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The Ultimate Allen & Ginter Mini Set Bracket: We've Made it the Elite Eight (Voting Starts Now!)

We've made it to the Elite Eight in our Ultimate Allen & Ginter Mini Set Bracket!  

Before we get to the next batch of votes, I thought I'd take a moment to recap something that I found interesting in terms of how the voting went over the past couple of rounds.  Out of sheer curiosity, after the Round of 64 voting was over I looked at the 32 remaining sets and grouped them up by year.  In case you forgot, the mini sets in the competition begin in 2007 and go through 2019.  Can you guess which year was already completely eliminated before the Round of 32 voting even took place?

If you guessed 2011 then well done!  For those that are interested, here's the full breakdown of sets remaining (by year) heading into each of the voting rounds.

As you can see, things were kind of all over the place heading into the Round of 32 but then everything basically leveled out in the Sweet Sixteen.  I found it interesting that every single year (except 2011) was represented by at least one set in the Sweet Sixteen.  Obviously, by the time we finished the Elite Eight voting there would have to be a number of years with no remaining sets but even there we still have a perfectly even distribution of sets (so even, in fact, that it's almost symmetric from top to bottom)!  

With the math out of the way, let's get to the next couple of votes!

We are now voting on the winner of each of the four regions beginning with the top two regions of the bracket today.  Once the four bracket winners are decided, we'll move on to the Final Four and then the Finals!  

#1 seed 2008 Baseball Icons vs. the #8 seed 2018 Baseball Superstitions

From the beginning, the 2008 Baseball Icons set was a clear favorite in the competition and so far no set has really proven to be much of a challenger to the potential crown.  On the other hand, the Baseball Superstitions set is one of the few actual baseball themed mini sets in the competition and it too has mostly rolled through the bracket!

Since we've made it to the Elite Eight, it's at least worth repeating the full checklist for each of the remaining sets.

For the 2008 Baseball Icons set, there is a total of 17 cards.  Why 17 cards?  I have no idea but it's an annoying gripe that I happen to hold against the set.  I'm also bummed that no Reds made it into the Icons set.  That all being said, the 2008 A&G design (which the Baseball Icons set shares) is one of my all-time favorite A&G designs and there's a definite reason why this set was the #1 seed heading into the bracket challenge!

The full checklist for the set:
BI1 Cy Young
BI2 Walter Johnson
BI3 Jackie Robinson
BI4 Thurman Munson
BI5 Mel Ott
BI6 Honus Wagner
BI7 Pee Wee Reese
BI8 Tris Speaker
BI9 Christy Mathewson
BI10 Ty Cobb
BI11 Johnny Mize
BI12 Jimmie Foxx
BI13 Lou Gehrig
BI14 Roy Campanella
BI15 George Sisler
BI16 Rogers Hornsby
BI17 Babe Ruth


For the 2018 Baseball Superstitions set, I have to say that I'm still not a huge fan.  The set has been languishing on my want list for two years now but I simply haven't been motivated to try and buy the missing cards since the set doesn't do a lot for me.  I know I'm in the minority here (after all, you the readers voted this set into the Elite Eight despite me railing against it almost every vote)!  

The full checklist for the set (the asterisks* denote cards that I still need for my personal collection):
MBS-1 No talking about a No-hitter*
MBS-2 Batting Gloves*
MBS-3 Wearing the same Helmet*
MBS-4 Postseason Beards
MBS-5 Leaping over the Foul line
MBS-6 Pre-Game Meal
MBS-7 Rally Caps
MBS-8 Wearing The Same Hat*
MBS-9 Drawing in the Batter's Box Dirt*
MBS-10 Between-Inning Routine*
MBS-11 Curse of the Bambino*
MBS-12 Not Changing Seats*
MBS-13 Lucky Jersey Numbers
MBS-14 Mismatched Socks
MBS-15 Baseball cards*



#4 seed 2012 Man's Best Friend vs. #37 seed 2019 Collectible Canines

A pair of dog-themed sets made it to the finals of the Cats and Dogs region, that certainly seems fitting!  I'm interested to see which doggy set will come out on top here!

For the 2012 Man's Best Friend set we get 20 different dog breeds all in a horizontal layout (compare that to the 25 card Collectible Canines set which is all in a vertical layout).  Who will win out here, horizontal doggies or vertical doggies?

The full checklist for the set:
MBF-1 Siberian Husky
MBF-2 Dalmatian
MBF-3 Golden Retriever
MBF-4 German Shepherd
MBF-5 Beagle
MBF-6 Dachshund
MBF-7 Yorkshire Terrier
MBF-8 Labrador Retriever
MBF-9 Boxer
MBF-10 Poodle
MBF-11 Chihuahua
MBF-12 Shih Tzu
MBF-13 Collie
MBF-14 Pug
MBF-15 Cocker Spaniel
MBF-16 Saint Bernard
MBF-17 Bulldog
MBF-18 Boston Terrier
MBF-19 Basset Hound
MBF-20 Shetland Sheepdog

For the 2019 Collectible Canines set, it's worth noting that as the #37 seed this is the lowest remaining seed still alive in the bracket.  In fact, of the eight remaining sets only the Collectible Canines and the 2015 First Ladies (#31 seed) were seeded outside the top 8 when the initial bracket was set!

The full checklist for the set:
CC-1 Beagle
CC-2 Boxer
CC-3 Vizsla
CC-4 German Shepherd
CC-5 Siberian Husky
CC-6 Golden Retriever
CC-7 Great Dane
CC-8 Borzoi
CC-9 Dachshund
CC-10 Black Labrador
CC-11 English Bulldog
CC-12 English Springer Spaniel
CC-13 Rhodesian Ridgeback
CC-14 Papillon
CC-15 Yellow Labrador
CC-16 Chihuahua
CC-17 French Bulldog
CC-18 Bernese Mountain Dog
CC-19 Corgi
CC-20 Bullmastiff
CC-21 Weimaraner
CC-22 Shih Tzu
CC-23 West Highland Terrier
CC-24 Boston Terrier
CC-25 Maltese

In an effort to help give you a more informed vote, here are the dogs that are unique to the 2012 Man's Best Friend set:
MBF-2 Dalmatian
MBF-7 Yorkshire Terrier
MBF-8 Labrador Retriever
MBF-10 Poodle
MBF-13 Collie
MBF-14 Pug
MBF-15 Cocker Spaniel
MBF-16 Saint Bernard
MBF-17 Bulldog
MBF-19 Basset Hound
MBF-20 Shetland Sheepdog

And these are the dogs unique to the 2019 Collectible Canines set:
CC-3 Vizsla
CC-7 Great Dane
CC-8 Borzoi
CC-10 Black Labrador
CC-11 English Bulldog
CC-12 English Springer Spaniel
CC-13 Rhodesian Ridgeback
CC-14 Papillon
CC-15 Yellow Labrador
CC-17 French Bulldog
CC-18 Bernese Mountain Dog
CC-19 Corgi
CC-20 Bullmastiff
CC-21 Weimaraner
CC-23 West Highland Terrier
CC-25 Maltese

For me, the inclusion of the Bernese Mountain Dog in the Collectible Canines set is enough to push that set over the edge (though I actually prefer the design of the Man's Best Friend set).  Either way, a dog set is going to represent this particular region of the bracket!

To vote, please copy the text below and then delete the set you don't want to win.  This will make it a lot easier for me to quickly tally the winners of each match-up.  I also encourage you to stump for your favorite sets (remember, there is a bracket prediction contest going on here as well).
  • 2008 Baseball Icons vs. 2018 Baseball Superstitions
  • 2012 Mans's Best Friend vs. 2019 Collectible Canines
Copy and paste the above text into the comment section and then simply delete the set you don't want to win each of the match-ups.  That should make voting quick and easy for both you and me!  Remember that comments, votes, and general contest participation will potentially earn you chances to win additional prizes in the contest (along with the bracket challenge of course)!  Vote now!

Want more information about a specific insert set including the full checklist?  Here are my yearly breakdowns all in one spot for you.

Comments

  1. 2018 Baseball Superstitions
    2012 Mans's Best Friend

    ReplyDelete
  2. 2018 Baseball Superstitions
    2012 Mans's Best Friend

    ReplyDelete
  3. 2008 Baseball Icons
    2019 Collectible Canines

    ReplyDelete
  4. 2008 Baseball Icons
    2019 Collectible Canines

    ReplyDelete
  5. 2008 Baseball Icons
    2012 Mans's Best Friend

    Baseball and Man's BEST Friend. Doesn't get much better than that.

    Play Ball!

    ReplyDelete
  6. 2008 Baseball Icons
    2012 Mans's Best Friend

    ReplyDelete
  7. 2008 Baseball Icons
    2012 Mans's Best Friend

    ReplyDelete
  8. 01. 2008 Baseball Icons
    02. 2012 Mans's Best Friend

    ReplyDelete
  9. 2018 Baseball Superstitions
    2012 Mans's Best Friend

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  10. 2008 Baseball Icons
    2012 Man's Best Friend

    I don't much care for cards of dogs, but MBF has a cleaner design which I prefer.

    ReplyDelete
  11. 2008 Baseball Icons
    2012 Mans's Best Friend

    ReplyDelete
  12. 2008 Baseball Icons
    2012 Mans's Best Friend

    ReplyDelete
  13. 2018 Baseball Superstitions
    2019 Collectible Canines

    ReplyDelete
  14. 2008 Baseball Icons
    2019 Collectible Canines

    ReplyDelete
  15. 2008 Baseball Icons
    2012 Mans's Best Friend

    ReplyDelete
  16. 2008 Baseball Icons
    2012 Mans's Best Friend

    ReplyDelete
  17. 2008 Baseball Icons
    2012 Mans's Best Friend

    ReplyDelete
  18. 2008 Baseball Icons
    2019 Collectible Canines

    ReplyDelete

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