1997 Score Hobby Reserve baseball packs

The 1997 Score set consisted of 551 cards split into two series. Series 1 #1-330 and Series 2 #331 - 550. card #551 was a short printed card of Hideki Irabu in both English and Japanese.
The Hobby Reserve was distributed exclusively to the Hobby was printed on premium stock card, Series 1 had a grey border.
There are two parallel versions: Showcase and Artist Proofs. A parallel set called 'Reserve Collection' was only available in Series 2 reserve packs.
There are a number of inserts: Pitch Prefect, Titanic Taters, Hightlight (sic) Zone, Franchise, All-Star Fan fest, Stellar Season, Heart of the Order, Blast Masters, Heart of the Order and Stand and Deliver. Because of the unusual insert methods, certain inserts are only available in either retail, hobby or jumbo packs. Insertion ratios differ depending on the 'type' of pack purchased.
The Red Sox available in Series 2 are:
#344 John Wasdin
#395 Aaron Sele
#450 Steve Avery
#461 Tim Wakefield
#471 Rudy Pemberton
#473 Nomar Garciaparra
#510 Mo Vaughn Going Yard

I have 4 packs of Hobby Reserve, which contain 15 cards.

Pack 1:

#372 Edgardo Alfonzo Mets

#389 Midre Cummings Pirates

#393 Quilvio Veras Padres

#422 Shane Andrews Expos

#426 Felipe Crespo Blue Jays

#430 Roger Clemens Blue Jays

#432 Ernie Young Athletics

#434 Jeff Blauser Braves

#436 Carl Everett Mats

#465 Mike Bordick Orioles

#495 Albert Belle White Sox

#522 Hideo Nomo Dodgers

#534 Rusty Greer Rangers

#542 Roberto Alomar Orioles

#HR487 Chris Holt Astros RC

Pack 2:

#349 Chad Curtis Indians

#359 Allen Watson Angles

#364 Mark Clear Mets

#375 Steve Karsay Athletics

#388 John Smiley Reds

#407 Phil Nevin Tigers

#414 Jeff Fassero Mariners

#460 Mel Rojas Cubs

#461 Tim Wakefield Red Sox

#492 Kevin Orie Cubs RC

#502 Jeff Bagwell Astros

#526 Charles Nagy Indians

#528 Tom Glavine Braves

#529 Randy Johnson Mariners

#544 Jason Giambi Athletics

 



Pack 3:

#341 Alex Fernandez Marlins

#342 Ruben Sierra Blue Jays

#370 Brad Ausmus Astros

#379 Lee Smith Expos

#420 David Segui Expos

#427 Jason Bates Rockies

#435 Lenny Dykstra Phillies

#437 Russ Davis Mariners

#445 Jose Valentin Brewers

#449 Jose Vizcaino Giants

#472 Keith Lockhart Braves

#480 Wilton Guerrero Dodgers

#491 Ray Montgomery Astros

#499 Ken Griffey Jr. Mariners

#541 Paul Molitor Twins

 

Pack 4:

#341 Alex Fernandez Marlins

#342 Ruben Sierra Blue Jays

#370 Brad Ausmus Astros

#420 David Segui Expos

#423 Gary DiSarcina Angels

#427 Jason Bates Rockies

#431 Deion Sanders Reds

#435 Lenny Dykstra Phillies

#437 Russ Davis Mariners

#445 Jose Valentin Brewers

#454 Roberto Kelly Twins Artists Proof

#472 Keith Lockhart Braves

#489 Vladimir Guerrero Expos

#491 Ray Montgomery Astros

#499 Ken Griffey Jr. Mariners

You may have noticed a similarity between packs 3 and 4, 12 of the cards were in both packs- excellent quality control.

1991 Score Series 1

The third instalment of the Big B Junk Wax package. What a pack it is too! You just have to appreciate Scores attempts to join the big boys. They went all out in 1991 and included a host of inserts, or subsets as they like to call them. Rookie Prospects, First Draft Picks, AL All-stars, Master Blasters, K-Men, Riflemen, NL All-stars, No-hitters, Franchise, Award Winners and Dream Team. That is 10 inserts and the card fronts on the rest were one of four different colours. A massive 893 cards issued in two series.

There was also a special American Flag insert card (#737) to honour American soldiers in Desert Storm. If that is not enough for you, there are Chipper Jones, Mike Mussina, Carl Everett and Jeff Conine rookie cards and enough errors to keep the specific collector happy.

There are 16 cards per pack and a magic motion trivia card.

I still need these Red Sox cards:

#245 Tom Brunansky

#348 Phil Plantier RC

#393 Wade Boggs All-star

#655 Roger Clemens

#790 Tony Pena

#831 John Marzano

#859 Reuben Sierra Franchise

The Pack:

#7 Will Clark Giants

#82 Dave Martinez Expos

#98 Bill Landrum Pirates

#102 Jaime Navarro Brewers

#173 Jody Reed Red Sox

#176 Larry Sheets Tigers

#178 Chris Gwynn Dodgers

#179 Melido Perez White Sox

#293 Les Lancaster Cubs

#295 Kurt Stillwell Royals

#298 Glenn Wilson Astros

#300 Ramon Martinez Dodgers

#390 Rondell White Expos Draft Pick

#395 Cecil Fielder Tigers All-Star

#410 Bobby Witt Rangers K-Man

#415 Ken Caminiti Astros Rifleman

#45 Mini magic holo-magic motion thingy

Hey, hey a Red Sox, 4 inserts/subsets and yet still what a beauty of a set.

1998 Score Baseball

This is a plastic wrapped solo pack purchased from e-bay. 1998 was the last year of the Score brand. and is packed full of inserts.

There is 270 cards in the base set.
There are inserts masquerading as parallels called Showcase and Showcase Artist's Proofs. There is 160 in each set of parallels(inserts).
There are true inserts: 20 All-Score Team, 30 Complete players, 20 First Pitch, 10 Loaded Lineup, 15 New Season and 24 EPIX (?)
There are 10 cards per plastic pack.

The pack:

#10 Alex Rodriguez Mariners

#44 Curtis Goodwin Reds

#48 Omar Vizquel Indians

#59 Deion Saunders Reds

#80 Scott Hatteberg Red Sox

#155 Alan Benes Cardinals

#177 David Wells Yankees

#180 Jim Leyritz Rangers

#245 Ryan McGuire Expos

#3C Derek Jeter Yankees

Not too bad for 99pence. A Red Sox and a great insert of Derek Jeter. Although as a Red Sox fan I cannot really say that, can I?

1994 Score Baseball Series 2 Hobby

I purchased five of these packs with the possibility of obtaining a Trot Nixon Rookie card.
There are 660 cards in the set, broken into two series of 330 cards.
There is a parallel set of Gold Rush cards. 1 is inserted into every pack.
There are inserts: 60 Boys of Summer, 20 Score Cycle, 10 Dream Team and 60 Gold Stars.
There are 13 cards per pack plus 1 Gold Rush Foil card.

Pack 1:

#344 Kirt Manwaring Giants

#358 Todd Zeile Cardinals

#370 Jose Vizcaino Cubs

#409 Ruben Sierra A's

#410 Jack Armstrong GOLD Marlins

#453 Jack Morris Blue Jays

#483 Mark Lewis Indians

#505 Dickie Thon Brewers

#544 Doug Jones Astros

#556 Darrell Whitmore Marlins

#567 Craig Paquette A's

#582 Damon Buford Orioles

#602 Luis Ortiz Red Sox

#623 John Roper Reds

Pack 2:

#386 Mike Devereaux Orioles

#396 Daryl Boston Rockies

#406 Robby Thompson Giants

#434 Bret Barberie Marlins

#502 Greg Swindell Astros

#510 Sammy Sosa Cubs

#532 Matt Brunson Tigers

#549 Norm Charlton Mariners

#551 Greg McMichael Braves

#555 Marc Valdes Marlins

#581 Kevin Rogers Giants

#643 Eric Wedge Rockies

#645 Manny Ramirez Indians

#647 Braves Checklist GOLD

Pack 3:

#379 Tim Raines White Sox

#393 Cecil Fielder Tigers

#422 Dave Justice Braves

#447 Karl Rhodes Cubs

#477 Kevin Reimer Brewers

#488 Mike Lansing GOLD Expos

#517 Brooks Kieschnick Cubs

#539 Tim Salmon Angels

#562 Russ Springer Angels

#595 Darrell Sherman Padres

#616 Turk Wendell Cubs

#630 Darryl Kile No Hitter Astros

#653 Dodgers Checklist

Pack 4:
#331 Frank Viola Red Sox

#387 Erik Hanson Mariners

#397 Pat Kelly Yankees

#407 Dave Winfield Twins

#430 Bill Swift Giants

#492 Kevin Young Pirates

#503 Chad Kreuter Tigers

#513 Bo Jackson White Sox

#583 Paul Quantrill Red Sox

#533 Dave Nilsson Brewers

#603 Larry Luebbers Reds

#614 Carlos Delgardo Blue Jays

#616 Turk Wendell Cubs

#618 Raul Mondesi GOLD Dodgers

Pack 5:

#332 Ron Grant Braves

#361 David Segui Orioles

#410 Jack Armstrong Mariners

#440 Mark Whiten Cardinals

#495 Rafael Palmeiro Rangers

#506 Matt Davis Yankees

#514 Dennis Martinez Expos

#514 Dennis Martinez GOLD Expos

#545 Scott Leius Twins

#566 Bobby Munoz Yankees

#574 Jeff Granger Royals

#596 Steve Scarsone Giants

#618 Raul Mondesi Dodgers

#655 Yankees Checklist

The biggest disappointment about these packs, besides the fact that there was only 3 Red Sox, was the GOLD RUSH cards. I understand that these were released 15 years ago however the Gold Rush cards stuck to the card next to it, not unlike in the past when the gum stuck to cards. It then tore the foil from the surface. You can see on the Dennis Martinez card, that is not a bad scan, that is the little flecks of foil missing and in this case stuck to Bobby Munoz. This was the best Gold Rush Foil card, others were much worse. I did like the checklist idea, which was satellite photos of the stadiums long before Google Earth. Also the Manny card and his 'Fresh Prince' haircut is a beauty.

So should I complain about an average set made 15 years ago, probably not.

1995 Score Series 2 Baseball

Another couple of pack purchases that seemed like a good idea at the time.

The base set contains 605 cards.This was broken into series 1 and series 2.
There are inserts in Series 2: 18 Airmail, 12 Double gold champs, 110 Hall of Gold and 12 Rookie Dream Team.
There is a parallel set: Gold Rush.
There are 12 cards per pack.

Pack 1:

#332 Ryan Klesko Braves

#380 Al Martin Pirates

#404 Alex Cole Twins

#413 Royce Clayton Giants

#445 Manny Ramirez Indians

#458 Roger Salkeld Mariners

#480 Allen Watson Cardinals GOLD RUSH

#503 Norberto Martin White Sox

#544 Kirk McCaskill White Sox

#581 Duane Singleton Brewers

#572 Moises Alou Expos

#586 Nate Minchey Red Sox

Pack 2:

#336 Kevin Mitchell Reds

#408 Dennis Eckersley A's

#417 Pat Listach Brewers

#438 Jay Bell Pirates

#445 Manny Ramirez Indians !

#458 Roger Salked Mariners !

#466 Willie McGee Giants GOLD RUSH

#503 Norberto Martin White Sox !

#544 Kirk McCaskill White Sox !

#572 Moises Alou Expos !

#586 Nate Minchey Red Sox!

#592 Aaron Small Blue Jays !

Pack 3:

#336 Kevin Mitchell Reds !

#341 Travis Fryman Tigers

#374 Rene Arocha Cardinals

#377 Mark McGwire A's GOLD RUSH

#408 Dennis Eckersley A's !

#474 Juan Guzman Blue Jays

#479 Milt Thompson Phillies

#498 Ken Ryan Red Sox

#529 Duane Ward Blue Jays

#578 Robert Perez Blue Jays

#578 Robert Perez Blue Jays !

#603 Checklist

Pack 4:

#362 Jim Eisenreich Phillies

#387 Darrin Fletcher Expos

#420 Tim Salmon Angels

#439 Juan Gonzalez Rangers

#448 Gary DiSarcina Angels GOLD RUSH

#467 Doug Jones Phillies

#505 Howard Jones Rockies

#515 Billy Hatcher Phillies

#546 Sterling Hitchcock Yankees

#562 Barry Bonds Giants

#576 Ernie Young A's

#584 Dave Staton Padres

Pack 5:

#359 Lenny Harris Reds

#385 Chris Sabo Orioles

#423 Craig Biggio Astros GOLD RUSH

#425 Kenny Rogers Rangers

#435 Walt Weiss Rockies

#441 Rickey Henderson A's

#462 Luis Polonia Yankees

#482 Bernard Gilkey Cardinals

#487 Cory Snyder Dodgers

#492 Pat Rapp Marlins

#493 Brian McRae Royals

#519 Sandy Alomar Jr Indians

#535 Jeff Branson Reds

#592 Aaron Small Blue Jays

#595 Steve Dunn Twins

#563 Mo Vaughn Red Sox

Wow this was a real weird one. Firstly a poor selection of Red Sox 4 cards(inc 1 double). Secondly a pack full of doubles and thirdly, count the number of cards in the last pack ...16! That's right 16. I kid you not.

1995 Score 'Summit Edition'

There are 200 cards in the base, which includes 15 Bat speed, 5 Special delivery and 7 Checklists.

There are the inserts 200 Nth Degree, 20 Big Bangs, 15 New Age and 9 Club.

The pack:

#152 Steve Rodriguez Rookie Yankees

#182 Will Clark Bat Speed Rangers

#32 Kirby Puckett Twins

#29 Greg Colbrunn Marlins

#192 Mike Mussina Special Delivery Orioles

#97 Randy Johnson Mariners

#55 John Olerud Blue Jays

There is a big message on these cards about Be Strong. Don't do drugs. Then they go and name the inserts so they sound like some sort of drug.

Nth Degree, 21 Club, New Age and Big Bang. I mean come on! That is just careless!

There are no Red Sox in this packs, although confusingly a Red Sox uniform with a Yankees logo. Traded perhaps?