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

Z1 Nomar Garciaparra
Z2 Andres Galarraga
Z3 Greg Maddux
Z4 Frank Thomas
Z5 Mark McGwire
Z6 Rafael Palmeiro
Z7 John Smoltz
Z8 Jeff Bagwell
Z9 Andruw Jones
Z10 Rusty Greer
Z11 Paul Molitor
Z12 Bernie Williams
Z13 Kenny Lofton
Z14 Alex Rodriguez
Z15 Derek Jeter
Z16 Scott Rolen
Z17 Albert Belle
Z18 Mo Vaughn
Z19 Chipper Jones
Z20 Chuck Knoblauch
Z21 Mike Piazza
Z22 Tony Gwynn
Z23 Juan Gonzalez
Z24 Andy Pettitte
Z25 Tim Salmon
Z26 Brady Anderson
Z27 Mike Mussina
Z28 Edgar Martinez
Z29 Jose Guillen
Z30 Hideo Nomo
Z31 Jim Thome
Z32 Mark Grace
Z33 Darin Erstad
Z34 Bob Higginson
Z35 Ivan Rodriguez
Z36 Todd Hundley
Z37 Sandy Alomar, Jr.
Z38 Gary Sheffield
Z39 Dave Justice
Z40 Ken Griffey, Jr.
Z41 Vladimir Guerrero
Z42 Larry Walker
Z43 Barry Bonds
Z44 Randy Johnson
Z45 Roger Clemens
Z46 Raul Mondesi
Z47 Tino Martinez
Z48 Jason Giambi
Z49 Matt Williams
Z50 Cal Ripken, Jr.
Z51 Barry Larkin
Z52 Jim Edmonds
Z53 Ken Caminiti
Z54 Sammy Sosa
Z55 Tony Clark
Z56 Manny Ramirez
Z57 Bernard Gilkey
Z58 Jose Cruz, Jr.
Z59 Brian Jordan
Z60 Kevin Brown
Z61 Craig Biggio
Z62 Javy Lopez
Z63 Jay Buhner
Z64 Roberto Alomar
Z65 Justin Thompson
Z66 Todd Helton
Z67 Travis Lee
Z68 Paul Konerko
Z69 Jaret Wright
Z70 Ben Grieve
Z71 Juan Encarnacion
Z72 Ryan McGuire
Z73 Derrek Lee
Z74 Abraham Nunez
Z75 Richard Hidalgo
Z76 Miguel Tejada
Z77 Jacob Cruz
Z78 Homer Bush
Z79 Jeff Abbott
Z80 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
17 Miguel Tejada
18 Scott Rolen