2012 Spirit Award Winners

I really miss having an insert set devoted to MLB award winners. To me, it seems like an easy way to chronicle the best players from year to year instead of finding some abstract thread to tie together certain players. What are the criteria to make the 'Diamond Stars' set? Or how about the neverending 'Topps 60'? Instead of trying to figure out a new way to produce another A-Rod or Joe Mauer card even when their on-field production takes a hit, let's give some love to the guys who really stand out each season, even if they aren't household names.

The 2012 Spirit Award Winners insert set consist of each Gold Glove and Silver Slugger winner from the NL and AL. That means 36 cards total with 4 different subsets (wow, an insert set with subsets.) There are a few guys that overlap but those are mostly superstars you can't argue with.

The Gold Glove cards have a nice shiny gold disco ball-like pattern. This is the first Spirit design that's employed on the 'oooh, shiny' factor. The defensive stars are cut-out from a photo of them flashing their gold glovework. For the Silver Sluggers, the pattern is silver with a nice batting image displayed. Toward the bottom of a card is a block for the player name and info. The NL guys have a red mesh backdrop while the AL players have a blue one. So each subset is differentiated by background color (gold or silver) and text box color (red or blue), depending on the league and award depicted.

The back of the cards only have the league color designation with the awards being notated to the left of the mugshot and also the numbering in the upper left corner. Below the player name is their position and ballclub followed by a brief write-up about their award-winning season.

Below is the checklist for all 4 subsets. There are 6 players that appear in both the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger subsets but they definitely earned their spots. If you finished the set, it would fit perfectly in 4 consecutive pages in your binder and look pretty handsome flipping between them.

NLGG
1. Clayton Kershaw
2. Yadier Molina
3. Joey Votto
4. Brandon Phillips
5. Placido Polanco
6. Troy Tulowitzki
7. Gerardo Parra
8. Matt Kemp
9. Andre Ethier

ALGG
1. Mark Buehrle
2. Matt Wieters
3. Adrian Gonzalez
4. Dustin Pedroia
5. Adrian Beltre
6. Erick Aybar
7. Alex Gordon
8. Nick Markakis
9. Jacoby Ellsbury

NL SS
1. Tim Hudson
2. Brian McCann
3. Prince Fielder
4. Brandon Phillips
5. Aramis Ramirez
6. Troy Tulowitzki
7. Justin Upton
8. Matt Kemp
9. Ryan Braun

AL SS
1. David Ortiz
2. Alex Avila
3. Adrian Gonzalez
4. Robinson Cano
5. Adrian Beltre
6. Asdrubal Cabrera
7. Curtis Granderson
8. Jacoby Ellsbury
9. Jose Bautista