2017 SPIRIT BOX BREAK - PACK 12

257. Tyler Anderson

214. Bryan Shaw

263. Hector Rondon

173. Ricky Nolasco

16. Brandon Belt

185. Robbie Ross

101. Mark Lowe

98. C.J. Cron

232. Yulieski Gurriel (RC)

G81. Wei-Yin Chen

TL65. Jose Fernandez - Team Leader (MIA-Ks)

I’m not sure what the protocol is for issuing cards of deceased players, but Fernandez was the Marlins’ team leader in strikeouts last season so he has a place in the Team Leaders insert set. I’m guessing if Topps has any 2017 Fernandez cards, it will have to negotiate with his estate and get them to sign off on the cards. Hopefully, if they do make cards for him, it will be along these lines and not some vulgar attempt to capitalize on his death.

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 All-Rookie Team

The 2013 rookie crop was one of the strongest in recent years. Here's an insert to feature the most accomplished player from each position. I know this basically sounds like Topps' Rookie Cup Team but I figured it'd make more sense to turn it into an insert set instead of padding the Series 1 base set. Before I go over the design, here's the checklist I put together:

1: Matt Adams (1B)
2: Jedd Gyorko (2B)
3: Jose Iglesias (SS)
4: Nolan Arenado (3B)
5: Yasiel Puig (OF)
6: Wil Myers (OF)
7: Khris Davis (OF)
8: Evan Gattis (C)
9: Tony Cingrani (LHP)
10: Jose Fernandez (RHP)
11: Danny Farquhar (RP)
12: Walt Weiss (M)

Some of the names are no-brainers but the rest are a good chance to shine a light on some players that might not get all the attention they deserve yet. Really, though, there are a lot of guys that deserve consideration that just couldn't overtake the guys that made the cut. Also, I threw in a manager spot just because you never know who's gonna be taking the reins for the first time. With so many former players becoming skippers, there's probably a good chance there'll be someone out there who collects them. Now onto the design.

The front continues the geometric motif that's been present in all the 2014 Spirit designs so far. The two team-color bars coming in from opposite edges house all of the player information as well as the set name. Behind the player cutout is a team-color fabric with shaded polygons to add some depth. The team logo fills whatever negative space is left from the cutout. On the back, the criss-cross tabs are enlarged and reoriented to house the player photo and team cap logo. Then there's a brief write-up in the remaining negative space.

Also, since rookie/young player autos are so highly sought-after, I figured it'd be a good place to through some ink into the mix. The design is the same with only the addition of another polygon made big and white for the player to sign. Fernandez's signature isn't as wide as most but hopefully the other guys would spread out to fill the space a bit more.

2013 Spirit Rookie Round-Up

It's been a while since I posted anything for the Spirit flagship series. Time for a new insert. This one features 20 rookies that have gotten off to a good start in 2013. I figured it would be nice to have some MLB inserts of these guys instead of so many minor league cards.

The design is a bit 'in your face,' a little reminiscent of some of the early 90s inserts with player cutouts on top of a busy background. I enjoy grunging things up so I went with that for the look. Big, bold letters roughed up and running across the background set on top of vintage team colors. The idea is that if you had all 20 cards lined up left-to-right, the 'ROOKIE' and 'ROUND-UP' text would stretch across multiple times. As it is now, each card has a slightly different cut of those letters. At the bottom, we find the player name along with position and the weathered team logo in the corner.

The back has a solid team-color background instead of the two-tone from the front. On the left is another player photo with some soft, grungy edges. To the right is the N/P/T along with a little tidbit of his MLB debut. Some may be more impressive than others (note Noonan's 0 for 1, pinch hit debut.) In the middle is a block for a brief write-up (greeked text here since I was too lazy to "write.")

This is one of the few cards I've done without any shiny foil or die-cut or other bells and whistles. The finish would be matte to fit the design rather than glossy. The edginess fits with the subject of rookies so I thought I'd let it stand on its own.