1998 Zenith

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Description

1998 Zenith is a 100-card set released by Pinnacle Brands in May, 1998. Dubbed the "Dare to Tear" set, each pack had three 5" X 7" cards with one 2 1/2" X 3 1/2" standard-sized card embedded inside. In one of the stupidest gimmicks ever conceived, collectors were faced with the dilemma of having to choose to keep their jumbo 5" X 7" card in-tact, or to tear open (and thus physically destroying) the jumbo card to get to the standard-sized card. Ultimately, collectors by and large chose to perform "Cardboard Caesarians" by slice the backs of the jumbo cards with a razor blade to remove the smaller card.

Based on reports from collectors who opened large amounts of '98 Zenith packs, the middle jumbo card in each pack usually has a standard-sized insert embedded in it.

Distribution

12 packs per box, three 5" X 7" cards with 2 1/2" X 3 1/2" cards embedded inside per pack (MSRP: $5.99)

Reviews

Insertion Ratios

Cards Total Cards Numbered To Odds
Base 100 -
5 X 7 80 - 3:1
Z-Silver 100 - ?
Z-Gold 100 100 ?
5 X 7 Impulse 80 - ?
5 X 7 Gold Impulse 80 100 ?
Epix 24 - 1:11
Raising the Bar 15 - 1:25
Rookie Thrills 15 - 1:25
Z-Team (1-9) 9 - 1:35
Z-Team (10-18) 9 - 1:58
Z-Team Gold 18 - 1:175
Z-Team 5 X 7 9 - 1:35

Checklist

Promos

Nine 5" X 7" samples was inserted into dealer order forms to preview the upcoming 1998 Zenith baseball release. Each large sample card also has one of six standard-sized sample cards embedded inside. The cards were sent out around April, 1998, and are identical to regular issue large Zenith cards except for the bold "SAMPLE" text running diagonally across the back of the card.

5 X 7

  • Z1 Nomar Garciaparra
  • Z3 Greg Maddux
  • Z4 Frank Thomas
  • Z9 Andruw Jones
  • Z15 Derek Jeter
  • Z21 Mike Piazza
  • Z22 Tony Gwynn
  • Z35 Ivan Rodriguez
  • Z40 Ken Griffey, Jr.

Standard-sized

  • 2 Ken Griffey, Jr.
  • 12 Greg Maddux
  • 14 Mike Piazza
  • 17 Derek Jeter
  • 18 Nomar Garciaparra
  • 19 Ivan Rodriguez

Base Set

5 X 7

  • 1 Nomar Garciaparra
  • 2 Andres Galarraga
  • 3 Greg Maddux
  • 4 Frank Thomas
  • 5 Mark McGwire
  • 6 Rafael Palmeiro
  • 7 John Smoltz
  • 8 Jeff Bagwell
  • 9 Andruw Jones
  • 10 Rusty Greer
  • 11 Paul Molitor
  • 12 Bernie Williams
  • 13 Kenny Lofton
  • 14 Alex Rodriguez
  • 15 Derek Jeter
  • 16 Scott Rolen
  • 17 Albert Belle
  • 18 Mo Vaughn
  • 19 Chipper Jones
  • 20 Chuck Knoblauch
  • 21 Mike Piazza
  • 22 Tony Gwynn
  • 23 Juan Gonzalez
  • 24 Andy Pettitte
  • 25 Tim Salmon
  • 26 Brady Anderson
  • 27 Mike Mussina
  • 28 Edgar Martinez
  • 29 Jose Guillen
  • 30 Hideo Nomo
  • 31 Jim Thome
  • 32 Mark Grace
  • 33 Darin Erstad
  • 34 Bob Higginson
  • 35 Ivan Rodriguez
  • 36 Todd Hundley
  • 37 Sandy Alomar
  • 38 Gary Sheffield
  • 39 Dave Justice
  • 40 Ken Griffey, Jr.
  • 41 Vladimir Guerrero
  • 42 Larry Walker
  • 43 Barry Bonds
  • 44 Randy Johnson
  • 45 Roger Clemens
  • 46 Raul Mondesi
  • 47 Tino Martinez
  • 48 Jason Giambi
  • 49 Matt Williams
  • 50 Cal Ripken, Jr.
  • 51 Barry Larkin
  • 52 Jim Edmonds
  • 53 Ken Caminiti
  • 54 Sammy Sosa
  • 55 Tony Clark
  • 56 Manny Ramirez
  • 57 Bernard Gilkey
  • 58 Jose Cruz, Jr.
  • 59 Brian Jordan
  • 60 Kevin Brown
  • 61 Craig Biggio
  • 62 Javy Lopez
  • 63 Jay Buhner
  • 64 Roberto Alomar
  • 65 Justin Thompson
  • 66 Todd Helton
  • 67 Travis Lee
  • 68 Paul Konerko
  • 69 Jaret Wright
  • 70 Ben Grieve
  • 71 Juan Encarnacion
  • 72 Ryan McGuire
  • 73 Derrek Lee
  • 74 Abraham Nunez
  • 75 Richard Hidalgo
  • 76 Miguel Tejada
  • 77 Jacob Cruz
  • 78 Homer Bush
  • 79 Jeff Abbott
  • 80 Lou Collier

Standard-Sized

  • 1 Frank Thomas
  • 2 Tony Gwynn
  • 3 Jeff Bagwell
  • 4 Paul Molitor
  • 5 Roberto Alomar
  • 6 Mike Piazza
  • 7 Albert Belle
  • 8 Greg Maddux
  • 9 Barry Larkin
  • 10 Tony Clark
  • 11 Larry Walker
  • 12 Chipper Jones
  • 13 Juan Gonzalez
  • 14 Barry Bonds
  • 15 Ivan Rodriguez
  • 16 Sammy Sosa
  • 17 Derek Jeter
  • 18 Hideo Nomo
  • 19 Roger Clemens
  • 20 Ken Griffey, Jr.
  • 21 Andy Pettitte
  • 22 Alex Rodriguez
  • 23 Tino Martinez
  • 24 Bernie Williams
  • 25 Ken Caminiti
  • 26 John Smoltz
  • 27 Javy Lopez
  • 28 Mark McGwire
  • 29 Gary Sheffield
  • 30 David Justice
  • 31 Randy Johnson
  • 32 Chuck Knoblauch
  • 33 Mike Mussina
  • 34 Deion Sanders
  • 35 Cal Ripken, Jr.
  • 36 Darin Erstad
  • 37 Kenny Lofton
  • 38 Jay Buhner
  • 39 Brady Anderson
  • 40 Edgar Martinez
  • 41 Mo Vaughn
  • 42 Ryne Sandberg
  • 43 Andruw Jones
  • 44 Nomar Garciaparra
  • 45 Hideki Irabu RC
  • 46 Wilton Guerrero
  • 47 Jose Cruz. Jr. RC
  • 48 Vladimir Guerrero
  • 49 Scott Rolen
  • 50 Jose Guillen

Parallels

5 X 7 Impluse

All 80 5 X 7 cards are available in the following Impulse parallels.

  • Impulse
  • Gold Impulse (serial numbered to 100 copies)

Z

Each of the 100 standard-sized cards are available in the following "Z" parallels.

  • Z-Silver (1:7/packs)
  • Z-Gold (serial-numbered to 100 copies)

Inserts

Epix

See 1998 Pinnacle Epix

Raising the Bar

This 15-card, standard-sized, set features players with only a couple of years of big-league experience.

  • 1 Ken Griffey, Jr.
  • 2 Frank Thomas
  • 3 Alex Rodriguez
  • 4 Tony Gwynn
  • 5 Mike Piazza
  • 6 Ivan Rodriguez
  • 7 Cal Ripken, Jr.
  • 8 Greg Maddux
  • 9 Hideo Nomo
  • 10 Mark McGwire
  • 11 Juan Gonzalez
  • 12 Andruw Jones
  • 13 Jeff Bagwell
  • 14 Chipper Jones
  • 15 Nomar Garciaparra

Rookie Thrills

This standard-sized set has 15 of the top rookies from the 1998 season.

  • 1 Travis Lee
  • 2 Juan Encarnacion
  • 3 Derrek Lee
  • 4 Raul Ibanez
  • 5 Ryan McGuire
  • 6 Todd Helton
  • 7 Jacob Cruz
  • 8 Abraham Nunez
  • 9 Paul Konerko
  • 10 Ben Grieve
  • 11 Jeff Abbott
  • 12 Richard Hidalgo
  • 13 Jaret Wright
  • 14 Lou Collier
  • 15 Miguel Tejada

Z-Team

Z-Team is an 18-card set featuring nine of the top players (cards #1-9), and nine of the top rookies (10-18). The odds of finding a 5 X 7 card with a standard-sized Z-Team embedded inside of it are 1:35/packs for the veterans and 1:58/packs for the rookies. The standard-size cards are also available as a Gold parallel. The odds of finding a 5 X 7 card with a Gold Z-Team card embedded inside of it ate 1:175/packs.

The first nine cards are also available in the 5" X 7" format.

  • 1 Frank Thomas
  • 2 Ken Griffey, Jr.
  • 3 Mike Piazza
  • 4 Cal Ripken, Jr.
  • 5 Alex Rodriguez
  • 6 Greg Maddux
  • 7 Derek Jeter
  • 8 Chipper Jones
  • 9 Roger Clemens
  • 10 Ben Grieve
  • 11 Derrek Lee
  • 12 Jose Cruz, Jr.
  • 13 Nomar Garciaparra
  • 14 Travis Lee
  • 15 Todd Helton
  • 16 Paul Konerko