2014 Spirit Base Series 1: 151-160

Alright, after that short break, time jump back in the saddle here.

#151 - Brad Ziegler
Ziegler's mechanics don't really lend themselves to many aesthetically pleasing photographs.

#152 - Evan Gattis
El Oso Blanco. What a great nickname.

#153 - Wei-Yin Chen
I'm glad this angle was able to keep the ball in frame as it hurls into the foreground.

#154 - David Ortiz
There are so many good Red Sox photos from the postseason. I hope I'm not overusing them.

#155 - Chris Rusin
I really hope the Cubs roster building pans out soon. There are so many guys on their roster I have no idea about.

#156 - Dayan Viciedo
Dayan/I don't say it but I know/You know
(probably like a 1% chance anyone gets that reference)

#157 - Mike Leake
I can't believe Leake's 26 years old. He looks like he's barely old enough to drink.

#158 - Ryan Raburn
This is a nice pose at the plate here. There's a little bit of action going on but you get a clear look at Raburn's face. It's not that easy to find batting shots where their faces/mouths aren't all contorted.

#159 - Adam Ottavino
Just enough of Ottavino's profile here to make this one usable.

#160 - Austin Jackson
Just now noticed that all of these pairs are pitchers on the left and hitters on the right.

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.