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Thursday, May 20, 2010

2010 Bowman Review

I calls 'em likes I sees 'em, and this is how I sees 'em.

1909 T206


1934-6 Diamond Stars


1941 Play Ball


1953 Topps


1960 Topps


1972 Topps


1983 Topps


1991 Stadium Club


2001 Topps Heritage


2006 Allen & Ginter


2010 Bowman


This review based upon:

$5.00+ pack prices and rising
Piles and piles of discarded base cards in cheapo boxes
A truckload of new inserts for no goddamn reason
The exact same boring ass black border they've used with slight variations for over a decade
A 220 card set so you get the same 3 players per team (6 for the New York and Boston markets) that's in every single set produced this year
Something like 4 actual base cards per pack so you need two or three boxes to even have a chance at a set
Half the pack chewed up by regular and Chrome prospect/not rookie things that make a travishamockery of the RC rookie logo designation.
Gold parallel cards. NO ONE WANTS THESE
Topps using bootleg crap Chrome stock in the only set where Chrome really matters
The Steven Strasburg card everyone's losing their shit over won't even be considered his 'true' rookie card by the end of summer.

Yeah, there's a good rookie crop in Bowman for the first time in a decade. Oh, and on-card autos. I concede those points.

If you really want the Heyward, or the Chapman, or the Jackson, or even the Strasburg, you'd be FAR better off just buying the damn card instead of rolling the dice and buying overpriced packs hoping to pull one. Or just wait a year and buy a box for under $50. You think box prices for a set with Strasburg autos could never drop that low? Ahem.

Bowman needs to die. Painfully. Bowman Chrome? Good idea. Bowman Draft & Prospects? Good idea. Filler base set that ends up in the bin with the wrappers? Watered down rookie crop put together too early in the season to get a comprehensive rookie class? A bunch of prospect cards that will be hot now and cool off as soon as a 'real' rookie card hits the presses? Oh, and autograph cards that are part of the base set? Die Die Die Die. Yesterday.

Bowman is a useless set and has been for years. Don't get caught up in the perfect storm of a good rookie crop, an exclusive license and collectors driven mad from boredom. You'll regret it later.

For more lovlies like my Bowman representative, check out this wonderful website for hours of amusement.

14 comments:

the sewingmachineguy said...

I got suckered in and bought a hobby box. My local shop had boxes for $78 bucks. My 2 autos (yes, I pulled 2 autos) were of guys I have never heard of. Maybe someday, they will amount to something. I have bunches of autos of guys like Brad Lincoln and Mike Rabello. Who? You're spot on with this post.

Katherine Hepburn...yowza!

Steve Gierman said...

Love the Lillian Gish picture! I always think of the M101-5 cards as Olive Thomas. :-)

Captain Canuck said...

prices here are the same. $4 a pack, $80 a box.

But my LCS had a Strasburg auto pulled already. You think in the 18 boxes he has left, there's another???

night owl said...

That's hysterical. And absolutely right. Boo hype! Boooooo! Boooooo!

Go Phoebe!

SpastikMooss said...

LOLOLOL...that is a great final shot...well said sir.

Also, I second Night Owl - go Phoebe. Or most any 80's actress for that matter. Too bad I was born midway through the decade...I think I would have loved being a teen-young adult in the 80's.

Peterson said...

HEPBURN=Hepburn FTW.
I am currently reeling from the accuracy of your choices of personage, but also fighting a losing battle to NOT buy a hobby box...I think the price will be the best deterrant for me, and the fact that I still have base from my 06 4 box bowman spree...and nothing else left to show for it save only 2/3 the prospects set. I have no idea if that set will get filled or flung...

dc said...

Brilliant, succinct, steeped in truth, and exactly crabby enough.

K. Hepburn, wow.

Hoopography said...

Hepburn, all the way. Anyways, I was thinking about picking up a few packs to broaden my my collection. Maybe i'll hold of on that.

John Bateman said...

I disagree, there is a certain amount of collectibility to Bowman, Bowman Chrome, Bowman Draft. There seems to be a method to the madness. Granted they are driven by Autos, but look at 2008 Bowman, you have autos of Ike Davis, Jason Heyward and Brandon Boesch, they are also on fire, 2 years later. You can collect regualr set, draft set, gold set, chrome sets etc.... It seems to work. Granted, they have been black border for a while, but it gives them an identifying market niche.

TJ said...

Where did you get a picture of my girlfriend from?

Luckily, I broke even sellinga few cards out of the few jumbo packs I bought. I'm probably done with 2010 Bowman for now.

dayf said...

Step 1: consolidate Bowman and BDPP
Step 2: segregate Bowman and Chrome
Step 3: throw the red border vets out the window, they're in all the other sets anyway
Step 4: release 'em both at the end of the year so you can get a full rookie class. (or make the cutoff for call up Sept 1st so the next year's early releases can have some RCs too)

Now you have two awesome sets instead of one terrible set and two mediocre sets.

sruchris said...

Dayf-

Step 1: I agree
Step 2: I agree
Step 3: I agree
Step 4: Keep dreaming, it will never happen.

Why would Topps release two Bowman products to compete against each other? Clearly, spacing out releases builds interest and hype which sells more product. Releasing Bowman at the beginning of the season, Chrome near the middle and Prospects at the end is a solid financial decision.

sliced tongue said...

First time/long time, and it can't go unremarked that Karen Black is indeed a perfect match for the voluptuous horror of 72 Topps. Well played, Junkie. Well played.

dayf said...

sruchris:

Chrome out in late September/early October, BDPP out in November. No competing. I AM A CARD DESIGNING/PLANNING GENIE-OOS.

sliced tongue (ouch):

The Karen Black took me the longest to find an appropriate pic for so I am glad the effort was appreciated. Thanks.