1998 Pinnacle Plus

Description

1998 Pinnacle Plus was a 200-card, single-series set released in August, 1998. This product was the last baseball card set officially released by Pinnacle Brands prior to their bankruptcy which happened a couple weeks later. All base cards featured a color player photo, team-colored nameplate design and an all-foil finish on the card front. There were two subsets:

• The Naturals (a possible homage to the 1994 Pinnacle Naturals boxed set)
• Field of Vision

The lone notable Rookie Card in this set was of Magglio Ordonez.

Distribution

Hobby: 18 packs per box, 10 cards per pack (MSRP: $2.99).

Retail: 20 packs per box, 10 cards per pack.

Retail Blaster: 5 packs per box, 10 cards per pack (MSRP: $11.99).

Inserts were usually the 6th card in the pack.

Insertion Ratios

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Hobby Odds	Retail Odds
Base	200	-	10:1	10:1
Artist's Proof	60	-	1:35	1:35
Gold Artist's Proof	60	100	?	N/A
Mirror Artist's Proof	60	one of one	?	N/A
Lasting Memories	30	-	1:5	1:5
Yard Work	15	-	1:9	1:9
Piece of the Game	10	-	1:19	1:19
Team Pinnacle	15	-	1:71	1:71
Gold Team Pinacle	15	-	1:199	N/A
Mirror Gold Team Pinnacle	15	25	?	N/A
All-Star Epix Orange	12	-	1:24	1:21
All-Star Epix Purple	12	-	1:120	N/A
All-Star Epix Emerald	12	-	1:240	N/A
Nolan Ryan Autographed Baseball Redemption	1	1000	?	1:3000
Interleague Game-Used Baseball Redemption	1	100	?	1:3000

Checklist

Promos

Six "Sample" cards were distributed in 2-card sealed cello packs within dealer order forms and in Hobby media releases about four-to-six weeks prior to the release of the product. Promos were similar in design to the base set as they featured the same player photo and card design backgrounds, but were printed on basic four-color UV coated cardstock (rather than foil board like the base set) and featured the word "SAMPLE" printed diagonally across the back.

• 8 Nomar Garciaparra
• 9 Ken Griffey, Jr.
• 24 Frank Thomas
• 33 Mike Piazza
• 56 Chipper Jones
• 72 Larry Walker

Base Set

• 1 Roberto Alomar
• 2 Sandy Alomar, Jr.
• 3 Brady Anderson
• 4 Albert Belle
• 5 Jeff Cirillo
• 6 Roger Clemens
• 7 David Cone
• 8 Nomar Garciaparra
• 9 Ken Griffey, Jr.
• 10 Jason Dickson
• 11 Edgar Martinez
• 12 Tino Martinez
• 13 Randy Johnson
• 14 Mark McGwire
• 15 Dave Justice
• 16 Mike Mussina
• 17 Chuck Knoblauch
• 18 Joey Cora
• 19 Pat Hentgen
• 20 Randy Myers
• 21 Cal Ripken, Jr.
• 22 Mariano Rivera
• 23 Jose Rosado
• 24 Frank Thomas
• 25 Alex Rodriguez
• 26 Justin Thompson
• 27 Ivan Rodriguez
• 28 Bernie Williams
• 29 Pedro Martinez
• 30 Tony Clark
• 31 Garret Anderson
• 32 Travis Fryman
• 33 Mike Piazza
• 34 Carl Pavano
• 35 Kevin Millwood RC
• 36 Miguel Tejada
• 37 Willie Blair
• 38 Devon White
• 39 Andres Galarraga
• 40 Barry Larkin
• 41 Al Leiter
• 42 Moises Alou
• 43 Eric Young
• 44 John Jaha
• 45 Bernard Gilkey
• 46 Freddy Garcia
• 47 Ruben Rivera
• 48 Robb Nen
• 49 Ray Lankford
• 50 Kenny Lofton
• 51 Joe Carter
• 52 Jason McDonald
• 53 Quinton McCracken
• 54 Kerry Wood
• 55 Mike Lansing
• 56 Chipper Jones
• 57 Barry Bonds
• 58 Brad Fullmer
• 59 Jeff Bagwell
• 60 Rondell White
• 61 Geronimo Berroa
• 62 Magglio Ordonez RC
• 63 Dwight Gooden
• 64 Brian Hunter
• 65 Todd Walker
• 66 Frank Catalanotto RC
• 67 Tony Saunders
• 68 Travis Lee
• 69 Michael Tucker
• 70 Reggie Sanders
• 71 Derrek Lee
• 72 Larry Walker
• 73 Marquis Grissom
• 74 Craig Biggio
• 75 Kevin Brown
• 76 J.T. Snow
• 77 Eric Davis
• 78 Jeff Abbott
• 79 Jermaine Dye
• 80 Otis Nixon
• 81 Curt Schilling
• 82 Enrique Wilson
• 83 Tony Gwynn
• 84 Orlando Cabrera
• 85 Ramon Martinez
• 86 Greg Vaughn
• 87 Alan Benes
• 88 Dennis Eckersley
• 89 Jim Thome
• 90 Juan Encarnacion
• 91 Jeff King
• 92 Shannon Stewart
• 93 Roberto Hernandez
• 94 Raul Ibanez
• 95 Darryl Kile
• 96 Charles Johnson
• 97 Rich Becker
• 98 Hal Morris
• 99 Ismael Valdes
• 100 Orel Hershiser
• 101 Mo Vaughn
• 102 Aaron Boone
• 103 Jeff Conine
• 104 Paul O'Neill
• 105 Tom Candiotti
• 106 Wilson Alvarez
• 107 Mike Stanley
• 108 Carlos Delgado
• 109 Tony Batista
• 110 Dante Bichette
• 111 Henry Rodriguez
• 112 Karim Garcia
• 113 Shane Reynolds
• 114 Ken Caminiti
• 115 Jose Silva
• 116 Juan Gonzalez
• 117 Brian Jordan
• 118 Jim Leyritz
• 119 Manny Ramirez
• 120 Fred McGriff
• 121 Brooks Kieschnick
• 122 Sean Casey
• 123 John Smoltz
• 124 Rusty Greer
• 125 Cecil Fielder
• 126 Mike Cameron
• 127 Reggie Jefferson
• 128 Bob Higginson
• 129 Kevin Appier
• 130 Robin Ventura
• 131 Ben Grieve
• 132 Wade Boggs
• 133 Jose Cruz, Jr.
• 134 Jeff Suppan
• 135 Vinny Castilla
• 136 Sammy Sosa
• 137 Mark Wohlers
• 138 Jay Bell
• 139 Brett Tomko
• 140 Gary Sheffield
• 141 Tim Salmon
• 142 Jaret Wright
• 143 Kenny Rogers
• 144 Brian Anderson
• 145 Darrin Fletcher
• 146 John Flaherty
• 147 Dmitri Young
• 148 Andruw Jones
• 149 Matt Williams
• 150 Bobby Bonilla
• 151 Mike Hampton
• 152 Al Martin
• 153 Mark Grudzielanek
• 154 Dave Nilsson
• 155 Roger Cedeno
• 156 Greg Maddux
• 157 Mark Kotsay
• 158 Steve Finley
• 159 Wilson Delgado
• 160 Ron Gant
• 161 Jim Edmonds
• 162 Jeff Blauser
• 163 Dave Burba
• 164 Pedro Astacio
• 165 Livan Hernandez
• 166 Neifi Perez
• 167 Ryan Klesko
• 168 Fernando Tatis
• 169 Richard Hidalgo
• 170 Carlos Perez
• 171 Bob Abreu
• 172 Francisco Cordova
• 173 Todd Helton
• 174 Doug Glanville
• 175 Brian Rose
• 176 Yamil Benitez
• 177 Darin Erstad
• 178 Scott Rolen
• 179 John Wetteland
• 180 Paul Sorrento
• 181 Walt Weiss

Naturals

• 181 Walt Weiss
• 182 Vladimir Guerrero
• 183 Ken Griffey, Jr.
• 184 Alex Rodriguez
• 185 Cal Ripken, Jr.
• 186 Frank Thomas
• 187 Chipper Jones
• 188 Hideo Nomo
• 189 Nomar Garciaparra
• 190 Mike Piazza
• 191 Greg Maddux
• 192 Tony Gwynn
• 193 Mark McGwire
• 194 Roger Clemens

Field of Vision

• 195 Mike Piazza
• 196 Mark McGwire
• 197 Chipper Jones
• 198 Larry Walker
• 199 Hideo Nomo
• 200 Barry Bonds

Parallels

Only 60 cards from the base set were available in the following three partial-parallels:

• Artist's Proof
• Gold Artist's Proof (serial-numbered to 100 copies)
• Mirror Artist's Proof (one-of-one)

NOTE: For distinction from the base Artist's Proof parallels, Mirror Artist's Proof parallels also featured a removable protective peel on the card front (similar to the 1997 Pinnacle Certified Mirror Red/Blue/Gold parallels.

• AP1 Roberto Alomar
• AP2 Albert Belle
• AP3 Roger Clemens
• AP4 Nomar Garciaparra
• AP5 Ken Griffey, Jr.
• AP6 Tino Martinez
• AP7 Randy Johnson
• AP8 Mark McGwire
• AP9 Dave Justice
• AP10 Chuck Knoblauch
• AP11 Cal Ripken, Jr.
• AP12 Frank Thomas
• AP13 Alex Rodriguez
• AP14 Ivan Rodriguez
• AP15 Bernie Williams
• AP16 Pedro Martinez
• AP17 Tony Clark
• AP18 Mike Piazza
• AP19 Miguel Tejada
• AP20 Andres Galarraga
• AP21 Barry Larkin
• AP22 Kenny Lofton
• AP23 Chipper Jones
• AP24 Barry Bonds
• AP25 Brad Fullmer
• AP26 Jeff Bagwell
• AP27 Todd Walker
• AP28 Travis Lee
• AP29 Larry Walker
• AP30 Craig Biggio
• AP31 Tony Gwynn
• AP32 Jim Thome
• AP33 Juan Encarnacion
• AP34 Mo Vaughn
• AP35 Karim Garcia
• AP36 Ken Caminiti
• AP37 Juan Gonzalez
• AP38 Manny Ramirez
• AP39 Fred McGriff
• AP40 Rusty Greer
• AP41 Bob Higginson
• AP42 Ben Grieve
• AP43 Wade Boggs
• AP44 Jose Cruz
• AP45 Sammy Sosa
• AP46 Gary Sheffield
• AP47 Tim Salmon
• AP48 Jaret Wright
• AP49 Andruw Jones
• AP50 Matt Williams
• AP51 Greg Maddux
• AP52 Jim Edmonds
• AP53 Livan Hernandez
• AP54 Neifi Perez
• AP55 Fernando Tatis
• AP56 Richard Hidalgo
• AP57 Todd Helton
• AP58 Darin Erstad
• AP59 Scott Rolen
• AP60 Vladimir Guerrero

Inserts

Lasting Memories

This 30-card set highlighted memorable moments of the featured player on a silver and blue foil card front that was die-cut along the right edge.

• 1 Nomar Garciaparra
• 2 Ken Griffey, Jr.
• 3 Livan Hernandez
• 4 Hideo Nomo
• 5 Ben Grieve
• 6 Scott Rolen
• 7 Roger Clemens
• 8 Cal Ripken, Jr.
• 9 Mo Vaughn
• 10 Frank Thomas
• 11 Mark McGwire
• 12 Barry Larkin
• 13 Matt Williams
• 14 Jose Cruz
• 15 Andruw Jones
• 16 Mike Piazza
• 17 Jeff Bagwell
• 18 Chipper Jones
• 19 Juan Gonzalez
• 20 Kenny Lofton
• 21 Greg Maddux
• 22 Ivan Rodriguez
• 23 Alex Rodriguez
• 24 Derek Jeter
• 25 Albert Belle
• 26 Barry Bonds
• 27 Larry Walker
• 28 Sammy Sosa
• 29 Tony Gwynn
• 30 Randy Johnson

Yardwork

This 15-card set highlighted some of the top home run hitters in the game on a silver, white, and black gradient, etched-foil design.

• 1 Mo Vaughn
• 2 Frank Thomas
• 3 Albert Belle
• 4 Nomar Garciaparra
• 5 Tony Clark
• 6 Tino Martinez
• 7 Ken Griffey, Jr.
• 8 Juan Gonzalez
• 9 Sammy Sosa
• 10 Jose Cruz
• 11 Jeff Bagwell
• 12 Mike Piazza
• 13 Larry Walker
• 14 Mark McGwire
• 15 Barry Bonds

Piece of the Game

This 10-card set honored some of the top players in the game on a silver and black etched-foil background. Despite the name, none of the cards in this set featured any game-used material.

• 1 Ken Griffey, Jr.
• 2 Frank Thomas
• 3 Alex Rodriguez
• 4 Chipper Jones
• 5 Cal Ripken, Jr.
• 6 Mike Piazza
• 7 Greg Maddux
• 8 Juan Gonzalez
• 9 Nomar Garciaparra
• 10 Larry Walker

Team Pinnacle

A continuation of the flagship insert set that began in 1992 Pinnacle, this 15-card set featured Pinnacle's choice for the best player at each position in the American and National League. The front side of the card featured an American League player and the back featured the National League player on a red and white background. Team Pinnacle cards also featured a foil finish on one side of the card and had two parallels: Gold and Mirror Gold. For clarity, there are a total of 5 variations of each card:

• Foil American League player/Non-foil National League player

• Non-Foil American League player/Foil National League player

• Gold foil American League player/Gold Non-foil National League player

• Non-Gold foil American League player/Gold foil American League player

• Mirror Gold (stated print run of 25 copies): Gold holographic foil on one side/Gold Non-foil on other side. The Mirror Gold parallel has holographic foil on one side of the card only and are not serially numbered.

• 1 Mike Piazza / Ivan Rodriguez
• 2 Mark McGwire / Mo Vaughn
• 3 Roberto Alomar / Craig Biggio
• 4 Alex Rodriguez / Barry Larkin
• 5 Cal Ripken, Jr. / Chipper Jones
• 6 Ken Griffey, Jr. / Larry Walker
• 7 Juan Gonzalez / Tony Gwynn
• 8 Barry Bonds / Albert Belle
• 9 Kenny Lofton / Andruw Jones
• 10 Tino Martinez / Jeff Bagwell
• 11 Frank Thomas / Andres Galarraga
• 12 Roger Clemens / Greg Maddux
• 13 Pedro Martinez / Hideo Nomo
• 14 Nomar Garciaparra / Scott Rolen
• 15 Ben Grieve / Paul Konerko

All-Star Epix

See 1998 Pinnacle Epix.

Autographs

Nolan Ryan Autographed Baseball

Randomly inserted into packs of 1998 Pinnacle Plus were 1,000 exchange cards good for a baseball autographed by Nolan Ryan. However, due to the Donruss/Leaf/Pinnacle bankruptcy, the redemption program was wiped out and it is unclear if Ryan ever signed any baseballs for this promotion.

Interleague Game-Used Baseball

Randomly inserted into packs of 1998 Pinnacle Plus were 100 exchange cards good for a baseball used in a 1997 Major League Interleague game. Similar to the planned Nolan Ryan autograph redemption, none of the exchange cards were ever fulfilled due to the Donruss/Leaf/Pinnacle bankruptcy.