2018 Clubhouse: Colorado Rockies

#41. Nolan Arenado

#42. Charlie Blackmon

#43. Jon Gray

#44. DJ LeMahieu

#46. Trevor Story

Time for Rockies set. I really have a love/hate relationship with the Rockies. I'd love to see any of these hitters in the Giants lineup but I hate them for everything they do against the Giants. Plus, they've been around for 25 years now and haven't really won anything, so I kinda have a sliver of sympathy for them. Anyway, enough condescension, let's talk about the checklist. I was expecting Jon Gray to have the season Kyle Freeland is having, so his inclusion here looks weird since he's been no better than average. Everything else looks pretty much perfect to me

Arenado getting an auto slot is obviously the best case scenario here. I gave the other to LeMahieu since he seems to be the most under-the-radar of the Rockies hitters. 

We're cycling back around on the parallels as all 8 have been unveiled. Now I'll just be picking out which ones I think look best with the photos or trying to keep them even. The gold looks good on this Blackmon card.

2017 PENNANT BOX BREAK - PACK 4

80. Ryan Braun

36. Hunter Pence

275. Didi Gregorius

70. Nolan Arenado

66. Kyle Seager

172. Luis Perdomo

274. Max Kepler

208. A.J. Ramos

271. J.D. Martinez

TD2. Manny Machado/Bryce Harper - Throwdown

Pack 4 brings the return of the Throwdown insert featured in the 2013 edition of Pennant. Again, this brings together players from rival teams, be it divisional or geographical. Manny Machado and Bryce Harper are an example of the latter with the Orioles and Nationals occupying the same basic market. I wonder what the odds are they’ll end up teammates in New York after next season.

2017 SPIRIT BOX BREAK - PACK 24

218. Michael Pineda

118. Jerad Eickhoff

1. Kris Bryant

246. Kevin Gausman

297. Tim Anderson

45. David Robertson

181. Leonys Martin

125. Jake Lamb

169. Alex Bregman (RC)

G215. Nolan Arenado

TL63. Julio Teheran - Team Leader (ATL-ERA)

Closing out the box with a pretty strong pack, all things considered. Finally pulling the Kris Bryant base and the Alex Bregman rookie card. Add in the Arenado gold and it’s a pretty solid way to end.

Going forward, I’ll probably post new designs individually instead of in this box/pack format. I may even fill in the gaps in some of these insert sets as well. I do plan on doing a Pennant box like this, though probably fewer "packs." Those are already in the works.

2016 Spirit Team MVP

One of the first inserts I created was the 2012 Spirit Team MVP set, featuring the best player from every club that included a relic swatch in every single card. Here's the 2016 version which follows the footsteps of the original entry 4 years ago. Design-wise, this is an extension of the 2016 Spirit base design, much like the 2012 version mirrored the base set as well.

The team color bars come in from opposite sides to house the player and team names with the logo tucked in the corner. Big block MVP letters on the left are filled with the relic swatch, leaving a big chunk of card real estate for the player image. The background fades from a tech-y looking texture to some background stadium action, both parts washed in a gradient from one team color to the other.

On the back, the elements shift a little bit as the logo moves from the right side to the left and the MVP letters take a hike to make room for a brief write up. The player photos are a little more candid/casual instead of action shots like the front.

I really like the balance of these cards, which are probably the best looking of all four Team MVP designs over the years. Let's see if I have any other ideas for the MVP-relic box next year.

2016 Spirit Award Winners

Now that the base design has been unveiled, I'm keeping with tradition and presenting the Spirit Award Winners as the first insert design of the season. You know the drill by now — 18 Gold Glovers (9 AL/9 NL) with gold foil and 18 Silver Sluggers (9 AL/9 NL) with shiny, shiny silver. After starting out super gaudy like disco balls and gold bars, the foil has been a little more subdued in the past couple years. That's also meant a little bit more actual designing on my part.

The gold and silver is mostly found in the four corners with a little bit of deckled texture added in. These make for a nice way to frame the player cutouts. The backgrounds are once again blue and red, respective to each league. The texture is just stormy/grungy enough to keep things interesting without going overboard. It's a good match for all the clean, modernistic lines everywhere else.

The backs are basically the same design as the front, only flipped vertically with text replacing the cutouts. The small mug shot along the top gives you another chance to see these superstar honorees up close. Overall it's a pretty efficient design with just enough ornamentation to add interest without overwhelming you.

2014 Spirit Base Series 1: 91-100

Sorry for the hiatus. I've had a busy week.

#91 - A.J. Pollock
It's nice to get an outfield shot where the guy's facing the camera, even if he has shades on.

#92 - Freddie Freeman
Freddie's looking like Adam Scott's ugly kid brother here.

#93 - Chris Tillman
As I'm putting these cards together, I notice how some teams have similar photographs, most likely from the same photographers. This one looks pretty similar color-wise to the T.J. McFarland one.

#94 - Mike Napoli
Decided to go with that postseason beard. If I were Topps, there'd probably be an SP version with a photo like this.

#95 - Luis Valbuena
One thing I like about this design is it allows for these plays at second to be captured without showing too much of the runner sliding. I know you can see a little bit of Molina here but it doesn't command your attention like the main subject does.

#96 - Jordan Danks
I honestly didn't realize there were two Dankses in the majors until I made this card. Them both being on the White Sox is probably the main reason.

#97 - Johnny Cueto
I really do appreciate how red the Reds' jerseys are.

#98 - Yan Gomes
I wonder how long it'll be before Cleveland ditches Chief Wahoo and I don't have to use it on cards again.

#99 - Nolan Arenado
Arenado probably would've gotten a lot more Rookie of the Year consideration if it weren't for Jose Fernandez and Puig. Not looking forward to having him in the NL West for the foreseeable future.

#100 - Phil Coke
Probably not the most flattering angle for Mr. Coke here but the options were limited.