Tino Tuesdays #9: 1997 Pinnacle Zenith

Zenith was known for being a bit out there with their designs. There was usually a lot of foil or gold shininess. Then it all changed in 1997, and became almost too basic of a card. Case in point:

This is a 1997 Pinnacle Zenith Tino Martinez. I must say that I love the photo and the angle of the shot without the border. It's not often you get a full swing from straight on with the catcher in the picture like this. And it just so happens to be Ivan Rodriguez, which is cool. Tino clearly makes contact here...he is either way out in front of a pitch or has already hit the ball. I'm going to guess it's the latter by looking at the way the bat is bending.

I do have to say that while I love the lack of the border, I don't enjoy a player's name missing from the front, especially when the only text on the front is the brand name. I'd rather that be replaced by the player name, even if it's just the last name. I'd then take the blue Z and not the rest of the "enith" and put that in a corner as the lone brand mark.

In short, while I like the photo and simplicity, I really wish the player's name was present. It would have been a much more attractive set for me.