1997 E-X 2000

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" horizontally along the upper-left 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 had depth created 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 (intentional or unintentional).

• 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 higher than 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.