Manufacturer: Upper Deck
Set Size: 751 Cards
Card Size: 2-1/2” x 3-1/2”
Set Notes: The 1998 Upper Deck “Star Rookie” cards take on a very minimalist and clean look. A large player photo sits center with a painted or torn print look over the rich white boarder. They players name is held within a black oval shaped banner and a silver Upper Deck logo sits top left. Backs house a second player photo, stats and the anti-counterfeit hologram.
Key Rookies From 1998 Upper Deck: | 260 – Todd Helton | 276 – Jason Varitek | 285 – Paul Konerko
Pricing chart includes raw card price & some graded card value estimates.
These values are collated from a variety of resources including recently sold listings, sales averages and a variety of other sports card pricing data sources. Please see full disclaimer on “Terms Page” for more information. (Rookiecardprices.com only shows values for regular base set cards. No prices are shown for errors, parallels, subsets, misprints or other cards unless noted.)
DISCLAIMER: This data is not intended as financial advice and should not be used as such. Please do your own research before making any investment or selling/buying decisions. The use of any trademarked name, logo, or brand imagery on this website is strictly for card identification, historical reference, and descriptive market analysis purposes only.
(–) : No Pricing Data Available | ($) USD Price Value | (¢) USD Price Under $1
The Free 1998 Upper Deck Rookie Card Price Guide
Tracking the current market value for the 1998 Upper Deck Baseball Rookie Cards. Below, find updated pricing data for ungraded (raw) copies, as well as verified PSA graded sales trends collected from secondary marketplaces.
| Rookie | Card # | Raw | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Takashi Kashiwada | 161 | 50¢ | - | - |
| Mike DiFelice | 198 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Brett Tomko | 253 | 50¢ | - | - |
| Mark Kotsay | 254 | 50¢ | - | - |
| Jose Guillen | 255 | 50¢ | - | - |
| Eli Marrero | 256 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Dennis Reyes | 257 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Richie Sexson | 258 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Pat Cline | 259 | 50¢ | - | - |
| Todd Helton | 260 | $1 | $20 | $38 |
| Juan Melo | 261 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Matt Morris | 262 | 50¢ | - | - |
| Jeremi Gonzalez | 263 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Jeff Abbott | 264 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Aaron Boone | 265 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Todd Dunwoody | 266 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Jaret Wright | 267 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Derrick Gibson | 268 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Mario Valdez | 269 | 50¢ | - | - |
| Fernando Tatis | 270 | 50¢ | - | - |
| Craig Counsell | 271 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Brad Rigby | 272 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Danny Clyburn | 273 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Brian Rose | 274 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Miguel Tejada | 275 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Jason Varitek | 276 | $1 | $25 | $50 |
| Dave Dellucci | 277 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Michael Coleman | 278 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Adam Riggs | 279 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Ben Grieve | 280 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Brad Fullmer | 281 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Ken Cloude | 282 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Tom Evans | 283 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Kevin Millwood | 284 | $1 | - | $35 |
| Paul Konerko | 285 | $1 | $25 | $90 |
| Juan Encarnacion | 286 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Chris Carpenter | 287 | 50¢ | - | - |
| Tom Fordham | 288 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Dennis Springer | 294 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Frank Catalanotto | 372 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Carl Pavano | 541 | $1 | $20 | $40 |
| Shane Monahan | 542 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Gabe Kapler | 543 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Eric Milton | 544 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Gary Matthews, Jr. | 545 | 75¢ | - | - |
| Mike Kinkade | 546 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Ryan Christenson | 547 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Corey Koskie | 548 | $1 | - | - |
| Norm Hutchins | 549 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Russell Branyan | 550 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Masato Yoshii | 551 | 50¢ | - | - |
| Jesus Sanchez | 552 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Anthony Sanders | 553 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Edwin Diaz | 554 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Gabe Alvarez | 555 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Carlos Lee | 556 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Mike Darr | 557 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Kerry Wood | 558 | $1 | $15 | $50 |
| Carlos Guillen | 559 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Sean Casey | 560 | 75¢ | - | - |
| Manny Aybar | 561 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Octavio Dotel | 562 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Jarrod Washburn | 563 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Mark L. Johnson | 564 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Ramon Hernandez | 565 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Rich Butler | 566 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Mike Caruso | 567 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Cliff Politte | 568 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Scott Elarton | 569 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Magglio Ordonez | 570 | 75¢ | - | $10 |
| Adam Butler | 571 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Marlon Anderson | 572 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Julio Ramirez | 573 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Darron Ingram | 574 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Bruce Chen | 575 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Steve Woodard | 576 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Hiram Bocachica | 577 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Kevin Witt | 578 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Javier Vazquez | 579 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Alex Gonzalez | 580 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Brian Powell | 581 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Wes Helms | 582 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Ron Wright | 583 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Rafael Medina | 584 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Daryle Ward | 585 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Geoff Jenkins | 586 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Preston Wilson | 587 | 50¢ | - | - |
| Jim Chamblee | 588 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Mike Lowell | 589 | 75¢ | - | $10 |
| A.J. Hinch | 590 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Francisco Cordero | 591 | 75¢ | - | $10 |
| Rolando Arrojo | 592 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Braden Looper | 593 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Sidney Ponson | 594 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Matt Clement | 595 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Carlton Loewer | 596 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Brian Meadows | 597 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Danny Klassen | 598 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Larry Sutton | 599 | 25¢ | - | - |
| Travis Lee | 600 | 50¢ | - | - |
| Data Updated: August 2026 | ||||
Overview of 1998 Upper Deck Baseball Cards
1998 Upper Deck built on the game-used breakthrough of the year prior, leaning heavily into high-concept insert design, expanded multi-series distribution, and short-printed parallels.
The Base Set Checklist & Structure: Upper Deck expanded its traditional rollout into a 751-card master checklist split across three distinct series.
- Series 1 (#1–270): Heavy focus on core veterans and seasonal highlights.
- Series 2 (#271–540): Extended veteran coverage and trade updates.
- Series 3 / “Rookie Edition” (#541–750): Dedicated heavily to prospective talent and late-season call-ups, featuring a 60-card Star Rookie subset block.
Note: Card #681 features a famous short-print variation depicting Mike Piazza—one as a Florida Marlin and one as a New York Met following his whirlwind mid-season trade.
The Base Set Design: The 1998 set returned to a full-bleed borderless aesthetic with deep, high-contrast action photography. The “Star Rookie” cards feature a rich white boarded and minimalist fonts.
The top left or right corner is anchored by a sharp silver-foil Upper Deck logo. The player’s name is stamped in a minimalist vertical script along the side margin over black. The reverse side retained Upper Deck’s signature dual-photo layout and anti-counterfeiting hologram embedded at the bottom.
Notable Rookies: Because Series 3 was branded specifically as the Rookie Edition, the set acts as a key home for several late-90s debut cards.
Jason Varitek (#276), Mike Lowell (#589), Paul Konerko (#285), and Kerry Wood (#558) headline the Star Rookie subset.
Subsets: Subsets woven into the base checklist include History in the Making, Season Highlights, Postseason Headliners, and Eminent Prestige (printed on foilboard cardstock).
Parallels & Low-Print Run Variants: Upper Deck stepped up its parallel program in 1998 with two key chase offerings.
- Eminent Prestige (#601–630): Inserted 1:4 packs in Series 3, these parallels featured a distinctive foilboard upgrade for select top stars.
- Unparalleled: A striking parallel set utilizing intricate die-cut borders and vivid refractive surfaces, inserted at tough odds (1:72 packs).
Core Inserts & Game-Used Chases:
- Destination Stardom: 1:5 packs (Series 3) Acetate-accented insert tracking top rising prospects and stars.
- All-Star Credentials: 1:9 packs Dedicated to top performers and fan favorites with die-cut variants.
- Retrospectives: 1:24 packs Die-cut inserts featuring brightly colored fronts, with the player’s original Upper Deck rookie card printed on the back.
- Game Jersey: Extremely Rare The continuation of the legendary game-worn jersey program introduced in 1997, featuring rare swatch cards and ultra-scarce hand-numbered autographed jersey variants (such as Ken Griffey Jr. numbered to 24).
(Rookiecardprices.com only shows values for regular base set cards. No prices are shown for errors, parallels, subsets, misprints or other cards unless noted.)
Popular Baseball Rookie Cards From 1998 Upper Deck
