Description

E-X2000 was produced by the Skybox unit under Fleer and was a 102-card set released in the summer of 1997. Continuing with the previous year's theme of depth, each base card was multi-layered: The card fronts (top layer) featured a colored holographic foil (blue, purple, red, or orange) that accented the player's team with an translucent acetate shadowbox (middle layer) in the center of the card that depicted the sky. The player action photo was layered on top of the acetate. The card backs (bottom layer) were a non-holographic mirror image of the card fronts.

There are no notable rookies in this set.

Distribution

A hobby exclusive, each box of 1997 E-X2000 contained 24 packs of 2 "super premium" cards each. This set marked the first instance that a major licensed card company featured only two cards per pack and was an effort to further establish the set as high-end and exclusive.

Reviews

http://oldschoolbreaks.wordpress.com/2008/05/17/1997-e-x2000-baseball-review/

Insertion Ratios

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Hobby Odds
Base	100	-	?
Credentials	100	299	?
Essential Credentials	100	99	?
Star Date 2000	15	-	1:9
Hall or Nothing	20	-	1:20
A Cut Above	10	-	1:288
Emerald Autograph Redemptions	6	-	1:500
Alex Rodriguez Autographed Baseball	1	-	? } Checklist Promos Sample Dealers who ordered E-X2000 cases were given an Alex Rodriguez promo card. The card paralleled his base card but is marked "SAMPLE" on the back. Additionally, an over-sized promotional "strip" featuring A-Rod also exists and is considered to be very rare. Commemorative A special Alex Rodriguez promo card was also produced and distributed. These were serial-numbered to 3,000 on the back and marked as a commemoration of the premiere of the set. Base Set NOTE: Each pack contained either a checklist or a redemption card. The checklists are sequentially-numbered as part of the set but are printed on plain cardstock. 1 Jim Edmonds 2 Darin Erstad 3 Eddie Murray 4 Roberto Alomar 5 Brady Anderson 6 Mike Mussina 7 Rafael Palmeiro 8 Cal Ripken, Jr. 9 Steve Avery 10 Nomar Garciaparra 11 Mo Vaughn 12 Albert Belle 13 Mike Cameron 14 Ray Durham 15 Frank Thomas 16 Robin Ventura 17 Manny Ramirez 18 Jim Thome 19 Matt Williams 20 Tony Clark 21 Travis Fryman 22 Bob Higginson 23 Kevin Appier 24 Johnny Damon 25 Jermaine Dye 26 Jeff Cirillo 27 Ben McDonald 28 Chuck Knoblauch 29 Paul Molitor 30 Todd Walker 31 Wade Boggs 32 Cecil Fielder 33 Derek Jeter 34 Andy Pettitte 35 Ruben Rivera 36 Bernie Williams 37 Jose Canseco 38 Mark McGwire 39 Jay Buhner 40 Ken Griffey, Jr. 41 Randy Johnson 42 Edgar Martinez 43 Alex Rodriguez 44 Dan Wilson 45 Will Clark 46 Juan Gonzalez 47 Ivan Rodriguez 48 Joe Carter 49 Roger Clemens 50 Juan Guzman 51 Pat Hentgen 52 Tom Glavine 53 Andruw Jones 54 Chipper Jones 55 Ryan Klesko 56 Kenny Lofton 57 Greg Maddux 58 Fred McGriff 59 John Smoltz 60 Mark Wohlers 61 Mark Grace 62 Ryne Sandberg 63 Sammy Sosa 64 Barry Larkin 65 Deion Sanders 66 Reggie Sanders 67 Dante Bichette 68 Ellis Burks 69 Andres Galarraga 70 Moises Alou 71 Kevin Brown 72 Cliff Floyd 73 Edgar Renteria 74 Gary Sheffield 75 Bob Abreu 76 Jeff Bagwell 77 Craig Biggio 78 Todd Hollandsworth 79 Eric Karros 80 Raul Mondesi 81 Hideo Nomo 82 Mike Piazza 83 Vladimir Guerrero 84 Henry Rodriguez 85 Todd Hundley 86 Alex Ochoa 87 Rey Ordonez 88 Gregg Jefferies 89 Scott Rolen 90 Jermaine Allensworth 91 Jason Kendall 92 Ken Caminiti 93 Tony Gwynn 94 Rickey Henderson 95 Barry Bonds 96 J.T. Snow 97 Dennis Eckersley 98 Ron Gant 99 Brian Jordan 100 Ray Lankford 101 Checklist 102 Checklist Parallels Credentials The Credentials set fully paralleled the base set and each card was serial-numbered to 299. Each Credentials card featured the same multi-layering as a base card but had a silver holographic finish on the card front and was marked "Credentials" vertically along the upper-right portion of the card front. Essential Credentials The Essential Credentials set also fully paralleled the base set but each of these were serial-numbered to 99. Each Essential Credentials card featured the same multi-layering as a base card but had a star-foiled finish and was marked "Essential Credentials" horizontally and vertically along the upper-right portion of the card front. 1997 marked the inaugural release of this parallel set which became very popular with collectors and was featured in every E-X brand release until its end in 2004. Inserts Star Date 2000 This 15-card set highlighted top young stars in the game at the time and featured each player on a holographic, galaxy-themed background. 1 Alex Rodriguez 2 Andruw Jones 3 Andy Pettitte 4 Brooks Kieschnick 5 Chipper Jones 6 Darin Erstad 7 Derek Jeter 8 Jason Kendall 9 Jermaine Dye 10 Neifi Perez 11 Scott Rolen 12 Todd Hollandsworth 13 Todd Walker 14 Tony Clark 15 Vladimir Guerrero Hall or Nothing This 20-card set highlighted 20 players that were on a projected path to the Hall of Fame. Each card was die-cut, translucent, and created depth through foil and design. Cards were die-cut to resemble an elaborate gate/archway into the Hall of Fame and player photos were layered on top of the acetate gate/archway entrance. The foil was etched for detail; however, two colored foil versions exist: Copper and Gold. Fleer/Skybox provided no information about these two versions and two theories have emerged for explanation: that the Copper and Gold foiled cards were a result of a printing error or that one color was a stealth parallel variation that was never officially announced. Regardless of the theories, the Copper foil versions are more plentiful than the Gold and the common conclusion is that the Copper foil was the intended finish and the Gold foil was the variant. Regular (Copper Foil): Gold foil variant/misprint: 1 Frank Thomas 2 Ken Griffey, Jr. 3 Eddie Murray 4 Cal Ripken, Jr. 5 Ryne Sandberg 6 Wade Boggs 7 Roger Clemens 8 Tony Gwynn 9 Alex Rodriguez 10 Mark McGwire 11 Barry Bonds 12 Greg Maddux 13 Juan Gonzalez 14 Albert Belle 15 Mike Piazza 16 Jeff Bagwell 17 Dennis Eckersley 18 Mo Vaughn 19 Roberto Alomar 20 Kenny Lofton A Cut Above This 10-card set featured 10 players in the game who were considered to be on a level above the rest of their peers. Each card was die-cut like saw blades on the top and bottom of the card, printed on silver holographic foil, and featured embossed "A Cut Above" text box. 1 Frank Thomas 2 Ken Griffey, Jr. 3 Alex Rodriguez 4 Albert Belle 5 Juan Gonzalez 6 Mark McGwire 7 Mo Vaughn 8 Manny Ramirez 9 Barry Bonds 10 Fred McGriff Autographs & Game-Used Emerald Autographs This 6-card set consisted of redemption cards that could be exchanged via mail before May 1st, 1998 for an autographed card of that player. Each autographed card is a base card with an embossed SkyBox logo for differentiation. 2 Darin Erstad 30 Todd Walker 43 Alex Rodriguez 78 Todd Hollandsworth 86 Alex Ochoa 89 Scott Rolen Alex Rodriguez Autographed Baseball A redemption card good for a baseball signed by Alex Rodriguez was also randomly inserted in packs. 100 of these redemption cards were produced and the redemption deadline was May 1st, 1998.