Oddball Set Appreciation: 2016 Leaf Babe Ruth Collection

The recent snowy winter days have given me the chance to go through and organize a lot of my collection and move cards from where they already are to where they need to be. I've discovered a lot of fun, oddball sets while organizing my collection over the last few weeks, but the most interesting one I found was a set from not too long ago, 2016 Leaf Babe Ruth Collection.

As many of you know, Leaf does not have MLB licensing anymore, but that didn't stop them from creating an 80-card set honoring the greatest player to ever live back in 2016. In addition to 80 base cards, the set also featured 2 different types of insert sets and even relic cards including Babe Ruth's game-used bats from the Red Sox and the Yankees.

The first of 2 insert sets is called Quotables, a set that highlights famous quotes stated by Babe Ruth himself. This insert set, like the base card design, takes on a very classy look with lots of detailed parts such as the designs near the names Babe Ruth and Leaf along with the design around the picture of Ruth himself. They also did a very good job keeping the cards interesting by choosing excellent quotes and explaining them on the back of the card.

The 2nd insert set is the one that I like the best. It's called Career Achievements and while the name is relatively boring, the design is extraordinarily intriguing. It's pretty easy to see that the set honors Ruth's biggest career achievements, and there are a ton of them. They range from being a 7-time World Series champion to making the MLB All-Century team. The dark brown that was chosen for most of the card gives the card the old-time feel, which does a good job at representing the era Babe Ruth played in. And just like the Quotables, the design around the picture looks great here as well.

But perhaps the most interesting part of the set is the base cards and all the unique choices Leaf made regarding what to put on the cards. Many of the base cards highlight impressive milestones and behind the scenes things that Ruth did. But creative cards that show Babe Ruth catching fish and showing love to his lumber truly highlight how above and beyond Leaf went in creating these cards, which is what makes this oddball set one of my personal favorites.