1997 Metal Universe Baseball sends the game’s stars back into space for a second time to battle more aliens, break stuff and learn how to play the game with a tornado on one’s hand. Yes, this is a weird set and anything but traditional. And for many, that’s the point and the appeal.
1997 Metal Universe Baseball Base Set Basics
The base set sticks with 250 cards. This is the same as the brand’s 1996 debut (or evolution from Fleer Metal). Mixing sports and sci-fi, cards highlight comic book-inspired situations. Players are depicted using photos but everything else around them is an illustration. But it’s not baseball as usual. It’s more like the video game Super Baseball 2020 converted into cards and with real people instead of robots.
But there are robots. And monsters. And lots of alien landscapes. All of this is done with etched foil, which gives cards a very different look than the usual glossy or even flat foil. If a baseball card set was to ever inspire an airbrushed painting on the side of an old van, this would be the one.
Backs are similar to the previous year. The replicate a futuristic screen with a second photo and not a lot of info. Although close to 1996, the design elements are different.
1997 Metal Universe Baseball does not have any parallels. Its basketball counterpart that year would introduce Precious Metal Gems.
Inserts
Chase sets use a variety of technologies and formats. They’re definitely a step up in that direction from 1996.
Platinum Portraits (12 cards, 1:36 packs) go from being a plain foil set to one that does players’ faces entirely with etched foil. Done as close-ups, the look is similar to faces on dollar bills only on baseball cards and with foil.
Another returning set is Mother Lode. At 1:288, these intricately die-cut cards are also the toughest cards in the product that don’t have autographs.
Defensive stars are the subject of Magnetic Field. These ten cards (1:12 packs) have a dotted background.
Mining for Gold has ten young players using a die-cut design. At 1:9 packs, these are the easiest inserts in 1997 Metal Universe Baseball.
Blast Furnace is a hobby-exclusive set. It has a dozen players, all of whom are known for their power. These inserts are printed on acetate, giving them a clear look. These land 1:48 packs, or every other box.
As far as retail-only inserts go, there’s Titanium (ten cards, 1:24 packs). These are die-cut and have some embossing.
Autographs do make an appearance in 1997 Metal Universe. All six Emerald Autographs were included in packs in the form of redemptions at a rate of 1:480 packs. At first glance, they’re essentially base cards with the added signatures. However, there are a couple of other subtle differences. On the front, the “Emerald” shows up in the nameplate. The color here is green. instead of the usual silver. On the back, numbers are replaced by an autograph note. Cards also have an embossed Fleer/SkyBox stamp.
1997 Metal Universe Baseball cards at a glance:
Check 1997 Metal Universe Baseball values in the Beckett Price Guide.
Cards per pack: Hobby – 8, Retail – 8
Packs per box: Hobby – 24, Retail – 16, 18 and 20
Set size: 250 cards
Release date: May 14, 1997
Buy 1997 Metal Universe Baseball boxes on eBay.
1997 Metal Universe Baseball Checklist
Base
Base Set Checklist
250 cards.
Buy on:
1 Roberto Alomar
2 Brady Anderson
3 Rocky Coppinger
4 Chris Hoiles
5 Eddie Murray
6 Mike Mussina
7 Rafael Palmeiro
8 Cal Ripken
9 B.J. Surhoff
10 Brant Brown
11 Mark Grace
12 Brian McRae
13 Jaime Navarro
14 Ryne Sandberg
15 Sammy Sosa
16 Amaury Telemaco
17 Steve Trachsel
18 Darren Bragg
19 Jose Canseco
20 Roger Clemens
21 Nomar Garciaparra
22 Tom Gordon
23 Tim Naehring
24 Mike Stanley
25 John Valentin
26 Mo Vaughn
27 Jermaine Dye
28 Tom Glavine
29 Marquis Grissom
30 Andruw Jones
31 Chipper Jones
32 Ryan Klesko
33 Greg Maddux
34 Fred McGriff
35 John Smoltz
36 Garret Anderson
37 George Arias
38 Gary DiSarcina
39 Jim Edmonds
40 Darin Erstad
41 Chuck Finley
42 Troy Percival
43 Tim Salmon
44 Bret Boone
45 Jeff Brantley
46 Eric Davis
47 Barry Larkin
48 Hal Morris
49 Mark Portugal
50 Reggie Sanders
51 John Smiley
52 Wilson Alvarez
53 Harold Baines
54 James Baldwin
55 Albert Belle (in Cleveland uniform)
56 Mike Cameron
57 Ray Durham
58 Alex Fernandez
59 Roberto Hernandez
60 Tony Phillips
61 Frank Thomas
62 Robin Ventura
63 Jeff Cirillo
64 Jeff D’Amico
65 John Jaha
66 Scott Karl
67 Ben McDonald
68 Marc Newfield
69 Dave Nilsson
70 Jose Valentin
71 Dante Bichette
72 Ellis Burks
73 Vinny Castilla
74 Andres Galarraga
75 Kevin Ritz
76 Larry Walker
77 Walt Weiss
78 Jamey Wright
79 Eric Young
80 Julio Franco
81 Orel Hershiser
82 Kenny Lofton
83 Jack McDowell
84 Jose Mesa
85 Charles Nagy
86 Manny Ramirez
87 Jim Thome
88 Omar Vizquel
89 Matt Williams (in San Francisco uniform)
90 Kevin Appier
91 Johnny Damon
92 Chili Davis (in Anaheim uniform)
93 Tom Goodwin
94 Keith Lockhart
95 Jeff Montgomery
96 Craig Paquette
97 Jose Rosado
98 Michael Tucker
99 Wilton Guerrero
100 Todd Hollandsworth
101 Eric Karros
102 Ramon Martinez
103 Raul Mondesi
104 Hideo Nomo
105 Mike Piazza
106 Ismael Valdes
107 Todd Worrell
108 Tony Clark
109 Travis Fryman
110 Bob Higginson
111 Mark Lewis
112 Melvin Nieves
113 Justin Thompson
114 Wade Boggs
115 David Cone
116 Cecil Fielder
117 Dwight Gooden
118 Derek Jeter
119 Tino Martinez
120 Paul O’Neill
121 Andy Pettitte
122 Mariano Rivera
123 Darryl Strawberry
124 John Wetteland
125 Bernie Williams
126 Tony Batista
127 Geronimo Berroa
128 Scott Brosius
129 Jason Giambi
130 Jose Herrera
131 Mark McGwire
132 John Wasdin
133 Bob Abreu
134 Jeff Bagwell
135 Derek Bell
136 Craig Biggio
137 Brian Hunter
138 Darryl Kile
139 Orlando Miller
140 Shane Reynolds
141 Billy Wagner
142 Donne Wall
143 Jay Buhner
144 Jeff Fassero
145 Ken Griffey Jr.
146 Sterling Hitchcock
147 Randy Johnson
148 Edgar Martinez
149 Alex Rodriguez
150 Paul Sorrento
151 Dan Wilson
152 Moises Alou
153 Darrin Fletcher
154 Cliff Floyd
155 Mark Grudzielanek
156 Vladimir Guerrero
157 Mike Lansing
158 Pedro Martinez
159 Henry Rodriguez
160 Rondell White
161 Will Clark
162 Juan Gonzalez
163 Rusty Greer
164 Ken Hill
165 Mark McLemore
166 Dean Palmer
167 Roger Pavlik
168 Ivan Rodriguez
169 Mickey Tettleton
170 Bobby Bonilla (Baltimore uniform)
171 Kevin Brown
172 Greg Colbrunn
173 Jeff Conine
174 Jim Eisenreich (Philadelphia uniform)
175 Charles Johnson
176 Al Leiter
177 Robb Nen
178 Edgar Renteria
179 Gary Sheffield
180 Devon White
181 Joe Carter
182 Carlos Delgado
183 Alex Gonzalez
184 Shawn Green
185 Juan Guzman
186 Pat Hentgen
187 Orlando Merced
188 John Olerud
189 Robert Perez
190 Ed Sprague
191 Mark Clark
192 John Franco
193 Bernard Gilkey
194 Todd Hundley
195 Lance Johnson
196 Bobby Jones
197 Alex Ochoa
198 Rey Ordonez
199 Paul Wilson
200 Ricky Bottalico
201 Gregg Jefferies
202 Wendell Magee
203 Mickey Morandini
204 Ricky Otero
205 Scott Rolen
206 Benito Santiago
207 Curt Schilling
208 Rich Becker
209 Marty Cordova
210 Chuck Knoblauch
211 Pat Meares
212 Paul Molitor
213 Frank Rodriguez
214 Terry Steinbach
215 Todd Walker
216 Andy Ashby
217 Ken Caminiti
218 Steve Finley
219 Tony Gwynn
220 Joey Hamilton
221 Rickey Henderson
222 Trevor Hoffman
223 Wally Joyner
224 Scott Sanders
225 Fernando Valenzuela
226 Greg Vaughn
227 Alan Benes
228 Andy Benes
229 Dennis Eckersley
230 Ron Gant
231 Brian Jordan
232 Ray Lankford
233 John Mabry
234 Tom Pagnozzi
235 Todd Stottlemyre
236 Jermaine Allensworth
237 Francisco Cordova
238 Jason Kendall
239 Jeff King
240 Al Martin
241 Rod Beck
242 Barry Bonds
243 Shawn Estes
244 Mark Gardner
245 Glenallen Hill
246 Bill Mueller RC
247 J.T. Snow
248 Checklist (1-107)
249 Checklist (108-207)
250 Checklist (208-250, inserts)
Autographs
1997 Metal Universe Baseball Autographs Checklists
Emerald Autographs Checklist
6 cards.
1:480 packs.
All distributed by redemption and has a corresponding redemption cards.
Buy on:
Darin Erstad
Todd Hollandsworth
Alex Ochoa
Alex Rodriguez
Scott Rolen
Todd Walker
Inserts
1997 Metal Universe Baseball Inserts Checklists
Blast Furnace Checklist
12 cards.
1:48 hobby packs.
Buy on:
1 Jeff Bagwell
2 Albert Belle
3 Barry Bonds
4 Andres Galarraga
5 Juan Gonzalez
6 Ken Griffey Jr.
7 Todd Hundley
8 Mark McGwire
9 Mike Piazza
10 Alex Rodriguez
11 Frank Thomas
12 Mo Vaughn
Magnetic Field Checklist
10 cards.
1:12 packs.
Buy on:
1 Roberto Alomar
2 Jeff Bagwell
3 Barry Bonds
4 Ken Griffey Jr.
5 Derek Jeter
6 Kenny Lofton
7 Edgar Renteria
8 Cal Ripken
9 Alex Rodriguez
10 Matt Williams (San Francisco uniform)
Mining for Gold Checklist
10 cards.
1:9 packs.
Buy on:
1 Bob Abreu
2 Kevin Brown
3 Nomar Garciaparra
4 Vladimir Guerrero
5 Wilton Guerrero
6 Andruw Jones
7 Curt Lyons
8 Neifi Perez
9 Scott Rolen
10 Todd Walker
Mother Lode Checklist
12 cards.
1:288 packs.
Buy on:
1 Roberto Alomar
2 Jeff Bagwell
3 Barry Bonds
4 Ken Griffey Jr.
5 Andruw Jones
6 Chipper Jones
7 Kenny Lofton
8 Mike Piazza
9 Cal Ripken
10 Alex Rodriguez
11 Frank Thomas
12 Matt Williams
Platinum Portraits Checklist
12 cards.
1:36 packs.
Buy on:
1 James Baldwin
2 Jermaine Dye
3 Todd Hollandsworth
4 Derek Jeter
5 Chipper Jones
6 Jason Kendall
7 Rey Ordonez
8 Andy Pettitte
9 Edgar Renteria
10 Alex Rodriguez
Titanium Checklist
10 cards.
1:24 retail packs.
Buy on:
1 Jeff Bagwell
2 Albert Belle
3 Ken Griffey Jr.
4 Chipper Jones
5 Greg Maddux
6 Mark McGwire
7 Mike Piazza
8 Cal Ripken
9 Alex Rodriguez
10 Frank Thomas
Promo Cards
Buy on:
149 Alex Rodriguez
Team Sets
1997 Metal Universe Baseball Team Set Checklists
Want to know what cards your favorite team has in 1997 Metal Universe Baseball? Here’s the checklist broken down by team. Scroll through or click below to go directly to that team.
Anaheim Angels
Atlanta Braves
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
Chicago Cubs
Chicago White Sox
Cincinnati Reds
Cleveland Indians
Colorado Rockies
Detroit Tigers
Florida Marlins
Houston Astros
Kansas City Royals
Los Angeles Dodgers
Miami Marlins
Milwaukee Brewers
Minnesota Twins
Montreal Expos
New York Mets
New York Yankees
Oakland Athletics
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants
Seattle Mariners
St. Louis Cardinals
Tampa Bay Rays
Texas Rangers
Toronto Blue Jays
1997 Metal Universe Baseball Anaheim Angels Checklist
36 Garret Anderson
37 George Arias
38 Gary DiSarcina
39 Jim Edmonds
40 Darin Erstad
41 Chuck Finley
42 Troy Percival
43 Tim Salmon
Emerald Autographs
Darin Erstad
1997 Metal Universe Baseball Atlanta Braves Checklist
27 Jermaine Dye
28 Tom Glavine
29 Marquis Grissom
30 Andruw Jones
31 Chipper Jones
32 Ryan Klesko
33 Greg Maddux
34 Fred McGriff
35 John Smoltz
Mining for Gold
6 Andruw Jones
Mother Lode
5 Andruw Jones
6 Chipper Jones
Platinum Portraits
5 Chipper Jones
Titanium
4 Chipper Jones
5 Greg Maddux
1997 Metal Universe Baseball Baltimore Orioles Checklist
1 Roberto Alomar
2 Brady Anderson
3 Rocky Coppinger
4 Chris Hoiles
5 Eddie Murray
6 Mike Mussina
7 Rafael Palmeiro
8 Cal Ripken
9 B.J. Surhoff
Magnetic Field
1 Roberto Alomar
8 Cal Ripken
Mother Lode
1 Roberto Alomar
9 Cal Ripken
Titanium
8 Cal Ripken
Boston Red Sox Checklist
18 Darren Bragg
19 Jose Canseco
20 Roger Clemens
21 Nomar Garciaparra
22 Tom Gordon
23 Tim Naehring
24 Mike Stanley
25 John Valentin
26 Mo Vaughn
Blast Furnace
12 Mo Vaughn
Mining for Gold
3 Nomar Garciaparra
Chicago Cubs Checklist
10 Brant Brown
11 Mark Grace
12 Brian McRae
13 Jaime Navarro
14 Ryne Sandberg
15 Sammy Sosa
16 Amaury Telemaco
17 Steve Trachsel
Chicago White Sox Checklist
52 Wilson Alvarez
53 Harold Baines
54 James Baldwin
55 Albert Belle (in Cleveland uniform)
56 Mike Cameron
57 Ray Durham
58 Alex Fernandez
59 Roberto Hernandez
60 Tony Phillips
61 Frank Thomas
62 Robin Ventura
Blast Furnace
2 Albert Belle
11 Frank Thomas
Mother Lode
11 Frank Thomas
Platinum Portraits
1 James Baldwin
Titanium
2 Albert Belle
10 Frank Thomas
Cincinnati Reds Checklist
44 Bret Boone
45 Jeff Brantley
46 Eric Davis
47 Barry Larkin
48 Hal Morris
49 Mark Portugal
50 Reggie Sanders
51 John Smiley
Mining for Gold
7 Curt Lyons
Cleveland Indians Checklist
80 Julio Franco
81 Orel Hershiser
82 Kenny Lofton
83 Jack McDowell
84 Jose Mesa
85 Charles Nagy
86 Manny Ramirez
87 Jim Thome
88 Omar Vizquel
89 Matt Williams (in San Francisco uniform)
Magnetic Field
6 Kenny Lofton
10 Matt Williams (San Francisco uniform)
Mother Lode
7 Kenny Lofton
Colorado Rockies Checklist
71 Dante Bichette
72 Ellis Burks
73 Vinny Castilla
74 Andres Galarraga
75 Kevin Ritz
76 Larry Walker
77 Walt Weiss
78 Jamey Wright
79 Eric Young
Blast Furnace
4 Andres Galarraga
Mining for Gold
8 Neifi Perez
Detroit Tigers Checklist
108 Tony Clark
109 Travis Fryman
110 Bob Higginson
111 Mark Lewis
112 Melvin Nieves
113 Justin Thompson
Florida Marlins Checklist
170 Bobby Bonilla (Baltimore uniform)
171 Kevin Brown
172 Greg Colbrunn
173 Jeff Conine
174 Jim Eisenreich (Philadelphia uniform)
175 Charles Johnson
176 Al Leiter
177 Robb Nen
178 Edgar Renteria
179 Gary Sheffield
180 Devon White
Magnetic Field
7 Edgar Renteria
Platinum Portraits
9 Edgar Renteria
Houston Astros Checklist
133 Bob Abreu
134 Jeff Bagwell
135 Derek Bell
136 Craig Biggio
137 Brian Hunter
138 Darryl Kile
139 Orlando Miller
140 Shane Reynolds
141 Billy Wagner
142 Donne Wall
Blast Furnace
1 Jeff Bagwell
Magnetic Field
2 Jeff Bagwell
Mining for Gold
1 Bob Abreu
Mother Lode
2 Jeff Bagwell
Titanium
1 Jeff Bagwell
Kansas City Royals Checklist
90 Kevin Appier
91 Johnny Damon
92 Chili Davis (in Anaheim uniform)
93 Tom Goodwin
94 Keith Lockhart
95 Jeff Montgomery
96 Craig Paquette
97 Jose Rosado
98 Michael Tucker
Platinum Portraits
2 Jermaine Dye
Los Angeles Dodgers Checklist
99 Wilton Guerrero
100 Todd Hollandsworth
101 Eric Karros
102 Ramon Martinez
103 Raul Mondesi
104 Hideo Nomo
105 Mike Piazza
106 Ismael Valdes
107 Todd Worrell
Blast Furnace
9 Mike Piazza
Emerald Autographs
Todd Hollandsworth
Mining for Gold
5 Wilton Guerrero
Mother Lode
8 Mike Piazza
Platinum Portraits
3 Todd Hollandsworth
Titanium
7 Mike Piazza
Milwaukee Brewers Checklist
63 Jeff Cirillo
64 Jeff D’Amico
65 John Jaha
66 Scott Karl
67 Ben McDonald
68 Marc Newfield
69 Dave Nilsson
70 Jose Valentin
Minnesota Twins Checklist
208 Rich Becker
209 Marty Cordova
210 Chuck Knoblauch
211 Pat Meares
212 Paul Molitor
213 Frank Rodriguez
214 Terry Steinbach
215 Todd Walker
Emerald Autographs
Todd Walker
Mining for Gold
10 Todd Walker
Montreal Expos Checklist
152 Moises Alou
153 Darrin Fletcher
154 Cliff Floyd
155 Mark Grudzielanek
156 Vladimir Guerrero
157 Mike Lansing
158 Pedro Martinez
159 Henry Rodriguez
160 Rondell White
Mining for Gold
4 Vladimir Guerrero
New York Mets Checklist
191 Mark Clark
192 John Franco
193 Bernard Gilkey
194 Todd Hundley
195 Lance Johnson
196 Bobby Jones
197 Alex Ochoa
198 Rey Ordonez
199 Paul Wilson
Blast Furnace
7 Todd Hundley
Emerald Autographs
Alex Ochoa
Platinum Portraits
7 Rey Ordonez
New York Yankees Checklist
114 Wade Boggs
115 David Cone
116 Cecil Fielder
117 Dwight Gooden
118 Derek Jeter
119 Tino Martinez
120 Paul O’Neill
121 Andy Pettitte
122 Mariano Rivera
123 Darryl Strawberry
124 John Wetteland
125 Bernie Williams
Magnetic Field
5 Derek Jeter
Platinum Portraits
4 Derek Jeter
8 Andy Pettitte
Oakland Athletics Checklist
126 Tony Batista
127 Geronimo Berroa
128 Scott Brosius
129 Jason Giambi
130 Jose Herrera
131 Mark McGwire
132 John Wasdin
Blast Furnace
8 Mark McGwire
Titanium
6 Mark McGwire
Philadelphia Phillies Checklist
200 Ricky Bottalico
201 Gregg Jefferies
202 Wendell Magee
203 Mickey Morandini
204 Ricky Otero
205 Scott Rolen
206 Benito Santiago
207 Curt Schilling
Emerald Autographs
Scott Rolen
Mining for Gold
9 Scott Rolen
Pittsburgh Pirates Checklist
236 Jermaine Allensworth
237 Francisco Cordova
238 Jason Kendall
239 Jeff King
240 Al Martin
Platinum Portraits
6 Jason Kendall
1997 Metal Universe Baseball San Diego Padres Checklist
216 Andy Ashby
217 Ken Caminiti
218 Steve Finley
219 Tony Gwynn
220 Joey Hamilton
221 Rickey Henderson
222 Trevor Hoffman
223 Wally Joyner
224 Scott Sanders
225 Fernando Valenzuela
226 Greg Vaughn
1997 Metal Universe Baseball San Francisco Giants Checklist
241 Rod Beck
242 Barry Bonds
243 Shawn Estes
244 Mark Gardner
245 Glenallen Hill
246 Bill Mueller RC
247 J.T. Snow
Blast Furnace
3 Barry Bonds
Magnetic Field
3 Barry Bonds
Mother Lode
3 Barry Bonds
12 Matt Williams
1997 Metal Universe Baseball Seattle Mariners Checklist
143 Jay Buhner
144 Jeff Fassero
145 Ken Griffey Jr.
146 Sterling Hitchcock
147 Randy Johnson
148 Edgar Martinez
149 Alex Rodriguez
150 Paul Sorrento
151 Dan Wilson
Blast Furnace
6 Ken Griffey Jr.
10 Alex Rodriguez
Emerald Autographs
Alex Rodriguez
Magnetic Field
4 Ken Griffey Jr.
9 Alex Rodriguez
Mother Lode
4 Ken Griffey Jr.
10 Alex Rodriguez
Platinum Portraits
10 Alex Rodriguez
Titanium
3 Ken Griffey Jr.
9 Alex Rodriguez
Promo Cards
149 Alex Rodriguez
1997 Metal Universe Baseball St. Louis Cardinals Checklist
227 Alan Benes
228 Andy Benes
229 Dennis Eckersley
230 Ron Gant
231 Brian Jordan
232 Ray Lankford
233 John Mabry
234 Tom Pagnozzi
235 Todd Stottlemyre
1997 Metal Universe Baseball Texas Rangers Checklist
161 Will Clark
162 Juan Gonzalez
163 Rusty Greer
164 Ken Hill
165 Mark McLemore
166 Dean Palmer
167 Roger Pavlik
168 Ivan Rodriguez
169 Mickey Tettleton
Blast Furnace
5 Juan Gonzalez
Mining for Gold
2 Kevin Brown
1997 Metal Universe Baseball Toronto Blue Jays Checklist
181 Joe Carter
182 Carlos Delgado
183 Alex Gonzalez
184 Shawn Green
185 Juan Guzman
186 Pat Hentgen
187 Orlando Merced
188 John Olerud
189 Robert Perez
190 Ed Sprague