I ended up with a nice rack pack of 2011 Bowman after winning Play at the Plate's July contest, and I didn't think I'd be opening anymore of these packs until they hit the clearance racks in three years, when Bryce Harper quits his baseball career to be on Jersey Shore. I ended up getting two retail packs for my birthday. Here's what was inside the first pack:
I realize everyone else is onto their A&G at this point and every one's already talked about Bowman. Here I am with my old news, flashing some boring base. But I can't help but compliment the design. I've heard many mention the resemblance to the 1955 Bowman TV set, and I personally dig that. At least it's not just boring black frames. The horizontal cards especially look great, granted Bowman seems to have a thing for the behind-the-catcher mid-swing shot. With good reason, that's a cool shot. Hudson, on the other hand, seems to have fallen and can't get up.
Not much to see here. More base, less interesting in verticalness.
Some prospects who aren't that Harper fella. Hinze seems to be moving through the A ranks quickly, batting well over .300.
Here's the rest of pack one. Again, I'm not a big fan of the Bowman's Best inserts, but I like this one of Hey Zeus in catcher gear, singing our national anthem.
On to pack two:
More base of big dudes running/beginning to run.
I got to see Yonder play while I was in Kentucky, so it was cool to pull his rookie. But I'm extra excited about Kevin Mailloux, the spokesman for French heart burn relief.
A King Felix base and another non-Harper.
More prospects that don't have Bryce for a first name. What the hell, guys? You're never gonna make it out there with non-Bryce names like those.
Here's my one-per-pack gold.
And here...
is my Harper. Not only is it Bryce Harper, but it's Bryce Harper with a map behind him. He's all international-style. I'm psyched about this card, but only because it's already listed on my ebay account for sale. I'm not a collector who's trying to profit off collecting. However, in this case, I'm very much looking forward to selling this card off while the Harper fad is hot, and then I'll get some stuff that I'm really excited about. Harper shall magically turn into some vintage Bowman and some Pudge pants swatches and maybe even a little Ripken mojo. Who knows? That's the only reason I like this guy, who seems to be a complete showboat and idiot from everything I've heard. I really could care less if he has a hall of fame career and this card winds up being worth fifty thousand dollars and eighty-three cents. Yeah right. This is the peak of how much it will be worth, and I'm happily cashing in.
When it sells, I'll be sure to post what I turned my Harper into. Oh, and if anyone needs any of the other cards I pulled, let me know and we'll get a trade going.
Who else has sold their Bryce Harpers so far? How well did you do? Is anyone holding onto his cards?
I won the monthly contest over at Play at the Plate for July, and I picked a rack pack of 2011 Bowman for my prize. Before I post my goodies, I have to thank Brian for putting on these contests every month. If you aren't checking out the contests he has at Play at the Plate the first of every month, you should be. And you should be reading one of the best blogs out there. Brian has a way of getting readers involved that I envy. On top of his superior blogging skills, he's also one of the most generous bloggers.
OK, enough ass-kissing. You came here to see if I got a Bryce Harper.
I did better than pull a Harper, I scored two of my favorite Tigers from the set. A Cabrera for the player collection and a V-Mart in full catcher gear. I beat the odds pulling the 4th and 5th spots in the batting lineup.
Here are two non-Harper chrome prospects. I didn't realize this Bowman card of Dee Gordon, son of Flash, was not his first Bowman card. I think I do have his first card, though, from 2008, when he was Devaris Strange-Gordon. Why'd you drop the Strange, Dee? That's strange. Maybe not. You don't see too many hyphenated names in baseball. I'm pretty sure when Topps picked up their monopoly status they outlawed hyphenation.
I also pulled one of those Bowman's Best inserts. I have to say that I'm not a big fan of this insert set. Retro '90s just isn't a retro I'm ready to revel in yet. I liked the 1992 Bowman inserts from last year, but these ones don't do it for me.
Again, not Harper, and who cares. Pirela has 7 home runs so far this year in AA, and even though he's a Yankee, I do enjoy me a good green border.
The rack pack was a fun free rip, but the real highlight of my contest winnings was the extra goodies Brian sent.
This Ichiro was much-needed for my 2007 Bowman Heritage set, my favorite modern set. And this is a fantastic card. I love Ichiro's pose set against the clouds and the colorful wall. I'm not sure which wall we're looking at here. I'm not too sure it's even a real wall, but it captures that vintage feel perfectly. This is one of the best looking cards in a great set.
Brian also tossed in another Ichiro. He's not officially a player I collect, but somehow Brian knew I'd enjoy more Ichiro. Hell, who doesn't? Ichiro's one of those guys I've always considered starting to collect more seriously.
Thanks for sending all the great stuff, Brian.
I recently picked up a few more packs of 2011 Bowman for my birthday, which I'll post soon, and then you can see what other non-Harpers I scored.
