A Gaggle of 2011 Bowman

Sometimes you get a lot of packs of a product and you're not sure why. You look down into the depths of your card cabinet (isn't that where everyone keeps their cards, in a cabinet with shelving that gets exponentially smaller as one moves from left to right?) and see a collection of 40 odd packs of this product and you forget why it was there. Was it an investment in Bryce Harper (likely)? Was it an illicit rampage through a Target aisle (somewhat likely)? Could it have been that they were wishes granted by the gnome that lives under my dryer (slightly less likely)?

In any case, I decided it was an affront to my nature to leave those packs untouched...that, and I did want a Bryce Harper....hype, hype, hype it up. I am as susceptible as anyone else....

What can possibly be inside? I'm not going to show any base cards because they look like almost every Bowman set since 2001.

Brett Brach prospect auto: I did get an auto....of a pitcher...in the Cleveland system...I don't know anything about the Cleveland system.

Behold! Something brighter this way comes....

The sun shines bright upon the  visage of Harper; the sun's even blinding in the photo.....because the future is so bright....yes, those were violins in response.

The real Bryce Harper rookie....of course, it's the prospect Bowman rookie, which is two years after his 2009 Upper Deck Signature Stars USA Rookie (unlicensed, doesn't count) or after his USA auto in 2010 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects (doesn't count, USA card), and then if he makes his debut this year,we can finally get one with the patriotic rookie emblem of power.  I don't care anymore....

It's an orange parallel! But the not kind people want (meaning a refractor). This one was numbered to 250...meh.

It's a green parallel numbered to 450, also not a refractor.  You would think that all parallels in Bowman for prospects would be refractors by now.

Finally, a refractor!  Of course, it's of the rarest version of purple....what's that?  In this product, purple is the most common version of refractor...this one is numbered to 700 or something.  At least I got one of the top prospect in the White Sox system....he is competing for the closer's job this spring, vacated by the traded away Sergio Santos.

Another purple refractor numbered to 700 of a prospect with a lot of power (over .500 SLG in the Florida State League in 2010); he was the Tampa organizational player of the year in 2011 and is a candidate to win the backup catcher's role with the MLB club in 2012.

More green....I just found it interesting that his last name starts with a Y.

Tyler Moore has a chance to be a player. He has had 30 HRs in two straight seasons in the minors, and I would not have known this if I did not get a purple card of him.

I;m not sure which is more unnecessary, this parallel or the green, since this is one is numbered to 500 and this blue (light blue? Bowman baby blue?) is numbered to 500.  Now this guy has had a journey to make it to the majors briefly last year.  Check out his transactions from Baseball Reference.  He finally made it to the Dodgers at the age of 33.

I can only think of three things that are ever granted in this world: wishes, bonuses, and free agency.

And that is the colorful world of 2011 Bowman which you may have missed out on while you were not collecting the set or only opening jumbo boxes of them to get the autos and refractor parallels (which are the only ones that count)

Bowman Binge Blowout

I think I've opened more packs of Bowman in the last three months than I have in a long time.  Of course, knowing me with such an obvious lead-in, it's not the 2011 Bowman variety.  The images of bygone prospects to be and could have beens lie littered across the landscape of my coffee table in all the many varieties of black or gold bordered cardboard creations.

But I digress...

Like many collectors in this hobby, I am susceptible to hype.   With the Bryce Harper chrome rookie well in hand the week of release by virtue of purchasing a complete hand collated set,  I had no need to heed the chitterings of the newly minted chromey prospect minions.  Alas, my willpower did not hold out.

I blame the Topps Diamond Giveaway with its virtual prize bonanza.  A $10 Topps store certificate?  Sign me up, line me up, and knock me out from sheer anticipation.   I browsed the wares of the Topps store, and the Bowman logo caught my eye.  For the second year in a row, it has been flanked by a Washington Nationals #1 pick; this time obscured by the bottomless roundness of an oversized batting helmet. 

My willpower urged me to press on and tried to distract me with thoughts of my present collection possessions.  "Look at that drawer over there, you haven;t organized the contents yet.  Stacks and stacks of cards remain unscanned, unsorted, and unshared.  Give these cards some consideration before you flood them with more Bowman."

"But I am a Bowman collector!", I replied with a fury fueled by the gift certificate.

My willpower was nonplussed by my enthusiasm.  "You are an ex-Bowman collector from before the days of the "Rookie" logo.  You even halfway started a series about it in this very space.  In any case, you already have the 2011 Bowman set."


"B-u-bu-bu-but HARPER! AUTO! Pineda! Freeman! Refractor!",  I blurted like someone coming out of shock.

My willpower just sighed and turned away.  "I see I have some more work to do on you."

I hungrily clicked the buttons to purchase the items in question and I received more than I bargained for....

Two 24 pack retail boxes of 2011 Bowman.....

The question to those who have read this far is this.....what should I do with them?  I have the base, prospect, and prospect chrome set, so any of those cards would just be duplicates, and we all know how duplicates make set collectors feel.


The choice is yours:  Rip 'em, sell 'em, group break 'em, or keep 'em until Harper makes the majors in 2012. Find the poll located on the sidebar for easy answering.  Also, comments are cool.

BOW-MAN!!