2017 SPIRIT BOX BREAK - PACK 5

286. Derek Dietrich

56. Troy Tulowitzki

55. Alex Gordon

292. Kyle Seager

222. Homer Bailey

235. Steven Wright

100. Hunter Strickland

2. Dellin Betances

300. Jharel Cotton (RC)

G121. Jordan Lyles

TL95. Zach Davies - Team Leader (MIL ERA)

This is a pretty solid pack player-wise, with the Davies insert and Lyles parallel the “lesser” names. I should probably note that the entire checklist was randomized as well as the pack collation. I’m sure with actual, physical cards, the collation and checklists are affected by the printing setup. I’m just kinda winging it here. If the base cards look a little paltry, I try to make up for it with the parallel and insert. In this case, since the base here is filled with stars and semi-stars, I figured it was a decent place to unload an underwhelming insert. (No offense, Zach Davies fans.)

2015 Pennant Incumbents

I felt like it was time to resurrect this insert after I failed to make any for the 2014 Pennant set. There's been a lot of turnover in the MLB rosters since 2013 so it won't be quite a complete rehash. Here's a look at the 2015 checklist versus 2013's:

ARI - Daniel Hudson (Miguel Montero)
ATL - Freddie Freeman (Tim Hudson)
BAL - Adam Jones (Nick Markakis)
BOS - David Ortiz
CHC - Starlin Castro (Alfonso Soriano)
CHW - John Danks (Paul Konerko)
CIN - Brandon Phillips
CLE - Michael Brantley (Asdrubal Cabrera)
COL - Troy Tulowitzki (Todd Helton)
DET - Justin Verlander
HOU - Jason Castro (Wesley Wright)
KCR - Alex Gordon
LAA - Jered Weaver
LAD - Andre Ethier
MIA - Giancarlo Stanton (Ricky Nolasco)
MIL - Ryan Braun
MIN - (Joe Mauer) Justin Morneau
NYM - David Wright
NYY - Alex Rodriguez (Derek Jeter)
OAK - Coco Crisp (Daric Barton)
PHI - Chase Utley (Jimmy Rollins)
PIT - Andrew McCutchen
SDP - Will Venable (Chase Headley)
SFG - Matt Cain
SEA - Felix Hernandez
STL - Yadier Molina
TBR - Evan Longoria (Ben Zobrist)
TEX - Elvis Andrus (Ian Kinsler)
TOR - Jose Bautista (Adam Lind)
WAS - Ryan Zimmerman

It's a lot stronger this time around with only maybe Daniel Hudson, John Danks and Will Venable as the real downers. 

Design-wise, it's very reminiscent of the inaugural version: posed player portrait cutouts, solid team-color backgrounds. This year, though, I've incorporated the 2015 Pennant base design a bit with the frame edge corners. I added pinstripes to the background for a little more interest as well as some starts to bring in a little of that "elected official" campaign look. Being a "retro" set, the colors are a little skewed and there's some grain added to the images.

The backs are pretty straight-forward. They're the standard black & white for Pennant cards with a little write-up and team logo. The cleaner, the better.

2014 Spirit Base: 361-370

#361 - Trevor Cahill
That follow through looks like he's beginning a curtsy.

#362 - Gavin Floyd
Floyd was actually pitching pretty well this season before the season-ending elbow surgery bug bit him.

#363 - David Lough
Well from the looks of this photo I'd say the Orioles got at least something positive from this trade.

#364 - John Lackey
I finally figured out who John Lackey reminds me of.

#365 - Jeff Samardzija
#366 - Adam Dunn
When making this checklist I had no inkling that these two would end up as teammates in Oakland this very same season. So look for them in Series 3 I guess.

#367 - Alfredo Simon
What a surprise season from this guy.

#368 - Zach McAllister
His pitchface looks like he's trying to keep some snot from seeping out of his nostrils. Or maybe that's what he's really doing.

#369 - Troy Tulowitzki
Nice acrobatic shot. Added bonus of Puig getting a foot to the head.

#370 - Rajai Davis
Looks like Rajai is gonna pull a Hot-N-Ready out of the oven when he gets back to the dugout.

Pennant: Chasing That Old Time Feeling

I've been able to resist it up to this point, but with Heritage and Gypsy Queen being the last two baseball releases, I couldn't help but work on an 'old-timey' set design. Instead of combing through the encyclopedia of trading cards, looking to resurrect the zombie of something 50-100 years old, I decided to just make something up. This is kind of a hybrid between the styles of the old and the current.

Say hi the Pennant line of Spirit trading cards. You'll notice some of the characteristics of other retro sets: photos doctored to look old and weathered, typefaces from decades past, not-quite-white borders. There's a team-color curve on the bottom to house the player name, team and position. I've used some similar curvilinear shapes throughout the other Spirit designs, so this helps keep them in the family. Another point of 'modernization' is the fact the player name is more than just their last name and first initial and it's actually bigger than the set name/logo.

The backside is pretty similar to retro sets of today: 1-color, vertical, a lot of non-informational elements, simple team logos. These here may be printed in a single color, but instead of just black, the ink is the same as their team color. I decided to include players' full names on the back since I really miss that from my youth. Also, there's a simple line of the previous season's stats (hits, homers, rbi, and average) that has numbers instead of 'two thousand and eleven' and such.


I may do some inserts for the Pennant line coming up in the future. I can see myself getting the itch after A&G hits the shelves.

2012 Spirit - Team MVP

Here is the first insert to the 2012 Spirit set. Team MVP inserts were common in the late 80s and early 90s. Donruss would traditionally mimic their base card design but include some sort of 'MVP' designation in the design. I remember the 1990 set as the first inserts that I recognized as being 'special' with the 'BC-' numbering on the back. "Bonus Cards" as they were known back then. Upper Deck started including Team MVP inserts in the baseball, football, and basketball sets. The designs were different than the base and usually included some sort of flashy printing technology such as holograms or foil.

I always liked the idea of a Team MVP set as it would traditionally depict the team's most popular and sought-after player but also make way for some debate on teams that were stacked with talent. Or in the case of teams like the Twins, the players with the best production get traded or become free agents while the 'Franchise' guys are on the DL. For the most part, there are clear-cut winners.

Now on to the design. As you can see, the team color sections from the base set make it onto these cards as well. You HAVE TO have the team colors prominently featured on TEAM MVP cards, right? There are 2 images of each player; a smaller black & white action shot in the corner and also a larger, full-color cutout layered between the 2 color shapes. There's room for the team logo in the corner as well as the player's name in thick curved line. The Spirit logo and 'TEAM' are both in a silver foil because why not?

Oh yeah, I forgot the most prominent feature on the front: the letters M-V-P cut out to reveal a game-used relic. Personally, I really like uniform swatches, whether they're 'game-used,' 'event-worn,' or 'player-gazed-upon.' I think they add depth to the card and make them more than just 'a piece of cardboard.' Now, I do prefer when the swatches are more than just a solid white or solid gray, but I had a hard time finding more interesting swatches big enough to use here so gray is what we get. If these cards were really produced, they'd be full of a variety of colors and such.

The back of the card features another full-color player photo as well as a small write-up about their 2011 season. The team logo is screen behind the text but the team colors are represented in the 3-sided border.

Below, you'll find my checklist for who I think the 30 Team MVPs are after the 2011 season. What do YOU think?

Angels - Jered Weaver
Astros - Carlos Lee
A's - Gio Gonzalez
Blue Jays - Jose Bautista
Braves - Brian McCann
Brewers - Ryan Braun
Cardinals - Albert Pujols
Cubs - Starlin Castro
Diamondbacks - Justin Upton
Dodgers - Matt Kemp
Giants - Tim Lincecum
Indians - Asdrubal Cabrera
Mariners - Felix Hernandex
Marlins - Mike Stanton
Mets - Jose Reyes
Nationals - Michael Morse
Orioles - Adam Jones
Padres - Matt Latos
Phillies - Roy Halladay
Pirates - Andrew McCutchen
Rangers - Josh Hamilton
Rays - Evan Longoria
Red Sox - Adrian Gonzalez
Reds - Joey Votto
Rockies - Troy Tulowitzki
Royals - Billy Butler
Tigers - Justin Verlander
Twins - Joe Mauer
White Sox - Mark Buerhle
Yankees - Robinson Cano