Description

1996 Pinnacle Aficionado is a 200 card set released in August 1996. With the exception of the "Global Reach" subset, all base cards are printed horizontally. All cards are printed on a 20-point thick cardstock that, unfortunately, was easily chipped. The chipping is especially evident on the black backs of the base cards making truly mint condition cards tough to find.

All packs, cards, and display boxes were sprayed with a bubble gum scent.

Distribution

16 packs per box, five cards per pack (MSRP $3.99).

Reviews

Insertion Ratios

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Odds
Base	200	-	?
Artist's Proof	200	-	1:35
Slick Picks	32	-	1:10
Rivals	24	-	1:24
Magic Numbers	10	-	1:72

Checklist

Promos

These three cards were sent to Hobby dealers to promote the upcoming Aficionado set.

9 Roger Clemens

107 Ryan Klesko

MN7 Albert Belle (Magic Numbers)

First Pitch Preview

This promo set parallels the first 100 cards in the base set. Collectors who answered a series of trivia questions correctly on the Pinnacle Brands website would receive one randomly selected First Pitch Preview card via mail. Cards were also distributed to collector's on Pinnacle's mailing list. The cards are similar in design except for the bronze foil highlights and a logo on the front designating them as "First Pitch Preview" cards.

Production has been estimated at only 50-60 copies of each card, making it one of the toughest promo sets of the era.

Base Set

1 Jack McDowell
2 Jay Bell
3 Rafael Palmeiro
4 Wally Joyner
5 Ozzie Smith
6 Mark McGwire
7 Kevin Seitzer
8 Fred McGriff
9 Roger Clemens
10 Randy Johnson
11 Cecil Fielder
12 David Cone
13 Chili Davis
14 Andres Galarraga
15 Joe Carter
16 Ryne Sandberg
17 Paul O'Neill
18 Cal Ripken, Jr.
19 Wade Boggs
20 Greg Gagne
21 Edgar Martinez
22 Greg Maddux
23 Ken Caminiti
24 Kirby Puckett
25 Craig Biggio
26 Will Clark
27 Ron Gant
28 Eddie Murray
29 Lance Johnson
30 Tony Gwynn
31 Dante Bichette
32 Darren Daulton
33 Danny Tartabull
34 Jeff King
35 Tom Glavine
36 Rickey Henderson
37 Jose Canseco
38 Barry Larkin
39 Dennis Martinez
40 Ruben Sierra
41 Bobby Bonilla
42 Jeff Conine
43 Lee Smith
44 Charlie Hayes
45 Walt Weiss
46 Jay Buhner
47 Kenny Rogers
48 Paul Molitor
49 Hal Morris
50 Todd Stottlemyre
51 Mike Stanley
52 Mark Grace
53 Lenny Dykstra
54 Andre Dawson
55 Dennis Eckersley
56 Ben McDonald
57 Ray Lankford
58 Mo Vaughn
59 Frank Thomas
60 Julio Franco
61 Jim Abbott
62 Greg Vaughn
63 Marquis Grissom
64 Tino Martinez
65 Kevin Appier
66 Matt Williams
67 Sammy Sosa
68 Larry Walker
69 Ivan Rodriguez
70 Eric Karros
71 Bernie Williams
72 Carlos Baerga
73 Jeff Bagwell
74 Pete Schourek
75 Ken Griffey, Jr.
76 Bernard Gilkey
77 Albert Belle
78 Chuck Knoblauch
79 John Smoltz
80 Barry Bonds
81 Vinny Castilla
82 John Olerud
83 Mike Mussina
84 Alex Fernandez
85 Shawon Dunston
86 Travis Fryman
87 Moises Alou
88 Dean Palmer
89 Gregg Jefferies
90 Jim Thome
91 Dave Justice
92 B.J. Surhoff
93 Ramon Martinez
94 Gary Sheffield
95 Andy Benes
96 Reggie Sanders
97 Roberto Alomar
98 Omar Vizquel
99 Juan Gonzalez
100 Robin Ventura
101 Jason Isringhausen
102 Greg Colbrunn
103 Brian Jordan
104 Shawn Green
105 Brian Hunter
106 Rondell White
107 Ryan Klesko
108 Sterling Hitchcock
109 Manny Ramirez
110 Bret Boone
111 Michael Tucker
112 Julian Tavarez
113 Benji Gil
114 Kenny Lofton
115 Mike Kelly
116 Ray Durham
117 Trevor Hoffman
118 Butch Huskey
119 Phil Nevin
120 Pedro Martinez
121 Wil Cordero
122 Tim Salmon
123 Jim Edmonds
124 Mike Piazza
125 Rico Brogna
126 John Mabry
127 Chipper Jones
128 Johnny Damon
129 Raul Mondesi
130 Denny Neagle
131 Marc Newfield
132 Hideo Nomo
133 Joe Vitiello
134 Garret Anderson
135 Dave Nilsson
136 Alex Rodriguez
137 Russ Davis
138 Frank Rodriguez
139 Royce Clayton
140 John Valentin
141 Marty Cordova
142 Alex Gonzalez
143 Carlos Delgado
144 Willie Greene
145 Cliff Floyd
146 Bob Higginson
147 J.T. Snow
148 Derek Bell
149 Edgardo Alfonzo
150 Charles Johnson
151 Hideo Nomo GR
152 Larry Walker GR
153 Bob Abreu GR
154 Karim Garcia GR
155 Dave Nilsson GR
156 Chan Ho Park GR
157 Dennis Martinez GR
158 Sammy Sosa GR
159 Rey Ordonez GR
160 Roberto Alomar GR
161 George Arias
162 Jason Schmidt
163 Derek Jeter
164 Chris Snopek
165 Todd Hollandsworth
166 Sal Fasano
167 Jay Powell
168 Paul Wilson
169 Jim Pittsley
170 LaTroy Hawkins
171 Bob Abreu
172 Mike Grace RC
173 Karim Garcia
174 Richard Hidalgo
175 Felipe Crespo
176 Terrell Wade
177 Steve Gibralter
178 Jermaine Dye
179 Alan Benes
180 Wilton Guerrero RC
181 Brooks Kieschnick
182 Roger Cedeno
183 Osvaldo Fernandez RC
184 Matt Lawton RC
185 George Williams RC
186 Jimmy Haynes
187 Mike Busby RC
188 Chan Ho Park
189 Marc Barcelo
190 Jason Kendall
191 Rey Ordonez
192 Tyler Houston
193 John Wasdin
194 Jeff Suppan
195 Jeff Ware
196 Ken Griffey, Jr. CL
197 Albert Belle CL
198 Mike Piazza CL
199 Greg Maddux CL
200 Frank Thomas CL

Parallels

Artist's Proof

This 200-card set is a parallel set to the regular Pinnacle Aficionado set. A gold foil stamp in the shape of an artist's pen with the words, "Artist's Proof," printed above the wood-grain look bar containing the player's name distinguishes it from the regular set.

Inserts

Slick Picks

This 32-card set honors 32 draft picks for their future all-star abilities, on "spectroetch" printing technology.

1 Mike Piazza
2 Cal Ripken, Jr.
3 Ken Griffey, Jr.
4 Paul Wilson
5 Frank Thomas
6 Mo Vaughn
7 Barry Bonds
8 Albert Belle
9 Jeff Bagwell
10 Dante Bichette
11 Hideo Nomo
12 Raul Mondesi
13 Manny Ramirez
14 Greg Maddux
15 Tony Gwynn
16 Ryne Sandberg
17 Reggie Sanders
18 Derek Jeter
19 Johnny Damon
20 Alex Rodriguez
21 Ryan Klesko
22 Jim Thome
23 Kenny Lofton
24 Tino Martinez
25 Randy Johnson
26 Wade Boggs
27 Juan Gonzalez
28 Kirby Puckett
29 Tim Salmon
30 Chipper Jones
31 Garret Anderson
32 Eddie Murray

Rivals

This 24-card set features two spot embossed color player photos of rival players.

24 Barry Bonds / Tony Gwynn
21 Mike Piazza / Tony Gwynn
20 Tony Gwynn / Jeff Bagwell
19 Barry Bonds / Mike Piazza
18 Jeff Bagwell / Tony Gwynn
16 Tony Gwynn / Mike Piazza
14 Jeff Bagwell / Barry Bonds
12 Mo Vaughn / Cal Ripken, Jr.
11 Cal Ripken, Jr. / Frank Thomas
9 Ken Griffey, Jr. / Mo Vaughn
8 Mo Vaughn / Frank Thomas
7 Cal Ripken / Ken Griffey, Jr.
5 Ken Griffey, Jr. / Cal Ripken, Jr.
4 Mo Vaughn / Ken Griffey, Jr.
3 Cal Ripken, Jr. / Mo Vaughn
2 Frank Thomas / Cal Ripken, Jr.
1 Ken Griffey, Jr. / Frank Thomas
6 Frank Thomas / Mo Vaughn
10 Frank Thomas / Ken Griffey, Jr.
13 Mike Piazza / Jeff Bagwell
15 Jeff Bagwell / Mike Piazza
17 Mike Piazza / Barry Bonds
22 Barry Bonds / Jeff Bagwell
23 Tony Gwynn / Barry Bonds

Magic Numbers

This 10-card set is printed on actual maple wood and features ten of of today's top superstars.

1 Ken Griffey, Jr.
2 Greg Maddux
3 Frank Thomas
4 Mo Vaughn
5 Jeff Bagwell
6 Chipper Jones
7 Albert Belle
8 Cal Ripken, Jr.
9 Matt Williams
10 Sammy Sosa