2014 Spirit Base: 311-320

#311 - Brett Oberholtzer
I wish there was just a little bit more area all around the edges of this photo. His foot and glove are a little too close to the edge.

#312 - Billy Butler
Again with the crazy blue. At some point it matched the blue from the photo :/

#313 - Jered Weaver
The soft background focus is really nice here.

#314 - Dee Gordon
I really miss the pre-2014 Dee Gordon...

#315 - Jose Fernandez
I really wonder how the Marlins' season would've turned out if he hadn't gotten hurt. They've been respectable without him so one would think their fast start wasn't a fluke.

#316 - Khris Davis
Do the Brewers wear this gold jerseys very often? They're a nice change of pace from the dark navy.

#317 - Ricky Nolasco
Why, Twins?

#318 - David Wright
Those Steve Rogers comparisons really died down this year, huh?

#319 - Ichiro Suzuki
I'm curious to see if Ichiro quietly hangs them up after this season or if, after witnessing the Jeter Farewell Yankfest all season, he decides to stick around another year and get a taste of that action.

#320 - Josh Reddick
I guess it's Oakland's turn to do the AL West late-season collapse thing this year since the Rangers are nowhere in sight of the playoffs.

2014 Spirit Deluxe

Time to slow things down a bit on the Spirit base front since we're approaching the end of Series 1 and the season hasn't even started yet. Here's this year's "high-end" release, Spirit Deluxe.

The front features a full-bleed photo again, though this year the background is a shimmery, refractor-y, prismatic thing. I'm not sure I can replicate it digitally but I think this gives you an idea. It's a lot more prominent on the day game photos. At the bottom is a team-colored marble block with lots of silver foil accents. The thin rails on the left and right extend up into the photo space before softly fading out. It reminds me of a spotlight receding into the darkness of night.

On the back, the team-colored marble takes up about 2/3 of the bottom, leaving room for a brief write-up and some fine print along with the player name. The rail element from the front reappears, this time anchoring the bottom as well as separating the photo from the text block. The team logo sits inside a white circle centered where the 2 sections converge.

Here's a look at the standard auto and relic variations. The auto has a white glow for the player to sign. It covers up the light rails a bit but it's functionally necessary.

I think this is a nice evolution from the 2012 and 2013 versions. They aren't drastically different but hopefully you'll be able to distinguish from year to year. I just want to keep the full bleed, glossy thing going so there's consistency.

Thanks for checking this out.