2014 Clubhouse All-Stars

Just in time for the All-Star break..... aww, crap. Well, here's the 2014 Clubhouse All-Stars design anyway. I decided to go horizontal this year to match the 2014 Clubhouse base set. I also wanted to mimic one of the big features from that so I ran the player names really big across the width of the card. To make sure they didn't impose too much, there's a little bit of transparency to them as well as a soft fade. Hopefully they're still readable even if you don't see every edge of every character. The letter height varies depending on the length of the player names. That's why Iwakuma's aren't nearly as tall as Harper's below.

Along the bottom is a strip of info: league, team and position. The color of the bar alternates with the background and star color.

On the back, background color is solid so the text is plenty easy to read (other than it being jibberish here.) There's a vertical player photo on the left with the AL/NL logo on the bottom. I packed last year's design with too much info on the back that I'm sure would be nearly impossible to read. This year, it's all cleaner and clearer.

2014 Spirit Base Series 1: 291-300

And finally, we're finishing up series 1! Only 7 months after the project began!

#291 - Freddy Galvis
Freddy's not doing so hot in 2014. His OPS+ is -54. 100 is league average...

#292 - Travis Snider

#293 -  Yadier Molina
I thought this was an unique photo for the set. I appreciate that he has his mask up so you can see his face, too.

#294 - Chris Denorfia
I don't know if the stats back it up but Denorfia always seems to be annoyingly good against the Giants.

#295 - Tim Lincecum
It's still weird seeing pictures of Timmy with short hair from last season. Still not as weird as seeing this thing though.

#296 - Brandon Maurer
There's Lincecum's long hair.

#297 - Joel Peralta
I wonder if he's watching DJ Kitty climbing around the catwalk...

#298 - Elvis Andrus
One of the few Rangers to avoid the DL this year. Let's hope I didn't just jinx him.

#299 - Casey Janssen
About half the time I type his last name, I double the Ns instead of the Ss.

#300 - Gio Gonzalez
After a so-so start to 2014, Gio's starting to hit his stride.

Well that closes up Series 1. I kinda ran out of steam there in the middle. Unfortunately, a lot of my spare time will be spent getting ready to move to northwest Arkansas. We'll see how much time I have to get Series 2 going. Thanks for those that have endured Act 1.

2014 Spirit Base: 281-290

#281 - Robbie Grossman
Grossman was recently sent down to AAA. It's his second stint in OKC. We'll see if he plays anymore this year or if he'll be left out of the 2015 Spirit set...

#282 - Jarrod Dyson
I probably should've noticed these two cards feature the same exact pose. Oops.

#283 - Chris Iannetta
#284 - A.J. Ellis
Okay, so some more wonderful set planning here on my part. Consecutive cards featuring catchers from Los Angeles wearing #17. At least the photos are different.

#285 - A.J. Ramos
And now another A.J.

#286 -  Michael Fiers
I like how Fiers' delivery fills the card space.

#287 - Oswaldo Arcia
I'm guessing this is a homerun trot.

#288 - Jeurys Familia
Really nice lighting here. Plus it's a pitcher fielding shot. That or he's doing magic on the mound.

#289 - Ivan Nova
(Fill in the blank) is out for the rest of the season for Tommy John surgery.

#290 - Yoenis Cespedes
Here's your 2-time Home Run Derby Champ. He can tell you're clapping at your screen.

2014 Spirit Base: 271-280

#271 - David Hernandez
AT&T Park is such a pretty background.

#272 - Chris Johnson
I still don't get why Atlanta wears the navy numbers on navy tops.

#273 - Zach Britton
I'm trying to avoid redundant photo selections. So look forward to some more tightly cropped images.

#274 - Jake Peavy
The odds are pretty good that Peavy is reacting to an awesome catch by Jackie Bradley, Jr. here.

#275 - Pedro Strop
What do you think, happy scream or unhappy scream?

#276 - Leury Garcia
There weren't a lot of options for Mr. Garcia here. I had to darken the background for him to standout a bit.

#277 - Zack Cozart
This is a pretty cool shot. Luckily I was able to keep the ball in frame. Most grounder images are a little dull.

#278 - Trevor Bauer
I never noticed how much Bauer's delivery resembles Tim Lincecum's until I was photo searching here.

#279 - Wilton Lopez
Nice to get some green grass in the background

#280 - Andy Dirks
Dirks has been on the DL for all of 2014 but will probably see some action after the all-star break.

2014 Spirit Base: 261-270

#261 - Ryan Howard
EAT FRESH!

#262 - Charlie Morton
Do not try sneaking up on Charlie Morton. He knows you're coming and he's not havin' it.

#263 - Daniel Descalso
Infielders easily have the coolest photos to choose from.

#264 - Chase Headley
Headley's trade value has taken a big dive over the past season and a half but he's probably not long for the Padres.

#265 - Javier Lopez
O.G. LOOGY.

#266 - Brad Miller
Nice to see him having a second career after his NBA days.

#267 - Ben Zobrist
As much as he's meant to the Rays, I could see them shipping him somewhere before the end of July since they're pretty much out of it this season.

#268 - Leonys Martin
I'm actually going to the Rangers' game in Arlington on Sunday. The forecast calls for 100° and sunny skies. And we got bleacher seats. Something tells me we won't be sticking around for all 9 innings.

#269 - Jose Bautista
Joey Bats is waaaaay too "active" on Twitter. And by "active" I mean "desperate." I guess it works, though.

#270 - Ian Desmond
Invisible BMX!

2014 Spirit Base: 251-260

#251 - Marwin Gonzalez
I wonder if he'll ever make enough of a mark to be remember for something other than breaking up Yu Darvish's perfect game in 2013's season opener.

#252 - Greg Holland
Holland will be making his second-straight all-star appearance this year. Definitely one of the most reliable closers in the game now.

#253 - Kole Calhoun
Calhoun's having a decent season in Anaheim now that Peter Bourjos is out of the picture.

#254 - Carl Crawford
Who would've thought 2 seasons ago that Crawford would be a more reliable option in the Dodgers' outfield than both Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier?

#255 - Donovan Solano
Nice floating shot here.

#256 - Marco Estrada
Boy, has Estrada been serving up homers this season. He's currently tied for 2nd in the majors with Jose Abreu. You know, the 1B/DH?

#257 - Jared Burton
That's quite a sunburn hiding underneath that bill there.

#258 - Matt Harvey
It's still a bummer we've been missing out on Matt Harvey starts all season :/

#259 - Francisco Cervelli
Another Panini-perfect photo here.

#260 - Dan Straily
I considered replacing this Straily card with someone else following the A's/Cubs trade but seeing as how it's almost the all-star break and I'm still finishing up Series 1 I figured I don't need any other obstacles to making posts. So look for Straily's Cubs card in Series 3 probably.