1998 Pinnacle

Description

1998 Pinnacle was a 200-card set released in February 1998 and was the last offering of the flagship brand before the Donruss/Leaf/Pinnacle parent brand went bankrupt in July/August 1998. This final product offering marked the end of a 7-year run where the "premium" brand began in the early-1990s, peaked with collector popularity in the mid-1990s, and fell by the late-1990s. Responsible for some of the Hobby's most recognized card and card design innovations like pack-inserting Press Plates and Dufex card technology, respectively, the demise of the parent brand was viewed sadly by Hobby and is still fondly remembered today.

Each base card featured a borderless color photo with a holographic foil nameplate and team logo on the front. For cards 1-157, there were 3 card back variations each featuring Full, Home, or Away career stats and were all produced in equal quantities.

There were 3 subsets and Checklists at the end of the set:

• Rookies
• Field of Vision
• Goin' Jake

There were no notable Rookie Cards in the set.

Distribution

Hobby/Retail: 18 packs per box, ten cards per pack (MSRP: $2.99)

Power Packs: 12 packs per box, 20 cards plus one oversized card per pack (MSRP: $4.99)

Insertion Ratios

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Wax Odds	Power Pack Odds
Base	200	-	?	?
Museum Collection	100	-	1:9	?
Artist's Proof	100	-	1:39	?
Power Pack Jumbos	24	-	N/A	1:1
Press Plates	284*	one-of-one**	1:1250	?
Epix	24	-	1:21	?
Hit it Here	10	?	1:19	?
Spellbound	50	-	1:17	?

* Includes both the base set and all non-parallel inserts. ** Eight Press Plates for each card: 4 for front of card (C,M,Y,K colors), 4 for back of card (C,M,Y,K colors).

Checklist

Base Set

NOTE: The first 157 base cards were available in three different variations: Home stats, Away stats, and Full stats. One-third of the base cards produced had the full career stats on the back, one-third had career stats at the player's home ballpark, and one-third had career stats of the player away from his home ballpark. (Yes, this is the kind of gimmickry Pinnacle Brands was stooping to at the end.)

A set is considered complete with any card.

• 1 Tony Gywnn
• 2 Pedro Martinez
• 3 Kenny Lofton
• 4 Curt Schilling
• 5 Shawn Estes
• 6 Tom Glavine
• 7 Mike Piazza
• 8 Ray Lankford
• 9 Barry Larkin
• 10 Tony Womack
• 11 Jeff Blauser
• 12 Rod Beck
• 13 Larry Walker
• 14 Greg Maddux
• 15 Mark Grace
• 16 Ken Caminiti
• 17 Bobby Jones
• 18 Chipper Jones
• 19 Javy Lopez
• 20 Moises Alou
• 21 Royce Clayton
• 22 Darryl Kile
• 23 Barry Bonds
• 24 Steve Finley
• 25 Andres Galarraga
• 26 Denny Neagle
• 27 Todd Hundley
• 28 Jeff Bagwell
• 29 Andy Pettitte
• 30 Darin Erstad
• 31 Carlos Delgado
• 32 Matt Williams
• 33 Will Clark
• 34 Vinny Castilla
• 35 Brad Radke
• 36 John Olerud
• 37 Andruw Jones
• 38 Jason Giambi
• 39 Scott Rolen
• 40 Gary Sheffield
• 41 Jimmy Key
• 42 Kevin Appier
• 43 Wade Boggs
• 44 Hideo Nomo
• 45 Manny Ramirez
• 46 Wilton Guerrero
• 47 Travis Fryman
• 48 Chili Davis
• 49 Jeromy Burnitz
• 50 Craig Biggio
• 51 Tim Salmon
• 52 Jose Cruz, Jr.
• 53 Sammy Sosa
• 54 Hideki Irabu
• 55 Chan Ho Park
• 56 Robin Ventura
• 57 Jose Guillen
• 58 Deion Sanders
• 59 Jose Canseco
• 60 Jay Buhner
• 61 Rafael Palmeiro
• 62 Vladimir Guerrero
• 63 Mark McGwire
• 64 Derek Jeter
• 65 Bobby Bonilla
• 66 Raul Mondesi
• 67 Paul Molitor
• 68 Joe Carter
• 69 Marquis Grissom
• 70 Juan Gonzalez
• 71 Kevin Orie
• 72 Rusty Greer
• 73 Henry Rodriguez
• 74 Fernando Tatis
• 75 John Valentin
• 76 Matt Morris
• 77 Ray Durham
• 78 Geronimo Berroa
• 79 Scott Brosius
• 80 Willie Greene
• 81 Rondell White
• 82 Doug Drabek
• 83 Derek Bell
• 84 Butch Huskey
• 85 Doug Jones
• 86 Jeff Kent
• 87 Jim Edmonds
• 88 Mark McLemore
• 89 Todd Zeile
• 90 Edgardo Alfonzo
• 91 Carlos Baerga
• 92 Jorge Fabregas
• 93 Alan Benes
• 94 Troy Percival
• 95 Edgar Renteria
• 96 Jeff Fassero
• 97 Reggie Sanders
• 98 Dean Palmer
• 99 J.T. Snow
• 100 Dave Nilsson
• 101 Dan Wilson
• 102 Robb Nen
• 103 Damion Easley
• 104 Kevin Foster
• 105 Jose Offerman
• 106 Steve Cooke
• 107 Matt Stairs
• 108 Darryl Hamilton
• 109 Steve Karsay
• 110 Gary DiSarcina
• 111 Dante Bichette
• 112 Billy Wagner
• 113 David Segui
• 114 Bob Higginson
• 115 Jeffrey Hammonds
• 116 Kevin Brown
• 117 Paul Sorrento
• 118 Mark Leiter
• 119 Charles Nagy
• 120 Danny Patterson
• 121 Brian McRae
• 122 Jay Bell
• 123 Jamie Moyer
• 124 Carl Everett
• 125 Greg Colbrunn
• 126 Jason Kendall
• 127 Luis Sojo
• 128 Mike Lieberthal
• 129 Reggie Jefferson
• 130 Cal Eldred
• 131 Orel Hershiser
• 132 Doug Glanville
• 133 Willie Blair
• 134 Neifi Perez
• 135 Sean Berry
• 136 Chuck Finley
• 137 Alex Gonzalez
• 138 Dennis Eckersley
• 139 Kenny Rogers
• 140 Troy O'Leary
• 141 Roger Bailey
• 142 Yamil Benitez
• 143 Wally Joyner
• 144 Bobby Witt
• 145 Pete Schourek
• 146 Terry Steinbach
• 147 B.J. Surhoff
• 148 Esteban Loaiza
• 149 Heathcliff Slocumb
• 150 Ed Sprague
• 151 Gregg Jefferies
• 152 Scott Erickson
• 153 Jaime Navarro
• 154 David Wells
• 155 Alex Fernandez
• 156 Tim Belcher
• 157 Mark Grudzielanek

Rookies

• 158 Scott Hatteberg
• 159 Paul Konerko
• 160 Ben Grieve
• 161 Abraham Nunez
• 162 Shannon Stewart
• 163 Jaret Wright
• 164 Derrek Lee
• 165 Todd Dunwoody
• 166 Steve Woodard
• 167 Ryan McGuire
• 168 Jeremi Gonzalez
• 169 Mark Kotsay
• 170 Brett Tomko
• 171 Bobby Estalella
• 172 Livan Hernandez
• 173 Todd Helton
• 174 Garrett Stephenson
• 175 Pokey Reese
• 176 Tony Saunders
• 177 Antone Williamson
• 178 Bartolo Colon
• 179 Karim Garcia
• 180 Juan Encarnacion
• 181 Jacob Cruz

Field of Vision

• 182 Alex Rodriguez
• 183 Cal Ripken, Jr. / Roberto Alomar
• 184 Roger Clemens
• 185 Derek Jeter
• 186 Frank Thomas
• 187 Ken Griffey, Jr.

Goin' Jake

• 188 Mark McGwire
• 189 Tino Martinez
• 190 Larry Walker
• 191 Brady Anderson
• 192 Jeff Bagwell
• 193 Ken Griffey, Jr.
• 194 Chipper Jones
• 195 Ray Lankford
• 196 Jim Thome
• 197 Nomar Garciaparra

Checklists

• 198 All-Star Home Run Derby Contestants
• 199 Tino Martinez
• 200 Jacobs Field

Parallels

There were 5 different parallels that varied in size (both number of cards and physical measurement):

• Museum Collection (100 cards)
• Artist's Proof (100 cards)
• Power Pack Jumbos (24 cards)
• Press Plate (200 cards)
• Uncut (6 cards)

Museum Collection

Museum Collection was a 100-card, partial-parallel that utilized the same photo and design as the base set but featured a silver wave Dufex finish.

• PP1 Tony Gwynn
• PP2 Pedro Martinez
• PP3 Kenny Lofton
• PP4 Curt Schilling
• PP5 Shawn Estes
• PP6 Tom Glavine
• PP7 Mike Piazza
• PP8 Ray Lankford
• PP9 Barry Larkin
• PP10 Tony Womack
• PP11 Jeff Blauser
• PP12 Rod Beck
• PP13 Larry Walker
• PP14 Greg Maddux
• PP15 Mark Grace
• PP16 Ken Caminiti
• PP17 Bobby Jones
• PP18 Chipper Jones
• PP19 Javy Lopez
• PP20 Moises Alou
• PP21 Royce Clayton
• PP22 Darryl Kile
• PP23 Barry Bonds
• PP24 Steve Finley
• PP25 Andres Galarraga
• PP26 Denny Neagle
• PP27 Todd Hundley
• PP28 Jeff Bagwell
• PP29 Andy Pettitte
• PP30 Darin Erstad
• PP31 Carlos Delgado
• PP32 Matt Williams
• PP33 Will Clark
• PP34 Brad Radke
• PP35 John Olerud
• PP36 Andruw Jones
• PP37 Scott Rolen
• PP38 Gary Sheffield
• PP39 Jimmy Key
• PP40 Wade Boggs
• PP41 Hideo Nomo
• PP42 Manny Ramirez
• PP43 Wilton Guerrero
• PP44 Travis Fryman
• PP45 Craig Biggio
• PP46 Tim Salmon
• PP47 Jose Cruz, Jr.
• PP48 Sammy Sosa
• PP49 Hideki Irabu
• PP50 Jose Guillen
• PP51 Deion Sanders
• PP52 Jose Canseco
• PP53 Jay Buhner
• PP54 Rafael Palmeiro
• PP55 Vladimir Guerrero
• PP56 Mark McGwire
• PP57 Derek Jeter
• PP58 Bobby Bonilla
• PP59 Raul Mondesi
• PP60 Paul Molitor
• PP61 Joe Carter
• PP62 Marquis Grissom
• PP63 Juan Gonzalez
• PP64 Dante Bichette
• PP65 Shannon Stewart
• PP66 Jaret Wright
• PP67 Derrek Lee
• PP68 Todd Dunwoody
• PP69 Steve Woodard
• PP70 Ryan McGuire
• PP71 Jeremi Gonzalez
• PP72 Mark Kotsay
• PP73 Brett Tomko
• PP74 Bobby Estalella
• PP75 Livan Hernandez
• PP76 Todd Helton
• PP77 Garrett Stephenson
• PP78 Pokey Reese
• PP79 Tony Saunders
• PP80 Antone Williamson
• PP81 Bartolo Colon
• PP82 Karim Garcia
• PP83 Juan Encarnacion
• PP84 Jacob Cruz
• PP85 Alex Rodriguez FV
• PP86 Cal Ripken, Jr. / Roberto Alomar FV
• PP87 Roger Clemens FV
• PP88 Derek Jeter FV
• PP89 Frank Thomas FV
• PP90 Ken Griffey, Jr. FV
• PP91 Mark McGwire GJ
• PP92 Tino Martinez GJ
• PP93 Larry Walker GJ
• PP94 Brady Anderson GJ
• PP95 Jeff Bagwell GJ
• PP96 Ken Griffey, Jr. GJ
• PP97 Chipper Jones GJ
• PP98 Ray Lankford GJ
• PP99 Jim Thome GJ
• PP100 Nomar Garciaparra GJ

Artist's Proof

All cards in the Museum Collection set also had an Artist's Proof parallel which featured the a gold, concentric circle Dufex finish and an Artist's Proof stamp on the front.

Power Pack Jumbos

This 24-card, over-sized (3 1/2" X 5") set partially-paralleled the Field of Vision and Goin' Jake subsets. For further distinction, these cards differed from their base card counterparts by featuring an "X of 24" sequential numbering on back. This set was inserted at a rate of one per special Pinnacle "Power Pack", which were released about a month after the regular wax packs.

To promote this set, promo cards of each player in the parallel were issued to dealers and retail wholesalers and were identical to the regular Power Pack Jumbos, but featured the word "SAMPLE" printed diagonally on the front.

• 1 Alex Rodriguez FV
• 2 Cal Ripken / Roberto Alomar FV
• 3 Roger Clemens FV
• 4 Derek Jeter FV
• 5 Frank Thomas FV
• 6 Ken Griffey, Jr. FV
• 7 Mark McGwire GJ
• 8 Tino Martinez GJ
• 9 Larry Walker GJ
• 10 Brady Anderson GJ
• 11 Jeff Bagwell GJ
• 12 Ken Griffey, Jr. GJ
• 13 Chipper Jones GJ
• 14 Ray Lankford GJ
• 15 Jim Thome GJ
• 16 Nomar Garciaparra GJ
• 17 Mike Piazza
• 18 Andruw Jones
• 19 Greg Maddux
• 20 Tony Gwynn
• 21 Larry Walker
• 22 Jeff Bagwell
• 23 Chipper Jones
• 24 Scott Rolen

Press Plates

Similar to the previous year, the actual press plates used in the manufacturing of the 1998 Pinnacle set were randomly inserted into packs. Each plate displayed an authentication seal on the back and was marked "1 of 1"; unlike last year however, and for distinction, these Press Plates were not autographed by Pinnacle Chairman and CEO, Jerry Meyer. There were Press Plate parallels of all 200 base cards and all 3 insert sets and thus, a total of 2272 Press Plates were inserted into packs. Every card (base and insert) in the set had 8 press plates - four "front" plates of different colors and four "back" plates of different colors:

• Front Cyan
• Front Magenta
• Front Yellow
• Front Black

• Back Cyan
• Back Magenta
• Back Yellow
• Back Black

Uncut

This 6-card, jumbo-sized partial parallel measures approximately 13 5/16" by 18 11/16" and is a very large Dufex-foil version of the Field of Vision subset (cards numbered from 182 to 187). Cards were distributed in mass-retail chains in one-card packs with a SRP of $9.99.

A version of the Frank Thomas Uncut card was issued to dealers as a promo.

Inserts

Epix

See 1998 Pinnacle Epix.

Press Plate versions of all cards in this insert set (front and back) exist.

Hit It Here

This ten-card set featured some of the top sluggers in the game on a red foil background with a silver etched-foil design. Each card in the set had a unique serial-number on the back which was used for a contest: If any of the ten players in the set hit for the cycle on Opening Day 1998, Pinnacle would draw a number at random and if a person owned the Hit It Here card of that player that hit for the cycle with the serial number that matched the drawn number, he/she would win $1,000,000. No player hit for the cycle on Opening Day 1998 and thus, there was no winner.

While the cards are serial-numbered, Pinnacle never fully disclosed the production run for the set. Some collectors speculate that 20,000 Hit It Here cards were produced.

To preview this set, promo cards from this insert were inserted into dealer sell sheets and were identical to the regular pack-inserted cards, but featured the word "SAMPLE" printed diagonally on the front and back.

Press Plate versions of all cards in this insert set (front and back) exist.

• 1 Larry Walker
• 2 Ken Griffey, Jr.
• 3 Mike Piazza
• 4 Frank Thomas
• 5 Barry Bonds
• 6 Albert Belle
• 7 Tino Martinez
• 8 Mark McGwire
• 9 Juan Gonzalez
• 10 Jeff Bagwell

Hit It Here Gold

In 2018, a gold version of Ken Griffey, Jr's Hit It Here insert surfaced on the market. While regular Hit It Here inserts featured a red-colored foil front design, this version had clear and distinct gold-colored foil instead (i.e., was not a printing error/shading issue). The back of the Griffey has the same appearance as regular HIH inserts and is serially numbered 02680.

Only the Griffey has emerged on the secondary market as gold versions of the other 9 players in the set have not surfaced nor are known to exist. However, considering the card making process that usually involves 100-card sheets featuring all players in a set or insert set together consecutively, there is speculation that gold versions of the other 9 players also exist.

It is not known why a parallel gold version exists.

Spellbound

For the second consecutive year, this 50-card set highlighted some of the most recognizable names in the game on a a silver etched-foil card that featured the player superimposed over one of the letters of the player's name or nickname. A completed set for each player could be put together side-by-side to spell out both the player's name/nickname.

Press Plate versions of all cards in this insert set (front and back) exist.

• 1 Mark McGwire M
• 2 Mark McGwire C
• 3 Mark McGwire G
• 4 Mark McGwire W
• 5 Mark McGwire I
• 6 Mark McGwire R
• 7 Mark McGwire E
• 8 Roger Clemens R
• 9 Roger Clemens O
• 10 Roger Clemens C
• 11 Roger Clemens K
• 12 Roger Clemens E
• 13 Roger Clemens T
• 14 Frank Thomas B
• 15 Frank Thomas I
• 16 Frank Thomas G
• 17 Frank Thomas H
• 18 Frank Thomas U
• 19 Frank Thomas R
• 20 Frank Thomas T
• 21 Scott Rolen R
• 22 Scott Rolen O
• 23 Scott Rolen L
• 24 Scott Rolen E
• 25 Scott Rolen N
• 26 Ken Griffey, Jr. G
• 27 Ken Griffey, Jr. R
• 28 Ken Griffey, Jr. I
• 29 Ken Griffey, Jr. F
• 30 Ken Griffey, Jr. F
• 31 Ken Griffey, Jr. E
• 32 Ken Griffey, Jr. Y
• 33 Larry Walker W
• 34 Larry Walker A
• 35 Larry Walker L
• 36 Larry Walker K
• 37 Larry Walker E
• 38 Larry Walker R
• 39 Nomar Garciaparra N
• 40 Nomar Garciaparra O
• 41 Nomar Garciaparra M
• 42 Nomar Garciaparra A
• 43 Nomar Garciaparra R
• 44 Cal Ripken, Jr. C
• 45 Cal Ripken, Jr. A
• 46 Cal Ripken, Jr. L
• 47 Tony Gwynn T
• 48 Tony Gwynn O
• 49 Tony Gwynn N
• 50 Tony Gwynn Y