2015 Snorting Bull Awards: Worst Set of the Year

2015 Worst Set of the Year

Donruss 

I am not sure what exactly Panini did with Donruss this year, but it was an absolute train wreck.  So many places to start with this product.  The first thing the 2015 Donruss set had going against it was the 2014 Donruss Factory set.  Definitely negative momentum for this product heading into this year.... I know many collectors who worked on this product last year, but they were irked that Panini issued a factory set at the end of summer.  More than a few felt that their efforts in assembling the base set were tossed aside the moment that last year's Donruss factory set hit the shelves at stores.  Strike one.  

Second factor is that the design is horrendous.  The top and bottom baseball print is from the side of the 1987 Donruss set, but the lines on the side make the border really busy.  I have heard several collectors complain that Panini made the Donruss logo way too big in the top corner and I would probably have to agree with this point.  The early 1980s Donruss sets had a logo in the top corner, but it did not take up the entire corner.  

Lastly, there is the whole no license thing.  I have picked on this topic before, but I cannot stand airbrushing.  I do not like the airbrushing in products like Bowman Draft, which is used to add logos, nor the airbrushing in Panini products to remove logos.  Don't get wrong, some of Panini's designs would be great if they had logos, but with a poor product like Donruss the lack of logos really sets the product far below the bar.

I cannot really say that congratulations are in order for winning this award, but if you missed the Donruss set this year you did not miss much of anything.