2017 PENNANT BOX BREAK - PACK 20

88. Jacoby Ellsbury

49. Zack Cozart

134. Lance McCullers

251. Charlie Blackmon

109. Jose Abreu

258. Mike Leake

207. Danny Duffy

87. Bryce Harper

33. Curtis Granderson

FF11. Trea Turner - Future Favorites

I wonder how old Trea Turner will be before he doesn’t look like he’s 14 years old.

2017 SPIRIT BOX BREAK - PACK 6

127. Todd Frazier

102. Justin Verlander

210. Andrew Heaney

10. Alex Colome

38. Ender Inciarte

251. J.T. Realmuto

51. Jacoby Ellsbury

49. Curtis Granderson

258. Andrew Benintendi (RC)

G207. Jurickson Profar

N13. Hanley/Jose Ramirez - Namesakes

New insert here. I did a “Namesakes” insert way back in 2012, my first year blogging. Like then, this year’s version features 20 cards highlighting MLB combos sharing the same surname.  Here’s the checklist:

N1. Bradley - Jackie, Archie

N2. Cabrera - Miguel, MelkyN3. Davis - Wade, ChrisN4. Diaz - Almedys, EdwinN5. Gonzalez - Carlos, AdrianN6. Hernandez - Felix, CesarN7. Herrera - Kelvin, OdubelN8. Marte - Starling, KetelN9. Martinez - J.D., CarlosN10. Miller - Andrew, ShelbyN11. Murphy - Daniel, John RyanN12. Perez - Salvador, RobertoN13. Ramirez - Hanley, JoseN14. Ramos - Wilson, A.J.N15. Sanchez - Aaron, GaryN16. Santana - Carlos, DannyN17. Seager - Corey, KyleN18. Turner - Trea, JustinN19. Upton - Justin, MelvinN20. Wright - Steven, David

Some of them are siblings but for the most part it’s just random coincidence. I can’t wait until Rougned Odor’s younger brother Rougned gets called up. It’ll be even better than a Chris/Khris Davis card (which I opted against since Wade is more noteworthy than Khris.)

2914 Spirit Base: 431-440

#431 - Scott Feldman
Feldman's been a decent starter for Houston this year. He'll help eat up some innings the next couple of seasons while the Astros young guys get better.

#432 - Salvador Perez
Probably the best catcher this year in the state of Missouri.

#433 - Raul Ibanez
I feel like there's probably some hidden Ninja Turtles story about an uncle named Raul.

#434 - Josh Beckett
It's hard to believe that the current edition of Josh Beckett was the one to toss his first no-hitter instead of the bad ass from 10 years ago. Almost as weird as Lincecum tossing 2 since he fell into the stinkhole.

#435 - Casey McGehee
Another blast from the past. McGehee's OPS+ is sitting right at 100, which is league average. The last time he was at 100 or above was 2010! Yet he was still up for the All-Star Final Fan vote in July. Even though I root for a team that has Ryan Vogelsong in its starting rotation, I'm still amazed at all the out-of-nowhere comebacks in 2014.

#436 - Ryan Braun
It'll be hard to tell if Braun's decline is a result of him not "juicing" or if it's just plain aging. I bet I know which one most people will believe. I'm still on the fence I guess.

#437 - Samuel Deduno
Deduno may or not be making an appearance in Series 3. He's on the Astros now but we'll see how much room there is on the checklist for a middle reliever to get his second card.

#438 - Curtis Granderson
Grandy's numbers have taken a bit of a dip since leaving Yankee Stadium.

#439 - Jacoby Ellsbury
Hard to believe Ellsbury's only been an all-star once in his career. (2011)

#440 - Luke Gregerson
Literally the only photo I could find of him in an A's uniform that would work for these cards.

Clubhouse All-Stars

The first insert for the Clubhouse set is kind of a no-brainer. As early as 1958, all-star cards were showing up in the flagship base set. Back then it was maybe a couple dozen, usually just the starters. But with the bloated rosters of today's All-Star Game, there's just no room for an 80+ card subset. For an insert set, however, that sounds just about right. The 2011 MLB all-star squads were 41 (NL) and 43 (AL) players deep, making an 84-card set. That means you'll get the superstars like Pujols, Jeter and Halladay but also guys like Ryan Vogelsong up there.

The design carries the wooden fence motif from the Clubhouse base card, but with the NL and AL logos instead of team logos. The colors are blue and white with each league alternating the dominant hue. We have player cutouts once again, but what really sets these apart from the base design (other than the vertical layout) is the shininess. In addition to the player name and 'all-star' in silver foil, the 4 stars shooting off the edges of each corner have a solid, colorful sheen to them as well (think 2011 Topps Town.)

For the back, we have a player portrait and name centered at the top and a brief write-up of their all-star season below. The background has the alternating red and blue as well with another explosion of stars. The numbering is similar to the Spirit Award Winners inserts, with a _of_ for each league and _of_ for the whole set.

There's nothing wrong with shininess if done in moderation. Finding these inserts between the no-frills base will be a great charge for those busting wax. I'd like for them to not be a 1-per pack thing since that kind of chips away the 'specialness.' I know any time I pull a Topps Town or Hometown Heroes card, it feels like getting Tootsie Roll in your Halloween bag. It's better than those orange and black taffies, but not as exciting as a Snickers or Reese's Cup.