2014 Spirit Base: 616-630

#616 - Elian Herrera, #617 - Kennys Vargas, #618 - Matt den Dekker
The bad thing about these late-season photos is the abundance of empty seats in the background.

#619 - Stephen Drew, #620 - Jason Hammel, #621 - Wil Nieves
I tried to get a little bit of the crowd in the Nieves card so you can see he's tossing it into the stands.

#622 - Ike Davis, #623 - Randal Grichuk, #624 - Rene Rivera
I'm finding a lot of cool fielding shots so far. The Rivera one in particular is very dyamic.

#625 - Joe Panik, #626 - Endy Chavez, #627 - Kevin Kiermaier
I really hope Panik's season isn't just a fluke. Also, check out that carpet in St. Petersburg. So gross.

#628 - Nick Martinez, #629 - Munenori Kawasaki, #630 - Jose Lobaton
Look at all that red, white and blue. That Kawasaki sliding pic is a hoot.

2014 Spirit Base, Series 3: 601-615

In the interest of speeding things along, I'm now formatting the cards 3-up and 15 total per post. Also, since a lot of the guys featured are guys I don't know much (or anything) about, the writing will be much sparser as well.

#601 - Ender Inciarte, #602 - Tommy La Stella, #603 - Caleb Joseph
A bubble gum pic, a nice outfield shot and a unique catcher pic. Off to a good start.

#604 - Yoenis Cespedes, #605 - Chris Coghlan, #606 - Adrian Nieto
The forlorn Cespedes shot is pretty fitting. I'm sure he was just as blindsided by the trade as everyone else.

#607 - Brayan Pena, #608 - Chris Dickerson, #609 - Chad Bettis
I'm really glad the Bettis photo was able to fit without cropping something out.

#610 - Andrew Romine, #611 - Jon Singleton, #612 - Erik Kratz
Pretty satisfied with all three photos here. The Romine is a nice close-up action shot. Singleton's is pretty funny. And I like that Kratz is smiling.

#613 - Matt Shoemaker, #614 - Kevin Correia, #615 - Jarred Cosart
Three starting pitchers. I wonder what kind of impact Shoemaker will have on 2015 cards.

And the winner is...

First off, I'd like to thank those of you who took the time to comment and share with me your favorite cards. It's always nice to hear feedback and know that my work is actually being seen by the eyes of others. Now onto the giveaway.

I took the list of commenters (ordered by comment chronology) and ran it through random.org once. Here are the results:

Congrats to McCann Can Triple! Her*(thanks for the correction)  favorite card of the set was #327 - David Price.

I can't really argue with her choice. Luckily for Mr. Price, he'll have another card in Series 3 with him actually pitching. That's right, I finished putting together the checklist and I'll be doing another 300 cards. Luckily for you, though, I'll spread it across fewer posts so you won't have to click through as many near-identical blog entries. My goal is to have the final card posted before the final out of the World Series. If the Giants manage to make it to World Series, that may be an obstacle. We'll see...

Again, thank you all for commenting, reading or even just scrolling through to look at the pretty pictures. I really do appreciate it.

Give me your opinion, I'll give you this autograph

In case you didn't read through my final Spirit Base post, now that I'm finished with Series 1 and 2, I'm looking for some feedback. All you have to do is tell me which of the 600 cards I created you like best. It could be your favorite player, a really great photograph or any other criteria of your choice. Either leave a comment on this post or the last past of the series. Or you can tweet your choice to me if that's your thing. On Friday, October 10th I'll randomize all comments and one winner will receive this 2014 Topps Archives Bill Russell Fan Favorites Autograph. No need to write your own blog post linking to mine or anything like that. Just comment with your choice (card # and player name) and you're entered to win. That's it.

Again, thanks for all your patience and time during this project. There may even be a Series 3 to come. If that happens, I'll change the post format a bit so it won't be so spammy for all you followers.

2014 Spirit Base: 591-600

After these last 10 cards, I have a little 'contest' to reward those of you that have endured this flood of repetitive posts. But first...

#591 - Kyle Kendrick
Kendrick actually had his highest innings pitched total this season, falling just 1 short of 200. It would have been the first time since 2011 that the Phillies had three pitchers with 200 IP. That was back in the "Four Aces" days, which seem much longer ago than 3 years.

#592 - Gaby Sanchez
I bet the Pirates wish they could've had a full season of Justin Morneau instead of Gaby's sub-.300 OBS.

#593 - Lance Lynn
Lynn had a pretty great season, lowering his ERA a full run from last year and totaling over 200 IP again.

#594 - Carlos Quentin
Kind of a weird angle but definitely unique enough for me to use it without a second thought.

#595 - Joaquin Arias
As much as Bruce Bochy drove me crazy by overplaying Arias during the regular season, I'm surprised and relieved that he's yet to have a plate appearance in this postseason.

#596 - Charlie Furbush
I wouldn't be shocked if he ranks high on the Mariner's jersey sales list.

#597 - Logan Forsythe
So glad to have him out of the NL West.

#598 - Alexi Ogando
Whichever role he finally ends up in, I hope Ogando's able to stick there and thrive.

#599 -  Juan Francisco
I've never noticed how much he looks like a perfect cross between Juan Uribe and Pablo Sandoval. It's uncanny, really.

#600 - Tyler Clippard
That's pretty much how I feel posting card #600 here.


So Series 2 is finally finished! My original plan was to do another 10 cards of each team featuring the season call-ups and traded players but I'm not sure if I have the determination. The way I've been unloading these the last month or so has kinda burned me out a bit. And I imagine it hasn't been that much fun for you "readers" either. So what do you think? Should I soldier through and whiz through Series 3? Or save my time and your time and close the books on the 2014 Spirit base set?

Oh yeah, about that contest. Since I've made 600 different cards here and nobody in their right mind would have feedback on every one of them, I'd like to hear from you which card(s) in particular you think turned out the best. What's your favorite card from Series 1 or 2? Leave me a comment or tweet it to me and you'll be entered to win this 2014 Topps Archives Bill Russell Fan Favorites Autograph.

I'll randomize all respondents and send this one free of charge to one lucky winner. Just give me the card number and player name by the end of Thursday, October 9th and I'll announce the winner on Friday. Thanks for your patience with this project. I look forward to your responses.

2014 Spirit Base: 581-590

#581 - Anthony Bass
I wish the Astros had an actual sunset alternative uniform instead of just using these BP jerseys in the game.

#582 - Kelvin Herrera
After leaving Game 1 on Thursday, Herrera says he'll be ready for Game 3 of the ALDS tonight. I'm sure the Royals would prefer James Shields to go 7 and not need to chance it with Herrera though.

#583 - C.J. Cron
Cron had a decent rookie season and should probably get a few ROY votes.

#584 - Chris Withrow
Add him to the list of pitchers with pitching-related names. (Bob Walk, Grant Balfour, Josh Outman, etc.)

#585 - Jeff Baker
You could probably cut him out of the context of a baseball diamond and place him in a scene like this and he'd fit right in. Apologies in advance for getting that song stuck in your head.

#586 - Matt Garza
INTENSIEST FACE

#587 - Eduardo Escobar
This is a great shot from a unique angle. I couldn't resist including it.

#588 - Anthony Recker
I bet he has some famous relatives.

#589 - Brendan Ryan
Expect the Yankees to sign or trade for a big name shortstop this offseason. No way will they want to go with Ryan for 162 games nexts year.

#590 - Derek Norris
Norris was one of 6 A's to make the AL All-Star team this year. I'm guessing if they went back to the old days of 2 All-Star games each year, that might not be the same number.

2014 Spirit Base: 571-580

And here we finally are. Each team's final card of series 2.

#571 - Addison Reed
Do we have any Diamondbacks fans that read the blog? I hear a lot of outside criticism of how the team is put together and run but I've never really heard a fan's perspective.

#572 - Ervin Santana
I wonder if the Royals would've won the division had they re-signed Santana and had him in their rotation all year. But if that would've happened, the world would've been deprived of that Wild Card game and the first two ALDS games and I think we're all better off having things happen like they did.

#573 - Ubaldo Jimenez
What an enigma. He keeps seesawing between a dominant pitcher and a burning can of garbage. At least he made this awesome commercial possible.

#574 - Jackie Bradley, Jr.
The colors are off on this photo. I tried my best but between the green monster and the grandstand lighting, this isn't the nicest card in the set.

#575 - Justin Ruggiano
I have to say, Ruggiano is quite a photogenic guy.

#576 - Moises Sierra
That's a pretty good bat flip from a guy with some impressive namesakes.

#577 - Aroldis Chapman
I'm glad to see he rebounded after that line drive. This is a pretty cool shot with that underneath angle, too.

#578 - Josh Outman
Probably the best baseball superhero name since Batman.

#579 - Josh Rutledge
Being Tulo's backup, Rutledge should have plenty of chances to show his skills at short and the plate. He still has some work to do.

#580 - Don Kelly
I don't know what it is about Don Kelly but the Tigers seem incapable of parting ways with him. He's been on the team since 2009 despite never posting an OPS+ above 82 in all six seasons.

2014 Spirit Base: 561-570

#561 - Roberto Hernandez
Carmo-carmo-carmo-carmo-carmona chameleon.

#562 - Jeanmar Gomez
Man, do his limbs look short in this photo.

#563 - Jason Motte
I'm thankful for Motte for no other reason than my last name is erroneously pronounced like his 95% of the time somebody reads it. It's entertaining while playing MLB: The Show.

#564 - Dale Thayer
These two are a perfect pairing here. Maybe I should make an All-Facial Hair Team insert next year.

#565 - Angel Pagan
I can imagine how much Pagan's salute must get on the nerves of all you non-Giants fans out there. I still love it because it means that something good just happened for the Giants.

#566 - James Jones
I guess every sport needs a James Jones.

#567 - Ryan Hanigan
I hope that Bud's replacement is able to fix the whole Tropicana Field embarrassment. The Rays and their fans deserve better. It's such a shame that all of their home shots are marred by empty seats in the background.

#568 - Neal Cotts
Cotts was bonkers last year, posting a 1.11 ERA in 57 innings. This year, though, he got rung up for 4.32 over 66.2 innings. That's pretty analogous for the whole Rangers team.

#569 - Steve Tolleson
I'm not very familiar with Tolleson. That may have something to do with him taking every other year off from the majors. Hey, Steve! Stick around, will ya?

#570 - Doug Fister
How did the Nationals swing this trade? I'll never know. How has it not bitten the Tigers in the ass? I have a feeling we will find out pretty soon.

2014 Spirit Base: 551-560

#551 - Josh Fields
If you've heard the name Josh Fields and gotten him confused with the other Josh Fields who used to play football at Oklahoma State before getting drafted by the White Sox, you're not the only one. Even Baseball Reference has a hard time keeping them straight.

#552 - Danny Valencia
Oh, Valencia. It's too bad you didn't stick around past July.

#553 - Fernando Salas
The Angels are really accumulating former Cardinals out in Anaheim.

#554 - Dan Haren
Haren looks set to make at least one postseasons start. Unless the Dodgers get swept of course...

#555 - Reed Johnson
Sounds like an investment firm or something.

#556 - Logan Schafer
Wow, so does that.

#557 - Phil Hughes
I'm sure you've all heard about Hughes' bad luck, missing out on $500,000. I'm sure he'll be okay. He had a great season and he's still set to make $8 million in each of the next two seasons.

#558 - Wilmer Flores
Mets fans are still wondering if Flores is a long-term solution at shortstop. He's still young but he'll need to amp up his offense to make ensure he isn't jettisoned for a better glove.

#559 - Matt Thornton
The Yankees put him on waivers in August, just in time to be claimed by the Nationals. Nice work if you can get it.

#560 - John Jaso
Jaso may not be catching for much longer. Concussions seem to be driving a lot of catchers out from behind the plate.

2014 Spirit Base: 541-550

#541 - Evan Marshall
As a rookie, Marshall had a pretty decent introduction, appearing in 57 games and posting a 2.74 ERA.

#542 - Julio Teheran
After his own strong rookie season, Teheran was even better in 2014. He was arguably Atlanta's ace.

#543 - Jonathan Schoop
I bet Schoop will be happy to finally play in a game with the whole country watching. It's sure to cut down on the number of people who refer to him as "SHOOP."

#544 - Mike Carp
It'd be sweet if the league had Mikes named Gar, Pike, Brill, Bass, Cod and Sole. An All-Fish team.

#545 - Mike Olt
I still wish the Rangers could've kept Olt on board, especially considering how the Matt Garza thing didn't exactly work out.

#546 - John Danks
I'm always happy to find a pitcher photo that isn't just the same old windup shot.

#547 - Sam LeCure
He needs some eyeliner and stringy hair, imo.

#548 - Carlos Santana
He needs a perm and fedora, imo.

#549 - Nick Masset
A question for all you Rockies fans reading: Do you all call him the Masset Hound?

#550 - Joba Chamberlain
Joba's really making for lost time spent under the Yankees' "clean shaven" restrictions.