1998 Pinnacle Performers
Description
1998 Pinnacle Performers was a 150 card set that, like most Pinnacle Brands releases of the era, following the same formula of many of their other mid-level prince-point products. The set contains 120 veterans, 17 "Rookies," a ten-card Far and Away subset and three Checklists. It was released in July, 1998 and was Pinnacle Brands' penultimate baseball card product.
Performers replaced the similarly structured Pinnacle X-Press, and like '97 X-Press, each pack contained a "Swing for the Fences" game card.
There are no rookie cards in this set.
Distribution
Wax: 24 packs per box; eight cards per pack (MSRP: $1.99)
Reviews
Insertion Ratios
| Cards | Total Cards | Numbered To | Hobby Odds | Retail Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | 150 | - | 8:1 | ? |
| Peak Performers Parallel | 150 | - | 1:7 | ? |
| Swing for the Fences | 50 | - | 1:2 | ? |
| Launching Pad | 20 | - | 1:9 | ? |
| Power Trip | 10 | 10,000 | 1:21 | ? |
| Big Bang | 20 | 2500 | 1:45 | ? |
| Big Bang Seasonal Outburst | 20 | varies | ? | ? |
Checklist
Base Set
1 Ken Griffey Jr.
2 Frank Thomas
3 Cal Ripken
4 Alex Rodriguez
5 Greg Maddux
6 Mike Piazza
7 Chipper Jones
8 Tony Gwynn
9 Derek Jeter
10 Jeff Bagwell
11 Juan Gonzalez
12 Nomar Garciaparra
13 Andruw Jones
14 Hideo Nomo
15 Roger Clemens
16 Mark McGwire
17 Scott Rolen
18 Vladimir Guerrero
19 Barry Bonds
20 Darin Erstad
21 Albert Belle
22 Kenny Lofton
23 Mo Vaughn
24 Tony Clark
25 Ivan Rodriguez
26 Jose Cruz Jr.
27 Larry Walker
28 Jaret Wright
29 Andy Pettitte
30 Roberto Alomar
31 Randy Johnson
32 Manny Ramirez
33 Paul Molitor
34 Mike Mussina
35 Jim Thome
36 Tino Martinez
37 Gary Sheffield
38 Chuck Knoblauch
39 Bernie Williams
40 Tim Salmon
41 Sammy Sosa
42 Wade Boggs
43 Will Clark
44 Andres Galarraga
45 Raul Mondesi
46 Rickey Henderson
47 Jose Canseco
48 Pedro Martinez
49 Jay Buhner
50 Ryan Klesko
51 Barry Larkin
52 Charles Johnson
53 Tom Glavine
54 Edgar Martinez
55 Fred McGriff
56 Moises Alou
57 Dante Bichette
58 Jim Edmonds
59 Mark Grace
60 Chan Ho Park
61 Justin Thompson
62 John Smoltz
63 Craig Biggio
64 Ken Caminiti
65 Richard Hidalgo
66 Carlos Delgado
67 David Justice
68 J.T. Snow
69 Jason Giambi
70 Garret Anderson
71 Rondell White
72 Matt Williams
73 Brady Anderson
74 Eric Karros
75 Javier Lopez
76 Pat Hentgen
77 Todd Hundley
78 Ray Lankford
79 Denny Neagle
80 Sandy Alomar Jr.
81 Jason Kendall
82 Omar Vizquel
83 Kevin Brown
84 Kevin Appier
85 Al Martin
86 Rusty Greer
87 Bobby Bonilla
88 Shawn Estes
89 Rafael Palmeiro
90 Edgar Renteria
91 Alan Benes
92 Bobby Higginson
93 Mark Grudzielanek
94 Jose Guillen
95 Neifi Perez
96 Jeff Abbott
97 Todd Walker
98 Eric Young
99 Brett Tomko
100 Mike Cameron
101 Karim Garcia
102 Brian Jordan
103 Jeff Suppan
104 Robin Ventura
105 Henry Rodriguez
106 Shannon Stewart
107 Kevin Orie
108 Bartolo Colon
109 Bob Abreu
110 Vinny Castilla
111 Livan Hernandez
112 Derrek Lee
113 Mark Kotsay
114 Todd Greene
115 Edgardo Alfonzo
116 A.J. Hinch
117 Paul Konerko
118 Todd Helton
119 Miguel Tejada
120 Fernando Tatis
Rookie Subset
NOTE: Despite the name, there are no "true" rookie cards in this subset.
121 Ben Grieve
122 Travis Lee
123 Kerry Wood
124 Eli Marrero
125 David Ortiz
126 Juan Encarnacion
127 Brad Fullmer
128 Richie Sexson
129 Aaron Boone
130 Enrique Wilson
131 Javier Valentin
132 Abraham Nunez
133 Ricky Ledee
134 Carl Pavano
135 Bobby Estalella
136 Homer Bush
137 Brian Rose
Far & Away
138 Ken Griffey Jr.
139 Frank Thomas
140 Cal Ripken
141 Alex Rodriguez
142 Greg Maddux
143 Chipper Jones
144 Mike Piazza
145 Tony Gwynn
146 Derek Jeter
147 Jeff Bagwell
Checklists
148 Checklist
149 Checklist
150 Checklist
Parallels
Peak Performers
Peak Performers is the sole parallel, and reprints all 150 base set cards. Each card is printed on foil-board with the words "PEAK PERFORMERS" running down the right side of the photo.
Inserts
Big Bang
Each card is serial-numbered to 2500 copies. Promotional samples of this set were distributed within wholesale dealer order forms prior to the products release (one card per order). The Samples parallel the regular Big Bang inserts except for the bold "SAMPLE" text running diagonally across the back of the card. In addition, Sample cards are NOT serial-numbered.
Seasonal Outburst
Seasonal Outburst is a red-foiled parallel of the Big Bang set. Each card is serial-numbered to the player's 1997 home run total (noted below). However, a number of non-numbered cards have emerged on the market; which may have been "backdoored" after Pinnacle Brands' 1998 bankruptcy. It is believed that there are more non-numbered Seasonal Outburst cards in circulation than there are serial-numbered ones.
1 Ken Griffey Jr. /56
2 Frank Thomas /35
3 Mike Piazza /40
4 Chipper Jones /21
5 Alex Rodriguez /23
6 Nomar Garciaparra /30
7 Jeff Bagwell /43
8 Cal Ripken /17
9 Albert Belle /30
10 Mark McGwire /58
11 Juan Gonzalez /42
12 Larry Walker /49
13 Tino Martinez /44
14 Jim Thome /40
15 Manny Ramirez /26
16 Barry Bonds /40
17 Mo Vaughn /35
18 Jose Cruz Jr. /26
19 Tony Clark /32
20 Andruw Jones /18
Launching Pad
1 Ben Grieve
2 Ken Griffey Jr.
3 Derek Jeter
4 Frank Thomas
5 Travis Lee
6 Vladimir Guerrero
7 Tony Gwynn
8 Jose Cruz Jr.
9 Cal Ripken
10 Chipper Jones
11 Scott Rolen
12 Andruw Jones
13 Ivan Rodriguez
14 Todd Helton
15 Nomar Garciaparra
16 Mark McGwire
17 Gary Sheffield
18 Bernie Williams
19 Alex Rodriguez
20 Mike Piazza
Power Trip
Each card is serial-numbered to 10,000 copies.
1 Frank Thomas
2 Alex Rodriguez
3 Nomar Garciaparra
4 Jeff Bagwell
5 Cal Ripken
6 Mike Piazza
7 Chipper Jones
8 Ken Griffey Jr.
9 Mark McGwire
10 Juan Gonzalez
Swing for the Fences
Similar to the promotion in 1997 Pinnacle X-Press, Swing for the Fences was a 75-card game, consisting of 50 players and 25 "point" cards. Collectors who found the player cards of the 1998 AL and NL home run champs, and collected enough point cards to match their respective player's league-leading HR total could then exchange their cards and receive a special 10-pack of "upgraded" Swing for the Fences cards. The first 1000 entries would also receive a special autographed Swing for the Fences Upgrade card of Texas Rangers star Juan Gonzalez. All winners would also be entered into a drawing for a trip for two to the 1999 All-Star Game in Boston.
Pinnacle Brands' bankruptcy in the Fall of 1998 wiped away the Upgrade redemption program, and unlike other Pinnacle Brands cards of the era, it does not appear that any of the Upgrades or Juan Gonzalez Autographed Upgrades were "backdoored."
1 Brady Anderson
2 Albert Belle
3 Jay Buhner
4 Jose Canseco
5 Tony Clark
6 Jose Cruz Jr.
7 Jim Edmonds
8 Cecil Fielder
9 Travis Fryman
10 Nomar Garciaparra
11 Juan Gonzalez
12 Ken Griffey Jr.
13 David Justice
14 Travis Lee
15 Edgar Martinez
16 Tino Martinez
17 Rafael Palmeiro
18 Manny Ramirez
19 Cal Ripken
20 Alex Rodriguez
21 Tim Salmon
22 Frank Thomas
23 Jim Thome
24 Mo Vaughn
25 Bernie Williams
26 Fred McGriff
27 Jeff Bagwell
28 Dante Bichette
29 Barry Bonds
30 Ellis Burks
31 Ken Caminiti
32 Vinny Castilla
33 Andres Galarraga
34 Vladimir Guerrero
35 Todd Helton
36 Todd Hundley
37 Andruw Jones
38 Chipper Jones
39 Eric Karros
40 Ryan Klesko
41 Ray Lankford
42 Mark McGwire
43 Raul Mondesi
44 Mike Piazza
45 Scott Rolen
46 Gary Sheffield
47 Sammy Sosa
48 Larry Walker
49 Matt Williams
50 Wild Card
Swing for the Fences Exchange Cards
This 12-card set was created as a promotional tie-in for hobby shop owners, and was first released at the 1998 All-Star Game FanFest (which was sponsored by Pinnacle). Cards were subsequently distributed to shop owners, nationwide, in 10-card packs.
Collectors who purchased three packs of 1998 Pinnacle Performers could take the wrappers to their local participating Hobby store and receive a card. Those who purchased an entire box would get a 10-card cello pack. The cards parallel the standard Swing for the Fences inserts found in packs, except for the upgraded 20 pt. stock, silver foil-board background and lack of numbering on the card back.
Jeff Bagwell
Barry Bonds
Nomar Garciaparra
Juan Gonzalez
Ken Griffey Jr.
Chipper Jones
Mark McGwire
Mike Piazza
Cal Ripken
Alex Rodriguez
Scott Rolen
Frank Thomas
Autographs & Game-Used
Juan Gonzalez Swing for the Fences Autographed Ball
Randomly inserted into packs, in lieu of a Swing for the Fences card, was a coupon good for a Major League Baseball autographed by Texas Rangers star Juan Gonzalez. Due to the Pinnacle Brands bankruptcy later that summer, the Juan Gonzalez balls were never redeemed. It is unclear is Gonzalez ever signed any baseballs for this promotion.