2018 Clubhouse: New York Mets

86. Jay Bruce

87. Yoenis Céspedes

88. Michael Conforto

89. Jacob deGrom

90. Noah Syndergaard

Doing this now, I'd probably swap out Jay Bruce for Zack Wheeler or Brandon Nimmo. You can't blame me for not picking them before the season, right?

Céspedes and deGrom as the auto subjects is probably the most generous team thus far.

Even though they've (thankfully) moved away from the black in their uniforms, the black parallel kinda fits here.

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…

2015 Pennant

Time for the old-timey set. Again, the Pennant brand isn't modeled after a particular set from the past like some of Topps' retro sets have been. The designs basically just contain elements that are reminiscent of an older era. So here's the 2015 version.

The card stock here is of the dull variety, meaning the colors are a little muted and there's definitely not a glossy finish. I've also added a little faux texture to the borders to help make it a little bit aged. In each corner is a little team color shape mean to look like those old photo frame edges you may have seen in photo albums from the past. Inset from the margins is another team color box with the player photo busting out from the edges. Along the bottom is a black bar to house their name, position and team. For the places where their white pants overlap the box, I had to add a black drop box behind the white text to keep things readable. I usually hate to add any kind of stroke or background to the text but I think it kinda fits the rest of the design here so I guess you can call it a happy little accident.

I decided to add a parallel into the mix this year almost strictly because of the design. The sepia parallel here fits perfectly since there are so many different frames and layers to keep thing interesting even when monochromatic. And since the card stock is perfect for autos, I decided to show an autograph version of the Soler card. I just removed the overlap from the bottom of the card and added a white fade spot to keep the signature nice and clean.

The backs are kind of inversed from the front with the corner edges being white and the thick margins being black. A couple things of note here are the full player name and also full career stat box. For the guys fairly new to the majors, there's room for a brief write-up. Overall, I'm really happy with the design, especially the sepia parallels. If I were to ever test-out getting some of my cards printed, this would definitely be at the top of the list.

2014 Spirit Base: 461-470

#461 - Dallas Keuchel
I didn't realize Keuchel is from Tulsa and went to the University of Arkansas (where my wife currently works) until making this card. I'll probably take a special interest in him going forward.

#462 - Jason Vargas
Not a lot of pitcher fielding shots so far. So here's one.

#463 - Collin Cowgill
Is it better to just write something stupid like this or to have nothing written at all?

#464 - Hanley Ramirez
It's saying a lot that he's one of the least-detestable Dodgers.

#465 - Henderson Alvarez
I hope Alvarez throws another no-hitter on the final day of the season again and starts making it an annual thing.

#466 - Martin Maldonado
I really hate the lighting inside Miller Park. Every shot there looks kind of dead and lifeless.

#467 - Danny Santana
I had zero knowledge of his existence until making this card. I needed to replace Pedro Florimon after noticing he was released by the Twins in May.

#468 - Jacob deGrom
I'm guessing it'll be either deGrom or Billy Hamilton to win the NL Rookie of the Year. Could be another Puig/Jose Fernandez situation, though at about half the volume.

#469 - Masahrio Tanaka
Speaking of ROY debates, I wonder if it'll be Tanaka or Abreu in the AL. There's obviously the Yankee factor to contend with, but since Tanaka spent a good chunk of time on the DL, maybe Abreu edges him out. THIS is your Puig/Fernandez for 2014.

#470 - Craig Gentry
More bunting!