2018 Clubhouse: Detroit Tigers

#46. Miguel Cabrera

#47. Nicholas Castellanos

#48. Michael Fulmer

#49. José Iglesias

#50. James McCann

What to say about the Tigers? The fact that they're on pace to just barely eek past 62 wins and that you could reasonably call that exceeding expectations speaks volumes about their roster (and the league at large). Outside of Miggy (who's been hurt for most of the season), there's not a lot of hobby stalwarts on the club. Castellanos has had a slightly better year than last year and is probably the silverest of linings here.

Cabrera HAD to be an autograph subject here. It would be extra cruel to leave him out.

The red parallels aren't the prettiest with the Tigers' orange and navy. But the #5/5 is and eBay 1/1 at least!

2017 PENNANT BOX BREAK - PACK 18

266. Neil Walker

200. Brett Gardner

47. Ian Desmond

100. Billy Hamilton

125. Miguel Cabrera

102. Cameron Maybin

73. Joe Mauer

233. Corey Kluber

176. Wade Davis

TI24S. Kevin Quackenbush - The Incumbents (shimmer parallel)

The obvious card to discuss here is the Kevin Quackenbush insert. It’s basically the Pennant version of a Topps Chrome Refractor. It’s hard to show the difference between “chrome” and regular stock with just digital cards like this, but I figured the rainbow gif thing would do the trick.

2017 PENNANT BOX BREAK - PACK 5

28. Adam Eaton

104. Yoenis Cespedes

144. Rajai Davis

99. Josh Harrison

74. Jon Lester

288. Tim Anderson

225. Chris Tillman

50. James Shields

5. Stephen Vogt

DT2A. Miguel Cabrera - Dream Team Autograph

And here’s our first hit, which is a pretty good one - a future Hall of Famer. The Dream Team insert features the best player at each position across the league (it should be noted that I put the Dream Team together well before the season began...). This is the first of four hits in the box, all of which will be autographs. The soft card stock here is made for autographs.

I also wanted to single out the two A’s cards here as looking particular cool. There's something about that green and gold that just sticks out.

2014 Spirit Base Series 1: 121-130

Before we get started on the next round of designs, I wanted to mention a group break coming up that I'm participating in that has plenty of open slots left for the taking. Chris at View From the Skybox is hosting it with all the proceeds going to support the Typhoon Haiyan relief efforts. It's for a good cause and with 19 hits from 11 boxes, so it looks to be a lot of fun. He's hoping to have half the slots filled by midnight Saturday so don't delay.

Okay, back to the Series 1 showcase...

#121 - Martin Prado
I'm not sure what that thing on Prado's thumb is. Maybe a Funyun?

#122 - Brandon Beachy
Beachy didn't pitch a lot of games in 2013 so the photo options were limited. Luckily I found a pretty good one with their red alternates.

#123 - Nick Markakis
Hopefully Markakis is checking out the third base coach here and not sulking back to the dugout after whiffing. I'm trying my best to avoid strikeout shots.

#124 - Felix Doubront
The off-centering of Doubront is intentional here. Doesn't look weird I hope.

#125 - Starlin Castro
It seems weird that Castro is pretty much the Cubs' #1 guy even though he had a really horrible season in 2013. Hopefully it was just an aberration. Or at least have someone else really come to the forefront.

#126 - Alejandro De Aza
Probably one of the most fun MLB names to say out loud.

#127 - Devin Mesoraco
I never realized Mesoraco was sporting Ron Swanson/Nick Offerman eyes until now.

#128 - Mike Aviles

#129 - Wilin Rosario
#130 - Miguel Cabrera
It's fitting that these two would come in succession in the checklist since I knew for sure they'd both feature batting shots. I like that they're facing opposite directions even though they're both hitting righthanded. The swing and the follow through.

2013 Clubhouse All-Stars

The MLB All-Star ballots went live a week or so ago so I thought it would be a good time for the 2013 installment of Clubhouse's All-Star insert. This is a 74-card set that features all the players named to the 2012 all-star rosters, whether voted in by fans, selected by managers or named as injury replacements. The design kind of follows the Clubhouse base set but with a few embellishments. The most prominent one is the shiny silver concentric star cluster in the bottom right corner. That foil is also present in the ALL-STAR title along with the player name and position/league. The red and blue motifs respective to each league is consistent with last year's version along with the annual Spirit Award Winners designs. Instead of the mowed field background from the base design, I simply kept the isolated players full-color and had the blurry background fade into their league color.

For the back side, a player portrait fills the negative space from the star shape in the upper left corner while the concentric stars fill the color underneath. The NL and AL logos are in the upper right corner with the league's all-star roster listed below with the starters and reserves designated. It's kind of a de facto half-checklist. On the left, below the player name/position/team is a brief write-up (lorem ipsum here since I was feeling too lazy to write.)

Again, I don't understand why Topps doesn't make an All-Star insert instead of relegating it to the Update set where it's basically the same base card with the ASG logo slapped on. Explain to me how at 70+ card insert with the best players (from all 30 teams) doesn't trump another nebulously-themed insert with yet more retired legends (Yankees)? Blargh.

Spirit Deluxe Duos

No, not Diamond Duos or Dueling Duos. Deluxe Duos. Two guys on the same team that are among the MLB elite. It may not be the most original concept, but I bet there are lots of people that'd be very excited to pull a Mike Trout/Albert Pujols dual auto. Every good turn deserves another or something like that.

These carry the same hallmarks as the other Spirit Deluxe cards so far. Team color textured backgrounds, sophisticated fonts, silver foil, dynamic fade photos. Hopefully the consistency isn't too boring.

The back features a candid shot of the two featured players together. I really like the Fielder/Cabrera photo. It's nice to see teammates interact with each other like little leaguers do. And for these cards, it keeps the front side from looking like arbitrary pairings of guys who just happen to wear the same uniform.

Some of the other duos in the series would probably be Harper/Strasburg, Kemp/Kershaw, Lincecum/Posey, Halladay/Lee, Pedroia/Ellsbury, Mauer/Morneau.