MLB Embroidery Patches - 2008

'Major League Baseball Licensed Patch Designs.'

Collecting baseball cards as a kid was one of my favorite memories from childhood. When I'd get my monthly $5 allowance I'd ride my purple bike with a banana seat, big back tire and small front tire down to the local drug store and make my monthly purchase of baseball cards, candy and of course the holy grail of all things creatively inspiring for me at the time a copy of the latest MAD Magazine. The latter of course I'd stuff in my pants and covertly sneak it into my room because my parents thought it was a bad influence. My mom reads my blog so I'll let her be the judge on that now. ;-)

I continued to collect baseball cards all the way through high school and had a very valuable collection of some great rookie cards and players going back to the 40's and 50's. As much as it pains me to say this, I sold the entire collection after college. I was desperate for money, hadn't found my first job yet after art school and didn't want to mooch off my parents any more then had been doing so I sold it. It still makes me sick to my stomach thinking about it again. Ugh.

But working on these MLB designs has brought back a lot of childhood memories since it's the same players I collected and enjoyed watching and mimicking myself growing up.

Baseball cards have gone through a quantum shift since when I collected though. The Upper Deck Company is by far the industry leader when it comes to sports collectibles. Gone are the days of merely having a full color front and 1 color back printed on cheap stock. Now they have full color with 5th and 6th spot colors, high grade stock, foil and embossing, die-cutting, holographic imagery and jersey or other sports material attached to the card. The choices for collectors are endless now.


'This image shows '14' of the nearly '90' patches I designed.'

Many of the patches I had to design commemorate historically memorable moments in baseball. Sometimes that is hard to capture in a static image such as a patch design, so that makes it difficult to relay the accurate mood and tense that video footage might be able to showcase easier.

For example, look at the second row first patch. Do you know what that is illustrating? It's Carlton Fisks 1975 home run against the 'Big Red Machine' in the World Series. Before he knew it was a home run though he was waving at the ball as it flew through the air hoping it wouldn't go foul and it didn't. It hit the foul pole for a very dramatic home run. Now how do you tell that whole scene in a simplistic and graphic manner? Well, my solution is shown above.

If you'd like to see the set of NBA Licensed embroidery patches I designed previously just click here.

If you'd like to see the set of NFL Licensed embroidery patches I designed previously just click here.