2018 Clubhouse: New York Yankees

91. Didi Gregorius

92. Aaron Judge

93. Gary Sánchez

94. Luis Severino

95. Giancarlo Stanton

Obviously the biggest omissions here are Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres but, like I said before, this checklist was put together really early in the season. Still, not bad.

Autographs from Judge and Severino should make Yankees fans pretty happy here.

Since he didn't get an auto card here I figured I'd show the Stanton luster parallel.

2017 PENNANT BOX BREAK - PACK 11

202. Giancarlo Stanton

257. Adrian Gonzalez

221. Mike Trout

259. Archie Bradley

287. Ender Inciarte

238. Nomar Mazara

152. Paul Goldschmidt

262. Jaime Garcia

263. Adam Duvall

TI27. Evan Longoria - The Incumbents

This is a pretty solid pack as far as base cards go with three legitimate MVP candidates. Lots of red and blue, too.

2016 Clubhouse

I seem to be going every-other-year with the orientation of the Clubhouse set. Last year, they were vertical. So I guess it's time for horizontal again.

Once again, the design is filled with bold colors and simplicity, with the card cut in half by diagonal color boxes. The player cutout is surrounded by a white outline to keep them offset from the background. Diagonal bars come in from opposite sides for the player name and position with a team logo in a circle in the bottom right corner. It helps tie Clubhouse to the main Spirit base set without being such a overt copy. These simple elements keep the design from feeling overdone or cluttered while also keeping with the "fun" feel this low-end product strives for.

The back has plenty room for career stats while still following the elements and look of the front. Even the stat box is able to keep the angled format. If not for having to cut out every player, I'd consider doing a card for each of the 30 MLB teams just because the designing was so fun for me. To me, it strikes a good balance of modern and fun, without being too ornate like some designs are these days.

We still have the Pennant and Deluxe designs to finish/post and then I'll probably start on some new inserts for all four Spirit sets.

2015 Clubhouse All-Stars

Just in time to start the 2015 MLB season, let's take a look at the first 2015 Clubhouse insert, highlighting the players who made the 2014 All-Star teams. I've been doing this insert each year since I started the blog because it's always a great encapsulation of the standout players of the league. This year, it gives me a legitimate reason to feature a Derek Jeter since (so far) I've refrained from putting retired players into any Spirit product.

The cards are split by league once again with red to designate NL guys and blue for the AL. The bottom left corner as a foil star design which is a good anchor for the player name/position to the right along with the "2014 National/American League All-Star" text along the left edge. In the upper left corner is the respective league logo. The foil here is used strictly as a design embellishment and not as a crutch, with the names being an easy-to-read white on top of the color background. I've noticed I tend to lean towards centered, symmetric designs so I'm happy going asymmetrical here.

The back has room for a nice portrait-type image up top along with space for the team logo and a brief write-up. Since the all-star squads seem to be expanding each year, this insert set has a big checklist that would lend itself to being a "one-per-pack" insert which is perfect for a low-end product like Clubhouse.

Now that the season kicks into full-gear tonight and tomorrow, get ready for more designs coming with more regularity. Good luck to everybody's favorite teams and let's 'play ball'!

2014 Spirit Base Series 1: 221-230

#221 - Carlos Corporan
This would be an easy photo for Panini to use if they ever release a set big enough to include the likes of Carlos Corporan.

#222 - Luke Hochevar
Well, with Hochevar set to miss the entire season with Tommy John surgery, this card is pretty obsolete now.

#223 - Erick Aybar
There have been a few rain shots sprinkled* through the set so far but none as cool as this.

#224 - Kenley Jansen
I'm guessing this is him looking at the runner on third but who knows.

#225 - Giancarlo Stanton
Hard to top a walkoff reception.

#226 - Jim Henderson
I was wondering what this guy was up to these days. Pitching in Milwaukee apparently.

#227 - Glen Perkins
I guess the Twins won a game? Cool.

#228 - Bobby Parnell
"What do you think of all the Tommy John surgeries these days, Bobby?"

#229 - Mark Teixeira
There weren't a whole lot of photo choices for Teixeira seeing as how he was hurt for most of 2013.

#230 - Alberto Callaspo
I like how Callaspo seems to be keeping his cool as Hamilton is about to slide face first into his knee. His nickname should be Cool-aspo*.

*Sorry for the puns. I haven't been fully rehabilitated.

THIS IS THE REMIX: '91 Score

Trying out a new feature here on the old design blog. I'll take a look at a previous card design and do a little remixin' to try and freshen them up a bit for today. This will be a cross between what I normally do and customs that other guys out there do.

First up is '91 Score. I've always thought this was a vastly underrated design, especially compared to some other designs from 1991. It has a bit of understated dignity to its benefit.

There aren't a lot of elements to the design, so its simplicity is big virtue. The solid color borders add some personality, though I'm not sure the color combinations are the prettiest. That teal & purple combo on Felix Fermin's card just doesn't sit right. In the upper left corner, the first letter in the first name is big and yellow, pushing the colored border down into the frame a bit. This kind of reminds me of playing cards, like a big K or Q in the corner for a king or queen card. It's definitely one of the most prominent and successful features. The rest of the name is spelled out in white at the top, along with team name and player position inside a secondary color bar. There were also some 'Rookie Prospect' cards in the set with white borders and a "ROOKIE PROSPECT" flash across a red streak towards the bottom. Paired with the green inset border, these cards look a little Christmas for a summer sport such as baseball.

For the remix, I pretty much tweaked every element ever so slightly. The colored borders now reflect the featured player's team, as does the inset stripe. I also removed the strokes around the frame to help clean up the clutter. And instead of having the first letter in the first name biggified, we now have a monogram of the first and last name. This helps with the spacing of the initials and little frame bump. The position has moved from the corner down into the inset bar along with the full team name (city/state and name.) That helps to accommodate some of the longer player names. The one thing that's an addition and not just a tweak is the secondary inset bar I added at the bottom. I though this just helped to balance the top of the card out. Plus...

it makes for a great little spot for the 'ROOKIE PROSPECT' notation to rest, along with the Score logo.

Overall, I think I kept with the tone and feel of the original set but made some minor adjustments to enhance the design a bit. The introduction of the team colors spruces it up along with some different font choices. Hopefully these Remix posts will be sprinkled in alongside some of my original Spirit designs.

What are some sets you think could use a 'remix?'