1996 Pinnacle Aficianado First Pitch Preview RARE set break - You Pick For Sale

For your review and purchase are the rare issue of the 1996 Pinnacle Afficianado parallel First Pitch Preview promo cards. See inserted text below for a description of the extremely limited manner in which these cards were distributed.

I would give these cards a rough grade of EX to EX-MT solely because the back of the cards usually have minor chipping on the black edge which was common to the production process of these cards. There are no creases, wrinkles, folds or marks on the cards.See scanned photos for your determination of grade, condition and centering.

Shipping and handling for each item is $5.25, via secured USPS Ground Advantage with tracking and insurance provided. I will combine shipping for multiple orders purchased at the same time taking into account any additional insurance required.

Thanks for looking at my sales.

The promotional pitch for these cards back in 1996 -

"This promo set parallels the first 100 cards in the base set and was available through a promotion. Collectors on Pinnacle's mailing list were sent a letter detailing the upcoming Aficionado set and the opportunity to receive a First Pitch Preview card. Participants had to answer five baseball trivia questions and submit their answers online through the Pinnacle Brands website - three of the questions were listed in the letter but you had to obtain the other two from a participating local Hobby store. If one answered all five questions correctly (which could be found on the backs of the relevant Aficionado cards), he/she would receive one randomly selected First Pitch Preview card via mail and become eligible to win a trip to a spring training trip of their choice as a grand prize. The three questions listed in the letter were:

·Mo Vaughn says this player is "like E.F. Hutton; when he speaks, we all listen." Who is this player? (Answer: Ted Williams)

·We all know the Cubbies selected lanky left-hander Drew Hall with their first choice in the '84 draft, but who did they pick second that year? (A: Greg Maddux)

·This slugging first baseman delayed his pro career to bat cleanup for the 1988 U.S. Olympic Team. Who is he? (A: Tino Martinez)

First Pitch Preview cards are similar to the base cards in design except for the holographic player nameplate and "First Pitch Preview" stamp along the short edge of the cards are in bronze.

The official print run of the set or individual print run for specific players is unknown. However, in 2008, a private collector confirmed the existence of a full set (cards 1-100), meaning that all 100 FPP cards were printed at least once. Further, this same private collector confirmed the existence of at least seven other sets, resulting in a total of eight sets in existence. Collectors speculate that print run varies by player as FPP cards of certain players have appeared more frequently than others. Additionally, all FPP cards printed entered the secondary market, either through the trivia promotion or other unofficial means, none were inserted into packs."