Backside Appreciation Part 2

My intial post on Backside Appreciation has been one of my most viewed posts since its debut. I'm sure it has more to do with piqued interest on the title more than the content, but that won't stop me from appreciating a few more backsides...

And it doesn't take much to garner a little extra appreciation, as you'll see by some of the posts that will be featured. But if it is enough to get me to do a double take and maybe do a little research, hopefully, some of you will find it interesting too. The review will more than likely be a particular card rather than the set it is from, although a minor dissection of the design will probably be included.

Today's card is Darwin Barney's "2012" Panini Prizm card. The 2012 is in quotes because while Panini bills this as a 2012 set, the statistical information includes the 2012 season, was actually released in 2013 and has a 2013 copyright. And as you can see on this card, it even mentions Barney's Rawlings Gold Glove Award that he won following the 2012 season.

Lack of logos aside, I really like the backs on this set. The content hits all the basics with name, position, demographics, and a blurb. As for the statistics, the layout is such that it only allows for the previous season and the player's MLB total. Normally, I prefer the way Topps does it, with a line for each season they've played, but I think this way works with this design.

Another thing I don't typically like but seems to work on this set, is the re-use of the front picture on the back. Many times we'll get a cropped version that is just a closeup of their face. While this set does crop the front photo, they've also made it sepia. And because of the shininess on the front, you also get a better view of the background of the photo on the back.

This caused the double take that earned its Backside Appreciation status. Without that second version of the photo, I would never have noticed Kosuke Fukudome's cameo on this card. Fukudome was traded away during the 2011 season and has fallen off my radar since. After looking it up, it appears he finished 2011 in Cleveland, signed as a free agent with the White Sox for 2012, was released and signed with the Yankees (minor league deal) for the rest of the season. He played 63 games for the Hanshin Tigers in the Japan Central League in 2013.

Now, the fronts of these don't scan particularly well, but even if you could somehow make out Fukudome in the background of the front, his face would be blocked by the MLBPA logo in the upper right hand corner.