For the casual collector, the 1997 Pinnacle baseball card set is likely all but forgotten.
Demand was never high for this set, considering they appeared during a low point in hobby history.
But for the advanced collector, there is a bit of a hobby milestone tied to '97 Pinnacle...
Well, kind of...
Though the company initially planned a more extensive checklist, the set clocked in at just 200 cards produced in a single series.
After scrapping plans for a second series, the company instead released an entirely new set, which they called 1997 New Pinnacle.
And that was the first set to offer collectors a shot at pulling press plates from packs.
So, while the set may not be among the most recognizable in the hobby, it still has a claim to hobby history
And in this guide, we'll take a look at the 10 most valuable.
Let's jump right in!
1997 Pinnacle #193 Ken Griffey Jr.
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $60
No matter what Ken Griffey Jr. did in his first eight years as a Major Leaguer, there was someone who thought he could do better.
Seven straight All-Star appearances and a Gold Glove didn't silence the critics, nor did the four Silver Sluggers.
He even helped save baseball in Seattle in 1995, but the "what ifs" persisted.
The 1997 season put a definitive end to all that.
Griffey took home two-thirds of the AL Triple Crown with 56 home runs and an MLB-best 147 RBIs.
He also paced the Junior Circuit in runs (125), slugging percentage (.646), and total bases (393) while once again earning a Gold Glove for his center-field magic show.
All the voters who sought something more out of the Mariners megastar had nothing left to do but name him the ninth unanimous AL MVP.
"All my life in professional baseball, people said, 'He could be better," Griffey said. "This award means a lot."
1997 Pinnacle #139 Derek Jeter
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $50
Upon receiving the 1996 AL Rookie of the Year award, Derek Jeter offered a refreshing perspective.
"Baseball is a real humbling sport," Jeter said then. "You are on top one day and the bottom the next. I'll enjoy this now, but you don't have to worry about me getting a big head."
It's as if he knew how trying his sophomore year would be.
It's not that the young New York Yankees shortstop had a bad season.
He actually posted a better OPS+ (103) than '96 while leading the AL in plate appearances (748) and grabbing a smattering of MVP votes.
It's just that Jeter didn't take that assumed next step.
The 23-year-old hit just .291 in 1997, which turned out to be his worst average until the 2010 campaign.
His defense was passable but not spectacular, and his .775 OPS was just above replacement level.
Jeter picked it up in the postseason, hitting .333 (7-for-21) with two home runs, a double, and six runs scored against the Indians.
However, New York lost in five, and there were more than a few grumbles from a demanding Yankees fan base.
1997 Pinnacle #42 Tony Gwynn
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $40
Tony Gwynn had to outlast the National League's best player for a historic eighth batting title.
The 37-year-old San Diego Padres right fielder traded the league lead with Colorado Rockies slugger Larry Walker all year.
Walker was ahead in the race as late as September 19th, but Gwynn pulled ahead to stay with an 11-for-20 burst in the season's final week.
Gwynn ended the year at .372, six points clear of Walker.
It was the Hall-of-Famer's second-best average for a season.
"I feel like I've earned it," Gwynn said. "I had to battle this year. Larry Walker gave me all he could give me. It's nice to know you're up there."
Gwynn's eight batting titles trail only Ty Cobb (12) for the most in MLB history.
His 1997 triumph made four in a row, making him the first NL player to tally four consecutive batting crowns since Rogers Hornsby tallied six from 1920 to 1925.
1997 Pinnacle #104 Rickey Henderson
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $40
Rickey Henderson was often painted as a me-first player at the height of his history-making career.
Things appeared to be much different by the time he joined the San Diego Padres in the mid-1990s.
"I've seen a guy who's prepared," teammate Tony Gwynn said. "I've seen a guy who works hard, loves to help young guys, and who has done whatever the club has asked him to do, not only on the field but off the field."
Henderson wasn't the same game-breaking player when he joined the Padres on a two-year deal in 1996.
However, he was now a valued clubhouse leader and someone who kept the team light during the dog days of summer.
In 1997, Rickey had a strong start in his sophomore stay in San Diego.
He slashed .274/.422/.375 with 29 stolen bases in 88 games.
However, San Diego wasn't going anywhere any time soon, and Henderson's expiring contract made him obvious trade bait.
The Padres dealt Henderson in mid-August to an Anaheim Angels squad in a dogfight for the AL West lead.
The Halos ultimately crashed behind the division-winning Mariners as Henderson hit just .183 with a .604 OPS (and 16 stolen bases) in a short Southern California stint.
1997 Pinnacle #191 Cal Ripken Jr.
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $40
Cal Ripken Jr. waited thirteen years between the team's 1983 World Series title and second playoff appearance.
He got his third and final crack at October baseball one year later.
The Baltimore Orioles locked horns with the defending World Series champion New York Yankees from bell to bell in 1997, emerging at the finish line as the AL East champs.
No longer the mainstay at shortstop, Ripken enjoyed the team's march to October from his new vantage point at third base.
The 36-year-old Ironman got his 162 games in regardless, slashing .270/.331/.402 with 17 home runs and 84 RBIs in 686 plate appearances (615 at-bats).
Ripken was no longer a great offensive player (93 OPS+) or a Gold Glove-caliber defender.
However, he was still at his best when the lights were brightest.
The first-ballot Hall-of-Famer tore through Baltimore's ten playoff games, hitting .385 with an OPS over 1.000.
The Orioles lost in six to the Indians in the ALCS, ending Ripken's quest for a second World Series ring.
1997 Pinnacle #96 Chipper Jones
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $30
With the departures of David Justice and Marquis Grissom via trade, the Atlanta Braves officially handed the wheel to Chipper Jones.
It was the right move.
The Braves kept chugging along in the inaugural year at Turner Field, finishing 101-61 for a sixth division title in seven years.
Jones was a big reason why, slashing .295/.371/.479 with 21 home runs, 20 stolen bases, 41 doubles, three triples, 76 walks, 100 runs scored, and 111 RBIs in 157 games.
The All-Star third baseman was hated on the road but adored in Atlanta's new digs.
And when his brand-new walk-up song, Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train, hit the speakers, the crowd whipped to a frenzy for the team's 25-year-old superstar.
It was often a wild scene. It also irritated rivals like the Mets' Mike Piazza.
"He didn't hate the song," Jones said. "He hated the spectacle of what might happen when I got into the box."
Jones ended the year ninth in the league's MVP race for his second of four consecutive top-ten finishes.
1997 Pinnacle #102 Frank Thomas
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $30
Only three players have hit .300 at a height of six-foot-five or more with a weight north of 240 pounds.
Mike Morse did it once.
Derrek Lee posted three.
Frank Thomas did it nine times.
The “Big Hurt” may be the most slept-on pure hitter of the modern generation.
Often lumped with pure sluggers like Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, Thomas has more in common with Tony Gwynn than the swing-and-miss giants of the 1990s.
Take the 1997 season, for example.
The Chicago White Sox first baseman became the biggest man in baseball history to win a batting title, lapping the field with a .347 mark.
He was also patient to a masterful degree, drawing 109 walks and posting an MLB-best .456 on-base percentage.
Besides Albert Belle, Thomas was offered little protection in a mediocre Chicago lineup.
Yet, he rarely swung wildly or let a pitcher dictate the pace.
The 29-year-old ended the year tops in the AL in OPS (1.067) and OPS+ (181), placing third in the league MVP balloting.
1997 Pinnacle #163 Andruw Jones Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $30
The Atlanta Braves needed someone new to step up after an offseason shakeup reset the roster.
Andruw Jones was just the player for the job.
Signed out of Curacao as a teen, Jones made steady progress in ‘94 and ‘95 before blowing through three minor-league levels in ‘96.
He was promoted in September of that year for 31 games and made the postseason roster at just 19 years old.
Jones wasn’t a finished product, but he was ready to ball out for the NL East champs.
In 153 games spent in both center and right field, Jones slashed .231/.329/.416 with 18 home runs, 20 stolen bases, 60 runs, and 70 RBIs.
The average wasn’t there, yet Jones’ Gold Glove-level defensive work made it easy to swallow.
The fifth-place Rookie-of-the-Year finisher tallied 28 total zone fielding runs above average with a bouquet of running grabs, diving plays, and cannon throws.
It was the start of something good and a vital turning point for a new generation of Braves baseball.
1997 Pinnacle #172 Nomar Garciaparra Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $30
Nomar Garciaparra combined an all-time rookie performance with one of the most impressive regular seasons the game has ever seen.
Selected 12th overall by the Boston Red Sox in the 1994 MLB Draft, Garciaparra worked his way up the organizational ladder to a September call-up in 1996.
Some 21 games and one Spring Training later, the 23-year-old was the new starting shortstop in Beantown.
That’s when everything took off and took off fast.
Garciaparra was a superstar within weeks and made the 1997 MLB season his personal playground.
He rapped 44 doubles, 30 home runs, and an AL-best 11 triples, becoming the first player since Stan Musial (1949) to post a 40/30/10 season in those categories.
Garciaparra also hit .306 and led the American League in hits (209) and plate appearances (684).
He won AL Rookie-of-the-Year in a unanimous landslide and rode his rocket to stardom to a first All-Star nod and Silver Slugger.
It wasn’t just a great year.
It was a sensation.
1997 Pinnacle #183 Billy Wagner Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $30
Billy Wagner worked well as a multi-purpose reliever in 1996, serving multiple roles, including closer.
The flamethrowing lefty moved from starter into the bullpen in the minor leagues and had to figure out how to maximize impact with minimal pitches on the fly.
The Houston Astros came into 1997 with Billy Wagner as a question mark.
The former first-round pick had a flamethrower for an arm, touching the high 90s with regularity with a few 100 mph darts sprinkled in.
Manager Larry Dierker initially pegged the second-year reliever for a long relief and bridge role.
The thought was to ease Wagner toward the back of the bullpen while he worked on his polish and command.
The sheer magnitude of Wagner's fastball quickly changed Dierker's thought process, and the 25-year-old lefty was promoted to the closing role within weeks.
Wagner's results were all over the place.
His fastball was a strikeout magnet, leading to an eye-popping 106 Ks in 66.1 innings.
On the other hand, Wagner often left meatballs over the heart of the plate while struggling to find the corners.
He posted 23 saves with a 2.85 ERA, yet blew around 20% of his chances for the 84-win NL Central champs.
1997 Pinnacle Baseball Cards In Review
Don't be surprised if you don't remember much about this set.
Even though it had some big-name rookies like Billy Wagner, Nomar Garciaparra, Andruw Jones and others, none of those guys turned out to be Hall-of-Famers.
And like most sets without any Hall-of-Fame rookies, collector demand suffers as a result.
Let's not forget as well that the hobby wasn't in a good spot in the mid to late 90s as many collectors had left for other endeavors.
But, don't get me wrong, there are still some great-looking cards of some of the biggest names in baseball at the time.
It's funny: because the set checklist was so small, these two subsets took up nearly a quarter of the entire set:
- Rookies (#156 - 185)
- Clout (#186 - 197)
Overall, I wouldn't expect demand for 1997 Pinnacle to change much over time unless Billy Wagner or Andruw Jones get voted into Cooperstown somewhere down the line.
Regardless, you'll still find nice cards of several big-name legends if you do decide to rip into some packs.