1998 Zenith
Description
1998 Zenith is a 100-card set released by Pinnacle Brands in May 1998. Dubbed the "Dare to Tear" set, each pack three 5" x 7" cards each 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" by 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 carefully slice the back of the jumbo cards and remove the small 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 | - | ? |
| 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
1 Nomar Garciaparra
2 Andres Galarraga
3 Greg Maddux
4 Frank Thomas
5 Mark McGwire
6 Rafael Palmeiro
7 John Smoltz
8 Jeff Bagwell
9 Andruw Jones
10 Rusty Greer
11 Paul Molitor
12 Bernie Williams
13 Kenny Lofton
14 Alex Rodriguez
15 Derek Jeter
16 Scott Rolen
17 Albert Belle
18 Mo Vaughn
19 Chipper Jones
20 Chuck Knoblauch
21 Mike Piazza
22 Tony Gwynn
23 Juan Gonzalez
24 Andy Pettitte
25 Tim Salmon
26 Brady Anderson
27 Mike Mussina
28 Edgar Martinez
29 Jose Guillen
30 Hideo Nomo
31 Jim Thome
32 Mark Grace
33 Darin Erstad
34 Bobby Higginson
35 Ivan Rodriguez
36 Todd Hundley
37 Sandy Alomar Jr.
38 Gary Sheffield
39 David Justice
40 Ken Griffey Jr.
41 Vladimir Guerrero
42 Larry Walker
43 Barry Bonds
44 Randy Johnson
45 Roger Clemens
46 Raul Mondesi
47 Tino Martinez
48 Jason Giambi
49 Matt Williams
50 Cal Ripken
51 Barry Larkin
52 Jim Edmonds
53 Ken Caminiti
54 Sammy Sosa
55 Tony Clark
56 Manny Ramirez
57 Bernard Gilkey
58 Jose Cruz Jr.
59 Brian Jordan
60 Kevin Brown
61 Craig Biggio
62 Javier Lopez
63 Jay Buhner
64 Roberto Alomar
65 Justin Thompson
66 Todd Helton
67 Travis Lee
68 Paul Konerko
69 Jaret Wright
70 Ben Grieve
71 Juan Encarnacion
72 Ryan McGuire
73 Derrek Lee
74 Abraham Nunez
75 Richard Hidalgo
76 Miguel Tejada
77 Jacob Cruz
78 Homer Bush
79 Jeff Abbott
80 Lou Collier
Standard-Sized
1 Larry Walker
2 Ken Griffey Jr.
3 Cal Ripken
4 Sammy Sosa
5 Andruw Jones
6 Frank Thomas
7 Tony Gwynn
8 Rafael Palmeiro
9 Tim Salmon
10 Randy Johnson
11 Juan Gonzalez
12 Greg Maddux
13 Vladimir Guerrero
14 Mike Piazza
15 Andres Galarraga
16 Alex Rodriguez
17 Derek Jeter
18 Nomar Garciaparra
19 Ivan Rodriguez
20 Chipper Jones
21 Barry Larkin
22 Mo Vaughn
23 Albert Belle
24 Scott Rolen
25 Sandy Alomar Jr.
26 Roberto Alomar
27 Andy Pettitte
28 Chuck Knoblauch
29 Jeff Bagwell
30 Mike Mussina
31 Fred McGriff
32 Roger Clemens
33 Rusty Greer
34 Edgar Martinez
35 Paul Molitor
36 Mark Grace
37 Darin Erstad
38 Kenny Lofton
39 Tom Glavine
40 Javier Lopez
41 Will Clark
42 Tino Martinez
43 Raul Mondesi
44 Brady Anderson
45 Chan Ho Park
46 Jason Giambi
47 Manny Ramirez
48 Jay Buhner
49 Dante Bichette
50 Jose Cruz Jr.
51 Charles Johnson
52 Bernard Gilkey
53 Johnny Damon
54 David Justice
55 Justin Thompson
56 Bobby Higginson
57 Todd Hundley
58 Gary Sheffield
59 Barry Bonds
60 Mark McGwire
61 John Smoltz
62 Tony Clark
63 Brian Jordan
64 Jason Kendall
65 Mariano Rivera
66 Pedro Martinez
67 Jim Thome
68 Neifi Perez
69 Kevin Brown
70 Hideo Nomo
71 Craig Biggio
72 Bernie Williams
73 Jose Guillen
74 Ken Caminiti
75 Livan Hernandez
76 Ray Lankford
77 Jim Edmonds
78 Matt Williams
79 Mark Kotsay
80 Moises Alou
81 Antone Williamson
82 Jaret Wright
83 Jacob Cruz
84 Abraham Nunez
85 Raul Ibanez
86 Miguel Tejada
87 Derrek Lee
88 Juan Encarnacion
89 Todd Helton
90 Travis Lee
91 Ben Grieve
92 Ryan McGuire
93 Richard Hidalgo
94 Paul Konerko
95 Shannon Stewart
96 Homer Bush
97 Lou Collier
98 Jeff Abbott
99 Brett Tomko
100 Fernando Tatis
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
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
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
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