2012 Spirit Namesakes

Time for some Name Game. Insert set number three here and this one features a group of MLBers who happen to share the same last name. Some are related, some are not. 20 cards featuring 40 guys with varying degrees of fame/success, but all members of a small group of players. This was a fun checklist to put together. Guys like the Upton brothers were rather obvious but I like some of the odder pairings like Cliff/Carlos Lee.

Design-wise, we've got a horizontal card to make room for full-body 'action' shot. In the center you'll see the shared surname in what I'd guess you'd call a nameplate. The first names of each guy flank the centerpiece with all names stamped in gold foil. The main part of the card is made up of an action shot of each guy, cutout and in full-color placed on top of the rest of the scene saturated in team colors. Between these two layers you'll see their team logos screened back for an added bit of depth.

It's nice to have room for some varied action shots but also finding a way for the team colors to come in and help differentiate each player and each card in the set. We've carried over some elements found on other cards in the 2012 Spirit line, mainly the black mesh at the bottom and the gold foil. I think it helps identify this release as Spirit.

On the back side, you'll see the swoop and mesh continued over as a nice backdrop for the rest of the elements. The 'nameplate' is also found here, this time at the top and in white/black. Team colors round out the top edge in an easy short gradient to keep the back from looking to b&w. There are some tightly-cropped portraits on each side with the first names and team info found below. A brief write-up fills in the rest of the center.

This insert set is pretty much Spirit's answer to Topps' Diamond Duos cards from 2011, only the pairings seem to be more concrete and not just seemingly arbitrary. I thought about possibly making this a dual-autograph set but I don't really know how to go about finding images of these guys' signatures. But the design easily lends itself to one of those soft white gradients right at the bottom of the photos. I need to start thinking about some 'high-end' sets.

Below is my checklist for all 20 cards in the set.
1. CABRERA - Asdrubal, Miguel
2. CAIN - Lorenzo, Matt
3. CRAWFORD - Brandon, Carl
4. GARCIA - Freddy, Jaime
5. GONZALEZ - Adrian, Carlos
6. HUDSON - Tim, Daniel
7. JONES - Chipper, Adam
8. LEE - Cliff, Carlos
9. MARTINEZ - J.D., Victor
10. McCUTCHEN - Andrew, Daniel
11. MOLINA - Javier, Jose
12. RAMIREZ - Aramis, Hanley
13. ROBERTS - Brian, Ryan
14. RODRIGUEZ - Alex, Wandy
15. SANTANA - Ervin, Carlos
16. UPTON - B.J., Justin
17. WEAVER - Jeff, Jered
18. WILSON - Brian, C.J,
19. YOUNG - Michael, Delmon
20. ZIMMERMAN - Ryan, Jordan