2017 SPIRIT BOX BREAK - PACK 1

165. Noah Syndergaard

82. Drew Pomeranz

131. Jake McGee

170. Alec Asher

35. Nate Karns

63. Rob Zastryzny (RC)

149. Logan Forsythe

188. Matt Wisler

295. Delino DeShields

57. Odubel Herrera (Gold Parallel)

TL20. Evan Longoria - Team Leader (TBR Hits)

Since this is the first look at the base design, I’ll dissect it a little bit. As usual, each card is borderless with full-bleed photos and team-color design elements. The team logos are placed in a baseball diamond-like square and player names are in bold, white lettering for readability. Having the color fade behind the last name helps keep things from getting too boxy or claustrophobic. Along the right, next to the logo diamond is the player position as well as a repeating 2017 pattern fading towards the edges to help balance things out. 

There are a couple of elements that come and go depending on who’s card it is. For players that made the 2016 All-Star squads, they get an extra fade of color above the solid bar with their respective league honor listed. Pomeranz’s may look weird because he made the NL squad before being traded to the Red Sox. And for guys that made their MLB debut after the July 1, 2016 deadline, the RC logo makes an appearance (Zastryzny up there.) There’s at least one RC on average per pack.

Additionally, each pack contains a Gold Parallel card as well as an insert. You can see on the Odubel that the solid color portions of the regular base design get a gold foil stamping, along with the player name and position. The Pack 1 insert is a rather expansive insert set featuring the team leaders of each club in four different stat categories (2 pitching, 2 hitting.) So that 120 cards. Needless to say, these will be the most-featured insert of the box. Design-wise, I structured it so the bold type works kinda like a drop-down menu or something. The three categories not featured are screened back as to not impose too much on the player image. Since this is the “Hits” card, the HITS type and Longoria’s total are solid white along with his name, team, and the card title. You’ll see how the other stat cards look in subsequent packs.