Completed master set – one last look at 1998 Topps

Once I completed the Topps Milestone set (see previous post), that meant I’d notched the master set for 1998 Topps.

This was a missing link type year – and there were some major obstacles!  I’ve now finished everything Topps from 1980 to 2001!  This also means I’ve finished off the second full decade of “Master Sets” that I’m doing!

Info about my base set:

How I put the base set together:

• 265 cards from series 1 hobby box
• 188 cards from series 2 hobby box
• 48 cards from trades
• 2 cards from an eBay lot

Card that completed my set: #160 – Derek Jeter

Best card (my opinion): #146 – Jose Guillen

Check out this link to see the rest of the base set post.

My “Master” Set Info:

685 cards – 503 “base”, 176 “insert”, 6 “other”

• Insert sets:  Rookie Class, Etch-A-Sketch, Mystery Finest Interleague, Mystery Finest Bordered, Flashback, Clout Nine, Hall Bound, Focal Point, Baby Boomers, Milestone, Clemente Tribute, Roberto Clemente Reprints, Roberto Clemente Finest
• Promo sets:  Pre-Production

Toughest card to track down:  Milestone #MS3 – Dennis Eckersley

There were a number of difficult cards to track down – so many of these insert sets were easier to find Chrome versions.  And for both Milestone and Hall Bound – I thought I had the finishing card coming my way until it got here and I realized it was the Chrome version.  Baby Boomers and the Flashback set were also similarly difficult.  But I’ll go with the one that took me the longest to track down – which was this card.

How I put the additional sets together:

• Promos – all 6 cards from eBay (as a set)
• Inserts – 17 cards from boxes, 4 from trades, 1 from a card show, 91 from COMC, 32 from Beckett’s Marketplace, 28 from Sportlots, 3 from eBay

Other product bests

Completed master set – one last look at 2001 Topps

I am blocking and tackling these sets now – I need one card for 1998 and then I’d have everything from the start through this 2001 year.  After finishing the Traded insert from 2001 – I’m now done with the Master Set for 2001.  So – here’s that post!

Info about my base set:

How I put the base set together:

• 289 cards from the series 1 hobby box
• 232 cards from the series 2 hobby box
• 22 cards from a second series 2 hobby box
• 246 cards from trades
• 1 card from COMC

Card that completed my set:  #389 – Ken Griffey SH

Best card (my opinion): #726 – Ichiro Suzuki RC

Check out this link to see the rest of the base set post.

My “Master” Set Info:

1,305 cards – 790 “base”, 265 “traded“, 250 “insert”, 0 “other” (promo cards were becoming out of vogue!!!)

• Insert sets:  Through the Years, Before there was Topps, Combos, Golden Anniversary, A Tradition Continues, A Look Ahead, Noteworthy, What Could Have Been, Traded Who Would Have Thought
• Promo sets:  None – but they did do sheets!

How I put the additional sets together:

• Traded – 178 cards from the Traded Hobby box, 30 cards from trades, 44 cards from Beckett Marketplace, 1 card from eBay, 7 cards from Sportlots, 5 cards from COMC
• Inserts – 30 from my s1/s2/Traded hobby boxes, 14 cards from trades, 16 cards from card shows / NSCC, 88 cards from COMC, 72 cards from Sportlots, 20 from Beckett Marketplace, 9 cards from Just Commons, 1 card from eBay

Other product bests

Completed master set – one last look at 1999 Topps

As I mentioned in the last post, I finished the master set for 1999 Topps now that I’ve checked off the Ryan Finest set.  I’d been sitting with only that set to complete for quite a while.  The All-Topps Mystery Finest set I’d finished back in late 2015 – so it took me almost 8 years to get past this last obstacle!

Info about my base set:

How I put the base set together:

• 229 cards from the series 1 hobby box
• 217 cards from the series 2 hobby box
• 16 cards from trades

Card that completed my base set: #352– Miguel Tejada

Best card (my opinion): #100 – Ken Griffey Jr.

Check out this link to see the rest of the base set post.

My “Master” Set Info:

807 cards – 462 “base”, 121 “traded“, 220 “insert”, 6 “other”

• Insert sets:  Picture Perfect, New Breed, Lords of the Diamond, Hall of Fame Collection, All-Matrix, Power Brokers, All-Topps Mystery Finest, Record Numbers, MVP Redemption, Ryan Reprints, Ryan Finest
• Promo sets:  Pre-Production

How I put the additional sets together:

• Traded – boxed set from eBay
• Promos – all 6 cards from an eBay auction
• Inserts – 25 from my s1/s2 hobby boxes, 11 from trades, 52 from Beckett Marketplace, 42 from Sportlots, 41 from COMC, 25 from eBay, 24 from card shows

Other product bests

Completed master set – one last look at 1995 Topps

With that Travis Fryman Spectralite Pre-production card from a few posts ago – it’s time to do the 1995 Topps Master Set post.  I’ve now completed all my Topps master sets through 1997!  Here’s the info for this master set.

Info about my base set:

How I put the base set together:

• 298 cards from series 1 retail box
• 214 cards from series 2 retail box
• 102 cards from trades
• 41 cards I already had from back in the day
• 4 cards from eBay
• 1 card from Sportlots

Card that completed my set: #446 – Andres Galarraga

Best card (my opinion): #203 – Randy Johnson

Check out this link to see the rest of the base set post.

My “Master” Set Info:

939 cards – 660 “base”, 165 “update”, 92 “insert” (82 flagship, 10 update), 22 “other”

• Update set:  Traded
• Insert sets:  League Leaders, Finest Total Bases, Cyberstats Season in Review, Opening Day, At the Break Power Boosters
• Promo sets:  Pre-Production / Pre-Production Spectralite, Shawn Green Proof, National Packtime

How I put the additional sets together:

• Traded – 160 cards from the Update wax box, 1 card from Sportlots, 4 from Beckett Marketplace
• Inserts –  12 cards from s1/s2/update boxes, 4 I already had from before I started this whole project, 5 cards from trades, 31 cards from Sportlots, 18 cards from eBay, 16 cards from COMC, 6 cards from Beckett Marketplace
• Promos –  the 9 regular cards I had from back in the day, 1x Shaw Green proof from COMC, 1 Spectralite from a trade, 5 Spectralite from eBay, 2 Spectralite from COMC, 1 Spectralite from Sportlots, I got all 3 National Packtime from Sportlots

Toughest card to track down:  Pre-Production Spectralite #PP5 – Travis Fryman

I posted about how hard this damn card was to track down.  I actually found a rarer “proof” version before I could find the actual card that could be found in the 1994 Topps factory – we’re talking like a decade of searching for this.

Update set composition:  165 cards (114 single MLB player cards, 14 Draft Picks, 2 On Deck, 2 Tops Prospects, 1 Star Track, 12 Rookie of the Year Contenders, 10 At the Break, 9 All-Stars, 1 checklist)

In the update set not in the base set:  28 players (including the 4 players on the Prospect card)

Total in base and update sets:  595 different players.  Or 60% of the 1994 MLB rosters.

Here’s the link for the Update completed set post.

Other product bests

Completed set & Master set – One last look at 2013 Gypsy Queen

I finished the 2013 Gypsy Queen master set (meaning the inserts and all of the base), so this is the wrap-up post on that.  On this one I finished the insert sets well before the base – which isn’t the norm.  As I posted last week – I finally finished up the last SP card from that base set.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Info about my set:

How I put the set together:

• 189 cards (6 SP) from my first hobby box
• 123 cards (6 SP) from my second hobby box
• 3 cards (all SP) from a trade
• 35 cards (all SP) from COMC, Beckett, and Sportlots

Card that completed my set: #227 – #215 – Kris Medlen (from COMC in early 2021)

Best card (my opinion): #161 – Whitey Ford

Check out this link to see the rest of the base set post.

My “Master” Set Info:

419 cards – 350 “base”, 69 “insert”

• Insert sets:  Dealing Aces, No-Hitters, Sliding Stars, Glove Stories, Collisions at the Plate

Toughest card to track down: #215 – Kris Medlen

See above.  Mostly because I thought I had completed this set when I got the Wainwright card, only to realize I had somehow crossed #215 off the list erroneously!

How I put the additional sets together:

• Inserts – 46 cards from the two hobby boxes, 10 from a trade, 1 from a blaster, 1 from a retail pack, 5 from Beckett Marketplace, 4 COMC, 2 from Sportlots

Other product bests

Completed master set – one last look at 2000 Topps

Back in 2017, I finished the last card for the Hank Aaron Chrome set – and even when I finally blogged about that in 2020, I forgot to realize that I had finished what I’m determining as my master set to 2000 Topps!  So here I am – 5 years later doing a post I used to do within a week or so of finishing this off.  Shoulder shrug!

This was a tougher master set to complete.  Counting the Finest sets has made late 90’s and this a tough one to finish, but the MVP redemption set was probably the toughest and the most expensive.  I had originally tried to complete that MVP set 1 at a time, but eventually got a good deal on a full set on eBay.

Info about my base set:

How I put the base set together:

• 234 cards from the series 1 hobby box
• 239 cards from the series 2 hobby box
• 3 cards from trades
• 2 cards from Beckett Marketplace

Card that completed my base set: #225 – Pedro Martinez PSH

Best card (my opinion): #85 – Barry Larkin

Check out this link to see the rest of the base set post.

My “Master” Set Info:

653 cards – 478 “base”, “135” traded, 191 “insert”, 3 “other”

• Insert sets:  Power Players, Own the Game, All-Topps Team, Perennial All-Stars, 21st Century Topps, Hands of Gold, Combos, All-Star Rookie Team, McGwire Rookie Reprint, MVP Redemption, Aaron Reprints, Aaron Chrome
• Promo sets:  Pre-Production

How I put the additional sets together:

• Traded – boxed set from eBay
• Promos – all 3 cards from an eBay auction
• Inserts – 30 from my s1/s2 hobby boxes, 7 from trades, 65 from COMC, 36 from Sportlots, 29 from Beckett Marketplace, 17 from eBay, 7 from card shows

Other product bests

Completed master set – one last look at 1996 Topps

I finished up the master set to 1996 Topps!  I wish I had 1995 done, but the cyberstats promo card of Travis Fryman from that year has proven to be the most difficult card to find of any I can think of.  So while I’ve still completed all my Topps master sets through 1994, I can also add 1996 to that now (as well as 1997 – and I have to check but I think 2000).

This one wasn’t as hard as some others – but still had some tough gets.  The Star Power and Draft Picks Power Boosters were tough to accumulate, and my final obstacle was just finding the Wrecking Crew cards at a somewhat reasonable price.  For reference, I got Matt Williams and Juan Gonzalez for $4.25 each on COMC.  Not sure if you’d consider that reasonable, but the chrome cards seem to come up more frequently than the regular inserts from those late 90’s sets.

Info about my base set:

How I put the base set together:

• 199 cards from the series 1 retail box
• 213 cards from the series 2 retail box
• 1 card I already had from back in the day
• 27 cards from trades

Card that completed my base set: #58 – Scott Sanders

Best card (my opinion): #297 – Marquis Grissom

Check out this link to see the rest of the base set post.

My “Master” Set Info:

653 cards – 440 “base”, 201 “insert”, 12 “other”

• Insert sets:  Power Boosters, Profiles, Mystery Finest, Masters of the Game, Wrecking Crew, Classic Confrontations, Road Warriors
• Promo sets:  Pre-Production, Ted Williams promotional & a couple of Mickey Mantle factory set inserts

How I put the additional sets together:

• Promos – all 10 cards from a couple eBay auctions
• Mantle factory cards – bought them both on COMC
• Inserts – 14 from my s1/s2 retail boxes, 1 I had from when I was a kid, 90 from Sportlots, 76 from COMC, 11 from trades, 6 from Beckett, 4 from card shows, 1 from eBay

Other product bests

Completed master set – one last look at 1997 Topps

Once I completed the Awesome Impact set, which I did last September and posted about yesterday, that meant I’d locked down the master set for 1997 Topps.  This is the latest year that I’ve done so.

There weren’t any particularly major obstacles here, there’s just a number of insert sets that took a little while to accumulate.

Info about my base set:

How I put the base set together:

• 249 cards from series 1 retail box
• 216 cards from series 2 retail box
• 30 cards from trades

Card that completed my set: #261 – Lance Johnson

Best card (my opinion): #463 – J.T. Snow

Check out this link to see the rest of the base set post.

My “Master” Set Info:

719 cards – 495 “base”, 215 “insert”, 9 “other”

• Insert sets:  Sweet Strokes, Interleague Finest, Season’s Best, All-Stars, Team Timber, Hobby Masters, Willie Mays Reprints, Willie Mays Finest, Mickey Mantle Reprints, Mickey Mantle Finest, Awesome Impact
• Promo sets:  Pre-Production

Toughest card to track down:  Pre-Production #PP1 – Frank Thomas

This could be any one of the 9 pre-production cards.  They were very difficult to track down, or even learn much about before I did.

How I put the additional sets together:

• Promos – all 9 cards from eBay
• Inserts – 27 cards from boxes, 11 from trades, 8 from card shows, 80 from COMC, 59 from Sportlots, 30 from Beckett’s Marketplace

Other product bests

Completed master set – one last look at 2011 Topps Heritage

As i mentioned yesterday, I finished up the 2011 Topps Heritage Jackie Robinson set.  That also means I finished up the 2011 Heritage master set.  Out of the products that aren’t part of my Lifetime Topps project, this is easily my favorite.  1962 Topps is just about my favorite design.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Info about my base set

How I put the set (non-SP / SP) together:

• 204 (196/8) cards from my hobby box
• 153 (146/7) cards from trades
• 39 (36/3) cards from a blaster
• 38 (36/2) cards from various retail packs
• 15 (11/4) cards from a card show
• 38 SP cards from eBay lots
• 4 SP cards from Sportlots
• 9 SP cards from Check Out My Cards

Card that completed my set:  #437 – Adrian Gonzalez

Best card (my opinion):  #81 – Jason Varitek

Catcher’s mask? check.  Catcher’s mitt?  check.  Cool background?  check.  One of the last cards of a team captain?  check.

Check out this link to see the rest of the base set post.

My “Master” Set Info:

560 cards – 500 “base”, 5 promo, 55 “insert”

• Promo set:  NSCC 5-card prospect set
• Insert sets:  News Flashbacks, Baseball Flashbacks, Then & Now, New Age Performers, Jackie Robinson Special

How I put the additional sets together:

• Promo set – 4 from COMC, 1 from Beckett Marketplace
• Inserts – 7 from my hobby box, 2 from a blaster, 1 from a retail blister, 15 from trades, 15 from Sportlots, 8 from COMC, 4 from eBay, 3 from a card show

Toughest card to track down:  Jackie Robinson Special: #143 – Robinson shines in the fall

NSCC promo:  #DC2 – Dee Gordon

Usually I would only pick 1 in this case, and usually the answer would be the last card I got.  In this case, though, I have to pick 2.  Both of these cards were ridiculously difficult.  They’re difficult sets, but these particular cards, I just couldn’t find.  Which is why it took my nearly 5 years to complete this master set!

Other product info

Completed master set – 2012 Goodwin Champions

Another post to pat myself on the back!  As I mentioned  a couple of posts ago, the World Travelers set finished off both the 2011 and 2012 Goodwin master sets for me.  This one was about 3 years in the making, and technically I finished it even earlier because I was waiting on cards from the 2011 portion of the World Traveler set.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Info about my base set

How I put the set (base / SP / SSP / mini) together:

• 149 (123/16/6/4) cards from my three hobby boxes
• 43 (27/10/4/2) cards from Sportlots/Beckett/COMC
• 26 (0/4/10/12) cards from eBay
• 13 (0/10/0/3) cards from the National card show

Card that completed my set:  #6 – Carlton Fisk (completed via a November purchase from Beckett marketplace).

Best card (my opinion): #184 – Ned Williamson

Ned Williamson had the single-season home run record before Babe Ruth (27 homers in 1884).  This is his only card after 1889.

Check out this link to see the rest of the base set post.

My “Master” Set Info

281 cards – 231 “base”, 25 “insert”, 25 “other”

• Insert set:  Military Machines
• Box Topper:  World Traveler

How I put the additional sets together:

• Insert:  6 – packs/boxes, 19 – online purchases
• World Traveler:  3 – packs/boxes, 22 – online purchases

Toughest card to track down:  World Military Machines #MM-5 – DUKW

I have no idea why, but this particular card seemed harder to track down than any of the others.  More so than any of its Military brethren, and more so than the base SP cards or the box topper World Travelers, both of which are much rarer.

Other product bests