1996 Leaf Baseball Cards

Press Proof Parallel Identification:

1996 Leaf Baseball is another set where parallels aren’t easily identifiable. Fine if you have the Silver Press Proof, sure, but if you’ve got either the Bronze or Gold, identification can be somewhat difficult. Please use this article as a guide to help you identify what you have.

I’ve bought the Gold Press Proof online several times over the years only to find that it was actually the Bronze Press Press. I just love this set though. The mirror effect of the Press Proof parallels is incredible on these cards. This is another set that offers 3 unique parallels for a total of 4 different cards for any card in the set. Let’s break it down to learn more about what’s shown here:

• Base: This is the standard card that makes up the base set. It features flat foil.
• Bronze Press Proof: These carry an unstated print run of 2000 and feature holo-bronze foil.
• Silver Press Proof: These carry an unstated print run of 1000 and feature holo-silver foil. For some, this may be difficult to distinguish from the base card because it too is silver. The difference here is that the Silver Press Proof features a holo-foil mirror finish while the base does not.
• Gold Press Proof: These carry an unstated print run of 500 and feature holo-gold foil. Unless you have this side-by-side with a Bronze Press Proof, it can be difficult to tell which is which. These are often confused as Bronze Press Proofs. The one subtle difference is that the holo-foil is slightly more yellow than that of the the Bronze Press Proof.

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Set Information:

Important Date(s)
August 15, 1996	Exchange Deadline

Set	Total Cards	Print Run(s)	Odds
Base	220	–	–
Bronze Press Proof	220	2000	1:10
Silver Press Proof	220	1000	1:10
Gold Press Proof	220	500	1:10
All-Star Game MVP Contenders	20	–	–
All-Star Game MVP Contenders Gold	21	5000	Redemption
Gold Stars	15	2500	1:190
Hats Off	8	5000	1:72 R
Picture Perfect	12	5000	1:140 H (#7-12); R (#1-6)
Picture Perfect Promo	12	–	Dealer Order Forms & Hobby Media Press Releases
Statistical Standouts	8	2500	1:210 H
Thomas Greatest Hits	8	5000	1:210 H (#1-4); R (#5-7); #8 via Mail
Thomas The Big Heart	4	3500	Frank Thomas Charitable Foundation
Thomas The Big Heart Autograph	1	–	Frank Thomas Charitable Foundation
Total Bases	12	5000	1:72 H
Total Bases Promo	12	–	Dealer Order Forms & Hobby Media Press Releases

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Base Set Checklist:

1996 Leaf is a one-series, 220-card set. The set design features action shots printed on flat foil. Press Proof parallels: Bronze /2000; Silver /1000, and Gold /500. The odds of pulling a Press Proof parallel are the same but not for any specific version.

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Card #	Player(s)	Card #	Player(s)
1	John Smoltz	111	Tim Wakefield
2	Dennis Eckersley	112	Sammy Sosa
3	Delino DeShields	113	Jay Buhner
4	Cliff Floyd	114	Garret Anderson
5	Chuck Finley	115	Edgar Martinez
6	Cecil Fielder	116	Edgardo Alfonzo
7	Tim Naehring	117	Billy Ashley
8	Carlos Perez	118	Joe Carter
9	Brad Ausmus	119	Javy Lopez
10	Matt Lawton RC	120	Bobby Bonilla
11	Alan Trammell	121	Ken Caminiti
12	Steve Finley	122	Barry Larkin
13	Paul O’Neill	123	Shannon Stewart
14	Gary Sheffield	124	Orel Hershiser
15	Mark McGwire	125	Jeff Conine
16	Bernie Williams	126	Mark Grace
17	Jeff Montgomery	127	Kenny Lofton
18	Chan Ho Park	128	Luis Gonzalez
19	Greg Vaughn	129	Rico Brogna
20	Jeff Kent	130	Mo Vaughn
21	Cal Ripken Jr.	131	Brad Radke
22	Charles Johnson	132	Jose Herrera
23	Eric Karros	133	Rick Aguilera
24	Alex Rodriguez	134	Gary DiSarcina
25	Chris Snopek	135	Andres Galarraga
26	Jason Isringhausen	136	Carl Everett
27	Chili Davis	137	Steve Avery
28	Chipper Jones	138	Vinny Castilla
29	Bret Saberhagen	139	Dennis Martinez
30	Tony Clark	140	John Wetteland
31	Marty Cordova	141	Alex Gonzalez
32	Dwayne Hosey	142	Brian Jordan
33	Fred McGriff	143	Todd Hollandsworth
34	Deion Sanders	144	Terrell Wade
35	Orlando Merced	145	Wilson Alvarez
36	Brady Anderson	146	Reggie Sanders
37	Ray Lankford	147	Will Clark
38	Manny Ramirez	148	Hideo Nomo
39	Alex Fernandez	149	J.T. Snow
40	Greg Colbrunn	150	Frank Thomas
41	Ken Griffey Jr.	151	Ivan Rodriguez
42	Mickey Morandini	152	Jay Bell
43	Chick Knoblauch	153	H.Nomo/M.Cordova CL
44	Quinton McCracken	154	David Cone
45	Tim Salmon	155	Roberto Alomar
46	Jose Mesa	156	Carlos Delgado
47	Marquis Grissom	157	Carlos Baerga
48	G.Maddux/R.Johnson CL	158	Geronimo Berroa
49	Raul Mondesi	159	Joe Vitiello
50	Mark Grudzielanek	160	Terry Steinbach
51	Ray Durham	161	Doug Drabek
52	Matt Williams	162	David Segui
53	Bob Hamelin	163	Ozzie Smith
54	Lenny Dykstra	164	Kurt Abbott
55	Jeff King	165	Randy Johnson
56	LaTroy Hawkins	166	John Valentin
57	Terry Pendleton	167	Mickey Tettleton
58	Kevin Stocker	168	Ruben Sierra
59	Ozzie Timmons	169	Jim Thome
60	David Justice	170	Mike Greenwell
61	Ricky Bottalico	171	Quilvio Veras
62	Andy Ashby	172	Robin Ventura
63	Larry Walker	173	Bill Pulsipher
64	Jose Canseco	174	Rafael Palmeiro
65	Bret Boone	175	Hal Morris
66	Shawn Green	176	Ryan Klesko
67	Chad Curtis	177	Eric Young
68	Travis Fryman	178	Shane Andrews
69	Roger Clemens	179	Brian L. Hunter
70	David Bell	180	Brett Butler
71	Rusty Greer	181	John Olerud
72	Bob Higginson	182	Moises Alou
73	Joey Hamilton	183	Glenallen Hill
74	Kevin Seitzer	184	Ismael Valdes
75	Julian Tavarez	185	Andy Pettitte
76	Troy Percival	186	Yamil Benitez
77	Kirby Puckett	187	Jason Bere
78	Barry Bonds	188	Dean Palmer
79	Michael Tucker	189	Jimmy Haynes
80	Paul Molitor	190	Trevor Hoffman
81	Carlos Garcia	191	Mike Mussina
82	Johnny Damon	192	Greg Maddux
83	Mike Hampton	193	Ozzie Guillen
84	Ariel Prieto	194	Pat Listach
85	Tony Tarasco	195	Derek Bell
86	Pete Schourek	196	Darren Daulton
87	Tom Glavine	197	John Mabry
88	Rondell White	198	Ramon Martinez
89	Jim Edmonds	199	Jeff Bagwell
90	Robby Thompson	200	Mike Piazza
91	Wade Boggs	201	Al Martin
92	Pedro Martinez	202	Aaron Sele
93	Gregg Jefferies	203	Ed Sprague
94	Albert Belle	204	Rod Beck
95	Benji Gil	205	T.Gwynn/E.Martinez CL
96	Danny Neagle	206	Mike Lansing
97	Mark Langston	207	Craig Biggio
98	Sandy Alomar Jr.	208	Jeffrey Hammonds
99	Tony Gwynn	209	Dave Nilsson
100	Todd Hundley	210	D.Bichette/A.Belle CL
101	Dante Bichette	211	Derek Jeter
102	Eddie Murray	212	Alan Benes
103	Lyle Mouton	213	Jason Schmidt
104	John Jaha	214	Alex Ochoa
105	B.Larkin/M.Vaughn CL	215	Ruben Rivera
106	Jon Nunnally	216	Roger Cedeno
107	Juan Gonzalez	217	Jeff Suppan
108	Kevin Appier	218	Billy Wagner
109	Brian McRae	219	Mark Loretta
110	Lee Smith	220	Karim Garcia

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All-Star Game MVP Contenders:

Randomly inserted into packs, 1996 Leaf All-Star MVP Contenders is a 20-card set that features possible MVP Award contenders at the 1996 All-Star Game held in Philadelphia. If the player on the card won the MVP award, the card could be sent in for an upgraded Gold MVP Contenders set, which have a print run of 5000. Since Mike Piazza won the 1996 All-Star Game MVP Award, his card was the one that could be redeemed for a Gold set. Cards that were sent in were returned with a hole punched into them along with a Gold set. A hole punched Silver Mike Piazza is considered part of the Gold set since it was required to redeem the set. The backs of both versions, strangely enough, contain the same game rules. The expiration date for this redemption program was August 15, 1996.

To see what’s currently on eBay from 1996 Leaf All-Star MVP Contenders, click here.

Card #	Player(s)	Card #	Player(s)
1	Frank Thomas	11	Chipper Jones
2	Mike Piazza W	12	Kenny Lofton
3	Sammy Sosa	13	Manny Ramirez
4	Cal Ripken Jr.	14	Barry Bonds
5	Jeff Bagwell	15	Raul Mondesi
6	Reggie Sanders	16	Kirby Puckett
7	Mo Vaughn	17	Albert Belle
8	Tony Gwynn	18	Ken Griffey Jr.
9	Dante Bichette	19	Greg Maddux
10	Tim Salmon	20	Bonus Card

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Gold Stars:

Inserted into hobby and retail packs at a rate of 1:190, 1996 Leaf Gold Stars is a 15-card set with a print run of 2500 that honors some of the game’s greatest players on 22k gold trim cards.

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Card #	Player(s)	Card #	Player(s)
1	Frank Thomas	9	Chipper Jones
2	Dante Bichette	10	Albert Belle
3	Sammy Sosa	11	Tony Gwynn
4	Ken Griffey Jr.	12	Mo Vaughn
5	Mike Piazza	13	Barry Larkin
6	Tim Salmon	14	Manny Ramirez
7	Hideo Nomo	15	Greg Maddux
8	Cal Ripken Jr.

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Hats Off:

Inserted into retail packs at a rate of 1:72, 1996 Leaf Hats Off is an 8-card set with a print run of 5000 features an embossed wool-like design to mimic the feel of a baseball cap.

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Card #	Player(s)	Card #	Player(s)
1	Cal Ripken Jr.	5	Ken Griffey Jr.
2	Barry Larkin	6	Hideo Nomo
3	Frank Thomas	7	Albert Belle
4	Mo Vaughn	8	Greg Maddux

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Picture Perfect:

1996 Leaf Picture Perfect is a 12-card set with a print run of 5000 and features a real wood design with gold foil print. Cards 1-6 were inserted into hobby packs while cards 7-12 were inserted into retail packs and all at a rate of 1:140. Promo examples of each of these cards were also made.

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Card #	Player(s)	Card #	Player(s)
1	Frank Thomas	7	Ken Griffey Jr.
2	Cal Ripken Jr.	8	Albert Belle
3	Greg Maddux	9	Jeff Bagwell
4	Manny Ramirez	10	Mike Piazza
5	Chipper Jones	11	Mo Vaughn
6	Tony Gwynn	12	Barry Bonds

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Statistical Standouts:

Inserted into hobby packs at a rate of 1:210, 1996 Leaf Statistical Standouts is an 8-card set with a print run of 2500 that features players who showcased statistically significant performance. The cards were printed on a material made to mimic the feel of the leather of a baseball.

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Card #	Player(s)	Card #	Player(s)
1	Cal Ripken Jr.	5	Hideo Nomo
2	Tony Gwynn	6	Greg Maddux
3	Frank Thomas	7	Albert Belle
4	Ken Griffey Jr.	8	Chipper Jones

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Thomas Greatest Hits:

1996 Leaf Thomas Greatest Hits is an 8-card set celebrating the career of Frank Thomas. Each card is printed on die-cut plastic to simulate compact disc, serial numbered to 5000, and features a statistic for one of Frank Thomas’ first 8 playing years. Cards 1-4 were inserted into hobby packs and cards 5-7 were inserted into retail packs all at a rate of 1:210. Card #8 was issued as a redemption.

To see what’s currently on eBay from 1996 Leaf Thomas Greatest Hits, click here.

Card #	Year	Card #	Year
1	1990	5	1994
2	1991	6	1995
3	1992	7	1996
4	1993	8	1997

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Thomas The Big Heart:

1996 Leaf Thomas The Big Heart is a 4-card set issued through the Frank Thomas Charitable Foundation. Just 3500 sets were produced and Frank Thomas signed an unknown but likely very small number of card #1.

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Card #	Image	Card #	Image
1	Sitting in dugout	3	Glove to chest
2	Leaning over	4	Bat in hand

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Total Bases:

Inserted into hobby packs at a rate of 1:72, 1996 Leaf Total Bases is a 12-card set with a print run of 5000 and features top offensive stars. Promo examples of each of these cards were also made.

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Card #	Player(s)	Card #	Player(s)
1	Frank Thomas	7	Paul Molitor
2	Albert Belle	8	Fred McGriff
3	Rafael Palmeiro	9	Ken Griffey Jr.
4	Barry Bonds	10	Carlos Baerga
5	Kirby Puckett	11	Juan Gonzalez
6	Joe Carter	12	Cal Ripken Jr.