2017 PENNANT BOX BREAK - PACK 3

55. Victor Martinez

264. Craig Kimbrel

242. Danny Valencia

244. R.A. Dickey

20. Sonny Gray

206. Devon Travis

256. Ben Zobrist

180. Corey Dickerson

90. Dansby Swanson (RC)

FF3. Carlos Correa - Future Favorites

This pack brings the introduction of the Future Favorites insert. It showcases some of the youngest up-and-coming players in the league. Even though Carlos Correa has been in the league since 2015, he’s still just 22 years old. Have fun, AL West.

2017 PENNANT BOX BREAK - PACK 2

4. Kevin Gausman

48. Madison Bumgarner

10. Denard Span

226. Roman Quinn

187. Max Scherzer

209. Wil Myers

219. Jonathan Lucroy

115. Gerrit Cole

3. Marcell Ozuna

TB2. Ian Kinsler - Throwbacks

Pack number two introduces insert number two, Throwbacks. I’ve done them twice before since the idea is perfectly suited for the Pennant brand. Featuring players in throwback uniforms is pretty much a no-brainer for retro sets like this. The Kinsler here may be a little weird since the Tigers were wearing uniforms of the Negro League’s Detroit Stars in the picture used here. The other cards in the insert set use the era-appropriate logos of the respective teams. I couldn’t find any kind of Detroit Stars logo so went with a simple red star like the one found on the hats. Hopefully that little background info clears things up in case it looks a little generic. The subsequent Throwbacks cards will help add context after the fact.

2017 PENNANT BOX BREAK - PACK 1

260. George Springer

59. Russell Martin

101. Trevor Story

29. David Dahl (RC)

214. Yulieski Gurriel (RC)

276. Andrew Benintendi (RC)

71. Jacob deGrom

35. Garrett Richards

169. Todd Frazier

TI13. Mike Trout - The Incumbents

Here’s pack one with the unveiling of the base design. As I’ve designed the Pennant brand through the years, I’ve tried to make it “retro” without being tied down to a specific era. That keeps me from having to find a way to put a new coat of paint on the same basic design, a la Topps’ Allen & Ginter. 

This year’s design has a few elements that callback to some classic card designs without outright aping a specific set. Homages to the 1960 and 1963 Topps designs are the most apparent. There are also some nods to the 1983 and 1984 sets as well. Mashing together those two decades creates something distinct from those particular areas.

I added a bit of grain along with a dull gray to mimic the pre-90s cardboard most of us grew up with. The Trout insert is a brilliant white, though, with a nicer paper stock used to make the insert cards a bit more “premium.”

It’s funny that I’ve been doing The Incumbents insert sets long enough that Mike Trout is now the longest-tenured member of the Angels. That’s pretty crazy. Almost as crazy as pulling three rookie cards in the first pack. I’m sure that won’t be the norm going forward. There will be some other surprises, though…

2017 Pennant Box Break

Coming soon— our next box break. 2017 Pennant, the retro set from Spirit Trading Cards. The wrapper design here gives you a bit of a preview of the base card design. Stay tuned…