1997 Upper Deck UD3 Baseball features a very condensed, 60-card base checklist. The checklist is split up into three subsets, each with 20 base cards. Home Run Heroes, Pro-Motion and Future Impact cards should be found once in each pack, unless of course you are lucky enough to find an insert card.

Speaking of inserts, there aren’t a ton in this one, and most are tough pulls. Generation Next inserts are the most common and should be found about twice in each box. Marquee Attraction inserts are much tougher, landing just once in every six boxes.

Even tougher still are Superb Signatures autographed cards. There are only four players featured on the autograph checklist: Ken Caminiti, Ken Griffey Jr., Vladimir Guerrero and Derek Jeter. Good luck finding one, though, as these were inserted just once in every 1,500 packs.

That won’t stop us from trying though, right?

I grabbed this box at the 2025 National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago.

1997 Upper Deck UD3 Baseball Hobby Box Break 

Cards per pack: 3
Packs per box: 24 
Price paid: $80

• Buy 1997 Upper Deck UD3 Baseball boxes on eBay

Pack 1 highlights: 

Ellis Burks, Roberto Alomar and Manny Ramirez

Here you see the three subsets you will find in each pack.

Pack 2: 

Sammy Sosa, Roger Clemens and Edgar Renteria

Pack 3: 

Matt Williams, Cal Ripken Jr. and Todd Hollandsworth

Pack 4: 

Ken Griffey Jr., John Smoltz and Jason Kendall

The Future Impact cards have a protective film on the surface, which can be removed easily. They don’t photograph very well, though.

Pack 5: 

Another Griffey, Kenny Lofton and Todd Walker

Pack 6: 

Juan Gonzalez, Roger Clemens and Luis Castillo

Pack 7: 

Brady Anderson, Jim Thome and Andy Pettitte

Anderson was coming off by far his best major-league season after blasting 50 home runs in 1996.

Pack 8: 

Andres Galarraga, Kirby Puckett and Nomar Garciaparra

Pack 9: 

Mo Vaughn, Robin Ventura and Jermaine Dye

Pack 10: 

Jay Buhner, Tim Salmon and Vladimir Guerrero

Guerrero’s son, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., has a chance to bring a World Series title to Toronto, and he has been on fire this postseason.

Pack 11: 

Albert Belle, Jeff Bagwell and Alex Rodriguez

Pack 12: 

Ozzie Smith, Jason Kendall and Todd Walker Generation Next (1:11 packs)

Pack 13: 

Barry Bonds, Ron Gant and Rocky Coppinger

Coppinger may seem like an odd inclusion here, but he was a top-20 prospect prior to the 1996 season.

Pack 14: 

Ken Caminiti, Barry Larkin and Rey Ordonez

Pack 15: 

Frank Thomas, Tim Salmon and Andruw Jones

Pack 16: 

Eddie Murray, Bernie Williams and Andy Pettitte

1997 would be the last season of Steady Eddie’s Hall of Fame career.

Pack 17: 

Todd Hundley, Ivan Rodriguez and Ruben Rivera

Pack 18: 

Vinny Castilla, Jeff Bagwell and Todd Greene

Pack 19: 

Rafael Palmeiro, Robin Ventura and Chipper Jones

Ventura won six Gold Glove awards at the hot corner during his 16 seasons in the big leagues.

Pack 20: 

Mark McGwire, Hideo Nomo and Todd Walker

Pack 21: 

Ozzie Smith, Darin Erstad and Nomar Garciaparra Generation Next (1:11 packs)

Pack 22: 

Mike Piazza, Ron Gant and Scott Rolen

Speaking of Gold Gloves at the hot corner … Rolen won eight of them.

Pack 23: 

Brady Anderson, Ivan Rodriguez and Alex Rodriguez

Pack 24: 

Gary Sheffield, Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter

Lastly, all three base card backs. The Jeter back certainly shows off the card better than the front view does.

Unfortunately, this box didn’t hold any of the tough Marquee Attraction inserts or Superb Signatures autographed cards. The Griffey Superb Signatures card easily sells for over $500.

Luckily the base cards look great in this set, making this a fun rip that I may try again sometime!

Want more installments of Shane Salmonson’s Cheap Wax Wednesday? Check out his other breaks in the archives.