1996 Leaf
Description
1996 Leaf was a 220-card set released in May, 1996. For the first time, Leaf was released as a single-series. The main selling point was the large number of serial-numbered inserts in this set, which was a point of focus and emphasize by card companies during this time period.
Distribution
There were three different products of 1996 Leaf Baseball:
Hobby Box - 30 Packs.
Retail Box Version 1 - 36 Packs.
Retail Box Version 2 - 24 Packs.
The marketing purpose behind the smaller 24-pack/box production is not clear. It was not a "jumbo" version, as these packs held the same number of cards as the larger Retail product.
Insertion Ratios
| Cards | Total Cards | Numbered To | Hobby Odds | Retail Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | 220 | - | ? | ? |
| Bronze Press Proof | 220 | 2000 | 1:10 | 1:10 |
| Silver Press Proof | 220 | 1000 | 1:10 | 1:10 |
| Gold Press Proof | 220 | 500 | 1:10 | 1:10 |
| MVP Contenders | 20 | - | 1:8 | 1:8 |
| 22K Gold Leaf Stars | 15 | 2500 | 1:190 | 1:190 |
| Hats Off | 8 | 5000 | N/A | 1:72 |
| Picture Perfect | 12 | 5000 | 1:140 | 1:140 |
| Statistical Standouts | 8 | 2500 | 1:210 | N/A |
| Total Bases | 12 | 5000 | 1:72 | N/A |
| Frank Thomas Greatest Hits | 7 | 5000 | 1:210 | 1:210 |
Checklist
Base Set
- 1 John Smoltz
- 2 Dennis Eckersley
- 3 Delino DeShields
- 4 Cliff Floyd
- 5 Chuck Finley
- 6 Cecil Fielder
- 7 Tim Naehring
- 8 Carlos Perez
- 9 Brad Ausmus
- 10 Matt Lawton RC
- 11 Alan Trammell
- 12 Steve Finley
- 13 Paul O'Neill
- 14 Gary Sheffield
- 15 Mark McGwire
- 16 Bernie Williams
- 17 Jeff Montgomery
- 18 Chan Ho Park
- 19 Greg Vaughn
- 20 Jeff Kent
- 21 Cal Ripken, Jr.
- 22 Charles Johnson
- 23 Eric Karros
- 24 Alex Rodriguez
- 25 Chris Snopek
- 26 Jason Isringhausen
- 27 Chili Davis
- 28 Chipper Jones
- 29 Bret Saberhagen
- 30 Tony Clark
- 31 Marty Cordova
- 32 Dwayne Hosey
- 33 Fred McGriff
- 34 Deion Sanders
- 35 Orlando Merced
- 36 Brady Anderson
- 37 Ray Lankford
- 38 Manny Ramirez
- 39 Alex Fernandez
- 40 Greg Colbrunn
- 41 Ken Griffey, Jr.
- 42 Mickey Morandini
- 43 Chuck Knoblauch
- 44 Quinton McCracken
- 45 Tim Salmon
- 46 Jose Mesa
- 47 Marquis Grissom
- 48 Greg Maddux / Randy Johnson CL
- 49 Raul Mondesi
- 50 Mark Grudzielanek
- 51 Ray Durham
- 52 Matt Williams
- 53 Bob Hamelin
- 54 Lenny Dykstra
- 55 Jeff King
- 56 LaTroy Hawkins
- 57 Terry Pendleton
- 58 Kevin Stocker
- 59 Ozzie Timmons
- 60 Dave Justice
- 61 Ricky Bottalico
- 62 Andy Ashby
- 63 Larry Walker
- 64 Jose Canseco
- 65 Bret Boone
- 66 Shawn Green
- 67 Chad Curtis
- 68 Travis Fryman
- 69 Roger Clemens
- 70 David Bell
- 71 Rusty Greer
- 72 Bob Higginson
- 73 Joey Hamilton
- 74 Kevin Seitzer
- 75 Julian Tavarez
- 76 Troy Percival
- 77 Kirby Puckett
- 78 Barry Bonds
- 79 Michael Tucker
- 80 Paul Molitor
- 81 Carlos Garcia
- 82 Johnny Damon
- 83 Mike Hampton
- 84 Ariel Prieto
- 85 Tony Tarasco
- 86 Pete Schourek
- 87 Tom Glavine
- 88 Rondell White
- 89 Jim Edmonds
- 90 Robby Thompson
- 91 Wade Boggs
- 92 Pedro Martinez
- 93 Gregg Jefferies
- 94 Albert Belle
- 95 Benji Gil
- 96 Denny Neagle
- 97 Mark Langston
- 98 Sandy Alomar
- 99 Tony Gwynn
- 100 Todd Hundley
- 101 Dante Bichette
- 102 Eddie Murray
- 103 Lyle Mouton
- 104 John Jaha
- 105 Barry Larkin / Mo Vaughn CL
- 106 Jon Nunnally
- 107 Juan Gonzalez
- 108 Kevin Appier
- 109 Brian McRae
- 110 Lee Smith
- 111 Tim Wakefield
- 112 Sammy Sosa
- 113 Jay Buhner
- 114 Garret Anderson
- 115 Edgar Martinez
- 116 Edgardo Alfonzo
- 117 Billy Ashley
- 118 Joe Carter
- 119 Javy Lopez
- 120 Bobby Bonilla
- 121 Ken Caminiti
- 122 Barry Larkin
- 123 Shannon Stewart
- 124 Orel Hershiser
- 125 Jeff Conine
- 126 Mark Grace
- 127 Kenny Lofton
- 128 Luis Gonzalez
- 129 Rico Brogna
- 130 Mo Vaughn
- 131 Brad Radke
- 132 Jose Herrera
- 133 Rick Aguilera
- 134 Gary DiSarcina
- 135 Andres Galarraga
- 136 Carl Everett
- 137 Steve Avery
- 138 Vinny Castilla
- 139 Dennis Martinez
- 140 John Wetteland
- 141 Alex Gonzalez
- 142 Brian Jordan
- 143 Todd Hollandsworth
- 144 Terrell Wade
- 145 Wilson Alvarez
- 146 Reggie Sanders
- 147 Will Clark
- 148 Hideo Nomo
- 149 J.T. Snow
- 150 Frank Thomas
- 151 Ivan Rodriguez
- 152 Jay Bell
- 153 Hideo Nomo / Marty Cordova CL
- 154 David Cone
- 155 Roberto Alomar
- 156 Carlos Delgado
- 157 Carlos Baerga
- 158 Geronimo Berroa
- 159 Joe Vitiello
- 160 Terry Steinbach
- 161 Doug Drabek
- 162 David Segui
- 163 Ozzie Smith
- 164 Kurt Abbott
- 165 Randy Johnson
- 166 John Valentin
- 167 Mickey Tettleton
- 168 Ruben Sierra
- 169 Jim Thome
- 170 Mike Greenwell
- 171 Quilvio Veras
- 172 Robin Ventura
- 173 Bill Pulsipher
- 174 Rafael Palmeiro
- 175 Hal Morris
- 176 Ryan Klesko
- 177 Eric Young
- 178 Shane Andrews
- 179 Brian L. Hunter
- 180 Brett Butler
- 181 John Olerud
- 182 Moises Alou
- 183 Glenallen Hill
- 184 Ismael Valdes
- 185 Andy Pettitte
- 186 Yamil Benitez
- 187 Jason Bere
- 188 Dean Palmer
- 189 Jimmy Haynes
- 190 Trevor Hoffman
- 191 Mike Mussina
- 192 Greg Maddux
- 193 Ozzie Guillen
- 194 Pat Listach
- 195 Derek Bell
- 196 Darren Daulton
- 197 John Mabry
- 198 Ramon Martinez
- 199 Jeff Bagwell
- 200 Mike Piazza
- 201 Al Martin
- 202 Aaron Sele
- 203 Ed Sprague
- 204 Rod Beck
- 205 Tony Gwynn / Edgar Martinez CL
- 206 Mike Lansing
- 207 Craig Biggio
- 208 Jeffrey Hammonds
- 209 Dave Nilsson
- 210 Dante Bichette / Albert Belle CL
- 211 Derek Jeter
- 212 Alan Benes
- 213 Jason Schmidt
- 214 Alex Ochoa
- 215 Ruben Rivera
- 216 Roger Cedeno
- 217 Jeff Suppan
- 218 Billy Wagner
- 219 Mark Loretta
- 220 Karim Garcia
Parallels
Press Proof
All Press Proof parallels were randomly inserted at the rate of 1:10 packs. There were three versions:
- Bronze (limited to 2000 copies)
File:96BPPf.jpgFile:96BPPb.jpg
- Silver (limited to 1000 copies)
File:96SPPf.jpgFile:96SPPb.jpg
- Gold (limited to 500 copies)
File:96GPPf.jpgFile:96GPPb.jpg
Each Press Proof featured holographic foil on the area of the card that was shaded to each player's specific team color. The "Leaf '96" logo in this area was stamped in either Gold, Silver, or Bronze foil for distinction. However, these cards were not serial-numbered and the words "Press Proof" did not appear anywhere on the card.
Inserts
All-Star Game MVP Contenders
- Regular
- Gold (redeemed)
This 20 card set featured possible contenders for the MVP at the 1996 All-Star Game held in Philadelphia. If the player on the front of the card won the MVP Award (which turned out to be Mike Piazza), the holder could send it in for one of 5000 Gold MVP Contenders sets. The backs of each card had instructions on how to redeem the card. The Piazza card when returned with the redemption set had a hole in it to indicate the set had been redeemed.
Curiously, the backs of the Gold cards have the same information on how to redeem winning cards.
- 1 Frank Thomas
- 2 Mike Piazza
- 3 Sammy Sosa
- 4 Cal Ripken, Jr.
- 5 Jeff Bagwell
- 6 Reggie Sanders
- 7 Mo Vaughn
- 8 Tony Gwynn
- 9 Dante Bichette
- 10 Tim Salmon
- 11 Chipper Jones
- 12 Kenny Lofton
- 13 Manny Ramirez
- 14 Barry Bonds
- 15 Raul Mondesi
- 16 Kirby Puckett
- 17 Albert Belle
- 18 Ken Griffey, Jr.
- 19 Greg Maddux
- 20 Bonus Card
Gold Stars
This 15-card set honored some of the games great players on 22-karat gold trim cards. Only 2500 serial-numbered cards of each player were printed.
- 1 Frank Thomas
- 2 Dante Bichette
- 3 Sammy Sosa
- 4 Ken Griffey, Jr.
- 5 Mike Piazza
- 6 Tim Salmon
- 7 Hideo Nomo
- 8 Cal Ripken, Jr.
- 9 Chipper Jones
- 10 Albert Belle
- 11 Tony Gwynn
- 12 Mo Vaughn
- 13 Barry Larkin
- 14 Manny Ramirez
- 15 Greg Maddux
Hats Off
This eight-card set was printed and embossed on a wool-like material with the feel of a Major League ball cap. Only 5000 serial-numbered copies of each card were produced and they were exclusive to retail packs only.
- 1 Cal Ripken, Jr.
- 2 Barry Larkin
- 3 Frank Thomas
- 4 Mo Vaughn
- 5 Ken Griffey, Jr.
- 6 Hideo Nomo
- 7 Albert Belle
- 8 Greg Maddux
Picture Perfect
This 12-card set was printed on real wood with gold foil trim. Cards 1-6 were exclusive to hobby packs, with cards 7-12 exclusive to retail packs. Only 5000 serial-numbered copies of each card were printed.
One of twelve different Picture Perfect Promo cards were also inserted into 1996 Leaf dealer order forms and hobby media press releases. The cards were identical to the standard Picture Perfect inserts except for the text "promotional card" running diagonally across the front of the card and "PROMO/5000" text on back.
- 1 Frank Thomas
- 2 Cal Ripken, Jr.
- 3 Greg Maddux
- 4 Manny Ramirez
- 5 Chipper Jones
- 6 Tony Gwynn
- 7 Ken Griffey, Jr.
- 8 Albert Belle
- 9 Jeff Bagwell
- 10 Mike Piazza
- 11 Mo Vaughn
- 12 Barry Bonds
Statistical Standouts
Exclusive to Hobby packs, this eight-card set featured players who stood out statistically. The cards were printed on a material with the feel of the leather between the seams of a baseball. Only 2500 serial-numbered copies of each card were printed.
- 1 Cal Ripken, Jr.
- 2 Tony Gwynn
- 3 Frank Thomas
- 4 Ken Griffey, Jr.
- 5 Hideo Nomo
- 6 Greg Maddux
- 7 Albert Belle
- 8 Chipper Jones
Total Bases
This 12-card, hobby exclusive set was printed on canvas and featured the top offensive stars. Only 5000 serial-numbered copies of each card were produced.
One of twelve different Total Bases Promo cards were inserted into 1996 Leaf dealer order forms and hobby media press releases. The cards were identical to the standard Total Bases inserts except for the text "promotional card" running diagonally across the front of the card and "PROMO/5000" text on back.
- 1 Frank Thomas
- 2 Albert Belle
- 3 Rafael Palmeiro
- 4 Barry Bonds
- 5 Kirby Puckett
- 6 Joe Carter
- 7 Paul Molitor
- 8 Fred McGriff
- 9 Ken Griffey, Jr.
- 10 Carlos Baerga
- 11 Juan Gonzalez
- 12 Cal Ripken, Jr.
Frank Thomas Greatest Hits
This eight-card set featured the statistical highlights of Frank Thomas. The cards are printed on acetate and were die-cut to look like a compact disc. Cards 1-4 were randomly inserted into hobby packs, 5-7 in retail packs, and card #8 was made available through a wrapper redemption offer. Each card was serial-numbered to 5000 copies.
- 1 Frank Thomas Hobby
- 2 Frank Thomas Hobby
- 3 Frank Thomas Hobby
- 4 Frank Thomas Hobby
- 5 Frank Thomas Retail
- 6 Frank Thomas Retail
- 7 Frank Thomas Retail
- 8 Frank Thomas EXCH