61-120 (Showtime): 1:2 121-180 (Showpiece): 1:3
Row 0	180	–	1-60 (Showpiece): 1:24 61-120 (Showstopper): 1:12 121-180 (Showtime): 1:5
Legacy Collection	540	100	1:30
Masterpiece	540	1	1:3000
Alex Rodriguez Promos	2	Vary	–
Diamond Cuts	20	–	1:20
Hot Gloves	15	–	1:90
Wave of the Future	27	–	1:4

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Base Set Checklist:

1997 Flair Showcase is an ultra-premium release produced by Fleer that was issued in one series containing three versions (Rows) of each of the 180 cards in the set for a total of 540 cards. The set is broken down into three blocks: 1-60, 61-120, and 121-180. Each block is assigned a different designation: Showtime, Showstopper, or Showpiece and they are applied differently across the three Rows: 2 (Style), 1 (Grace), and 0 (Showcase). Each Row has a unique designs on card fronts but features the same player image on card backs. Cards were distributed in 5-card packs with an SRP of $4.99. Cards were printed using a thick, laminated card stock with a shinny gloss for a super-premium presentation. The pull odds for Legacy Collection and Masterpiece parallels are the same across the three Rows respectively but not necessarily for any specific Row. Key RC: Brian Giles. Parallel(s): Legacy Collection /100 and Masterpiece /1. Legacy Collection parallels feature blue foil text and Masterpiece parallels feature purple foil text.

To see what’s currently on eBay from 1997 Flair Showcase, click here.

Card #	Player(s)	Card #	Player(s)
1	Andruw Jones	91	Wilton Guerrero
2	Derek Jeter	92	Geronimo Berroa
3	Alex Rodriguez	93	Al Martin
4	Paul Molitor	94	Danny Tartabull
5	Jeff Bagwell	95	Brian McRae
6	Scott Rolen	96	Steve Finley
7	Kenny Lofton	97	Todd Stottlemyre
8	Cal Ripken Jr.	98	John Smoltz
9	Brady Anderson	99	Matt Williams
10	Chipper Jones	100	Eddie Murray
11	Todd Greene	101	Henry Rodriguez
12	Todd Walker	102	Marty Cordova
13	Billy Wagner	103	Juan Guzman
14	Craig Biggio	104	Chili Davis
15	Kevin Orie	105	Eric Young
16	Hideo Nomo	106	Jeff Abbott
17	Kevin Appier	107	Shannon Stewart
18	Bubba Trammell RC	108	Rocky Coppinger
19	Juan Gonzalez	109	Jose Canseco
20	Randy Johnson	110	Dante Bichette
21	Roger Clemens	111	Dwight Gooden
22	Johnny Damon	112	Scott Brosius
23	Ryne Sandberg	113	Steve Avery
24	Ken Griffey Jr.	114	Andres Galarraga
25	Barry Bonds	115	Sandy Alomar Jr.
26	Nomar Garciaparra	116	Ray Lankford
27	Vladimir Guerrero	117	Jorge Posada
28	Ron Gant	118	Ryan Klesko
29	Joe Carter	119	Jay Buhner
30	Tim Salmon	120	Jose Guillen
31	Mike Piazza	121	Paul O’Neill
32	Barry Larkin	122	Jimmy Key
33	Manny Ramirez	123	Hal Morris
34	Sammy Sosa	124	Travis Fryman
35	Frank Thomas	125	Jim Edmonds
36	Melvin Nieves	126	Jeff Cirillo
37	Tony Gwynn	127	Fred McGriff
38	Gary Sheffield	128	Alan Benes
39	Darin Erstad	129	Derek Bell
40	Ken Caminiti	130	Tony Graffanino
41	Jermaine Dye	131	Shawn Green
42	Mo Vaughn	132	Danny Neagle UER (Debut in ’91 not ’92)
43	Raul Mondesi	133	Alex Fernandez
44	Greg Maddux	134	Mickey Morandini
45	Chuck Knoblauch	135	Royce Clayton
46	Andy Pettitte	136	Jose Mesa
47	Deion Sanders	137	Edgar Martinez
48	Albert Belle	138	Curt Schilling
49	Jamey Wright	139	Lance Johnson
50	Rey Ordonez	140	Andy Benes
51	Bernie Williams	141	Charles Nagy
52	Mark McGwire	142	Mariano Rivera
53	Mike Mussina	143	Mark Wohlers
54	Bob Abreu	144	Ken Hill
55	Reggie Sanders	145	Jay Bell
56	Brian Jordan	146	Bob Higginson
57	Ivan Rodriguez	147	Mark Grudzielanek
58	Roberto Alomar	148	Ray Durham
59	Tim Naehring	149	John Olerud
60	Edgar Renteria	150	Joey Hamilton
61	Dean Palmer	151	Trevor Hoffman
62	Benito Santiago	152	Dan Wilson
63	David Cone	153	J.T. Snow
64	Carlos Delgado	154	Marquis Grissom
65	Brian Giles RC	155	Yamil Benitez
66	Alex Ochoa	156	Rusty Greer
67	Randell White	157	Darry Kile
68	Robin Ventura	158	Ismael Valdes
69	Eric Karros	159	Jeff Conine
70	Jose Valentin	160	Darren Daulton
71	Rafael Palmeiro	161	Chan Ho Park
72	Chris Snopek	162	Troy Percival
73	David Justice	163	Wade Boggs
74	Tom Glavine	164	Dave Nilsson
75	Rudy Pemberton	165	Vinny Castilla
76	Larry Walker	166	Kevin Brown
77	Jim Thome	167	Dennis Eckersley
78	Charles Johnson	168	Wendell Magee Jr.
79	Dante Powell	169	John Jaha
80	Derrek Lee	170	Garret Anderson
81	Jason Kendall	171	Jason Giambi
82	Todd Hollandsworth	172	Mark Grace
83	Bernard Gilkey	173	Tony Clark
84	Mel Rojas	174	Moises Alou
85	Dmitri Young	175	Brett Butler
86	Bret Boone	176	Cecil Fielder
87	Pat Hentgen	177	Chris Widger
88	Bobby Bonilla	178	Doug Drabek
89	John Wetteland	179	Ellis Burks
90	Todd Hundley	180	Shigetoshi Hasegawa RC

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Alex Rodriguez Promotional Items:

Signed Glove Exchange Card: The base set includes an Emerald Exchange Card that could be redeemed for a glove signed by Alex Rodriguez. These Exchange Cards were randomly inserted into packs and only 25 copies were made. The exchange deadline was August 1, 1998.

3-Card Promo Strip: A sample strip containing all three Rows of the Alex Rodriguez card was produced and distributed to dealers and hobby media to promote the product leading up to release date. In addition to the the words, “Promotional Sample” written diagonally across the front and back of each card, the only difference among the cards on the strip and the pack-issued examples is on the Row 0 card, which features sparkle text on the printed last name and the font used in the name plate.

To view the current eBay auctions for Alex Rodriguez baseball cards, click here.

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Diamond Cuts:

Inserted into packs at a rate of 1:20, 1997 Flair Showcase Diamond Cuts is a 20-card set that features some of baseball’s biggest names on a holofoil die-cut diamond-shaped background.

To see what’s currently on eBay from 1997 Flair Showcase Diamond Cuts, click here.

Card #	Player(s)	Card #	Player(s)
1	Jeff Bagwell	11	Mark McGwire
2	Albert Belle	12	Mike Piazza
3	Ken Caminiti	13	Derek Jeter
4	Juan Gonzalez	14	Manny Ramirez
5	Ken Griffey Jr.	15	Cal Ripken Jr.
6	Tony Gwynn	16	Alex Rodriguez
7	Todd Hundley	17	Frank Thomas
8	Andruw Jones	18	Mo Vaughn
9	Chipper Jones	19	Bernie Williams
10	Greg Maddux	20	Matt Williams

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Hot Gloves:

Inserted into packs at a rate of 1:90, 1997 Flair Showcase Hot Gloves is a 15-card set that features some of baseball top glove talent on a bright die-cut flame design.

To see what’s currently on eBay from 1997 Flair Showcase Hot Gloves, click here.

Card #	Player(s)	Card #	Player(s)
1	Roberto Alomar	9	Kenny Lofton
2	Barry Bonds	10	Greg Maddux
3	Juan Gonzalez	11	Mike Piazza
4	Ken Griffey Jr.	12	Cal Ripken Jr.
5	Marquis Grissom	13	Alex Rodriguez
6	Derek Jeter	14	Ivan Rodriguez
7	Chipper Jones	15	Frank Thomas
8	Barry Larkin

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Wave of the Future:

Inserted into packs at a rate of 1:4, 1997 Flair Showcase Wave of the Future is a 27-card set that features newer players showcased on an embossed design.

To see what’s currently on eBay from 1997 Flair Showcase Wave of the Future, click here.

Card #	Player(s)	Card #	Player(s)
1	Todd Greene	15	Ricky Ledee
2	Andruw Jones	16	Jorge Posada
3	Randall Simon	17	Ruben Rivera
4	Wady Almonte	18	Scott Spiezio
5	Pat Cline	19	Scott Rolen
6	Jeff Abbott	20	Emil Brown
7	Justin Towle	21	Jose Guillen
8	Richie Sexson	22	T.J. Staton
9	Bubba Trammell	23	Eli Marrero
10	Bob Abreu	24	Fernando Tatis
11	David Arias-Ortiz	25	Ryan Jones
12	Todd Walker	WF1	Hideki Irabu
13	Orlando Cabrera	WF2	Jose Cruz Jr.
14	Vladimir Guerrero