Hey everyone. Been working on a project and wanted to share it with you all. I have built out a 1998 set featuring 700 cards (I know, it's a lot). I will be dropping the cards and a post by each division over the next several weeks (still wrapping up the final three teams).
So the biggest reason I wanted to do a set for 1998 was for the two guys above. The greatest home run chase of all time. I don't think any of us who play/played this game have not dreamed and thought about all those summer nights of watching these two bring us to the edge of our seats. So much fun and clearly one of the reasons why baseball rebounded so well after the strike three years earlier.
As with all six posts in this set, here is some info to keep in mind:
-I am by no means a photoshop expert, so the quality will not be up to par for everyone (especially Bob). The cuts created by the bot are a lot cleaner but I have done my best given these pictures were taken over 20 years ago and not being well tuned to these skills.
-I tried to use only pictures from 1998 to make cards. This means that it might not be the absolute best pose available to use, but wanted to make it authentic. All in all, I believe that I was not able to do so for about 10-20 cards max.
-Some cards were made by other people (though I did most of them). With that said the style of the cutout does vary on some cards so please keep that in mind.
-I tried to give a variety of guys a card that might not have one from a normal set or another season. I also tried to give some different players the foil treatment that may not have in the original game.
-I did these so many of us could be nostalgic on the magic of the 98 season. What a great year in baseball across the board. I think that a lot of us who fell in love with this game developed our love for the actual game of baseball in the 96-99 stretch. So many fun story lines during the 98 season that I could not pass up making this set.
-Big shout out to Matt for the bot as this would not be possible without it.
-Also big shout out to David and Luke for their help and contributions for making some of the cards in this set.
-I am hoping to have this set uploaded into TTS later this spring/summer (thanks to James).
-Lastly, if anyone thinks that a player should be a foil that I have not designated as one, please feel free to share (foiling seems to be somewhat subjective, which is one of the reasons why making a custom set is fun). The foils I have listed are the ones I am rolling with so tough luck if you do not agree.
Without further delay, we start with the NL Central:
1st - Houston Astros - 102-60 (lost in the NLDS to San Diego)
A great team with a lot of household names. I really enjoyed making this squad and almost included a Mike Hampton hitting card but it would have put me over the 700 card total (which I wasn't originally shooting for but seemed like a good number when wrapping up the final few squads). I really like the Alou card with the All-Star jersey and Biggio was long overdue for being a foil in my opinion. The set also features a rookie card for Richard Hidalgo (an 01 legend that should have probably been a foil candidate). Probably one of the best pitching cards in the entire set is the Randy Johnson Pennant Run. An absolute beast that can go for 8 innings. His numbers after the mid-season trade from the Mariners are insane (10-1 over 84 innings with a 1.28 ERA and a .984 WHIP). Jay Powell with a great relief card to go alongside Billy Wagner, this is a deep team that the cards show for it with a ton of guys that would be drafted in a league format.
Hitters - 11 (foils include Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, and Moises Alou):
2nd - Chicago Cubs - 90-73 (won one game playoff against the San Francisco lost to Atlanta in the NLDS)
Another loaded team with cards to back it up. Obviously I love the Sosa card with the signature home run hop. Morandini has a great card and chart for those loving the infield defense with high on-base options. Glenallen Hill and Gary Gaetti have tremendous cards that helped the Cubs in their wild card chase down the stretch of the season. Kerry Wood as a rookie tearing it up with his 20 k performance. I know the chart is terrible for Blauser but an 8 ob for 30 points is an incredible value deal. Add a Rod Beck stache and Brant Brown prior to being a 5 ob the next season for the Pirates to round on these Cubs.
Hitters - 13 (foils include Sammy Sosa, Gary Gaetti, and Mickey Morandini):
Pitchers 12 (foils include Kerry Wood):
3rd - St. Louis Cardinals - 83-79
Any team with Big Mac is going to create problems for their opponents. He joins the elite crew of one of only a handful of total 11 ob's in this set. Brian Jordan gets the foil treatment with a fun card, along with Ray Lankford (with a nice picture I thought). Willie McGee is a fun card design I liked as it looks like he is catching a softball (his ob number).
Hitters 11 - (foils include Mark McGwire, Fernando Tatis, Brian Jordan, and Ray Lankford):
Pitchers 14 (foils include nobody):
4th - Cincinnati Reds - 77-85
A very average team with nobody that wows outside of Larkin and Harnisch in my opinion. The Boone brothers on the field together at the same time is fun and Danny Graves as a rookie (future Rolaids Relief Pitcher of the Year). The new face of the Reds is a rookie in this set as well, with Sean Casey starting his career this year. A special PR card for Paul Konerko having been traded to the Reds during the 98 season and then quickly traded to the White Sox before 99 kicked off. at Definitely some fun cards on this squad that would get some high usage, especially in an 8 ob league.
Hitters 11 (foils include Barry Larkin):
Pitchers 12 (foils include Pete Harnisch):
5th - Milwaukee Brewers - 74-88
Another team with not much to write home about. Cirillo is a stud with his glove, with the second highest defensive score at the position in the set. A lot of middle of the road relievers, with Stormy Weathers as the classic 4-16 guy throwing 2 IP. Burnitz has a fun card with defense and pop. Personally I also am a big fan of the Loretta card with multiple position eligibility, something that would be great in an NL only league.
Hitters 11 (foils include Jeff Cirillo):
Pitchers 12 (foils include nobody):
6th - Pittsburgh Pirates - 69-93
Last but not least, the Pirates. Boy are these guys not very good at the plate. Aramis Ramirez as a rookie. Jason Kendall is a solid card with a very average arm (not that arm matters does it Kevin?). Manny Martinez with the odd CF speed C and a triple on the chart. The rotation is not very strong (Cordova is your typical 4-16-7) but they do have strength in the bullpen. Mike Williams, Jason Christiansen, and Billy Beane's obsession Ricardo Rincon are all great options.
Hitters 10 (foils include Jason Kendall):
Pitchers 13 (foils include Mike Williams):
There you go. Hope you enjoy the NL Central!
Excellent post. Thank you for sharing.
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