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Barry Larkin Collection 360: 1996 Leaf - #122

Barry Larkin
Year:  1996
Brand:  Leaf
Card number:  122

As I've mentioned a number of times previously on my blog, I never bought much in the way of the Leaf brand of baseball cards.  The 1996 Leaf set is a perfect example of why I generally avoided the brand - WAY TOO MUCH FOIL.  Half of the border on the front of the card is a thick, foil border (that scans like crap).  I do like the fact that the image of Larkin running seems to be "popping" out of the frame but that trick isn't nearly enough to save the card design.  The foil ugliness is further compounded by the gigantic Leaf logo - and the complete lack of a Reds' logo on the front of the card!

The back of the card isn't nearly as bad - though the stats are almost unreadable (and only one season's worth, boo).  I think the best element of the entire card design lies with the small circular inset at the bottom of the back of the card - kind of a cool way to put the player's vitals on a card (and to sneak in a third photograph).

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