Day Game is the 2012 summer edition of the Field Notes COLORS series, and as the name suggests, it is baseball-themed. I am no baseball fan but I love this edition. No, I ♡♥ this edition, okay. It will probably remain in the top 5 of my ranking forever. As mentioned in my Balsam Fir post, the combination of the matte cover stock and the glossy, foil-stamped type is what does it for me. And colors! Three different books in this edition representing baseball! Outfield Green, Infield Brown, and Hardball White. I don’t care much about baseball, but visually this set definitely hits a home run for me. Yeah, yeah. Har har.
If I had to choose a favorite among the three colors, I would choose the green one. But I also appreciate that the infield brown book is a variation on the classic Original brown memo books. It uses the same French Paper’s “Packing Brown Wrap” for the cover, but the key difference is that the type is printed in white instead of black. And there’s an addition of a small home plate design on the back cover. I love this little detail, especially on the white memo book. Another detail I really get excited about in the white book is the dark blue ink (“Pinstripe Blue”) used on the inside cover. Actually, it goes really well with all three colors, so kudos to whoever chose it!
Day Game (left) and its belly band (far right) and Original (center)
Day Game’s ”Pinstripe Blue” ink (front) vs. Original’s “Dachshund Nose” black ink (back)
Firsts (and seconds)
There aren’t that many “firsts” with Day Game, except that this is the first time a book was released with a COLORS edition. A Drive Into the Gap by Kevin Guilfoile, who used to work with Field Notes, is the first book published by Field Notes Brand Books, and is also baseball-themed. If you were a subscriber of COLORS or bought Day Game online at Field Notes, then you received the book in your order. Other “regular” retail editions did not include the book, I believe. Day Game is one of those editions I managed to purchase much later, so I do not own the book. Sure looks nice though! The cover matches the green memo book of Day Game and is also foil-stamped. Apparently, this book is the first perfect binding Field Notes ever did.
Quick dot grid comparison (left to right): Day Game, Fire Spotter, Pitch Black, and Capsule SS14
As for “seconds”, there are many. Day Game is the second COLORS edition after Fire Spotter to feature dot graph grid inside. It is the second, after Balsam Fir, to have foil-stamping on the cover. And last but not least, it is the second after Packet of Sunshine to feature different colors of text on the outside covers. Who’s on second? …I will see myself out.
Foil-stamped: Day Game (left and right) and Balsam Fir (center)
Some fun (for me) details:
- Day Game (Summer 2012) is the 15th edition in the COLORS series.
- Item number: FNC-15
- Edition size: 18,000 books printed in June 2012
- Cover paper by French Paper:
- Outfield Green: 100#C Pop-Tone “Jellybean Green”
- Infield Brown: 80#C Dur-O-Tone “Packing Brown Wrap”
- Hardball White: 100#C Construction “Recycled White”
- Outside covers: high-gloss, foil-stamped white text on green and brown books, “Baseball Stitching Red” text on the white book
- Inside covers: text printed in “Pinstripe Blue” soy-based Toyo ink, content same across all three colors
- Dot graph grid inside: “Double Knee Duck Canvas” light brown soy-based Toyo ink
- Paper inside: Finch Paper Opaque Smooth 50#T in “Bright White”, the usual
- Belly band: Original kraft brown with black text
- Extras: A Drive Into the Gap by Kevin Guilfoile. Subscribers received a copy of the book with their Day Game editions. Also, Day Game editions sold individually on Field Notes website also came with a copy but were priced higher at $12.95 each.
- Staples color: silver
- Film: A Drive Into the Gap, shot in Polo, Illinois!
My Favorite Practical Applications:
- #06. Curses to Start
- #11. Cracker Jack Prize List
- #22. “Who’s on First” Diagram
- #25. Eamus Catuli AC0366103 (I had to look this up, even though I’m from Chicago!)
- #29. Superstitions
